OK, now I need a bit of clarification..I have always considered the bottom
fly the "dropper" and the top fly either the booby or dry (depending on
which you are using). But, is the "point" fly also the dropper fly? and do
you "grease" the buzzers or do they just float on their own in the surface
film (rather as we fish our tiny midges)? Inquiring minds need to know.
Thanks for your help. Joyce
Well, since our European friends are currently slumbering away for the oncoming day, I will take a crack at this. After dawn hits 'across the pond', they can then mop the pub floor with me and tell you where I went wrong.
British stillwater fishing is much more sophisticated than U.S. techniques, because so much of their flyfishing is stillwater fishing.
Prime among these techniques is what is called loch-style (loch is Scottish for 'lake'). Traditionally a 'cast' of flies is retrieved toward the boat as the boat drifts broadside in the direction of the flies, with the drift often slowed with a drogue. The drift is done so that the boat does not float over the fish before the flies, causing the (mostly brown trout or "spotties") to spook.
The cast of flies is usually a trio. The top fly, or one nearest the rod tip is called the 'bobb' fly and is usually a high floating, heavily palmered fly, or sometimes something like a muddler minnow. It's purpose is to cut a wake in the surface of the water, which attracts the attention of the fish, who might on occasion take that fly if they were feeding on surface flies,.
Further down the leader on a dropper (not off the bend of the hook which is often the American style) is the dropper fly. I will leave it to the European experts to describe what kind of fly works best there. Often the fish will investigate the bobb fly making the wake, then turn and take the dropper fly.
Finally, the end fly on the leader is the fly on the 'point'. This is usually a sparse, fast sinking pattern, that will be the deepest fly on the cast.
Fishing is usually done with long fly rods, a minimum of 10ft. and there is no false casting, which as you might imagine, could lead to a horrendous tangle of flies and leader. You basically retrieve your cast, lift the trio of flies off the water in a smooth stroke, and lay the flies back in front of you and the boat.
This is one of the prime techniques of European stillwater competition fishing, which you need to see to believe. *grin*
Wes
Bend, Oregon
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