Wet Flies vs. Dry Flies: When to Fish Each

“Should I be fishing a dry fly or a wet fly?” is really the question “where are the trout eating right now?” Answer that and the fly choice makes itself. Here's the practical version.

The 80/20 rule of trout diet

Trout do most of their feeding below the surface — on nymphs, larvae, and emergers — most of the time. That's why nymphing is so productive on the Gunnison even on days when you never see a rise. If nothing is showing on top, start subsurface. It's not glamorous; it works.

When to tie on a dry

Rising fish are the obvious green light — noses, dorsal fins, or splashy takes all mean eyes are up. Around here that means caddis and PMDs on summer evenings, hoppers along the banks in August, BWOs on grey fall afternoons, and — if you time the salmonfly hatch right in June — the best big-dry fishing in Colorado. Check the river report before you drive; hatches move week to week.

Don't skip the middle: emergers and swung wets

The most overlooked zone is the top six inches. When fish are flashing but refusing your dry, they're likely on emergers. A soft hackle swung down-and-across is the old-school answer and it still fools fish on the Uncompahgre — cast across, let it swing under tension, and hold on through the grab at the end.

Or refuse to choose

The hopper-dropper (a buoyant dry with a nymph hung 18–36 inches below) fishes both zones at once and is our default guide rig from July through September. The dry is your indicator; the dropper does the catching — until the day the big foam bug gets eaten too.

Stop by the shop for a current fly recommendation — the bins are organized around what's actually hatching on our rivers this week.