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Fly Tying
stony

How do you fish?

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Just wondering how everybody fishes on here. Obviously there are more fly fisherman but how many of you are also worm drowners?

 

I have been fishing with worms, lures, and bait for the better part of my life and only recently have I discovered fly fishing.

 

I enjoy both but am much more comfortable using my spinning gear. When I go out to fly fish, I still bring my regular stuff with me. I call it the skunk eliminator.

 

Still debating whether or not I can ice fish with a fly rod?

 

 

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I haven't picked up my spinning gear once yet this season except to load and unload it from the wagon. I'll carry it along with me and use it only if conditions are so bad I can't cast a fly and even then I'll still tie a fly on and use a bobber or wieght to get some distance. If the fish are hitting only on lures though, I'll eventually use one if the location permits it. :D

 

Haven't used worms in more than a couple of decades, never used bait, just artificial lures or flies that have been converted to a barbless, single hook.

 

Can't say I've tried ice fishing with a fly rod as it's been over 30 years since I've ice fished but if I did go ice fishing, I'd leave the fly rod at home. I don't know if you've tried it but you can fly fish open water quite easily in the middle of winter as I was doing it in January up at Shuswap Lake. I made sure that I had the rod guides well coated with fly line dressing to help control icing. Winter fly fishing can be a challenge and a lot of fun.

 

Take care stony!

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I'll carry it along with me and use it only if conditions are so bad I can't cast a fly and even then I'll still tie a fly on and use a bobber or wieght to get some distance.

 

Ernie, I didn't know such conditions existed. If you want to borrow my 12wt, all you need to do is ask.

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I'm 95% fly these days. About the only time I will pick up a rod thats not a fly rod is every once in awhile when I fish a spot below a dam on the Au Sable that is hard to get a good cast with a fly rod there. Even then though that spin rod ia 10'6" long....I just cant deal with them short 7ft spin rods after using the long rod for close to two decades :unsure:

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hey stoney,

 

I,m ready for the abuse. Here's the bottom line. There is no better rig than the spinning rig. anywhere,anytime anyplace. period. It will out fish every other rig on the planet. If you baitcast; it will baitcast. if you centerpin; it will do that job also. My favorite is an ULTRA lite with good 4# test. I feel i can catch about any fish on it

 

And there is no better presentation than live bait.

 

That said. I haven't used my spinning rod since the spring catfish spawn in april (Caught all kinds on worms)

 

Ive been fly fishing all year.(got some cat that way also :headbang: ) Got a 6 foot 5 wt noodle and started tying again. lots of fun new challenges.

It is a much slower and possibly more focused way of fishing for me right now. it is like relearning all the old species. And that Knowlage coupled with all the facts learned while spin fishing can only be helpfull.

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I like sitting on the shore (saltwater) using big spinning gear, 25 pound test + leaders, 4 to 6 ounce sinkers on slida rigs with cut fish, bloodworms or squid for bait on big hooks 4/0 to 9/0. I made a rod holder (re-bar and P.V.C) and added some glow in the dark flashabou to the last foot of my rod, (medium/heavy). I got a shimano bait runner 6500B rigged with long cast 20 pound test. I'll take a few beer and a lawn chair. I like it in the dark the best so I have a headlight and a small lantern. Its always cooler on the shore and a great way to relax and beat the heat in the summer. You never know what you are going to catch, last time out I had "something" big and heavy on my line for about 20 minutes before it snapped my leader. It swam away with a 9 aught stainless steel gamakatsu. Nice piece of jewelry..bugger

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I started fly fishing and tying in Jan. and haven't packed spinning gear since. I haven't been skunked yet, some trips I only caught one fish. So it's made me work harder to catch fish, but I have learned alot and can keep up with my Father In-law and he has been fly fishing for years.

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Chris, I sort of agree with you, but not quite. I think using a spinning rig is the easiest way to catch fish, but whether it's the best or not is pretty much a matter of personal preference. Give me a bucket of live minnows and a few hellgramites and I'm pretty confident that I could catch just about any trout alive under the right conditions. If I had to fish to feed myself, that's what I'd do, but fortunately, it's never come to that. (close, but not quite) I used to think I fished for the sheer pleasure of it, but when I think of all the times I've been out there in drenching rain and howling gales, trying (and failing) to cast to tuna or bass breaking 20 feet away, or trying to feel a steelhead bump with frozen fingers, it makes me question my own sanity. It isn't always fun to flyfish, but it's always challenging, and that's the part of it that appeals to me. I've still got a dust-coated Penn 710 and a Mitchell 300 that I got back in the '60s, but I'd only use the Penn if I had the urge to go collect a few scup or tautogs for dinner, and I doubt I'll ever pick up the Mitchell again. Besides, if I were a bait guy, I'd miss the fun of tying flies all winter and shooting the breeze with all the other lunatics.

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The only time I touch my spinning gear is to catfish, other than that it sits in the garage, and collects dust.

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90% is done with my fly pole. The other 10% is with my cat pole on the Snake River or when I take the girlfriend out to shore fish for bass. Also want to start Steelhead fishing again soon which I will use my spinning gear for. I would be lost using my fly pole. (my pole isnt heavy enough anyway,6wt).

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I prefer to fly fish when I am fishing alone, which is most of my time. I still use and enjoy conventional fishing particularly when I am fishing with other people as I don't fish with anyone who flyfishes or is interested in learning. Just makes things easier to keep everyone on the same page and speed.

 

And obviously flyfishing is out during the icefishing season. I still fish very light (1 lbs. test line), but hitting that little 8-inch hole in the ice from even 20 feet away with the fly rod is just too much of a challenge.

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The only time I touch spinning gear now is when I'm helping my kids, and even they would rather use flies on thei spinning gear with a casting bobber. They catch just as many gills with flies as they do with worms, and they get the added excitement of seeing the fish take the fly off the surface.

 

I,m ready for the abuse. Here's the bottom line. There is no better rig than the spinning rig. anywhere,anytime anyplace. period. It will out fish every other rig on the planet

 

I'm not gonna tell ya that you're wrong and full of crap, everyone has the right to their own opinion. BUT :D

 

There are times when fly gear will out produce spinning gear, and that is un-arguable. There are times when spinning gear will outproduce fly gear, that is also un-arguable. Theres always gonna be the debate which is better, but there is no "better". As far as catching fish, each has it's times when it will be the best tool to get the job done.

 

I like using the fly rod for everything. Even when a spinning rig would make catching easier, I like to figure out how I can make the fly rig just as effective, sometimes I just watch a buddy take me to school, and sometimes I get to take him to school. But, I'm not out there for numbers anyway, I just like fly fishing

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