Dry Only?

[dennyd]

As a pro do you find it "uncouth" to use wet fly's? Or do you have the purist attitude of dry fly's only?

[Gil]

I fish most often with two nymphs, hopper dropper with nymph, stream, dry or what ever else I feel like. While doing so I never feel uncouth....

[Simpson]

I am no pro...but I fish the method that is most likely to catch fish at any given time...is dry fly the way I most enjoy catching fish..ABSOLUTELY!

 

So in answer to your question...I find it "uncouth" to swing a stick around all day and not catch a fish.

[maxwell]

i dont think being in teh industry or not defines ones outlook on being a dryfly purist.. ive had many clients and have friends who it is the only way they want too fish! and so be it! for me i love it all.. BUT specific months i tend too do more of one thing than another thats forsure! but wether it be fishing a double handed rod or single handed rod nymphs streamers n dries are all fine with me! i love stalking snouts on dries but blind casting them aint my thing... streamer fishing is top knotch in my books but i only fish em when i feel it can be more productive! and i do nymph alot!

[robert]

It's all preference and what you're going for... I have hundreds of flies but I generally wind up with an olive beadhead as they fly of choice - for some reason, it just works.

[dutchie]

uncouth" to use wet fly's

 

hell no , i love em , use them correctly and it's tough to beat them , i have more classic ol wets then i do nymphs in my fly box's

[Heimdallr]

Considering that the majority of a fish's feeding is done below the surface I'd say using wet flies at least some of the time is just logical.

[SilverDoctor]

I'm an uncouth non-professional, so I fish Dry flies Wet flies Nymphs and Streamers. I also scratch my head when I hear the term "Wet flies" used here. As far as I have ever known wet flies are a class of flies, (covering winged wets, wingless wets and flymphs) not any fly that is fished under the water.

[Heimdallr]

I also scratch my head when I hear the term "Wet flies" used here. As far as I have ever known wet flies are a class of flies, (covering winged wets, wingless wets and flymphs) not any fly that is fished under the water.

 

You're correct on that, I contribute my use of it purely to laziness.

 

[Smitty]

Ah yes...one of the two titanic debates of flyfishing. The other being "what is the definition of flyfishing?".

 

Both debates are silly and a great way to help pass the long winters. Hence, I've participated in both.

 

So when I put on an elk hair caddis with an adjust a bubble on my nephew's spinning rod, is that the purist ideal of dry fly fishing?

 

Smitty

[trailhead]

I say uncouth you say? Well if it were strictly a matter of tweed sports coats and scottish briar pipes and casting a Hendrickson on m'lords chalk stream then jolly good. I enjoy casting bushy dries into riffles and having a fish hammer it or a no-hackle dry onto a crystal clear still corner pool and watching a trout materialize off the bottom to sip it in. I will flog the Bow endlessly with a nymph or wet fly. Sit on a lake and stare at my strike indicator until my eyes cross . Have the back of my head dented by a heavily weighted streamer, and spend a good part of the year doing any of these for the chance to catch a fish. You tell me, am I uncouth or what?

[SilverDoctor]

Are you making fun of my tweed sports coat.

 

 

[Heimdallr]

...I own a tweed jacket...

[CF8]

I say uncouth you say? Well if it were strictly a matter of tweed sports coats and scottish briar pipes and casting a Hendrickson on m'lords chalk stream then jolly good. I enjoy casting bushy dries into riffles and having a fish hammer it or a no-hackle dry onto a crystal clear still corner pool and watching a trout materialize off the bottom to sip it in. I will flog the Bow endlessly with a nymph or wet fly. Sit on a lake and stare at my strike indicator until my eyes cross . Have the back of my head dented by a heavily weighted streamer, and spend a good part of the year doing any of these for the chance to catch a fish. You tell me, am I uncouth or what?

 

 

Hilarious! Totally agree...

[jack]

I had some damned elitist tell me one time that using anything but a dry on a certain stream was just "too easy". I was somewhat disgruntled with this perception(as I had a wet on at the time and was enjoying a very decent rate of success). However, upon further contemplation and several beers after that day of fishing, I decided that this damned elitist was probably correct and that there is more personal satisfaction to challenging oneself.

 

Thanks, "bloom"!

 

j

[monger]

Wet flies for Cutts Jack? I'm glad Tim was there to show you the light.

[Guest 420FLYFISHIN]

I wish i had the patients to fish that...but winter is too long and work takes soo much of my time. But i will agree that if your in some places nymphs are too easy and it is not all about catching

[ladystrange]

i have to admit i much prefer sight fishing dries on small streams or blindly throwing a dry into a riffle to see what will come out from a rock. i think learning to properly drift a dry has helped my nymph drifting too. but alas in the long winter when i do get out i fish streamers and numphs. i dont mind being called an elitiest, there is a certain challenge to dries but i wont restrict myself to soley fishing dries

[SilverDoctor]

Yes but the real question is "Do you have a tweed sports coat". You cannot be an elitist and fish dries without a tweed coat and Hardy equipment.

