Trolling Flies

[Lesg 0]

Ok , so... As long as I cast this with the fly rod I'm not trolling right ?

 

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Can I watch?? From a safe distance of course.

[tjm 0]

Rooster-tail on spinning rod is legal fly-fishing in Mo. I guess it would be legal on casting rod too, though I don't see casting rods on the trout waters. A Kastmaster fished with a fly rod and a single action reel was legal fly fishing in RI when I lived there.

 

I'm not sure any one knows what's legal in Maine, if it is legal right there it may not be 50' away on the same stream. By far the most complicated regs I ever saw.

[JSzymczyk 0]

I've trolled with fly gear and caught fish. Trout and bass mostly. Normal fly tackle sucks for trolling. The drag on the thick, relatively stretchy line and the qualities of most fly rods just are not ideal, or even good, for trolling. I'm well past being a purist with any fishing style.... Trolling a fly with a spinning rod, nano-fil line, and a mono leader would be much more enjoyable. I think I'll do some of that this year. Quite a lot of the enjoyment of fly fishing for me is in the casting... in all styles of fishing now that I think of it- a well executed, extremely accurate cast is satisfying all on it's own. All that aside, fly tackle sucks for trolling.

[vicente 0]

Yes I fly fish largely in part for the enjoyment and challenge off becoming a better caster, a lot of areas I fish since my time is limited are not great and if I am not catching decent fish with spinning gear or exploring a small creek out in the woods I don't enjoy it much, however with fly fishing there is always something to work on that doesn't require catching fish.

[Dave G. 0]

I troll with 6 wt rods, even 7/8 when I use a fly rod. I prefer iM6 graphite rods, they give a good feel and forgiving bend and a 6 wt gives enough back bone to set the hook. i leave my 4 and 5 wt rods at home if I'm going to troll. I like the older St Croix iM6 8'6" 6 wt for trolling ( they probably don't offer that blank anymore but there are similar iM6 blanks still made out there, you want that forgiving tip section at any rate). Both my wife and I used to troll a lot with Sage graphite II 6 wt 9 ft rods with #3 sinking line and have no trouble hooking up on nice small mouth and her record brook trout she caught in the Moose river up in Rockwood Me. Salmon on top too out on the lakes. Trolling flies in there is standard procedure in the spring. The key with trolling flies is action, you impart the action with your rod motion, it's not a deal where you stick the rod in a holder and read a book like down rigger fishing might present.. No, you feel the strike and set the hook. I troll with the rod in my hand straight back popping the action up and down to make that fly dart, when I feel a pop on the line set the hook hard, hold for a second or two and let down slightly, then get the fish into a bent rod situation and the motor into neutral as quick as you can. in fact I keep a loop of line under the rod, i kind of let the loop go and cut the engine prop at the same time, the fish is usually still there after that motion.

 

8ft trolling rods for conventional gear works too, just put a fly out . Again you want just the right action with a forgiving tip.

 

Too stiff a rod for trolling just doesn't work, you will lose every fish. I find if the whole rod won't shake and kind of wave with about a 1/6-1/4 oz Thomas spoon on at 1-1/2- 2mph as a test, then it's the wrong action rod. You want to see the whole shaft rippling so to speak and feel it in the grip with the rod in a bit of a bend. Then you can put a fly out there with confidence. I have a Fin Nor iM 6 lite spinning rod that never loses fish or rarely, yet a similar lite iM7 rod with faster action that rarely holds a fish on the same lures ( the action is too quick). Trolling is different. You need that fiber glass effect or iM6 or graphite/ glass composite IMO. But hey I'm no expert, just been doing this for a long time is all. And old school. Modern rod design with high modulus graphite can stay at home too, IMO, ( spinning or fly) at least for trolling anyway. Oh and don't go trolling for Northern Pike with a 6 wt, bump the wt up but still keep the modulus down.

 

Incidentally, with the rod straight back you won't feel the drag of the line in the water but will still feel the pop of the fish taking the fly, especially salmon, they side swipe and turn away and that puts a pop and then followed instantly by a load on the line. Perch and probably walleye you might be best off drifting, keep the action slow but pulsing,expect the take on the drop, where salmon take on the pulling away. Large mouth are boring to troll for but fun to popper fish for. You can attract them off the bottom in 6-10 ft of water usually or send a big 6" perch fly down into their zone ( that's when I use the 7/8 iM6).

