YOU'LL USUALLY FISH DRY FLIES on lakes and ponds when you see trout rising to work a hatch of aquatic insects, a fall of terrestrial insects, or a flight of returning aquatic insects. Such feeding is usually localized, often over a shallow weedbed or near a stand of shoreside trees. The trout will often feed in pods, a loose gathering of trout that either remains in a specific area or cruises slowly through an area much as a single trout might move.

You'll fish dry flies less often to sporadic, occasional, and scattered rises, which indicate that no hatch, terrestrial feeding, or spinner fall is happening and that just a few cruising trout are finding a few insects on the surface. A searching situation, when no trout are rising but conditions give you hope that you might bring some trout to the surface, might be worth trying with a dry fly, but you'll have more success in streams than in stillwaters. Unlike in a stream, where an insect on the surface is usually within sight and striking distance of trout at the bottom, trout holding on a lake bottom are not likely to go to the top to take a single insect, or your fly.

Rising, feeding fish. When you find rising trout, avoid rushing out into the middle of them and thrashing around with whatever fly you already have tied to your leader. Instead, back away from them and spend some time watching to see what they're taking, and whether their movements have a pattern. Then follow a specific set of steps to catch them.

First, collect a natural insect without disturbing the feeding fish. Use an aquarium net, your landing net, or whatever else you can to lift a specimen off the surface. Observe it nose-close, the way a trout does just before it sips it. Notice its size, shape, and color. A trout sees the insect's underside; tip it up and look at it from that direction. The color will usually be different on the belly, which is the side you want to match, than on the back.

Second, choose a fly that is at least roughly the same size, shape, and color as the natural you're holding in your hand. Hold them side-by-side, and make sure your fly is at least somewhat close in size, shape, and color.

Third, rig properly to fish the fly. The rig can be as simple as a floating line, a leader 2 to 4 feet longer than your rod, and a 3-foot tippet the right diameter to balance the size fly you've chosen. In wind, you'll want a shorter, stouter leader, and on glassy water you might need to go longer and finer.

Fourth, move into position to fish over the rises with a controlled cast, but without putting the trout down. Your ability to cast long can confer an advantage here, but you don't want to move out so far that you're crashing your casts onto the heads of trout. If you have an anchor and the trout are not moving, fix your position before you begin fishing.

Finally, begin placing casts over rises. Get the fly as near to the rise as quickly as you can, and let it sit for at least a minute or two. Resist the temptation to frantically paste the fly into every rise-ring. If trout are moving, one will find it.

Scattered rises. When rises are occasional and one occurs near enough that you can move to it, do so as quickly as you can so you can get your fly onto the water close to the fish. Let it sit for quite some time. If no trout takes it, then pattern the area with casts placed 10 to 15 feet apart. Let each sit. Be patient; you know at least one active trout is in the area, so don't chase distant rises until you've fished the targeted area with at least a few casts. However, if you can pattern a moving trout, then chase it and get into position ahead of it. If you can place your fly where you might expect its next rise, you'll have an excellent chance to catch it.

Absence of rises. If no trout are rising but the weather is mild and you see a few insects in the air, then why not see if the trout might respond to a dry fly? Choose a generic fly; a size 12 or 14 Adams resembles many mayflies, midges, and even buzzing caddis. Fish the shoreline, especially along reed and cattail edges, and any structure over shallow water, such as downed trees, rocky points, and lily pad flats. Set your fly over shallow shoreline vegetation or weedbeds, and let it rest. Fish the slight currents of inlets and outlets.

If you fail to catch fish, don't persist too much longer with the dry, unless you're a dry-fly purist. If trout are not feeding visibly on the surface of a stillwater, you'll usually just waste time trying to get them to come up and feed there. Instead, switch to a nymph, streamer, or wet fly, and rig to fish it near the bottom.

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