Surface Flies

by Mike Buss, Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers, April 2017

Last month we talked about streamers and while they can be fished on the surface, they are typically fished subsurface. This month let’s talk about flies that are designed to be fished on the surface.

There is a complete class of dry flies for trout designed to be fished on the surface. Entire books have been written about fishing dry flies and that is beyond the scope of this article. If you are going to be fishing for trout and want to use dry flies, the best course of action is to stop by a local fly shop in the area you will be fishing to get the insect hatches that are happening on the rivers and streams you will be fishing. They can guide you to the correct selection of dry flies to imitate the hatches that are happening.

These dry flies are usually small flies tied on size 12 or smaller sized hooks and you should be using fly fishing outfits that are downsized to be able to fish these small flies effectively. I recommend no larger than a balanced four weight rod system with a floating fly line.

Simply look for likely holding areas in the river or stream you are fishing and watch for rising fish. When you spot them, cast upstream, put a mend in your line to allow the fly to float naturally without drag, and float your fly over the spot where you saw the rising fish. Hopefully, your fly will look natural then it’s game on.

There are other types of flies that are designed to be fished on the surface like hard and soft body poppers, gurglers, deer hair flies, and crease flies to name just a few. Most of these are designed to be fished for freshwater bass and panfish or saltwater fish.

These surface flies can be tied on both small and large hooks depending on the fish you are after. You can find small surface flies that are designed for panfish and larger surface flies that will be used for much larger fish. But no matter what the size of the surface fly, they are all designed to imitate an injured minnow, animal, or struggling insect on the surface of the water.

You should fish these flies to imitate these injured or struggling things. Most of the fish you will be fishing for with these surface flies will be located around structures, waiting for something that appears to be helpless to swim by. Simply cast your fly to a likely looking area and let it lay there motionless on the surface before giving it a small strip to give it some motion. The strike usually comes as soon as the fly starts to come alive after setting motionless on the surface.

If you don’t get a strike, keep alternating the stopping and starting of your fly on the surface. After retrieving your fly all the way back make another cast and do the same thing. If you find a good structure, I’ve often found that making casts back to the same area will result in a strike. It’s as if you are invading their space and they finally need to take some action to remove the irritant.

When using these flies you should match your balanced system with the flies you will be using and the fish you are after. This could range from four weight systems used for pan fish all the way up to 15 weight systems used for large sail fish. You should also be using a floating fly line.

Like streamers, surface flies have been around for a long time for the same reason, they work and catch fish.