Friday, October 18, 2013

Wet Flies

They say that ninety percent of a trouts feeding takes place underwater, and probably seventy percent of that underwater feeding is almost on the bottom. This is why a nymph fisherman can be so successful, he puts the food where the trout are. Then between the bottom and the surface is that sweet spot where the other twenty percent do there feeding. That's where the wet fly comes in. Wet flies have been around since about the time of Walton, and many of the patterns were of English design. These flies took some pretty selective trout from those early times. The patterns available today are perhaps in the thousands, and many of them are very beautiful and many look like they should be gobbled up. The wet fly looks like an emerging insect, or in its other function can be a tremendous attractor drawing some very vicious strikes. Wet flies are suitable for both still water and river.

In this post I'm going to speak of river, small stream use of these flies. These flies will take the simplicity route which I favor. I have had much success with the few patterns I tie. I use some basic dubbing, various colors of hackle, and waterfowl feathers also in various colors. I try to keep them sparse and I have found out that the more they are used and chewed on the sparser they get and the better they work.

I generally fish them casting, quartering downstream. The fly is allowed to drift freely as if it is a struggling insect. At the end of the drift I allow the fly to remain stationary and hang there for a second or two, then I begin to retrieve it at various speeds. A strike can occur at any point in the sequence, but I have found that the most strikes come as the fly turns and begins to straighten out. I generally fish one fly but there are many anglers who are very good at fishing two and three flies at a time.

My basic selection
I have listed a few sites and people who you can contact on fishing and tying various wet flies. These guys are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to these flies. Steve Culton, at http://currentseams.wordpress.com/....Mark at http://fishingsmallstreams.blogspot.com/.....Mark is great at soft hackles. Don Bastian, at http://donbastianwetflies.com/category/wet-fly-photos/..... Enjoy fishing and tying these old and productive flies.



27 comments:

  1. Great selection of wet flies Brk Trt....simple and effective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kiwi,
      Thanks.
      Easy to tie and they get the job done.

      Delete
  2. Alan
    Nice collection of wet flies----which color patterns there seem to work best during a particular time of day, the color combo, or the standard grey/black combo. I realize that any color pattern can work anytime of the day but if you had to choose your best color combo what would that be? Do you use a lot of wet fly patterns on the Farmington? Do you fish a wet fly in a wide stream such as a tailrace any different than a small stream? I am going to try some wet fly fishing next week on the tailrace here and use your approach you mentioned in this post. This is why I enjoy blogging, to learn more about this great sport and this post is a great example. I will check out all the links----Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell,
      Thanks.
      The patterns with colors like yellow and red, red and white, are good flies for brook trout, the others that tend to be a bit drab work well on browns. This is not a hard and fast rule but it's said you use a bright fly on a bright day, and a dull fly on an overcast day. As far as a best color I would say it's the gray body, with brown tail and hackle with the mallard wing. These flies work well on the Farmington, as well as the small streams I fish.

      Delete
  3. Most of the ones I've seen in places like Streamers 365 are works of art. Tom Bargeron (Blood, Sweat, & Tears) is creating a book called Jazz Flies. It's been in the works for some time and I can't wait to see it. I've seen some of the flies that will be in there and they are fabulous.

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    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz,
      Thanks.
      That's true Mark, some of those classic wet flies are beautiful. Ray Bergman's book "Trout" has many wet fly patterns. I've heard of that book Jazz Flies mentioned on one of the site I visit.

      Delete
  4. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I'm pretty new to soft hackled flies, but I love tying them and I'm loving fishing them. The fish are pretty crazy about them as well.

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    Replies
    1. Howard Levett,
      Thanks.
      Those soft hackles are fish takers.

      Delete
  5. Brk Trt - that looks like a fine selection of classic wet flies that covers all the major colors you would want to fish. Sometime check out the rube wood. I think you would like to add this one to your arsenal. BTW - thanks for the "shout out" but I am FAR from an expert with wets, I just enjoy learning and experimenting with them.

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    Replies
    1. Mark,
      Thanks.
      They pretty much serve my needs. I'll check that pattern out.
      Don't be so modest buddy. The tyer of Petes killer pattern BHPT Soft Hackle.

      Delete
  6. Buy the way guys, and girls check out the latest issue of "American Angler" there's a wonderful article on wet flies by Steve Culton.

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  7. Glad that you mentioned that the sparser they are the better, and, when they get chewed up that they are even more effective. That is the way mine look when I take them out of my vise! Gotta' love soft hackles.

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    Replies
    1. Mel Moore,
      Thanks.
      It's a case of less is more.

      Delete
  8. Brk Try,

    SO HELPFUL! Thanks for writing this. Of course, as you know, more info for a novice fly fisher leads to more questions. So here goes; what exactly is soft hackle? LOL.

    Also, funny you mentioned "sparse" and "grey" in the same couple of lines. I read a ff book last winter by Sparse Grey Hackle ...you must know it!

    Thanks again!

    Mike

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    Replies
    1. Michael Curry,
      Thanks.
      Hackle is those feathers from a chicken and other various birds. Hackle that comes from a roosters neck is very stiff and is very good for dry flies. The stiff hackle allows the fly to float. Soft hackle generally comes from a hen. The fibers a softer and not nearly as stiff as those of a rooster. The soft hackle allows movement in the water which simulates an insects legs or wings as they begin to move to the surface and emerge as an adult.

      Yes he's a well known gent from the Catskills. But we all get to that point in life where we can call ourselves "sparse gray hackle"

      Delete
  9. I fished all my life off and on, but always with a casting rod/reel, I would love to try my hand at fly fishing someday, it always looks so graceful.

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    Replies
    1. Madge Bloom,
      Thanks.
      There's nothing like it. It's a must you give it a try.

      Delete
  10. Without knowing it you and I have become friends over the last few years. I have done a lot of tying of all kinds read a lot of books. I was mentored by a very good fisherman and author and I know that he would agree with me when I say that in this small article that you have posted you have presented more information for those who really seek it than a lot of complete books that are out there. You sir should not shy away from blowing your own horn once in awhile. Barry

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    Replies
    1. phly,
      Thanks.
      Barry, your comment is truly appreciated. I'm glad people are able to take something away with them from my posts.

      Delete
  11. Brk Trt,

    Do you tie those lovelies weighted or do you just throw a split shot on?

    Pete

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    Replies
    1. Peter Carlson,
      Thanks.
      I do not tie them weighted. If i need added depth I'll pinch on some sink putty.

      Delete
  12. Those flies look a lot like the ones my Dad tied..beautiful Alan and a very informative post..

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    Replies
    1. penbayman,
      Thanks.
      They were flies that fishers of the 50's and 60's were very familiar with.

      Delete