Use a proper agent to dry your flies

Do you like dry fly fishing? Good job, we like it too! But there is nothing more annoying than a fly constantly “drowning” under the water. We will not talk about wet fly fishing and how successful it is, but rather concentrate on gizmos that prevent the dry fly from going submerged (floatants).

So you decided to go dry fly fishing. And since you have all the flies possible, you know that there are hackled dry flies and dry flies made of CDC. So what agents should you use? Are they good for all kinds of dry flies? The first answer is of course “many”, the second is “no”. First things first.

Hackled dry flies

These are a good old school flies that should not be missed in any fly box. The best way to dry them is with a few blind casts and with a silicone agent that is applied on hackles with a help of two fingers. Do not soak the fly with the agent, apply it only very small quantity.

CDC dry flies

CDC flies are made of the feathers from the duck near its anus. Their popularity is increasing heavily. Those feathers are naturally lubricated but do not last forever. Since the construction of a CDC feather is different from the rooster’s feather, you should use some other type of agent. One of the best is special oils that come in small packages (a brush might be added or not). Keep in mind that you only need to add a little bit of this oil, do not soak the fly with it.

A good thing to dry a dry fly is also an amadou, which is a wild mushroom that is treated in a certain way. Take this amadou and press a fly with it. It will immediately soak all the excess water.

Now that you know it, go out and try it. Tight lines!

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