nimblybimbly85
Well-known member
Anyone dry fly fish on lakes? I've never done it and I never really read anything or se videos online of it.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Drys
- Thread starter nimblybimbly85
- Start date
zjory
Well-known member
Throwing dries to rising greenbacks on alpine lakes is what I dream about. I had the opportunity to spend some time in the backcountry last summer fishing some out of the way lakes and those days are high on the list of my best days ever.
Assuming your fishing for trout, they are actively looking for terrestrials in high lakes in late summer/early fall and an elk hair caddis will pull trout from just about any stillwater in summer.
Assuming your fishing for trout, they are actively looking for terrestrials in high lakes in late summer/early fall and an elk hair caddis will pull trout from just about any stillwater in summer.
rangerrich99
Well-known member
At this point fishing dries is about the only way I fish stillwater anymore. There are a couple lakes I visit that usually require some kind of dropper at some point during the day, but my go-to flies are hoppers, PMXs, Turk's Tarantulas, cicadas, stims, and EHCs. One lake I like in UT gets these ludicrous giant BWO looking bugs hatches (these things are about 2.5 inches long with 2 inch wingspans), so I toss these #8 or #10 green drakes or my homemade giant para BWOs.
The trick for me is to locate some kind of underwater structure/cover that draws fish into relatively shallow water to feed. Steep banks with drowned trees along them is an ideal 'hole' to fish. If that bank stays shady in the morning or gets shady early in the afternoon, even better.
The trick for me is to locate some kind of underwater structure/cover that draws fish into relatively shallow water to feed. Steep banks with drowned trees along them is an ideal 'hole' to fish. If that bank stays shady in the morning or gets shady early in the afternoon, even better.
Last edited:
planettrout
Well-known member
Since you live in CA, I will suggest that this site be visited for some suggestions on dry fly patterns that work well on Eastern Sierra lakes as well as other Sierra Lakes. Roam around on the maps section. This is for the Twin Lakes Area:
Twin Lakes-Eastern Sierras
These guys hatch with great regularity during the Summer on Eastern Sierra lakes:
California School of Fly Fishing, Nevada City and Truckee, CA
I would suggest this book for further study into the various types of insects one might encounter on the surface of high elevation lakes:
https://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Mountain-Lakes-Gary-LaFontaine/dp/1585747742
..and FYI, Blue Winged Olives only hatch on moving water, not in stillwaters see HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Western-Mayfly-Hatches-Rick-Hafele/dp/1571883045
PT/TB
Twin Lakes-Eastern Sierras
These guys hatch with great regularity during the Summer on Eastern Sierra lakes:
California School of Fly Fishing, Nevada City and Truckee, CA
I would suggest this book for further study into the various types of insects one might encounter on the surface of high elevation lakes:
https://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Mountain-Lakes-Gary-LaFontaine/dp/1585747742
..and FYI, Blue Winged Olives only hatch on moving water, not in stillwaters see HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Western-Mayfly-Hatches-Rick-Hafele/dp/1571883045
PT/TB
rangerrich99
Well-known member
Shh . . . don't tell the fish, apparently they don't know that! Or the bugs for that matter.
All (okay, some) kidding aside, while I'm aware that the giant bugs I and my buddy and our guide saw that day weren't likely BWOs (just very large mayfly-looking things), in point of fact, I know of at least three lakes here in AZ that do in fact have regular BWO hatches. Apparently BWOs can't read (oh, and your link just goes to Amazon, no actual info about bugs there). These hatches occur right in the creek mouths feeding those lakes out to about 50 yards or so. But please don't take my word for it, just ask one of the local Forest Service biologists or any of the guides that have fished Chevy, Pacheta or Hurricane lakes.
Maybe that statement should have a qualifier in front of it, like "for the most part," or, "in general, " or even, "90% of the time," or whatever. You know, for accuracy's sake.
Peace.
planettrout
Well-known member
Like I said, "BWO's only hatch on moving waters".
The link to Amazon connected to to this book by two somewhat qualified bug guys who don't put a qualifier in front of their statement below::
...and this is from the chapter on the Baetis Complex which includes BWO's ( Chapter 6, pg. 37):
Or how about this:
" The BWO’s are tiny mayflies that are rarely absent from the stream and can’t be found in lakes."
http://northparkanglers.com/blue-winged-olives/
Creeks are moving waters...for accuracy's sake. If there is some credible and linkable source to these BWO hatches on the AZ lakes of which you speak, please provide it - ain't my job to go hunt down your unpublished biologists or guides...
PT/TB
Last edited:
slowdown
Well-known member
Calli
Callibaetis would be the most popular Dry on most of the lakes we have, and the lInk I sent you is specifically for california and nevada lakes. I do fish the nymphs a lot, but it is a pleasure when those heads start popping up taking the dries and emergers.
Also, ants. I fish a lot of them in close to the shore.
