Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-09-11
ON FISHING THE DRY-FLY.

My Dear Buck
Without a doubt, old scout, learning
TO cast the dry or floating fly is the
postgraduate study in the fine art of
fishing and there is more real enjoy
ment in coaxing the wise old trout
into the creel by this method than
any other angle Of the sport. All the
knowledge you have gained through
study of the habits of the trout in
your wet f1y-casting stand you well as
beginner at this end of the game.
Most of our trout fishing is on
streams in the woods or wilderness
where the waters alternate between
rapids and smooth spots, waterfall and
deep pool, shadows or rifles, and one
could follow stream all day without
lamping a trout on the rise for food,
and if he We're fishing in the orthodox
English way, bacon fried to a crisp
would about make up his evening meal,
which accounts for the fact that we
have changed the dope a bit and fish
the dry-fy more as a floating fly with
out the added effort of tossing the
feathers into the mouth of the waiting
trout and tickling him to death.
On a very civilized stream that has
been tished to a fare-you-well by all
manner of fishermen, where the trout
have wised up to tricks of the game,
the dry-fy will get rise when the
wet-fy would merely cause a wink of
the weather eye.
In casting the dry-ily the fisherman
works upstream, casting slightly across
the current, so that the floating fly
will ride down with the current, and
very essential detail is to cast lightly
and accurate, while it is not necessary
to cast as long line as in wet-f1y
casting. The whole game is to have
the fly float down as naturally as pos
sible, and it requires considerable skill
in the handling of the rod and the
Keeling in of slack to keep the fly from
being pulled under the water by the
weight of a slack line or through
some other rough work of the caster.
Horizontal Cast the Best.
Wherever possible, the horizontal
cast should be used in preference to
the overhead cast, as the fly is more
likely to land right side up with the
wings cooked, although more accuracy
and distance are obtained by the over
head, which is not as essential in dry
fly casting as to have the fly ride the
water in natural manner. AS a gen.
eral thing the fly lights on the water
on its side when the overhead cast is
used, and although a trout will rise
to floating fly in this position, the
chances are greater for a rise when
the fly lies on the water in the position
naturally taken by live insect with
its wings fiuttering above the water in
its effort to rise from the surface.
IN casting smooth stretch of water
there is little if any drag of the line,
and the fly will float in an upright po-
sition if cast skillfully
The early season when the water is
high and discolored by flooded condi-
lions the trout are bottom or mid
water feeding, and at this time the
dry-fy is of little use on the streams
AS soon as the air warns up a bit and
the insect life has developed on the
streams and the water clears with the
temperature rising steadily, the float
ing fly is a sure winner. From the
middle of May to the end of the sea-
son the conditions grow more favor
able to the dry-fly, and on low, clear
water at the tail end of the season it
is by far the most effective lure.
On any water that is not broken by
rapids or rifles, the dry-fy can be
used to advantage, and even on wa
tiers that are swift 8nd rapid it will
be found effective.
One of the main points in casting
the dry-fy is to study the currents, as
one of the greatest little old jinks to
the successful use of the dry-fly is
the drag caused by the fly falling on
water moving at a speed different
from that of the water on which the
line falls. Select your casting posi-
ton where the fly and line will light
on water of the same speed, so that
the fly will not be drowned by the
drag of the line. Another point that
will make your dry-fly work better
at the start is to avoid raising the
tip of the rod as the fly falls on the
water, and this is a small point that
the wet-fy fisherman has a tendency
to overlook through habit acquired in
casting the wet feathers. To raise the
rod at this time will pull the dry fly
under water. At the same time the
beginner should never strip in the line
until the fly has started downstream
with the current. If you find it nee
essary to cast on waters of different
speed to the current, cast a slack line,
and if the fly lights on water moving
slower than that on which the line
rests there win be no drag on the fly
until the slack line has floated down.
stream. Make study of the stream
and the trout and use all your skill and
you will find much pleasure in floating
the dry-fly. DIXIE.
ouimet Still Fighting.
Francis Ouimet, Woodland club