wet flies

[jaybp30]

Any ideas on wet flies for me to tie? I keep reading reports of people doing well on wets but never any specifics on what type. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have some BWO wets and some Moby Dicks and Hornbergs but not sure what else is being used.

[The Fisherman]

I know I am pretty specific in my reports on what wets took fish.

A Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear and a Leadwing Coachman are a great place to start.

[Jon]

Spider patterns - partridge and yellow or orange - are good all-rounders. Greenwell's Glory. Invicta. Dunkeld. Mallard & Claret. I also bought some sulfur wets in Up-Country - very nice indeed.

Jon

[cluster]

you could try some of these http://libstudio.com/FS&S/html/flies_1.html

[leadwingcoachman]

cluster.... nice link.

I particularly like that "triple threat caddis" very buggy

[jaybp30]

Thanks for the help guys, great site. I have one quick questions, what size wets do you usually fish?

[peconic]

also how are you fishing these?

[jaybp30]

My plan is to swing them with no weight on top at first and let them get wet and sink a little. Or possibly fish them as a dropper as someone has suggested. Any other suggestions?

[The Fisherman]

RE: What size?
Depends on what I'm trying to match. If it's an Isonychia or Hendrickson, it might be a 10 or 12. If it's a smaller BWO, it might an 18. If it's an attractor or I want a bigger fish, it's a 6 or an 8. Etc.

RE: other suggestions
I like to fish wets the traditional way, which is with a brace of more than one fly. I like three flies, starting with the smallest on top to the largest on the bottom. I use 3x to build the dropper system, and use 4" long or so tags to drop the top two flies off the leader (that is, no flies are tied to the bend of a hook). The flies are spaced about 18-20" apart. The leader is about 7-9' long.

[murphq]

I usually fish 2 - 3 flies tied from hook to hook, cause I'm lazy. For size I just go off the size of the bugs that I see hatching. The fisherman's approach is probably a better way but he must be a good caster cause I always tangle using that approach. :)

I do catch a lot on size 18-20 mostly on the swing. However I have caught fish on wets as soon as the fly hits the water, much like a dry.

In my opinion - and if I remember correctly Bergman's best wet fly is the tiny black gnat. It's just small, black, and fishy.

[The Fisherman]

I like to boast that I'm the world's worst caster, but one just needs to slow down the casting stroke when casting a brace of flies.

EVERYONE who fishes a brace of flies gets them tangled up once in a while. It's the price of admission for so many hooks in the water at once, and it's a fee I'm happy to pay. :-)

[leadwingcoachman]

Has anyone tried tying and fishing an Alexandra? I'm sure most of you have read the history of the infamous banned wet fly so of course I am curious if any of you wet fly aficionados have fished with one. Is it as deadly as they say? If you don't want the secret to spread feel free to PM me on the low down. I may have said to much already...

[jaybp30]

Last wet fly question. How do you make those cool wings. I guess they are usually mallard. Is it flank?

[The Fisherman]

I have not fished the Alex. I am by nature suspicious of "magic bullet" flies. Of course, this means I need to tie some up and fish them now. ;-)

RE: those cool wings.
You mean like this?

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/507/medium/CamWet1.JPG

In this case it's goose quill, but I also use duck and turkey and pheasant and partridge and guinea hen and...etc.

This is a "married wing," that is it is a section of one color "married" by the natural velcro of the quill to another. Learning to make them isn't extraordinarily difficult once you get the hang of it; it's getting the hang of it that's difficult. ;-)

To keep it basic, you need to cut two matching sections from matching quills (most are sold as matched pairs), pinch them tight between your thumb and middle finger, place them on top of the fly, hold them firmly in place, then make a few tight wraps of thread. Remove your fingers to see if everything is lined up; if not, rejigger and reposition or start over until you succeed. Resist the temptation to curse if children are present. Try not to perspire so much while attempting to tie quill wings. Once you get it, make your securing tight wraps of thread FORWARD toward the eye only. Whip finish and cement.

Please understand that this is in no way meant to be a comprehensive "how-to." You can do an internet search and find a blow-by-blow tutorial.

[Jon]

Has anyone tried tying and fishing an Alexandra? I'm sure most of you have read the history of the infamous banned wet fly so of course I am curious if any of you wet fly aficionados have fished with one. Is it as deadly as they say? If you don't want the secret to spread feel free to PM me on the low down. I may have said to much already...

Yes, but I strive to be whatever is the opposite of an aficionado, as I'm not sure they make particularly good anglers!! The Alexandra (please: this it's full, beautiful name!) is a butcher-stlye fly that has accounted for a lot of wild brown trout for me. Haven't fished one over here, where I think wet fly fishing is quite a different game because it's practiced mostly on rivers, and not lochs, where many of the winged flies originated. Whenever I've fished wets here on a stream I prefer the none-winged type (like the wonderful flies in the link above) to avoid skating the cast. The Alexandra might provide a nice happy medium, the wing being of softer peacock rather than stiffer feather http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdPCvwhlRFw

Good fly for sea-trout too.

Jon

[Jon]

also how are you fishing these?

This would require a short book! But in very truncated terms, fish wets across and down, sometimes mending the line as required by the flow, so the flies swing at a steady/attractive pace through fishy looking water. I fish a 2 or 3 fly cast, with the bigger fly on top as the attractor (nearest the fly line), smaller ones further down the cast. Fish sometimes come for the attractor, but turn and take one of the others. Wet fly fishing is a mobile game; it enables you to cover lots of water very efficiently; cast, step, cast, step. Great for fishing riffles and pocket water. When fishing slower stretches I always degrease my tippet to ensure the flies don't skate, particularly if fishing winged wets. And now I can safely say I have no interest whatsoever in staying at work - cheers!

Some Scottish wet flies - Alexandra's are top left.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c85/Kirkaig/IMG_1817.jpg

[Rich Strolis]

Jon,
down and across is merely one way of fishing wets, and seems to be the only way "us" americans traditionally use to fish these great flies. If you fish wets only down and across the angler is drastically limiting the effectiveness of these time tested patterns. I highly suggest to anyone who is even remotely interested in learning the ins and outs of wet flies to check out one of the "greats" Davy Wotton's wet fly ways video. It details the various tactics that one can employ to fish wet flies, and it actually depicts how the angler is actually working the flies creating the illusion of being alive, and not just swinging them down and across. That video really opened up my eyes when I first watched it a few years ago, and I find myself going back to it from time to time. With the flow levels where they are right now on our rivers, wet flies are a very underutilized tactic that can really shine under the current conditions. I highly recommended checking out that video. Jon, nice selection of flies!

[Jon]

Thanks Rich. The clue was in what I called "truncated terms"; I wouldn't dream of trying to capture over 25 years of fishing wets in a quick post, but ta very much for your worldly advice.

Jon