Flyman416 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 So me and a couple friends are going backpaking at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky in a couple weeks, and I was trying to decide on whether or not I should take my fly rod or my ultra-light because the trail goes across several creeks and across the red river and i want to try to fish them. So my question is has anyone went on a three day trip with little or no problems with carrying a flyrod or an ultrlight? My flyrod is a W.W. Crigg GX 904-5 9'0' 4-peice 5 WT with an Okuma Reel S5/6 and my ultralight is a 4'6" 5 peice Shakespeare with a Diawa Spincast reel. Which one should I take? and what flies should i take aswell? My back pack is a feildline bighorn backpak (just to anwer that question). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
netabrookie 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 Flyman, I guess I would have to go with the fly rod. Since its still late winter here in Virginia I'll bet that the weather is similar where you will be and I would tend to think that anything that may be coming off the water or in the water will be small. You can throw little nymphs or dries with a fly rod but can't do much with the little stuff on spinning gear. I love to pack in and fish and hope you all have a great time. Take Care, Tony Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 Take the ultra light, and the fly reel. It's not as good as a fly rod, but you'll be able to use it if you get the chance. But if the creeks you cross are covered with over hanging trees, you might not be able to do a back cast ... no fly fishing. If you have the ultra light and a fly reel, you can fish any water you come to, either way you want. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyman416 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 Flyman, I guess I would have to go with the fly rod. Since its still late winter here in Virginia I'll bet that the weather is similar where you will be and I would tend to think that anything that may be coming off the water or in the water will be small. You can throw little nymphs or dries with a fly rod but can't do much with the little stuff on spinning gear. I love to pack in and fish and hope you all have a great time. Take Care, Tony Thanks! ill take some nymphs and some dries since these are going to be mostly trout waters and maybe a foot deep at the most. Take the ultra light, and the fly reel. It's not as good as a fly rod, but you'll be able to use it if you get the chance. But if the creeks you cross are covered with over hanging trees, you might not be able to do a back cast ... no fly fishing. If you have the ultra light and a fly reel, you can fish any water you come to, either way you want. Do you mean put the fly reel on the ultra-light rod? I would have never thought of that! that would allow me to pack light and flyfish. Thanks Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 I was going to suggest packing the flyrod and the ultra light reel just in case Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyman416 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 I was going to suggest packing the flyrod and the ultra light reel just in case I thought about after Mike suggested the ultra light rod and flyreel and decided that it would add too much extra weight becuase my fly rod is the only one i have and its a good one and i want to keep it safe at all times, in this case it would be too heavy as it would be in a PVC case that came with it, but thanks for the suggestion! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 I used to do it all the time, Flyman. Fly fishing with a short ultra light spinning rod is fun, once you get the hang of it. And you can flip a fly up under over hangs and fish in tighter quarters with a much shorter rod. If it's just too close, you go back to spinning reel and chuck some small crank baits, grub body jigs or worms into the water. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyman416 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 I used to do it all the time, Flyman. Fly fishing with a short ultra light spinning rod is fun, once you get the hang of it. And you can flip a fly up under over hangs and fish in tighter quarters with a much shorter rod.If it's just too close, you go back to spinning reel and chuck some small crank baits, grub body jigs or worms into the water. Do artificial lures like that really work well for winter time trout? I don't get many chances to fish for them in the winter time, so I don't really know what works as far as worms on a hook and nymphs. I do know to fish things slow during the winter time but nothing more, (is that right?). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riffleriversteelheadslayer 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 Winter time trout use small stuff like wax worms they are light to pack and last a long time in the bedding they come in Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted March 1, 2013 As I've been reading and getting some advice from the people on this site, mostly, I think you need really small flies to catch trout in the winter. But there are two things to think of with what you are planning. (1) Trout aren't the only fish in the water. If you can't fly fish with really small flies, then you have to try what ever will work. Bass, both small mouth and large mouth, often inhabit those same small streams that trout do. It's possible that you'll catch some really nice smallies with a small crank bait. (2) It is possible the fish you'll be trying to catch haven't seen much pressure. I love getting into small water, streams, ditches, etc.. Often, no one else has ever thought to fish it, or very few have. I do not know if trout fishing is the same, but I usually catch something, even if it's not very large. And I have caught 3 and 4 pound bass from road side ditches. Good luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyman416 0 Report post Posted March 2, 2013 Thanks! I'll throw in some small crank baits and jigs along with my UL reel. It weighs probably 4-5 oz not a whole lot more to my over all pack weight. I do need to stock up on small hooks though, like your talking about 20+ right? The smallest I've got right now is an 18. Anyways thanks guys for your help and suggestions! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites