Dry Fly Gel

[jdixon]

I have only used the floatant gels (loon aquel) and they seem to work ok, but I was wondering about the "stuff" you put on right after you tie the fly. how well do they work, are they more of a hard (stiff) finish, and what is the best kind. I am fairly new to tying my own flies and it seems that if I could put somthing on after I tie and not have to mess with it on the water that would be a bonus.

[Ill Trout Bum]

I started using Loon Dust last year. It is applied to the finished product as you mentioned. It is considerably neater than the liquid floatants and as far as I can tell works just as well.

[Gavin]

You can apply a product called "Watershed" to your flies before you go fishing. Spraying them with Scotchguard works too...but the new stuff isnt as good as the old stuff...Otherwise...a bit of parafin disolved in white gas makes a great floatant...bit flammable though. Albolene from the cosmetic section is the same stuff as Gink which works OK too. Cheers.

[jdixon]

I have read some good reviews about watershed, has anybody used it and how well does it work after fish,etc.

[jdmidwest]

I have used Watershed and it works. I also dope them up with Orvis Hyflote, once stated to be able to float a lug nut.

Most dry flies I tye and fish now either use CDC or Foam to float them. I still tye some dry hackle flies and I try to use the best hackle. When they get slimed, I retire them and tie on another.

[Steve Smith]

I mostly use the Loon Aquel since it stays a liquid in cold weather – Thanks to Tim. On CDC I use the dust as recommended. Albolene is great stuff in the summer, but turns to mud in the winter. For that matter so does Gink. Never tried Scotchguard or Watershed as there are times I want the fly to submerge. Several good ideas here

[Jeremy Hunt]

I treat all my dries with watershed as I finished them in the vise. But none of it matters once you get the slime coat from the fish. I find myself retying another fly on once this happens. I wish there was something out there for that. Most smaller flies that are hackled to death don’t have the same problem, but anything tied sparsely like the big ugly or crackleback have issues staying dry after you catch a few fish on them, unless you false cast enough, but sometimes that can get tiredsome because you have to cast aggressively to whip the water off. I would rather tie a fresh one on and not spook the fish casting as much.

I think the key is to make sure you have enough of that one pattern that works well. If you only have two in the box, you’re asking for it.

[Jeremy Hunt]

I have used Watershed and it works. I also dope them up with Orvis Hyflote, once stated to be able to float a lug nut.

Most dry flies I tye and fish now either use CDC or Foam to float them. I still tye some dry hackle flies and I try to use the best hackle. When they get slimed, I retire them and tie on another.

I would have to agree 100% on this one!

[fishinwrench]

If floatant really worked you could wash the slime off and blow the fly dry....But it doesn't.

I have better luck just blowing a non-treated fly off (don't even go there) than I do using any type of treatment. I've even thought about carrying a can of compressed air.

Plus I hate what floatant does to peacock herl and dubbed bodys.