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[Zach Bearden]

So, I was just wondering what everyone favorite way of fly fishing is!

Do you like dry flies? Well, whats your favorite time of year to fish them. Why do you like to fish them?

How bout them nymphs? I've heard 80% of a trouts feeding is done below the surface. Whats your favorite fly? Do you like the good ol' hopper dropper? Indicator and split shot? Maybe your the adventurous type and like to fish without an indicator.

Tell us all about it!

[laker67]

So, I was just wondering what everyone favorite way of fly fishing is!

Do you like dry flies? Well, whats your favorite time of year to fish them. Why do you like to fish them?

How bout them nymphs? I've heard 80% of a trouts feeding is done below the surface. Whats your favorite fly? Do you like the good ol' hopper dropper? Indicator and split shot? Maybe your the adventurous type and like to fish without an indicator.

Tell us all about it!

Zach,

In the daytime I am a sight fisherman. All I use is sowbugs and egg patterns. Long leader{15 foot}, no indicator, and 7x and 6x tippet. It doesn't matter what color sowbug, as long as it is grey or tan. Egg patterns, I like orange and red.

At night I use a lighted indicator to fish the same sowbug and egg patterns. Occasionally I throw some bigger flies at night, no indicator. I use 5x and 4x on the bigger flies and a 9 foot leader. I don't know the names of the bigger flies, but they are graciously tied for me by my good friends Michael Kyle and Duane Doty. I call them "super fish getters". Leonard Keeney also supplies me with some of his latest creations that work well for me also. These guys know that all I can tie is the sowbugs, so they keep me supplied with "real" flies. Much thanks to them.

I don't fish dropper flies. I tie everything unweighted and use split shot to get them on the bottom.

That pretty much sums up my style and methods. I am curious to see other responses to this interesting topic. Thanks for posting it.

[Zach Bearden]

Yeah, them guys are pretty darned good at makin' a streamer now aren't they?

So no Hopper Dropper for you?

[troutchaser]

I only fish dry flies when I a)see a hatch coming off, or b)August/September with terrestrial dries like ants, crickets and hoppers.

If I don't see any hatch action, I go with swinging emergers and no indicator. I like soft hackles and CDC emergers a lot. I'd say that 80% of my fishing is this style.

I do fish streamers, but I tend to save this for deep holes with the generators running (at Taneycomo).

In the heat of summer, I get a real kick out of fishing foam spiders on farm ponds. Catching bluegill like this is a blast!

[laker67]

Yeah, them guys are pretty darned good at makin' a streamer now aren't they?

So no Hopper Dropper for you?

I forgot to include Mark Grey in my list of fly suppliers, and yes, they are the "best of the best".

I never fish dropper flies for one reason only. If you hook up with a big fish, then that other fly might get hung up and cause you to lose the fish. Also, if it gets hung and breaks you off, and remains hung up, it could very well cost the fish his life. A slow death for a fish, I'm sure.

[Zach Bearden]

This is true. That is why F.I.P.S. Mouche makes competitors seperate their flies by 50cm. (20inches) That way you have a much smaller chance on fouling a fish if they get off the fly they originally hit.

[jjtroutbum]

1. Casting to a particular rising fish.

I always enjoy the seconds before a hopefully well timed rise while midge fishing for instance.

2. swinging a wet fly or soft hackle possibly a streamer. Maybe a whole team or set of them.

I really like to get upstream and use mending to present that fly parallel a fish. Really seems to bring out the predator in them.

3. hopper and dropper

Once again this is really about the possibility of the unexpected. Where will the take happen? The surface ,nymph, midge. Or possibly maybe more than one at a time.

[Flysmallie]

For trout a streamer.

For smallmouth it has to be a popper. There are better ways to catch them but it is the most fun. Nothing like a smallie exploding on a popper.

[duckydoty]

I really like the big streamers at night

daytime I like the soft hackles in shallow water. I also like to sight fish without the indicator using sowbugs. I also like Czech nymphing in faster water. I also like dry flies.

Heck I think I just like fishing!

[Greg]

Nice topic Zach. For me what makes fly fishing so enjoyable is being able to switch among the different methods of fishing (dry, nymph, etc).

If I had to pick one as my favorite it would probably be light line nymphing under a very small indicator. I love how our MO fish insist on an absolute dead drift most of the time. And when you get the drift just right the anticipation of watching the indicator go under or twitch and then setting the hook. My typical setup is a very small indicator (either football style or the smallest thingamabobber) a few feet from the end of the tapered leader. In normal flows I use very small zebra midges or a lightly weighted scud or really any small bead head nymph. Sometimes just one fly but sometimes I use a dropper. I've caught many fish this way including a fairly large # of 20" + fish on these small flies.

When the water is high I use a bigger indicator, bigger flies, and split shot. Fun but not nearly as enjoyable as "light line nymphing".

But running a close 2nd and 3rd are fishing dries and slinging streamers. I do both of these as well. Michael Kyle introduced me to the joys of slinging streamers several years ago as well as showing me how to tie his mohair leeches. I've used and like soft hackles too.

It's all good!!

Greg