1.  Choice of equipment Rods, reels, fly lines, fly floatants, clothes, glasses, and other useful items.

I like fishing dry flies with a bamboo fly rod especially on smaller streams. My go to bamboo rods are an 8-foot, 4-weight made by Jim Hidy and an 8-foot, 5-weight made by Homer Jennings. I also fish graphite rods on some of my local tailwaters. In graphite I like slower action, lower modulus 9-foot rods for a 4- or 5- weight fly line. The gold standard for this type of fly rod is the original Sage GFL Graphite III Light Line which is discontinued.

Right now, I’m using mostly rachet-and-pawl reels just because I have them and think they dress up a bamboo rod, but I also occasionally use a disc drag reel and understand the advantages of a smoother more precise drag particularly when playing trout hooked on dry flies’ size 18 and smaller.

I’m iconoclastic when it comes to fly lines for dry flies. I’ve used Cortland 444 double tapers for years. I like them because they’re more flexible making them easier for me to mend. For floatant I use a light application of Aquel gel and then dust it with a desiccant powder.

I’d be lost without polaroid sunglasses. I use amber color lenses with a 2.5 power bifocal. The amber color enhances the contrast which makes it easier for me to pick out the trout in clear water.

2. Leader material, build-up, length and knots.

I tie my own leaders following an A.K. Best formula. It’s close to a traditional 60-30-10 design. The formula uses Maxima Chameleon for the butt section. It’s a hard nylon that turns the leader over nicely. I use a 10 – 11-foot version of the leader for spring creeks and tailwaters. For small stream I use a shorter version (7 ½ - 8-feet) of the same leader design.

3. Approach and stealth.

My main focus when I approach the water is to not spook the trout. Typically, I just move slowly and crouch down. Stealth is important. It’s also important to figure out your best casting position before you even begin the approach. I look for a casting position that will get me as close to the trout as I can without spooking it and provide a favorable drag-free drift. I fish small flies often and have noticed if I can get close enough to see my fly on the water’s surface, I have a much better chance of a positive hookup. If I can’t get close and must rely on “instinct” to set the hook I miss more strikes.

4. Reading the water.

You must read the water to find the trout. I live in the western USA where I often fish small flies to trout in tailwaters and spring creeks. These water types tend to be clear, so spotting trout is easy. That takes some of the pressure off when it comes to reading water because you can see the fish! Nonetheless, it doesn’t hurt to pay attention to the water types where you spot the trout. You’ll begin to see patterns as to where the trout hold in those water types. You can apply that when looking for trout in new water that may not allow you to see them.

5. Casting ability which casts are essential.

Casting skill is very important, but keep in mind that the cast is the vehicle you use to set up a drag-free drift when fishing dry flies to rising trout. My go to casts are the reach cast (aerial mend) and the parachute cast. Sometimes I use these casts in combination. When fishing to rising trout on the opposite bank a downstream-and-across reach cast is deadly. The parachute cast collapses the tippet providing plenty of slack for a drag-free drift, but isn’t an option if there is much more than a light breeze because a correctly executed parachute cast takes all the energy out of the leader. That doesn’t give the caster much control over where the wind blows it.

6. Entomology, what should we know.

Like most fly fishers of my generation, I was enamored of match the hatch theory and practice. I never went as far as learning scientific names for hatching insects, but recognized them by the common names used by anglers. I did try my hand at identifying a few by genus and species in the lab, but tired of that quickly. The most important thing matching the hatch did for me was it made me pay attention to the life stages of aquatic insects and what they mean to the trout. The Pale Morning Dun (PMD) hatch is an interesting example. I noticed from observation that the duns remained on the water’s surface struggling to dry out their wings and get into the air longer than any of the other mayfly hatches I fished. I found out later that PMD’s often emerge from their nymphal shucks just below the water’s surface. If you look closely at them on the surface, they look bedraggled and spend more getting airborne than other mayfly species. The longer time on the water’s surface makes them easy pickings for the trout.

As time has gone by, I rely more on the on the old standard: Match the size, silhouette, and color of the natural. That’s all you really need, but I don’t regret studying the entomology. The late John Betts once said to me that fly design goes in cycles. It’s match-the-hatch for 20 years then it goes to more attractor-style dry fly patterns for 20 years. I think fly fishers are leaning more toward fishing attractor patterns now.

7. Rise forms Can they tell us something?

I rely on riseforms a lot as a dry fly fisherman. They tell me if the trout is taking a natural from the water’s surface, just below the surface (I call this the underside of the water’s surface, i.e. like a midge pupa hanging in the surface film) or even a few inches below the surface. I still watch for a little bubble in the center of a rise because when I first started fly fishing, I was told this indicates for sure that the trout has taken a natural from the water’s surface (the logic is that the trout inadvertently took in some air when he took the natural from the water’s surface and that air passed through its gill plates and emerged as an air bubble on the water’s surface). I’m older now and not convinced about the logic so much, but do conclude that it often indicates the trout has taken a fly from the water’s surface.

