beginner's luck

[cascade 0]

Hello All,

 

I just started fly fishing this year and so far having a great time. I live in Richmond VA and the James River within city limits is where I am trying to gain some experience. I currently have a 6wt tip sinking rig for streamers and minnows. I had a great time during shad run scoring some shad and blueback herring. Also had fun with white perch and young stripers biting pretty regularly in several spots that I can go to during lunch brakes or on the weekend.

 

I just tried to tie some 6 size hook streamer flies using house hold materials just to see what I can do. I was able to produce a number of decent looking zonker/muddler flies mainly based on my dogs hair. These turned out to be a little too big to comfortably cast with my 6wt outfit but sort of usable in tight but swift current side channels of the James River fall line.

 

Now to the point of this post. Although not catching anything I had a great time trying out these flies. First day, on a second cast down a swift current in 4ft-6ft deep channel I was about 30ft of line out. I started stripping once i could feel the fly hitting the bottom. I did not feel any bites but when i got the fly to about 5 ft of my rods tip when it was just above the surface so i could see it, I noticed a good size gar just following the fly. I thought it would bite any second but it was just following the fly almost like trying to sniff it. I ended up not having enough line out to do anything and when i got it to the tip this guy just slowly disappeared.

 

Couple of days later, same spot, same fly, same cast, I am stripping, and when I get to the point I can see the fly under water there is this at least 2ft catfish following my fly in a similar fashion to the gar. Ended stripping all the way and with no line to act let this guy disappeared below as well.

 

Any suggestions on what I can improve to get these guys actually bite? Would you say the pattern is sort of working since the bigger fish show interest?

[vicrider 0]

Maybe they're just sniffing the fly to see what kind of dog you have. If you can come up with the materials in yellow and orange or red tie some Mickey Finns. I'm TOLD catfish have an affinity for them. Your 6 wt. should handle streamers on a 6 hook with no trouble. Maybe you're way overdressing the material and it's carrying too much water weight after they get soaked. If you're in a pinch for ordering lots of material send me a PM with your address and I'll send you some materials for you to tie some streamers that should work for you.

[cascade 0]

Thanks for the offer! Not really in a pinch but I like the fact that I can use my dogs hair to catch some fish! After all these years of dealing with him shedding in the house maybe it will come to some use. These are just some early experiments and if I like it I probably invest in a vise and more refined materials. So far I have been eyeballing every day things and different scrap from my wife's craft projects and my workshop. It was just very exciting to see a bigger fish have a go at what I was able to make. The biggest surprise was to see how the bigger size fly was getting interest from much larger fish than what I was landing with size 10 hooks so far. That made me already start thinking about a heavier outfit to be able to turn some really big flies.

[mikechell 0]

Gar have a fairly specialized way of attacking prey. They cruise up beside it and, with a quick flick of that long jaw, snap down on the prey, disabling and stunning it. Many times, the snap is so quick, post people don't even know it happened.

For people who catch Gar to eat, there is a way to catch them without a hook. 6 inches of fine nylon rope, tied to a jig head, and combed out. When the Gar snaps at it, they get tangled in the fibers and you've got a fish on.

 

Because of the shape of their mouth, they cannot create the strong "vacuum" that allows other predators to "inhale" their target.

If the Gar can't get its mouth beside the prey, it can't attack it. If you want to attempt to catch one with a fly, you'll need to slow it down, give the gar a chance to get beside it, then give it a little life so the gar snaps at it.

[cascade 0]

i tried nylon rope the next day but got nothing. will try to tweak size and shape. maybe gar will be back when we get more sun after this rain. back when we used to live in florida we would go snorkling in the springs. gar would show up in groups hanging right under the surface in shade on really hot and sunny days. could it be the same for james river?

[JSzymczyk 0]

the fish we DON'T catch are the fish which keep us wanting to fish another day....

[Powershooter 0]

The white rope Mike mentioned is what people use for trailers on spinner baits in the James River. And I've seen them any time of day , they are always cruising . I've yet to catch one on the fly rod though .