Make Mine A Double

GAIA instructor John Boon targets the wild trout of the River Taw, using a technique that is often overlooked.

When you hear the term dry-fly fishing, particularly on rivers, what usually comes to mind (especially mine) is a single dry fly presented upstream to a consistently rising fish. Recently, though, I have started to change my approach and delved into the world of fishing the double dry. The reason for this additional approach to my armoury is that for years I have done it on still waters and it has been highly successful. As well as this, I almost always fish a double nymph, double spider and even when fishing Klink and Dink I have two flies on. So why don’t we fish the double dry on rivers? My guess is that it all comes down to the tradition of dry-fly fishing.

Traditionally, on the chalk streams one fly was the only accepted method, and still is on certain waters throughout the country and on the Continent. This is still a brilliant option, and one I carry on using, but there are times when fishing a double dry fly will improve your catch rate substantially.

Why Use The Double Dry?

The technique has a few advantages over the single dry fly in certain instances, although there are times when the single dry fly is a much more viable option.

Firstly, the double dry fly is a brilliant option when there is little activity on the surface and you have to search for the fish. It has often paid dividends to use an attractor-style dry fly along with a smaller more standard pattern.

Another reason for using it is if there is a multitude of insects coming off and you are unsure as to what the fish are feeding on. By using two flies at once, it can be a quicker way to narrow down your search, hopefully allowing more fish to come to the net over the course of the session.