It’s dry-fly season. Well, it’s what I like to call “hopper season,” especially here in the West, where big trout will look up for terrestrial bugs that will occasionally end up in the water, thanks to a timely wind gust or just dumb luck.
But fishing hoppers and other terrestrial flies isn’t about dumb luck. There’s a method to keeping these big bugs on top, and Joe Rotter from Red’s Fly Shop in Ellensburg, Wash., walks us through some great rigging ideas that will keep our bugs high and dry—and keep us fishing more and treating flies less—in the video below.
The best advice from the short film? First, keep your floating lines clean. Older lines that have endured a season or two on the water need to be wiped clean occasionally, and Joe gives you some tips on how to do that. Second, don’t use fluorocarbon leaders when dry-fly fishing. Stick with mono, and you’ll notice that your leader and tippet will float, too.
There are more great tips in the video. Check it out.