[LivelyOne 0]

Probably 15 years ago I asked some older-timers about trolling for landlocks here in the Finger Lakes of NY, they said a fly rod/reel, spooled with mono, with a split shot in front of the fly to get it down 6-8 feet, is a pretty standard set up. This would be from a canoe vs. a powerboat at trolling speed.

 

Around that time I also bought a selection of 'trolling flies' from a guy in Maine. They were all two-hook designs.. second hook attached to first via stiff wire, and both were dressed. The flies were 5-6 inches overall. Some had beads strung on the wire. Caught some bass, perch, rock bass on them over the years, but don't troll much anymore (sore back)..

 

This isn't my photo, but this is what they looked like:

[vicente 0]

Why would you spool a fly reel with mono, why not just put a spinning reel on your fly rod if you wasn't the fly rod flex.

[sandflyx 0]

Back when the salmon were legal to snag in NY we used mono on fly reels to fish wets and eggs. tossed them out and let the current take it down stream, like fishing center pin. for trolling a piece of lead core and flat mono running (shooting) line was used for years. It's how it was done back then. I troll the finger lakes with an elec. motor on my NuCanoe. padding you can't go fast enough for them. a trolling speed of 2 to 3 mph is needed constantly

[tjm 0]

Why would you spool a fly reel with mono, why not just put a spinning reel on your fly rod if you wasn't the fly rod flex.

A spare spool carries in a pocket better than a whole spinning reel, I used to carry as many as three spare spools with different lines on them.

[cphubert 0]

I have a spare spool with lead core line for trolling, with a fly rod. No one ever told me you have to cast it prior to trolling. I don't cast intermediate lines while trolling either, we are talking canoe's & kayaks for trout and landlocks not tuna.

[vicente 0]

If I'm in a boat to troll even my canoe I have plenty of space for a spinning reel or rod for trolling.

[tjm 0]

Different strokes for different folks, Sly Stone said in a song. Virtually all my tackle stays in my vest forever, but, I'm too lazy to carry more than one rod. I would be more apt to use a mono spool to slip a heavy spoon down a fast deep run than troll with it. An all 'roun rod with varying lines can let me change styles to suit water conditions or my mood. That same rod can fish live bait.

I know a man that owns several dozen fly rods and will change rods to change flies, he does pretty good that way, I would not.

[Dave G. 0]

Probably 15 years ago I asked some older-timers about trolling for landlocks here in the Finger Lakes of NY, they said a fly rod/reel, spooled with mono, with a split shot in front of the fly to get it down 6-8 feet, is a pretty standard set up. This would be from a canoe vs. a powerboat at trolling speed.

 

Around that time I also bought a selection of 'trolling flies' from a guy in Maine. They were all two-hook designs.. second hook attached to first via stiff wire, and both were dressed. The flies were 5-6 inches overall. Some had beads strung on the wire. Caught some bass, perch, rock bass on them over the years, but don't troll much anymore (sore back)..

 

This isn't my photo, but this is what they looked like:

My back was killing me in our canoe 20 some odd years ago till we got seat backs for it, that changed everything. I can not sit much of anywhere for more than 10 minutes without lower back support. When we had an open utility boat I put in swivel seats and would roll up a towel and put that at my lower back position. Now I'm all the older, I tend not to put the canoe on top of my X-terra but rather on a little utility trailer I own, that way I can lift from waist height, especially since my wife is short and in worse shape than I'm in..

 

Our present boat has padded seats in it but I stand up to troll and rest my lower back against the windshield frame ( fish and ski style boat). We use both canoe and boat for different purposes but my back thus far has not stopped me from fishing.

 

Do the Finger Lakes have smelt in them ? Most Maine Land Locked trolling flies are to simulate smelt . Land Locks love smelt but if there are no smelt then they eat something else. I didn't know the Finger Lakes have Land Locks in them, interesting. In northern Maine the smelt populations are having trouble and they tend to be smaller these days, most people have adjusted their streamer sizes down to match. I haven't tied a tandem hooked streamer in years now for up there, at least not for the Moosehead Lake area of Maine.. Smaller spoons too and Junior Mooselooks vs the full sized ones.

[sandflyx 0]

finger lakes have smelt and alewives as the main bait fish.

[sandflyx 0]

My trolling/floating rig. Nucanoe 12ft. with 30 lbs motor rope steering. with home made fly rod holders on each side for trolling. all fits inside the van.