When Dry Flies Work (2 of 14)

Dry fly fishing for trout is what many people imagine when they think of fly fishing. There's nothing that gets your heart racing like the sight of a big trout feeding on the surface. But, conditions have to be right for dry fly fishing.

In order to fish dry flies effectively, you have to have fish that are either feeding on the surface or, at least, looking up at the surface for food. The best time to fish dry fly is during hatch, when the fish are really concentrating on the surface, when there are emerging insects or insects falling into the water. But you can fish dry flies almost any time. As long as the water temperature is above 50 degrees and the water is relatively clear and not super fast, you can catch fish on dry flies almost any time.

Here's some of the times dry flies are most effective: when aquatic insects are hatching or changing from larvae into winged adults, when aquatic insects are returning to the water to lay their eggs, when terrestrial insects like ants, beetles or grasshoppers fall into the water, especially on windy days, when the water is low and clear, especially later in the season when fish are in shallower water and notice food floating on the surface.