Dry Fly 'Water Craft' By Danny Bennett.
Part 1 Drag
The drag of the dry fly is possibly the most difficult for the dry fly fisher to understand. Many hours can be used up in studying the flow of the river through the many pools and glides and obviously they will change as the river rises and falls and this in turn will affect the drift of the fly in the changing currents , so in not order not to create drag the full knowledge of the river is essential
These patterns must become part of the anglers aid in combating the the movements that are associated with free flow. Look at the surface of the run for rising fish , look for bubbles, natural flies and bits of debris being carried by the current through the run and observe how they move ,this is information that is essential to the angler in his quest to get the fish to take the imitation fly, it is important to have your fly move on the current without any sign of deviation ie drag. Drag can in certain runs can be almost be impossible to avoid, the direction of the cast, the use of any wind may need to be used .I find to be in the correct position to change the line of approach is critical so you must make the best use of any drift through the run even if it is a short one, the benifits of mending the line is again one always to be aware of , The speed of the river makes a difference , the faster the river the faster the fish must rise to take the fly. A number of the pools that I have fished over many years have become easy to get a fairly long drift with no sign of deviation I believe that this is down to hours of observing the flow of water through the run, drag is simply the unwanted movement of the fly and line from its natural drift.
The Grayling has become a good sportsfish having taken over from the Brown Trout due to the decline in the native Brownies. The Grayling is a very good fish to try fishing for as it takes the well presented dry fly with lots of power. The need for any special tackle does not arise, a good standard Trout rod is ideal for the job. choose a rod of eight to nine feet, rated at line five which will suit most situations. I prefer a double taper line as this helps in the delicate fly presentation that is needed. Heavily cast flies will soon spook any Grayling in the run, so you have to be delicate in your approach ,obviously a fine leader is the key, there is no need to go above the four pound breaking strain. Flies to use can be seen floating past you in the river, they will include cased or uncased caddis and sedge whilst some will be ariel insects so from your collection get a similar size and colour and cast away. To give some indications the flies to try should include such as the Tupps Iindispensible,Grey Duster,Olive Dun,Addams and the Klinkhammer which are all tried and tested flies. Keeping the fly floating can be difficult in fast runs but there are lots of preparations on the market today . One of the useful aids is a powder called Top Ride it is a desicant ,comes in a small plastic container and you simply place your saturated fly into the container, give the container a couple of shakes and the fly will float well. We have looked at the tackle and now for the possible lies where the Grayling are likely to be found, for this you need to amble along the stretch looking for the rises, study the best position for you to place yourself in order to get the best cast possible to cover the rising fish. In earlier papers I have mentioned the need for observation and this is when that stored up knowledge comes to your aid. Recollect the back cast is as important as the forward cast and it is only with experience that you will be able to produce wide loops and tight loops in other words to adjust your style to the surroundings. Playing and landing the Grayling should be gentle as they soon become distressed so the faster you can get them back into the river the more chance the Grayling has of recovering , place the fish facing upstream in a brisk flow and let it move off when recovery has occurred. During the colder spells in winter it is not unusual to have fish rising to flies especially through the warmer parts of the day and it is often a nice break from wet fly fishing.
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