Dry fly floatant is a combination of a wax and carrier in a liquid state. It is intended to keep your dry flies from absorbing water, to keep the fly floating. Floatant normally has a waxy substance that coats the dry fly and a lighter liquid that acts as a carrier for the waxy substance that evaporates.
The purpose of dry fly floatant is to keep your dry fly floating on the surface of the water. Dry flies are intended to simulate insects that sit on top of the surface tension of a body of water. If the fly is sinking, even a little bit, it will not look realistic. Fish have incredibly good eyesight and can spot a an unnatural fly right away. If the dry fly is not floating on top of the surface tension of the water, the fish will not bite. Get the fly floating properly, and you can catch fish all day long.
Fishing With Floating Flies
Gel Floatants, These are the most commonly used type of dry fly floatant. They have been around for decades. The best way to use gel floatants is as a pretreatment. You must apply the gel to a dry fly that is completely dry right out of your fly box. Any moisture and you will actually make the fly worse and cause it to sink faster. You also need to be sure and remove any excess gel before you start fishing. You want just enough gel to coat the fly. Anything extra will make it sink. You can false cast a few times (which I do anyways) to knock off any extra gel from the fly. You should go for one of the new CDC friendly gel floatants so it can be used on all flies. For those that do not know, CDC is a particular type of duck feather used in tying certain dry flies.
As you can see above, every type of floatant is used in a slightly different way. However, they all serve the same purpose. If you are using a dry fly intended to simulate a surface water insect, a floatant of some kind is needed. If the dry fly gets saturated and sinks, it is completely worthless. Your best bet is to pretreat your dry flies with one of these products. Then keep another product with you in the river to reapply as the day goes on. If you notice your fly is not staying on top of the water, stop what you are doing and reapply one of these floatants. This will ensure you keep bringing in fish all day.
A floatant is a product designed to be used on a completely dry fly to make it float. A desiccant is a crystalline product designed to actually dry the fly and then keep it afloat. Desiccants have crystals that absorb moisture and wick it away from the fly. That makes your powder shake floatants a great example of a dessicant. My suggestion is to use both products. They both have their place and are both needed to keep your dry fly floating properly throughout your fishing day.
Over the years I have found that proper use of floatant makes a huge difference when using dry flies. There are plenty of fly fishing accessories that you can take or leave, but floatant is a must. In addition, it is important that you use these products in the right way. If you apply the wrong product to a dry fly that is wet, you will just make it sink faster. Take the time to follow this guide and apply these products, and you can be sure that your fly looks like a perfect meal for the fish you target.
"This thing is built to take abuse, and even with the anchor and all the other stuff you take fishing, because you can take 3 people, it's still light enough to do some insane portages and put-ins/take outs..."
Our Javelin Taper is perfect for any angler seeking a more aggressive and easy casting line. The front loaded design of the Javelin allows the angler to shoot line with ease when longer casts are necessary or when windy conditions are a hindrance. The more aggressive nature makes it great for turning over cumbersome flies such as streamers, poppers, or heavy nymph and indicator rigs. Additionally, the increased mass in the initial belly portion of the head will more effectively load your rod with less line out making for more efficient casts at close range.
The Skyline series utilizes our zero-stretch GSP (gel spun polyethylene) core for a very unique and ultra-sensitive fly fishing experience. The no-stretch properties of the GSP give the angler superior control while casting and creates exceptional line speed for increased distance and quick repositioning of your presentation. Additionally, the zero-stretch provides the angler with unmatched sensitivity. You will be able to feel even the smallest of strikes as well as the tiny ticks of your fly as it bumps through bottom structure of the waters. Hook-sets can be quick and effortless, even small strip-sets from 60 plus feet are effective as no force is lost from the rod to the tip of your fly line.
All of our lines manufactured here at Monic are constructed at or just above the AFFTA standards. Many fly lines in today's market are vastly over-weighted, sometimes up to 3 sizes. At Monic, we understand that not every angler is using a fast action rod or wants an ultra-heavy fly line forced into their hands. That is why we want to leave the decision up to you. After all, nobody knows your rod and fishing style better than you do. If you are using a medium-fast to fast action rod, you may want to consider upsizing a line or two. We always suggest to our customers, if there is a specific line you have enjoyed in the past and how it loaded your rod, take a minute to look up the weight designation for the first 30 ft and match that weight to the size of the Monic line you are interested in. If you would like help matching a given Monic line to your rod, reach out to us at anytime. We will do our absolute best to get you fitted with the perfect line for your fishing scenario.