My favorite thing though - keeps me up - (just like ZJORY) - are the high alpine lakes. Up there, I fish big ugly Stimi's and ELk Hairs and all kinds of things, and those Cutthroat just cruise on over, tip up and eat as innocently as a newborn.
Just a good day.
Callibaetis would be the most popular Dry on most of the lakes we have, and the lInk I sent you is specifically for california and nevada lakes. I do fish the nymphs a lot, but it is a pleasure when those heads start popping up taking the dries and emergers.
Also, ants. I fish a lot of them in close to the shore.
My favorite thing though - keeps me up - (just like ZJORY) - are the high alpine lakes. Up there, I fish big ugly Stimi's and ELk Hairs and all kinds of things, and those Cutthroat just cruise on over, tip up and eat as innocently as a newborn.
Just a good day.
jaydub
Well-known member
Callibaetis, midges, various caddis, adult damsels, ants and beetles are all represented in my stillwater dry fly box.
vamtnbiker
Well-known member
For the Eastern Sierras my favorite dry fly for lakes is a poly-wing spinner, usually with an olive body. It just seems to attract trout, whether a hatch is afoot or not. Try it at Virginia Lakes, Trumbull, Walker Lake, and any of the hike-to lakes.
dillon
Well-known member
Had a fun time on my trout pond today fishing an extended body adult damsel pattern. A floating nymph worked pretty well too.
rangerrich99
Well-known member
Ah, I see your issue here; it's diction. 'Hatch,' as a technical term vs. 'emergence,' I suppose. And other things, but I haven't the interest in getting into that sort of thing at the moment. And of course, I never took a DNA test of the bugs that approximated 'BWOs' on the waters I fished (didn't have a Q-Tip small enough; my bad). I fish flies, not actual bugs. Though I'm pretty sure I can discern a BWO when I see one up close. But at the end of the day, BWO flies can be found on and used to entice trout on stillwaters all over the West. That they HATCH on moving water I'll freely concede.Like I said, "BWO's only hatch on moving waters".
The link to Amazon connected to to this book by two somewhat qualified bug guys who don't put a qualifier in front of their statement below::
...and this is from the chapter on the Baetis Complex which includes BWO's ( Chapter 6, pg. 37):
Or how about this:
" The BWO’s are tiny mayflies that are rarely absent from the stream and can’t be found in lakes."
Blue Wing Olive’s
Creeks are moving waters...for accuracy's sake. If there is some credible and linkable source to these BWO hatches on the AZ lakes of which you speak, please provide it - ain't my job to go hunt down your unpublished biologists or guides...
PT/TB
However, I'm going to be magnanimous here and grant you that the bugs I'm talking about may not be in fact actual BWOs. In of itself that's irrelevant; the fish will strike BWO FLIES on a regular basis on stillwaters anywhere in the seven states of the western U.S. that I've fished.
As for my biologist friend, I never asked him if he was published or not; and now that he's passed away I can't. He was knowledgeable and I learned a lot from him, and that's all that ever mattered to me.
By the way, this whole post, except the part about my friend, was written slightly tongue-in-cheek, PT. If you want to give me a hard time, you're welcome to it; I'm built for that sort of thing. But kindly leave my friends alone, sweetheart.
opcorn:drynotnymph
Member
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 0
Dry fly fishing on mountain lakes is my favorite thing to do. I am a dry fly purist cause there's nothing to me like seeing a fish take a fly. I prefer lakes to rivers because they usually aren't as crowded as rivers, and there's nothing better to me than a good presentation cast.
That is my first tip; if you want to improve your cast presentation, fly fish on lakes. There are some times on rivers where you need a good presentation cast, but honestly the key to rivers is having a good drift.
On lakes you really have to rely on having a good presentation in order to catch fish. It is also fun to fly fish lakes during an evening hatch when the fish are rising and it looks as though the water is boiling.
The biggest mistakes a lot of people make fly fishing lakes is they cast to the middle of the lake. A lot of times fish will be holding right along the banks of a lake, so cast towards the bank first before fishing towards the middle. In lakes fish will hold at the shelf of the lake; that is where the water goes from shallow to deep. This is because they have protection from predators holding in the deep water but fish can come up to the surface and take flies off the top before going back down to deeper water.
Long leaders are essential to dry fly fishing on rivers and lakes. I don't know anything about nymphing or streamer fishing cause I only use dries, but long leaders help a lot. By long think over a 9ft leader, I will add 5 ft of line on a new 9ft leader I put onto my fly line. Longer leaders can be harder to cast especially in wind, but they give you a more delicate presentation that is especially needed on stillwater. Long leaders can fool picky trout because you do not have your fly line in their line of vision; instead there is only the leader.
