This is all really good advice... When you find a steady riser on the bow excitement kicks in and it can cause a guy to make silly mistakes that make that riser disappear.
A couple things to take note of when you find one:
- I agree with the size comment, although with midges in the spring a guy can get away with using a 16 midge cluster fly instead of a 22 single midge. Your landing % goes way up on a slightly bigger dry
- for the most part, presentation is king! Tread softly and slowly as you approach to within 20-40ft-ish downstream of the fish.. It's a balance between getting close enough to present the fly softly and accurately, but not getting so close as to spook the fish. Each situation is different.
- 99% of the time, a fish will not rise to a fly that has drag on the drift.. (this excludes skating stones and caddis).. That fly needs to be drag free
- If you make an inaccurate cast, let it drift well past where you think the fish is before you pick up and cast again. And pick up softly.. that "blurp" noise when you pick up quick with some drag will spook a fish
- when a fish eats, pick up slowly. This is a rule for bigger fish, and the speed of the pick up depends on the size of fish and the type of water you're in, but generally a lightening fast cutty hookset won't work on the bow. That big ole brown just needs time to turn down and close his mouth on the fly you just presented perfectly!
Overall, practice landing the fly softly, presenting a drag free drift, practice your accuracy, basically just keep at er and practice as others have noted.
Also, casting lessons make a world of difference. Its something people don't do enough, but when your casting stroke is second nature and you have a few different types of casts in your arsenal, you'll find catch %'s go way up. Call up Fishtales and ask for a casting lesson from Dave or Terry. They're the best casters in the shop and more importantly the best instructors of casting. And they'll know the answer to any dry fly related questions you have. Good Luck!
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