Where "Dry fly fishing knows no season!" We can make magic happen before your very eyes. How? We design DRY FLIES that you can fish from early spring until the ice is floating in the winter. From high mountain lakes to spring creeks or tail waters, we have a recipe and a strategy that might change your whole perspective of DRY FLY fishing forever! Our mission is "To provide the finest dry flies and superb dry fly fishing techniques to anglers at all levels of expertise.
Build lasting relationships with your best clients or reward your key employees with one of our custom built corporate fishing retreats. We will help you hand pick the perfect lodge, design a great fishing program and help coordinate all logistics from airport transfers to meeting
Because the Firehole is heavily influenced by thermally heated water, it behaves differently than your typical Rocky Mountain trout stream. It produces excellent fishing early and late in the season but becomes too warm during the hot summer months. Yellowstone Park opens to fishing on Memorial Day weekend and the Firehole will fish from the get go. It will sometimes be high and tea colored, but I have never seen the river too muddy to fish. Consistent dry fly fishing can happen right away, but after high snow years can take a week or 10 days to really get cranking. Afternoon fishing slows down in late June as water temps rise and shuts down completely sometime in early July. Water temps of over 80 degrees are possible and the river should not be fished over about 72 degrees. Fishing begins again with the first cold snap in September and continues to be strong through the closure of Yellowstone Park the first weekend in November.
Hatches and Dry FliesOne of biggest draws of the Firehole is the dry fly fishing. Because of the incredible diversity of insect life in the river from Biscuit Basin to Firehole Falls, actively rising fish are a common sight. The first hatches of the year will be midges and Blue Winged Olives. A simple Parachute Adams in the appropriate size covers this just fine. You can usually get away with 4x tippet but you should have 5x just in case. I like a 4wt rod due to the size of the fish but a 5wt works just fine. One thing I like to do when fishing any hatch is to fish an emerger pattern as a dropper behind my dry fly. I like to grease up the emerger so that it floats in the film, just barely under the surface of the water.
Swinging Soft HacklesOne sight you will rarely see on the Firehole is a strike indicator. During high water or lulls in hatches you will find most anglers on the river swinging wet flies or soft hackles in the traditional down and across method. This centuries old technique from the British Isles has fallen out of favor with many anglers but is a fun and effective way to fish. The swinging motion of the fly imitates an emerging insect that is swimming towards to surface in an effort to hatch. The trout will hit your fly on the run so you will feel the tug.
The main stem of the Bitterroot River begins in Conner, MT, where the EastFork and West Fork of the Bitterroot come together. The river flows north for84 miles, joining the ClarkFork River just below Missoula. The Bitterroot River varies in temperamentalong its length, with the upper stretch having a higher gradient than thelower section. For our purposes, we consider Bell Crossing to be sort of thedividing line between the upper and lower Bitterroot River. The higher gradientsections have more riffles and pools, more like a classic Montana fly fishingadventure, while the lower section can be long, flat glides with sizeable rifflesseparating them, providing a completely different Bitterroot River fly fishingexperience.
We offer both full and half day floats for Trout & Smallmouth Bass. Our home waters consist of some of the best smallmouth fishing in the East from the Susquehanna to the Schuylkill River. For Trout we float on the Lehigh River or Tulpehocken depending on water flows. With our full day floats we supply all the lunches, drinks, flies, leaders, tippet, and if needed, rods and reels. The full day floats are normally 8-10 hours long and will cover over 5 miles of river. The Half day floats are between 4-6 hours and included everything except for lunch. Floating the rivers of PA is a great way to relax and take in scenery that is often times overlooked. Looking for something different? Inquire about our overnight 2 day float or 3 day float! We have both private and public island access along the Juniata, Susquehanna, and the Schuylkill rivers. Becoming known as the "Huck Fin Edition" of smallmouth fishing, our overnight camping floats have become a staple for our trip offerings. While on one of these trips, we will supply all fishing tackle, food, shelter and furniture for a relaxing and stress free float trip. We offer both 2 and 3 day trips, both are a great way to get out, enjoy the outdoors and forget about everything else. 2ff7e9595c
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