​Dress Your Dries

Drifting a dry fly is about creating a natural presentation. We focus a great deal on our pattern, drift and hitting the feeding lane. All for very good reason. Often overlooked though is prepping your fly.

If you carry a filled fly box, your flies are going to get pressed down. As soon as I tie on my pattern, I tease it back into shape. I’ll use a nail knot tool or toothpick to tease up the hackle, separate the wings, and tail.

I first dab liquid floatant to my fingers. I’ll then apply it to the fly. A few good false casts will dry it up nicely. Applying straight to the fly tends to be way too much. Also, no need to use floatant on a CDC fly.

As with all things, make sure you use good quality gear. We love High N Dry floatants. They really are best in the industry. Of course, make sure you’re buying top quality RiverBum flies. You don’t want to lose a fish of a lifetime on a cheap bug due to a bent hook.