The big problem with dry fly fishing is continuing to fish the same fly after catching fish! Once the fish has been caught and netted you now have to attempt to restore your dry fly to a fishable condition. All fly types are prone to getting slimed up but some are worse than others. Deer hair with its hollow fibres is arguably the easiest to get back fishing, fine hackled flies can take a bit rinsing, and both can usually be restored with gink or other silicone-based floatants. CDC though is a problem.
Get your CDC floating again
CDC floats well and repels water naturally, up to a point. Eventually, though it does waterlog and if you catch a fish not only is it full of water but it has a coating of fish slime too. You can try desiccants and dry shake but even this doesn’t fully do the required job. This video explains getting your CDC dry fly clean and dry once more.
The best method by far, in my opinion, is to use a simple elastic band. A few seconds and the CDC is restored to dry and fluffy and the addition of dessicant only helps if you have it, if not, it should still be OK for a while.
This method also works on other fly types but CDC is where it comes into its own. This Two Minute Tip video shows you how.
