I am going to the mountains of Western North Carolina in a few weeks to fish for trout. I want to try for the first time wet fly fishing. I desire to use some soft hackle patterns with tungsten beads such as pheasant tail and hare’s ear. Does tungsten beads negatively affect the natural action of the wet fly during the drift? I am very new to trout fishing and need some expertise on wet fly fishing with beads on them. Should I only use wet flies with no beads?
why not try both and see what the trout like best—try different things—
the rule is----there arent any rules
i generally weight my flys with wire on the hook—a bead give the fly a jig action instead of a gliding action but maybe they want a jig action—
report back with your findings
Shoot, no. Tungsten gets 'em down amongst 'em.
Now, if you’re fishing soft hackles as Nemes suggests, leave rthe weight off and fish 'em just under the surface.
Personally, I don’t like to use weighted flies unless the weight is really necessary. Weight takes all the pleasure out of casting. I never used wet flies weighted, but weight most of my nymphs. I’d rather fish the wet flies given a choice. Try some (unweighted) Leadwing Coachmans in size 12 & 14.