Does anyone fish small drys sz 18 down ? on a regular basis on big reservoirs?

I have had few days this year when the fish have been smutting etc and the stuff in the surface film has been bloody tiny. (been almost white clouds of tiny white stuff near bank side to tiny black stuff on different occasions). I swore to myself that is size 20 from now on, get the kit etc.

I know some of the pros use small drys at rutland but what kit do you need? and tippet.

I got a small river rod 7ft 4wt but its like waving a tooth pick at a dragon when you on a big lake. its doesnt cast that far.

Any reccommendation advise on the above would be most helpful.

match the hatch means you scale down to the required equipment,
i have used a 4 weight sage with a a very fine tapered leader while fishing caenis imitations on sheelin and owel, and some small sedge patterns,, of course hooking and landing these fish is another story to be written in the great angling bible,
indeed some people might need a bible after all the f@cking and blinding that goes on after a missed strike, lol

Ours is not a big reservoir, just 7½ acres, but I regularly use size 20 Griffiths Gnats, or even smaller greenfly patterns, when the fish are feeding on small stuff.

I use a Sonik 3, 8'6" #4-5 rod, a WF5 line, although I've just started using a DT4 and am finding it better, and a 3lb Maxima Clear leader.

I also have a 7ft #4-5 rod but I just can't get on with it, as you say, it feels like a toothpick. You'll find 8'6" a much better length.

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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A tactic that really works for me when fish are smutting on still water is to suspend a simple, tiny size 20/18 black buzzer about 6 - 8" beneath a small, but visible dry, usually a klink type. The dry is sacrificial but can attract interest!

On slow glides on rivers, a 20/18 Griffiths Gnat on the point with a size 20/22 buzzer attached to a dropper 10 -12" from the dry works well for me too. The buzzer is sacrificial, serving to sink the tippet to the Gnat. I've never had a fish on the buzzer with this method. This method will work on stillwater if you can actually see the Gnat among the dimpling!!

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mancfly top tip tx for that, nice to hear that small fly work and more importantly the techniciques involed how to fish them.

I got some actually not so small as 20 as you mentioned but 18s and on 6bl leader they look like a boat is mored to them as far as presentation is concerned.

but yep i will look at a longer rod and stick with my 4 wt dt cortland. and start tying some size 20s buzzers with my microscope

They are easy. Just a tying thread abdomen then 2 turns of peacock herl for the thorax. You can add a fine wire rib for segmentation and extra weight. Or even simpler, lightly dub the thread with mole fur to form the whole body. I wear specs one size stronger to tie them!
I have some with small glass bead heads that sink a bit quicker. Useful on river glides when you want to sink the tippet just that bit quicker when landing the gnat 2-3 feet upstream of the fish.

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"Angling may be said to be so like mathematics in that it can never be fully understood" - Izaak Walton