A lot of times, especially on high mountain lakes, you will hear people saying you need to use smaller leader size such as 6x,7x, or even 8x. This can be true especially on gem clear waters, but I would say 5x would be a good starting point. I fish a lot of lakes on 4x and have a lot of luck. You will find there's two kinds of fly fisherman. Those who truly believe that tippet size makes a huge difference, and those who believe fly presentation even on picky water trumps smaller tippet. I fall into latter, as I have had luck on very picky waters with 4x. I believe a delicate presentation is essential in fly fishing, but take that with a grain of salt, the best thing about fly fishing is you can make it your own. Different styles of fishing and casting work for different people.
Lakes can be a lot of fun, I know I went off on a tangent, but I hope there is some useful information in here.
Cast towards the banks or towards the shelf and use long leaders.
That is my first tip; if you want to improve your cast presentation, fly fish on lakes. There are some times on rivers where you need a good presentation cast, but honestly the key to rivers is having a good drift.
On lakes you really have to rely on having a good presentation in order to catch fish. It is also fun to fly fish lakes during an evening hatch when the fish are rising and it looks as though the water is boiling.
The biggest mistakes a lot of people make fly fishing lakes is they cast to the middle of the lake. A lot of times fish will be holding right along the banks of a lake, so cast towards the bank first before fishing towards the middle. In lakes fish will hold at the shelf of the lake; that is where the water goes from shallow to deep. This is because they have protection from predators holding in the deep water but fish can come up to the surface and take flies off the top before going back down to deeper water.
Long leaders are essential to dry fly fishing on rivers and lakes. I don't know anything about nymphing or streamer fishing cause I only use dries, but long leaders help a lot. By long think over a 9ft leader, I will add 5 ft of line on a new 9ft leader I put onto my fly line. Longer leaders can be harder to cast especially in wind, but they give you a more delicate presentation that is especially needed on stillwater. Long leaders can fool picky trout because you do not have your fly line in their line of vision; instead there is only the leader.
A lot of times, especially on high mountain lakes, you will hear people saying you need to use smaller leader size such as 6x,7x, or even 8x. This can be true especially on gem clear waters, but I would say 5x would be a good starting point. I fish a lot of lakes on 4x and have a lot of luck. You will find there's two kinds of fly fisherman. Those who truly believe that tippet size makes a huge difference, and those who believe fly presentation even on picky water trumps smaller tippet. I fall into latter, as I have had luck on very picky waters with 4x. I believe a delicate presentation is essential in fly fishing, but take that with a grain of salt, the best thing about fly fishing is you can make it your own. Different styles of fishing and casting work for different people.
Lakes can be a lot of fun, I know I went off on a tangent, but I hope there is some useful information in here.
Cast towards the banks or towards the shelf and use long leaders.
wthorpe
Well-known member
In the Yellowstone area, and i would guess other areas as well, dry fly opps vary from lake to lake. Outside YNP Hebgen is a well known calibaetis dry fly gulper lake. Nearby Henry's is known for big fish caught on nymphs. Quake, Cliff, Wade, etc. offer calibaetis sometimes, as well as hoppers, ants, spruce moths, etc. On Hebgen some folks fish chironomids all the time no matter what. I tend to the opposite extreme and fish dry/dropper rigs no matter what. Deep/chironomid fishers likely get more fish. i enjoy what i do nonetheless. Dry dropper fishing on Hebgen, Quake, Cliff, Wade often involves using a calibaetis nymph (or Pheasant Tail, Copper John, etc.) beneath a dry the fish might mistakenly eat. Damsels, hoppers, ants and beetles can be a good bet on many stillwaters as well. I am going to Hebgen tomorrow. about 10 days there this year.
on a somewhat related note: as i get older, i find i am fishing stillwaters in a boat more than i am wading big rivers. i am not as good at wading as i was, and i was never worth a hoot to begin with. And finding 10 fishers in a quarter mile or so today on the Madison including one who insisted on just tossing a few into the pool i was headed for 10 to 20 yards away, all heads me more and more towards lakes. But then a week ago, on a lake that is 17 miles long some clown drove his boat almost within casting distance of mine.
i dont mean to hijack your thread. just a momentary rant. last year i had a guy drive up and start casting to the fish i was casting too. i started to cast into his boat, and upon reflection i should have.
on a somewhat related note: as i get older, i find i am fishing stillwaters in a boat more than i am wading big rivers. i am not as good at wading as i was, and i was never worth a hoot to begin with. And finding 10 fishers in a quarter mile or so today on the Madison including one who insisted on just tossing a few into the pool i was headed for 10 to 20 yards away, all heads me more and more towards lakes. But then a week ago, on a lake that is 17 miles long some clown drove his boat almost within casting distance of mine.
i dont mean to hijack your thread. just a momentary rant. last year i had a guy drive up and start casting to the fish i was casting too. i started to cast into his boat, and upon reflection i should have.
corn fed fins
Well-known member
On high mountain lakes it's fun. Big mothy/beetle/hopper type patterns with a little midge trailer. Once the breeze gets going and ruffles the surface game on! Add a little twitch when the water is glass and wait to see what comes looking.