Dry Flies

[Steve Smith]

Flysmallie; there's some guys at Roaring River that use a variation on the Gnat dry called a Crystal Gnat that does well. They tie it with a tuft of Crystal flash for a tail. It is really effedctive at times.

[flydude]

Is there a good standard size and color of Elk hair caddis for most streams in Southern Mo.?

[Gavin]

It depends...fishing a dry fly on a tailwater is usually a midge or terrestrial, or just a plain attractor game.

The Current, Meramec, Bennett, and some of the small wild trout creeks in Missouri have fishable hatches but the hatches dont seem to be as intense as those you encounter further north, out west, etc. As a rule, terrestrials will work everywhere, July-November. Cheers.

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

I like the Griffith's Gnat and the Renegade. You can't beat them. I also have a supply of Elk Hair Caddis, Adams, and Cracklebacks at hand as well. Oh, and don't forget the Mosquito!

John

[John Berry]

Down here on the White and Norfork we also have a pretty good Sulphur hatch in May and June. I use a Sulphur Parachute.

[RiverRunner]

This question may have an obvioius answer to those who fish a lot of dries, but what is the ideal leader/tippet setup for fishing dries?

[SilverMallard]

I use a 9' trout taper SA Mastery leader in 5x (almost always) and 5x-7x tippet (about 18"). Do NOT use fluorocarbon! And I use a 4wt rod almost always for midges and dries. These are in the light olive tint. Then I grease the whole leader, tippet, and fly with Redington dry fly floatant.

FYI, if you are using such a small dry that you cannot see it, there are 2 things you can try:

1. Learn to watch the last visible part of your leader and project outward to estimate where the fly is. ANY surfacing trout within that area, set the hook ever so lightly. It actually doesn't take many rises to get pretty effective at this.

2. If that doesn't work for you, you CAN actually take 1/2 of a Palsa Foam indicator and fold it onto the leader 2-3' above the fly. Now, this might cost you a few takes, but it might help you set the hook on the ones you still get. It also helps your leader to float a bit better. But it gives you a point of reference close to the fly that is easy to focus on. I only use the white ones...for any type of fishing. And occassionally, in bad light situations, I still do pinch one of these bad boys on to help me keep track of the fly. You CAN catch fish this way. It's a good set of training wheels for beginners, actually. NOTE: you may get trout striking the indicator occassionally. SET THE HOOK SLOWLY if that happens. Interestingly, I have hooked quite a few fish this way and NEVER foul-hooked one...always in the top lip. LOL

[Terry Beeson]

I don't fish them as often as I would probably like to, but seems I'm better at "matching the hatch" when it comes to flies under the surface. I've fished the Spring River (AR) with a dry and really enjoy that surface take. Something about watching that trout sip the fly off the surface that makes a chill go down the spine...

This might be a good topic for a session at Sowbug and/or Conclave about fishing dries in the White River basin...

[Gavin]

Missouri Hatch Chart

Meramec River

Hendricksons-Mid March (sporadic)

Sulphurs-May/June

White Fly- August/September

Current River

Little Tan Caddis- Jan/Feb/Mar

Big Brown Caddis-April/May

Light Cahills-Early May

Trico’s-September/October

Terrestrials- September/October

BW0-Sept/November

Heres a few that I've run into on occasion

[jdmidwest]

Thats a good idea Terry, some of the responses have shown a stigma regarding dry flies in the White River area. I was not starting this post to pick on any one area of the state or a fishery. Most of my trout fishing occurs in the Upper Current, Montauk, Bennett Springs, Eleven Point, and of course Spring River. The latter 2 are slim pickens for dry fly action, but trout will feed during a hatch there. Hoppers, beetles, and ants produce well during the summer months any where in Mo. or Ark.