 

 

i have to admit i much prefer sight fishing dries on small streams or blindly throwing a dry into a riffle to see what will come out from a rock. i think learning to properly drift a dry has helped my nymph drifting too. but alas in the long winter when i do get out i fish streamers and numphs. i dont mind being called an elitist, there is a certain challenge to dries but i wont restrict myself to soley fishing dries

 

[headscan]

Last summer I decided I wanted to improve my dry fly fishing, so I only carried a box of dries until the end of October. It was too easy to give up on the dries and tie on a couple nymphs if I had any with me. It really made me gain a new appreciation for dries and it's now without a doubt my favourite way to catch a fish. Swinging streamers is a close second. Nymphing has just become a way to get my fishing fix until dries and streamers pick up again. If I could fish dries and streamers all year I'd throw all my bobbers out in a heartbeat. Don't own a tweed coat, but then again I'm not a pro, elitist, or purist either.

[pkk]

Elitist?

If you talk to a gear fisherman all fly fisherman are elitists. It is a matter of personal preference, and whatever turns your crank. Those that nymph and call a dryfly fisherman an elitist is up to them. but the reality is that there arent many fly fisherman (ones that do it all) that if had the choice and conditions permitted would dry fly over anything else. Personally i think it is much more challenging hunting down snouts and precision casting to catch them, then trying to flog a fly line with indicators,wts, and multiple flies. Its much more enjoyable seeing a fish come up and eat the fly than seeing the indicator go down.

When I started fly fishing, dryfly was the way I learned and didnt find out about indicator fishing until many years later. Nowadays people want things quick and easy with results. Hence all newbee's learn to nymph first, get comfortable with it and now that is their method. And have a tough time giving up catching fish to learn something new (like hedscan said he left his nymph box at home which forced him to learn about dryfly and is very happy for that). when one is out nymphing they sure arent seeing the fish that are feeding on the surface.

Its a very similar thing to steelhead fishing, dryfly vs swinging wets. Most people start with wets and get comfy with it and deny themselves the beauty of the dry.

Nymping catches more fish? I dont agree 100%. It really matters when one choses to go fishing. If you go out to fish for the whole day (bow) chances are you cant dry fly all day (there are exceptional days where this does happen) and have to fish subsurface. I personally dont have the time, so a few hours here and there are what I get. BUT i dont mind that, as I go out when the bugs are hatching and fish are feeding on the surface. And in the 2 - 3 hrs I fish, lots of fish are hooked (probably the same amount as if I had nymphed a good portion of the day).

If you were to ask any experienced fly fisherman ( one that has and can do it all) I would bet that they would all prefer to catch a fish on a dry than anything else. So does that make all experienced flyfisherman elitists?

 

I guess I am an elitist.

 

PK

[Hawgstoppah]

I think the term "pro" and "elistist" are two different things. Pro's catch fish. Being a professional means your exceptionally good at what you do.

 

If your a professional golfer, you are damn good at getting a ball into a hole in as few strokes as possible. Why would you limit yourself to only using a 7 iron, when you can use all the clubs in your bag depending on the given situation?

 

Limiting yourself to a dry is the same thing. It's a personal choice, one that I respect too.. but I think the term "Pro" is a completely different thing.

[DonAndersen]

Whoa on there!!!

 

 

Professional or Pros do it for money - money is the only measurement of their competence. Whether or not pros are any good @ anything will only be determined by the market place. Some examples of pros include hookers & hockey players.

 

Whereas elitists are by definition: The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.

 

How about you use expert!

 

Don

[Conor]

I don't think you find many elitists in western anglers. Maybe the spey crowd lol

 

I'd say it is more common out east, and certainly in the UK.

 

I really think the name of this forum needs to change. How many threads have ended up in a debate over what a pro is and who is entitled to post here? And how many people in our members qualify as professional fishermen? Professional fishing guides, sure. But professional fishermen?

 

Or it could just be removed. Most of the topics here fit well into the general forum.

[jonn]

I don't think you find many elitists in western anglers. Maybe the spey crowd lol

 

I'd say it is more common out east, and certainly in the UK.

 

I really think the name of this forum needs to change. How many threads have ended up in a debate over what a pro is and who is entitled to post here? And how many people in our members qualify as professional fishermen? Professional fishing guides, sure. But professional fishermen?

 

Or it could just be removed. Most of the topics here fit well into the general forum.

 

agreed 100%