CDC Emerger:Dead Drift or Swing?

[Karel]

I always dead-drift and then swing at the end, you never know what can happen the last few feet.

[bmcgeehan]

There are boatloads of CDC emerger patterns for both caddis and mayfly species and many of them are outstanding. We fish them multiple ways:

1) greased and in the surface film. Usually the second pattern behind a more visible dun (or elk hair if a caddis hatch).
2) dead drifted like a traditional nymph. most of these patterns were designed to be dries, but they are deadly fished as nymphs
3) swung - I mostly do this for caddis hatches

These flies can be deadly - a must have! I like the Idylwilde patterns - the cdc emerger patterns and Sylvies patterns for caddis.

[adamshatch1972]

As I mentioned in another post, I am from upstate NY and have fished the Delaware system extensively - but no place more than the West Branch as it is closest to me. I have found emergers to be one of the deadliest flies available on the sometimes wary browns of the WB (especially in summer). As my name implies, I love to fish with adams flies, both the original and with different colored bodies...it is no doubt my favorite fly. In times where fish are more selective though, the next fly I go to is the emerger. I must admit that I generally use the snowshoe emerger patterns, as they are cheaper to tie and float like a cork!

As to the original question, I agree that I usually fish them with a little floatant in the surface film, dead drifted to a trout that is in an active feeding pattern. I do not generally use them for prospecting ... in fact I don't generally prospect. It is an unusual day on the WB that you can't find a trout or two rising somewhere to chuck feathers at! I also generally let it swing a little at the end as well, probably mostly on accident rather than on purpose, but have definitely caught some trout that way! I think for me they have mostly been overzealous smaller trout though.

But the fact of the matter is that a trout is a trout, and sometimes those small ones make the difference between going home with a smile or being skunked!