# 86 Dry Fly Floatant

What exactly is dry fly floatant, and what does it do?

If you are new to fly fishing and are just learning some of the ins-and-outs of how to do things. By now you have watched about 12,357 “You tube” videos about dry fly floatant and have more questions now than before you began.

Today I’m going to try to answer a question that I get in the shop several times a week and that is “What’s the deal about Fly Floatant”?.

Let’s take a step back and define exactly what Fly Floatant is and what is it used for. Dry fly floatant is anything that helps a dry fly remain buoyant on the surface of the water, simple as that. If you are fishing with a dry fly, generally these flies are constructed with materials such as bird hackles, fur or hairs that float. When you first tie it on that fly it will float for a few minutes until water begins to soak into the fly causing it to begin to sink below the surface of the water.

Fishing dry flies is all about seeing your flies just cruising down on the surface of the water minding it’s business, until a hungry fish snacks it right of the surface, but if your flies are not floating high and dry and are sinking, you will not be able to see your fly, this takes all of the fun out of it, this is where floatant comes in "to save the day".

I’m going to cover a few of the commercially available products that help in ensuring a “High and Dry” fly.

• When I first tie on a dry fly, I do the following steps:

First I will treat my fly with a small dab of a silicone based floatant, like “Gink” or “Aquel”, after I tie my  fly to my Tippet, simple rub a tiny amount of it on your fly with your fingers. (There is others but for this conversation we’ll cover just these two).

The fly will float nicely for a few, until I get a few fish to put their slimy lips on my fly, the flies will not float as well.

• Next I will use a product, like “Dry Shake”, or some other desiccant, (big word) I’ll explain in a minute.

Here is the reasons that I do what I do. As I said earlier, most flies are made with fur, feathers, and hair. Most of these materials are naturally buoyant, for example Deer Hair is actually a hollow fiber and already has “air” trapped inside, but the addition of a little silicone style paste will help it stay dry, by preventing water to get inside of the hollow fibers. The silicone will also help the feather barbs repel water longer, which helps your fly float longer.

Earlier I talked about the use of a “desiccant”, which is a big shot fancy word for something that will draw away moisture.

If you have ever eaten a bag of Beef Jerky there is that little white packet that says, “DO NOT EAT”. That secret ingredient is Silica Gel, which is a derivative of “Silicone Dioxide”: this attracts moisture and keeps things dry, like your  “dry fly who is not so dry right now.”, or Beef Jerky, so a jar of dry shake is just a jar of this chemical. Drop your fly into the container close the lid with your fly inside and give it a few “shakes” and just like magic your fly is now “dry” and ready to back to work.

Some of the commercial brands have a surprise in the jar and come with a fine powder that is a treatment to help the fly stay dry.

Added Bonus:

There are currently a few products that will actually pre-treat your flies even before you get to the water. Products like “Flyagra and Musclin” are intended to be used before you hit the river, simply put your virgin fly into the jar of liquid, and give it a few shakes, take your flies out with a pair of tweezers, and place it on a paper towel and let the fly dry. Give it at least 24 hours to totally dry, then you are ready to rock, your flies will ride high in the water like the cork from a bottle of wine..

Another bonus tip:

If I’m fishing a really small dry fly (like #22-#26) these flies do not have a ton of buoyancy right out of the box, just do to their small size, one thing I  may do is to “grease “ my leader. To do this I simply rub a small amount of the gel onto my leader, and tippet, and this will help my fly to stay upright just a bit longer.

I’m going to re-emphasize this!! And I can’t say this enough. As  have said in the past, if you ask ten fly fisherman this same question you will get ten different answers.

This article is just a primer to hopefully answer some of your questions, hopefully give you a little clarity  from all of the “You Tube” videos, and maybe give you a place to start.

I hope that your flies float high.

Cheers

Gary, AKA LaMachine..

As always if you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out to me.