Having cast a dry fly to a fish on still water, do you retrieve & if so how?

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You can only fish for so long before you have to throw a stick of dynamite in the river.

I tend to leave it static, retrieving line only to recast or keep in contact because of drift. They will find it. Having said that, on many occassions they will nail it as you are pulling back in. So the answer is in general terms only, generally leave it still.

I agree as I fish stillwater dry all the time , Cast out and let the fly drift and the takes can be savage

Its a great way to enjoy the dry fly.

Col

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"It is not easy to tell one how to cast. The art must be acquired by practice.

Can't beat a good old G&H sedge in the evening though Col, and just a twitch now and again. Electrifying.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

God you have me wishing my life away, Cant wait til the summer nights with a long leader and the G&H sedge or balloon caddis twitched slightly along ****in fishing heaven.

Col

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"It is not easy to tell one how to cast. The art must be acquired by practice.

Depends on the fly , I like a long leader with a sparse CDC Shuttlecock cast out and left to drift but a little twitch now and then can bring savage takes

So let the dry drift for a while then a little twitch from time to time should do the biz.

Col

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"It is not easy to tell one how to cast. The art must be acquired by practice.

The great Gary Borger, in his videos, advises, 'Heave it and leave it.' He has a point, because you could be pulling the fly away from a feeding lane. My old mate used to do well with dry fly on still waters, and he preferred not to move the fly; but we both, occasionally, gave the fly a twitch. We never retrieved a dry fly the way we would retrieve wets. If you are covering fish feeding upwind, dropping the fly in the path of a target fish, you certainly shouldn't move the fly, provided your casting is accurate. There are no hard and fast rules. If there are sedges scuttling about, a pull-pull-pull, short tug retrieve, and a rest, then repeat, will work using mrtrout's suggested fly; but I have seen one rod take the last 3 of a 27 fish catch on a deer hair sedge, using continuous retrieves. TC

Chuck it out, and if nothing has scoffed it in 15 seconds, lift off and put it down somewhere else. Fan cast in front of you working from left to right and back again. If you see fish rising then target them, but if you're waiting for takes out of the blue then proceed as above. If fishing from a boat don't be tempted to cast too far because (a) you will line fish between you and where you are aiming for,and (b) if casting to a rising fish you will be a lot less accurate at 25 yards than at 15. Let him come in to you then give him 6' of lead and watch him swim into the trap.

Spot on.Even bank fishing you need to cover the water, keep on the move, fishing the margins to the deeper water.The majority of fish that take a dry do so within a few seconds of it landing, though if you've cast at a fish it pays to give them time to make their mind up.The odd twitch can provoke a take, especially with the larger dries such as daddies and sedges, a good pull sometimes results in a smash take.Small dries are best fished static in my opinion, indeed if they are fishing right (in the surface film- not floating), any movement will likely pull them under.
A great way to fish, roll on the warmer weather!

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Behold the fisherman
He riseth up early and disturbeth the whole household.
MIGHTY ARE HIS PREPARATIONS!
He goeth forth full of hope and when the day is far spent he returneth
Smelling of strong drink, and the truth is not in him

Ye if you just pull the line quickly but not too much line the cdc will bob under and come back up, and sometimes they take it like that cause they think its trying to get away.



For a muddler at night, you can retrieve that but it works both ways.

Ali

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What a tourist terms a plague of insects, the fly fisher calls a great hatch.