One of the inherit problems with fishing large dry flies such as Stoneflies or grasshoppers is leader twist. These large flies have so much wind resistance they tend to “helicopter” through the air causing your leader to twist. There are a couple of things you can do to avoid this problem. The first thing is to use a shorter and stouter leader, 7 ½’ in length and 2x diameter is my choice. When presenting these flies there is no need for finesse as you want the fly to hit hard the way the naturals do. The shorter, stouter leader will also help turn over these larger flies. The second thing you can do is instead of using a clinch knot to attach the fly use a loop knot such as the Rapala knot or the buffer loop knot illustrated below. This will allow the fly to move both while casting and while fishing, which are both good things. Often times when fishing larger flies, especially some of the new creations which are mainly synthetics such as foam and rubber, your fly will land upside down. When this happens all you have to do is give the fly a little twitch and the fly should upright itself. This motion will often trigger strikes as both hoppers and stoneflies will react this way when on the water, unlike other flies that dead drift.
