fishing wet flies

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midmofly	fishing wet flies	Lead	[-]
Sport Posts: 42 (10/15/09 19:24:15) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I am new to wet fly (not nymph) fishing and I have a few questions ( I fish on Missouri) : 1) what weight rod do you use, 2) what length rod 3) how many flies--I was thinking of using two, 4) floating or sinking line, 5) what length leader, 6) how do you arrange the flies to the leader, 7) what size flies--and how you rationale the difference between the largest fly and the smallest on a leader?? I have been reading books on this but I find practical experience from fellow fisherman to be the best advice
corlay		#1	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1096 (10/15/09 21:06:58) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	midmofly wrote: 1) what weight rod do you use, in fast moving water I find a #6 weight to be ideal. A Summer approaches, and even into Fall; I tend to favor #5 weight.. 2) what length rod depends upon the water you're fishing. I'll use anything from 6'0 up to 8'6" in Fiberglass. 7'6" is a sweet spot for most situations, though. 3) how many flies--I was thinking of using two, Just starting out, 2 is a smart choice. Eventually, try graduating up to 3. Keys are open-loops when casting, and stay with a 3x leader/tippet. 4) floating or sinking line, Floating works just fine. If you're into deep, slow-moving pools; then a sinking line might help. A "sink-tip" might also work for you. I made one for myself this year by splicing-on and replacing the first 8.5' of an DTF line with the first 8.5' of and intermediate sink line. Worked great! 5) what length leader, Flourocarbon supposedly sinks faster than monofiliment, but whether that makes a bit of difference in a swift run is highly debatable! 6) how do you arrange the flies to the leader, A knotted leader is a perrfect match for wet fly fishing. Tie-on ~6"-8" "tags" of 3x leader material with a clinch knot above a knot in the leader. The leader knot will act as a "stop" of sorts, allowing these tags to slide up the leader, but not down. Your flies should be staggered about 15" - 20" apart on the leader. Also, stay with a 7.5' leader length. Longer is generally not needed for this kind of fishing. 7) what size flies--and how you rationale the difference between the largest fly and the smallest on a leader? The smallest of trout will readily take a #10 wet fly, and thus I tie most of mine on a #10-#12. A few exceptions (like BWO...) work better on a #14-#16. Even #8 is generally not too big. "From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most." - Ray Bergman Trout, New York: Knopf 1938
Flickfly		#2	[-]
Guide Posts: 36 (10/15/09 21:17:43) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A very well done outline Corlay
nativebrownie		#3	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 429 (10/15/09 21:34:11) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Grab a copy of A.J McClane's McClane's Angling world - p.170 - An Ancient Art Revisted - great chapter on wet fllies from a master - leader recommendations also..., then Ray Ovington's Trout Tactics - pages on the art of the wet fly. Makes for great winter contemplation and dreaming...enjoy
Arctic Grayling		#4	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 440 (10/15/09 22:17:55) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There is a DVD out too by Davy Wotton on fishing wet flies: http://www.slideinn.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=225&osCsid=824357e332c6fe9895d98d2f9ee92bb7
LeoCreek		#5	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 271 (10/15/09 22:30:34) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Corlay gave an excellent breakdown, and some great info! The Missouri is a big river, and I'd be using 8' and 8'6" glass there, myself. My Steffen 8'6" 5/6wt would probably be my go-to glass rod, plus a Fenwick FF805 I recently picked up (plus some nice blanks I've yet to build). There are so many nice glass rods that would be perfect for wet fly fishing. If you could find a good deal on a pair of Fenwicks, like say an FF79 or FF805 and maybe an FF856, they would also make a fine pair of wet fly rods (and all around rods) for the Missouri. Even an FF857 could handle wet fly duty just fine on a big river like the Mo, and you could turn around and put a sink tip line on it and fish big streamers, too. Maybe you already have a good rod selection, but figured I'd throw these thoughts out there just in case. I love fishing wets with an 8' 4wt (Steffen glass, or medium action graphite) on the smaller mountain rivers. What a blast!
