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Dry flies are fished on top of the water and mimic insect prey that hatches near or lands on the surface.
Dry flies typically imitate the adult stage of aquatic insects, specifically caddisflies, spent mayflies, stoneflies, grasshoppers, ants, and emergers.
If you’re looking in your fly box and can’t remember which are the dries and which are wet flies, compare their proportions. The body of a dry fly covers 60–75% of the hook shank length. Also, the wings and tail of a dry fly will be the exact length of the hook shank. The hackle will be one and a half times the hook gap. These proportions keep the fly on the surface. By contrast, wet flies need to sink below the surface, so they’ll often have weighted bead heads and a more streamlined profile.
The main difference between a dry fly and a wet fly is that dry flies fish the surface while wet flies sink to fish underwater. Visually, dry flies are lighter and “fluffier” to resemble terrestrial insects while wet flies include weights to get them below the surface. Wet flies resemble aquatic insects, minnows, crayfish, and frogs.
We recommend the Adams Parachute Dry Fly, Stimulator, Elk Wing Caddis, and regular Adams as the best trout dry flies. You’ll also have success with the Sparkle Dun and Chernobyl Ant.
The best dry fly for bass is the Fluttering Blue Damsel. We also offer Dave’s Cricket and the Black Toast Ant as proven dry flies for bass.
The Adams Parachute tops the list as the most popular dry fly. Other popular dry flies include the Stimulator and Elk Wing Caddis.
Available in different sizes, our fly-fishing emerger flies realistically imitate spring mayflies, caddis, and midges later in the season. Their versatility situates them among the most useful fly-fishing flies to keep in your box. We offer a wide variety of dry flies to allow you to match the hatch and irresistible classic attractor dry fly patterns to present to hungry trout. While trout are notoriously selective feeders, emergers are tempting for them and account for a large portion of their diet—so why not capitalize on this phenomenon by using our beautifully crafted dry flies designed for just that purpose? Our emerger collection also includes convenient boxed fly selections with proven fly patterns. Fly fishing doesn't get more exciting than casting dry flies to rising trout. Proven and consistent producers, these flies should be your go-to patterns for top-water action.