Dry fly

A dry fly is designed to float on top of the water and imitate an adult insect, such as a mayfly, caddis or terrestrial like an ant or beetle, resting or emerging on the surface. Materials like buoyant foam, deer hair and stiff hackle feathers are what keep the fly riding high instead of sinking.

Fishing a dry fly is often considered the classic form of fly fishing because the take happens visibly on the surface, which makes timing the hookset a skill of its own, since striking too early can pull the fly away before a fish fully commits. Matching the fly's size, shape and color to the natural insects on the water, a process called matching the hatch, is central to success.

A dry fly needs floatant applied before fishing and periodic drying and re-treating as it gets waterlogged, since a fly sitting low or under the surface film no longer behaves or looks like a dry fly. Fishing a size or pattern that does not match what is actually hatching is one of the most common reasons a dry fly gets refused by fish that are clearly rising.