The technique Washing Line consists of a series of two flies suspended behind a tip-mounted floating fly, such as a Booby or a Fab (a Blob with a foam tail). This configuration is designed to be used with different types of tails, depending on the angler's preference. Most opt for a floating, intermediate or a floating tail. Midge Tip (with a midpoint between 6 and 12 feet long).
The basic idea is to mount two or three weightless nymphs or buzzers on droppers attached along the tip of the terminal. As a tip fly, you can use a Booby or Fab, depending on conditions, or a floating dry fly. This tip fly will hold your imitations at different depths, depending on the retrieve speed.
It is not uncommon to see anglers casting up to 20 feet long (about 6.1 metres), with three droppers and a top fly such as Booby or Fab. However, for many anglers, this length can be difficult to manage when casting. The priority, in fact, is not distance, but ensuring that the terminal lands straight to start fishing immediately. Casting a long terminal with lots of flies, if they twist into a tangle, can take a lot of time untangling knots, taking away from the actual fishing. I therefore recommend shortening the terminal and limiting yourself to two droppers, spacing them about 5 feet (about 1.5 metres) apart. Below is a practical example for this configuration.
Cane: A 10′ # 7/8 rod, allowing long casts and manoeuvring the terminal.
The Tailsfloating tails ranging from WF 5 to 7, Intermediate Mid, Fast or Slow and Midge Tip are used. Midge Tip are floating tails with an intermediate tip ranging from 6′ to 12′ also used for chironome fishing.
The choice of flies for the technique Washing Line is totally personal, but some effective configurations involve a floating booby as a top fly, capable of supporting the other flies, while diawl bach, nymphs or buzzers are used on droppers. If you prefer a configuration of wet fly, you can opt for a Booby-style Cormoran as a top fly, accompanied by some wet flies on droppers.
The retrieve varies according to the style of flies selected. With the first configuration, the retrieve is performed with short hank movements alternating with pauses, thus covering a short distance. This creates a slow and natural movement that mimics many aquatic insects as they rise and fall in the water, enticing fish to attack. The second configuration, on the other hand, requires a faster and more continuous retrieve, ideal for the wet flies.
This technique makes it possible to keep flies in the trout's feeding zone for longer, reproducing the slow movement towards the surface typical of chironomes and nymphs.
Either copolymer or fluorcarbon can be used as a terminal, at your discretion. Copolymer is more flexible, so this can help the movement of the flies.
Ideally you should prepare a 4.50-metre terminal, which you will attach directly to the rat tail, with 2 droppers mounted at equal distances. The dropper should be about 20 cm long for the fly closest to the tail and 15 cm for the fly in the middle.
