That's blasphemy if you ask me most of the year. But every year it comes up when talking about the big hatches on our big Western Rivers - streamers or dries? My answer is always the same - both. I love nothing more than pitching meat through the middle of the "Epic" hatches that the Yellowstone, Madison and other rivers in MT have to offer.Mother's Day Caddis hatch - see 7-8" whitefish patterns, 
Salmon Fly hatch - see 4-8" sculpin patterns, Spring or Fall Baetis - I'm pitching junk all day long of all varieties and sizes. So you might ask, then why would you ever put a streamer stick down to pitch a dry fly Mr. Confessed Streamer Addict? The answer would be sometimes you see a big fish eating a dry, and when you do, you're a moron if you won't put away your machismo and try and catch a 20"+ fish even if it is on a dry fly. You might not get the same "atta boy" from your buddies, but deep down I promise you that they are jealous when you boat a fish over 20" on a dry...
Salmon Fly hatch - see 4-8" sculpin patterns, Spring or Fall Baetis - I'm pitching junk all day long of all varieties and sizes. So you might ask, then why would you ever put a streamer stick down to pitch a dry fly Mr. Confessed Streamer Addict? The answer would be sometimes you see a big fish eating a dry, and when you do, you're a moron if you won't put away your machismo and try and catch a 20"+ fish even if it is on a dry fly. You might not get the same "atta boy" from your buddies, but deep down I promise you that they are jealous when you boat a fish over 20" on a dry...This isn't an article on rise forms, or even an education on how to spot a big fish and distinguish a brown trout from a rainbow or whitefish, that's not the point here... That takes time on the water, and no matter how many books you read, videos you watch, time spent on the water is not transferable in anything but by hiring a guide or dragging along someone who's spent a lot of time on the 
water and can tell you what a big fish rising looks like. But here's a quick pointer, splashy rises, not big fish...
water and can tell you what a big fish rising looks like. But here's a quick pointer, splashy rises, not big fish...So with that being said it's caddis time around these parts and over the next couple of weeks you'll have plenty of opportunities to defy tradition, forget about chasing the hatch and pitch big flies looking for big fish, and you'll definitely find yourself a couple of reasons to think about putting down that dry fly rod and pitching some junk...
But don't forget you streamer junkies, that at times you will find big fish feeding on dry flies - my buddy caught a 24" brown on the Madison last week on a caddis pattern, so don't tell me the big one's never eat dries, it's just not a great blind fly to be pitching.
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