Is it a general rule of thumb that you lighten up on the size of your equipment for dries???
I have never realy tried to fish dries and am interested in doin so.
I have a 5wt 9’ rod and mastery GPX line. Is this good for dries or should I try something else??
Thanks again.
Rich
NoLuck;
Lefty Kreh has a great book on matching leader’s and tippets to the size of the fly to get them to present properly. It’s a little scarey to combine a 7X tippet with a small dry when the fish may be big!! But that’s fly fishing!!
I’ll look through my collection and see if I can find the title.
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
Cactus
Have you read any of FAOL yet? Some information for beginners. [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/:0760d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/[/url:0760d]
Hope this helps.
My short answer is yes and no. Yes its good for dry flies, no need to try something else. Match the leader/tippet to the fly and fishing conditions. Some say take the fly size and divide by 3 for the tippet size. Adjust for rough conditions or weary fish.
Good luck and enjoy.
jed
Gotta agree with Jed; divide the fly by 4 for wet stuff and by 3 for dry’s. Mostly. (if ya get the size 16 dry right, let me know!)(or the size 18 wet too!) Of course, there may be exceptions. 
Yes J.C. I have read some of the basics and I have learned quite a bit.Thanks.
But it seems like there is some small details that always get left out to generalize and simplify for the masses.
I am thinking about taking some fly casting lessons from one of the local fly shops.I am sure he could answer a ton of questions.
But, thanks for the tips.
Dear Rich,
The rod and line you have will be more than adequate for dry fly fishing.
A 5 weight rod is a great all-purpose trout fishing rod. It wasn’t too awful long ago that most people never even owned a fly rod lighter in weight than a 5 weight.
You may find in time that you “want” a lighter fly rod for strictly dry fly fishing, but as someone who has caught trout on trico’s and 6X tippet using a 6 weight Loomis GLX I can tell that you do not “have” to get a lighter rod.
Best Wishes,
Avalon
You’re in for a treat, NoLuck. I enjoy most forms of fly fishing, but dries are my favorites. It is very exciting to see the take after a winter of nymphing and it is kind of fun to be flinging a fly only, no weight or indicator.
Only “special equiptment” you’ll need is a bottle of floatant.
Have fun with it!
no luck my only advise find out the forms of flies for your area,buy close to that and don’t go hog wild on a spending spree.One other thing,get a good floatant to use on your flies and use some of the gel variety
to help float your leader at the fly!
Another option may be to outfit yourself with a lighter fly line on the same rod. I’ve never done this but have read about it (possibly in the same book by lefty as jack was speaking of - either “advanced fly fishing techniques” or “presenting the fly”). Apparently this helps out, unless its very windy out. If your having trouble getting another line is much cheaper than a new outfit.
A lot of thrifty advice, probably a sign of our economic times. Like the others say, you probably don’t “need” a different rod, but a “need” is relative, isn’t it.
I say there’s nothing wrong with having multiple rods, if you can find a reason to buy one(and can justify the cost). While a 5 wt works fine with dries, lighter is better if you’re going for spooky fish or clear water. If I had a rod strictly for dry files it would be a 2 or 3 wt. But on a typical day I fish both wet and dry and find a 4 wt to be the best of both worlds.