Dry vs. Wet

[Heath Shafer]

Do you guys have better luck with dry or wet flies?

[Bassandgrass]

I usually do better with wet flies. Except just before sun down they seem to really take a dry.

[Bruce Condello]

Same here. I'm certainly no fly expert, but the wets are better for me during the day, and the drys at really low light.

[Heath Shafer]

That has been my experience for the most part but I just wanted to see if other guys were doing the same things.

[Charles Singleton]

I get more hits on dries, but more hook-ups on wets. Seeing as how I don't fish during the middle of the day but only sunrise to around 8:30am and (rarely) 6pm to sunset, I don't know what the fish here hit during the heat of the day.

[Alex G.]

I get a bulk of my gills on wet flies. My favorite though, are unweighted flies such as the panfish polecat by Ward Bean. They sink very slowly, and are deadly when bounced off of a log.

But I have to admit, there is something special about seeing a dry get attacked by a big gill!

[kelly phillips]

hello my new freind ,
I live in Kentucky and i have been fishing the lakes and small farm ponds around in my area , and right now... at least at this time of the year they both work well . But please note at some times of the year you just need to find some thing they like. Some times i might have to put a red worm on to give it more taste / or action. But those Gills have been hitting good in the ponds. I think they will go for any thing about now. " Oh Ya '' don't for get them waxworms , they do a great job as well.
Good luck !

[Terry Gauger]

I am a true popper man but it may be dry+wet. I was a commerical fisherman in South Florida for many years and I don't think I ever had as much fun with King fish, snapper and grouper as I have had over the last 25years with a 2# and a few bugs and a bed full of Bluegills. My experience is that the morning bite is good for top water and in the summer it comes to an end around10:00 or so. I then switch to a "V" Tailed weighted spider and watch for the gills to flash at it to find the beds then I fish that area. This spider will also work great as a search bait in areas that you aren't familar with. If the fish are beded in 4-6ft of water and you can't see the beds and they won't rise to a popper they will eat the underwater bug. There are many times when it is overcast and the beds are hard to see and you can find fish with the spider and then fish them with a popper. If you find beds that haven't been hit by cricket fisherman (boogieman) you can get the 1-2 punch going with a popper and the spider and have a good time just about anytime of the day.


unHOOKum Terry

[Jay Fogle]

My experience is that "wet" (I took your question as meaning "anything other than dry") flies outperform dries by a sizeable margin.

However, I vastly prefer dries (I am not a snob about it - it just seems to me a lot more fun) and sometimes stubbornly continue using a dry way past time I should have given up.

If I can't use a dry (they aren't interested) - I then go to a floating fly such as a sponge spider or popper THEN if I finally lose all my stubborness (they aren't interested much in those either) I will go to a "dropper" setup with two nymphs or with a "just under the surface" fly (a small streamer) and a nymph dropper.

I also have recently had a lot of success with a red San Juan worm tied with a beadhead bead in the middle of the hook shank.

I have a ten year old son who IS a dry fly snob and he will verbally abuse me (to the extent he's allowed) about using anything other than a dry (except on bass where it's "ok"). He says I "didn't know you were a bait fisherman" or "heck, you might as well be using bait!" That's they price I pay I guess for letting him read those Trout Bum books.

Jay

[Heath Shafer]

Your reponses have been amazing and now my next question is..... At the time that you switch to a wet fly, do you fish it on a sinking or floating line?

[Nick Holt]

Hey Heath, First of all, I use a black ant during the heat of the day and a "joe's hopper" on top in the morning and late in the afternoon or evening when the fish are actively feeding on the surface. I like to use a floating line for both patterns in 5 or 6 weight. The ant sinks very slowly and seductively and the gills tear them up. In the early and late times of the day, the hopper pattern is great. After it hits the water, I let it sit until all of the splash rings are gone before I twitch it. Most times, it doesn't move before it is hit. Nick.