Rig: Floating Line and Standard Stillwater Leader

Purpose. This is the standard rig for fishing floating flies on stillwaters, and it's similar to the rig you would use for drys on moving water. Recall that a leader for the smoothest spring creek and tailwater flows and rising trout is extended to a fine tippet. When you fish dry flies on a lake or pond, the water will be as flat as any you encounter on a stream, so your requirements begin just about where the moving water requirements end.

Trout in rich lakes and ponds grow portly and strong. Very often, while stillwater fly fishing, you'll encounter the conundrum that makes a tippet that is fine enough to fool the trout too weak to hold it. Keep that balance in mind, and try to choose a tippet that gives you some hope of hooking trout and landing them.

History/origins. The history of dry flies on lakes reaches back to the days when gut leaders were used. Silkworm gut could only be extruded to about 14 inches, so that became the maximum length available for tippet. Gut of 4X was fine, but 5X was fragile at best and undependable on average. Monofilament, once it became available, allowed for the extension of leaders, and as quality improved over the years, so did the strength and dependability of tippets.

Knots and notes. The rig begins with a weight-forward floating line in a minimum 4-weight and more often 5- or 6-weight. The base leader should be a tapered 3X, 9- or 10-footer. You can add a 3- or 4-foot, 4X tippet, or 1-foot tapering sections and finer tippet. If the water surface is glassy and the insect you're matching small, you might extend your leader out 15 to 18 feet. The average length for lake fishing with drys would be between 12 and 14 feet. Although often an advantage, fluorocarbon pulls small drys under and therefore is not useful with any drys lacking flotation.

Use blood or surgeon's knots to connect tapering and tippet sections. Fix conventional dry flies to the tippet with the improved clinch knot. If you're using surface-film emergers, or drys such as Klinkhamer Specials that suspend from a parachute hackle, use the Duncan or surgeon's loop to let the fly dangle properly.

As you would on moving waters, you can add either floating emergers or nymphs beneath your drys. The sunk fly should be a size smaller than the dry, and the tippet one diameter finer than the tippet to the dry.

Adjustments for conditions. The only adjustments that should be made to the rig when dry-fly fishing are extending the tippet when conditions are calm and trout are snotty and reducing the length of the leader when wind is a factor. Fortunately, a wind that makes presentation difficult with a long and fine leader also roughens the water and makes the long, fine leader less necessary.

Rules for the rig. The outfit and leader you use should always be light enough so that your fly lands lightly on the water. If your line tip, leader, and fly crash in, back away and rerig, trying a lighter rod and line if you have one. On the other hand, the outfit should be heavy enough to cast in the conditions under which you fish. If the wind is up, you will be glad you have your 6-weight. If your leader is tapered correctly and your casting careful enough, this rod can be delicate enough for almost all stillwater situations.

The leader must be able to turn over the flies you're casting. At times, you might find trout feeding on large drys and demanding fine tippets, but that is rare. Be sure that your leader always turns over, extends, and sets the fly down gently. The pile cast works over moving currents on streams, but it's fatal on lakes.

One final rule: Don't let your tippet get much shorter than a couple of feet. If repeated fly changes shorten it, clip it off and tie on a new 3- to 4-foot tippet.