People come from all over the world to fish big dries in Montana. Whether it be the Salmonflies and Goldenstones of early summer or the grasshoppers or late summer there truly is nothing like seeing a trout chomping down on a size 8 or 4 dryfly. The majority of these large dries usually incorporate a large hair wing or big chucks of foam, which creates a lot of wind resistance when casting these behemoths. This has been the bane of many an angler especially on windy days. So, for this week’s Tuesday Tip we will discuss some strategies for remedying this problem.
Overlining
Overlining is when you use a heavier weight line on a rod than what the rod is, e.g. using a 6wt line on a 5wt rod. A lot of people do this anyways as it helps load today’s faster action rods. This method provides you with a lot more power which will help turn over the leader better and many find this also improves their casting. There are a few different ways to overline a rod. The easiest is to just go up one whole line weight, but if you think that is a little excessive then a Rio Grand line might be for you. Rio Grand lines are a half weight heavier instead of a full weight heavier. I personally really like the Rio Grand for my tip flex, or fast action, rods.
Umpqua Power Taper Leaders
Another good method, and a good alterative to overlining, is to use a power taper leader. Several leader manufactures make some sort of power taper leader, but the Umpqua makes a particular fine Power Taper leader. What makes a power taper leader different is they have a much longer butt section which aids in turning big dries over. This is definitely a much cheaper option to try first and see if it helps.
If you’re having trouble with cast big dries that just won’t behave and turn over then either of these remedies are great option to experiment with. Both methods have an added bonus that not only will they help with the big dries, but by their nature they will help with casting and turning over big beefy nymph and streamer rigs. Good luck!