yuhina		#6	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1305 (10/15/09 23:00:17) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	http://www.westfly.com/feature-article/0011/feature_370.php http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/page56.html I love wet fly swing too! A very relaxing way to spent time on the river. There are several DVDs http://www.essential-skills.tv/ and books on the market I think is pretty good. One is from Oliver Edwards from England, he tied Northern spiders and show you how to fish. Another several good reads included David Hughes Wet Flies... http://www.askaboutflyfishing.com/speakers/dave_hughes/dave_hughes.cfm
gypsy		#7	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 651 (10/16/09 00:00:19) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good online audio interview with Davy Wotton fishing wets here http://www.askaboutflyfis.../media_player.cfm?sid=91 Gypsy Rod Works
wb4tjh		#8	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 364 (10/16/09 17:36:25) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I also like the relaxed method of working a stream, and I really like the larger flies...they are easier to hookset and much easier for older eyes to tie on a tippet. I like the idea of tying smaller flies on larger hooks. Instead of using a 20 or 22 hook, I will tie the same sized fly on an 18 hook. The fish don't seem to notice, and it's easier to set the hook. The 18 is still harder for my older eyes to tie onto a tippet, but a heck of a lot easier than a 22. I guess I'm more old school, since if I can only take one rod, it will usually be a 6 weight, unless the stream is small and the casts are shorter, then a 4 or 5 will do. But the 6 weight gets my vote for all around tail water fishing in moving water. It's still the best all around in my opinion when conditons can vary widely on the same stream/river. Bill Anderson, SW Missouri
midmofly		#9	[-]
Sport Posts: 43 (10/16/09 18:57:21) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks everyone for the advice--very enlightening----One last question, on a stream that is about 40 feet wide what is the average length of a cast that you gentlemen would use??
Lanyard Stretcher		#10	[-]
Guide Posts: 47 (10/16/09 19:32:31) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	When I was a youngin I was a diehard nympher.It was the most challenging way for me. After awhile I got tired of concentating so hard and I missed casting. I started swinging wet flys which let me cast and just relax and fish. The trout set the hook with a thump and I got to hang on and play the fish. I really like greaseline and the wet fly swing techniques. I have been using my my Fenwick FF 806 uplined to a bass bug 8wt line. It let me single hand Spey cast and the line shoots like a Skagit head. The soft glass mends line effortlessly. Here is a short video that shows some wet fly fishing and leader construction. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=wet+fly+&docid=1079419798209&mid=881F9A1A79C11A98CE14881F9A1A79C11A98CE14&FORM=VIVR36# Have fun it is a great way to fish. Mike
majicwrench		#11	[-]
Master Guide Posts: 1292 (10/16/09 19:53:44) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The longer the rod, the easier the mending, the casting, and the hookset. I use 8.5ft rods for all my big river fishing. I have never had any luck with "tags" for attaching flies, I always end up with a world-class tangled mess. I tie on the upper fly, then tie a 18" hunk of leader to the bend of that hook, then another fly. Way less likely to tangle. I have messed around with more than two flies, and don't really feel it is worth the hassle. I stick with two. I'm with everybody else on flies, for the most part I use from #14 to #10, with a pair of #12 probably the most common. I tend to lightly weight my flies, just as couple of wraps of fine wire. Don't sweat the details too much, go fishing and have fun. Keith
Flickfly	Avoiding Tangles	#12	[-]
Guide Posts: 38 (10/16/09 21:06:24) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I use a knoted leader, the heavier fly on the bottom with a 6in or so piece of a stiff flourocarbon with a small loop on one end . Loop it onto the leader above the tippit knot so it sticks out at a right angle snug it tight , tie the fly on. Do the same above the knot on the next higher section. basically use a stiff leader materiel . I hope I wrote this so that its understandable. I'm no Ernie Shwiebert .

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fishing wet flies

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