The dimpling riseforms of trout feeding on midge pupae hanging in the surface film is always mysterious and lovely. I could go on but my point is if you study the riseforms you will catch more trout, but just as important is they’re beautiful. I tell people if the day ever comes where I can’t physically fly fish anymore, I’ll go to the river just to watch the trout rise.

8. Fly selection, Size, shape, materials, which flies are essential.

I’ve changed how I select a fly pattern to catch a rising trout. I still try to match the size, silhouette, and color in that order, but I’ve also learned that for small naturals a sparse tie works best. Some of my ties now don’t match the color of the natural at all and consist of thread bodies in neutral colors such as gray, black, or olive. I like to tie a sparse half hackle (i.e., cut the bottom half of the hackle off so that the abdomen of the fly makes an impression on the water’s surface) for fishing slower moving water. I might go to a traditional hackle for faster water or to fish on windy days.

Don’t forget some general-purpose attractor flies, too. I know some fly fishers who are as effective fishing attractors that don’t match anything as anglers who match-the-hatch.

In regards to essential flies for where I fish, I could say an Elk Hair Caddisfly or Adams Parachute, but more and more I think getting a drag-free drift with any fly is almost as important as an “essential fly.” The essential fly is the one that catches the trout you’re casting to!

9. Presentation and drifts.

I’ve already talked a lot about presentation in regards to getting a drag-free drift. The drag-free drift is crucial and your casting position is crucial to getting a drag-free drift. I keep yammering on about drag-free drifts because just recently I found myself not paying enough attention to my drifts and putting down more trout than necessary because my dry fly was dragging almost unperceptively across the surface!

Remember, too, that there are situations when you do want to skitter your fly over the surface. I don’t classify this drag, but more like imitating the natural’s behavior. My policy is to try a drag-free drift first and if that’s not working activate(skitter) the fly!

10. Upstream or downstream?

Fly fishers are learning more and more about how powerful a downstream presentation can be because your dry fly is the first thing the trout sees! However, that’s if you do everything right. Remember, the trout faces upstream, nose into the current. You need to make sure it doesn’t see you first instead of the dry fly. You must make a stealthy approach to your upstream casting position. Try crouching a little when making your way to your casting position in hopes of not looking too predatory and wade slowly.

Also, make a point to use some sort of slackline cast. If you don’t your fly will be dragging the moment it lands on the water.

Remember, too, that a fly drifted downstream to a rising trout puts you at a hooking disadvantage when the trout takes it. You need to hesitate just a bit before you set the hook to make sure the trout has the fly in its mouth! The best advice I can give here is try to wait until the fish has gone down with the fly before you set. When you get the solid hook-up know that the trout will most likely rocket down stream and be prepared to give it slack.

The upstream presentation was the first presentation most of us learned to use when trout are rising. The advantage is that it eliminates many of the causes of drag, but you must diligently retrieve the fly line as it floats downstream toward you and not let it collect at your feet where the current may cause drag.

You should also consider not casting straight upstream at the rising trout, but rather take a casting position a little to the left or right of the straight upstream casting position. When you make your cast from one of these positions just your fly and a bit of tippet will pass over the trout. If you’re casting straight downstream to the rising trout and cast too far you’ll line it and probably put it down.

I use both upstream presentations and downstream presentations depending on conditions in addition to across-and-upstream and downstream-and-across presentation.

11. Fighting fish.

I fish small flies tied to light tippets a lot when I fishing tailwaters and spring creeks because the trout are usually taking smaller naturals. The light tippets make landing trout a challenge. One thing you can do is use nylon tippet material and make your tippet longer. The nylon tippet will stretch a bit when you hook a larger trout which will help save you from break-offs.

The key to landing larger trout on light tippets is to tire the trout as quickly as possible. So, after the initial run(s) when you’ve gotten the trout closer to you start turning the trout’s head. You do this by first turning your fly rod over parallel to the water upstream and then downstream. This will turn the trout and it will start to shake its head. Head shaking tires a trout faster than anything.

Eventually, the trout’s resistance will lessen. You’ll know because any runs will be shorter and it may float up closer to the surface as it tires. When you are ready to net the fish assume it will make a run and be ready. I try to lead the trout head first into the net when it’s ready (i.e., tired enough to put up little resistance.) Avoid stabbing the net at a fish that’s still too active to be netted. You could knock it off the hook especially if you’re using a barbless hook or break the light tippet if you’re using a barbed hook.

If you plan to release the trout, don’t hold it out of the water, revive it, and release it back into the river as quickly as possible.

"Temper your fly fishing with artistry.....put as little as you can between the trout and you..."

   From Fishing Small Flies by Ed Engle