Recent Patterns

[smallmouth]

I went a long way towards convincing my good friend who is a "dyed in the wool" spin fisherman to consider taking up the flyrod. We floated a river in our kayaks and I caught all the fish on deerhair bugs. He didn't get any strangely enough.



Notice the belly on this fish bulging with crayfish yet I caught it on a deerhair "bomber" like the ones used for Atlantic Salmon.

[SmallieHunter]

For many years I spin fished for Smallies with both live bait(hellgramites) and spinners and never even gave fly fishing a thought because I considered it to hard. Then I decided to give the 'ol fly rod a try and with just a little practice I began catching Smallies. Now I consider fly fishing the ultimate way to catch a Smallie mainly because you can get a more natural drift/presentation with a fly compared to any lure you can use. When I use a regular outfit we always had to cast downstream and bring the lure upstream which is a very unnatural presentation. With a fly you can let it drift with the current just as if it was a real piece of food drifting down stream.

I'm not sure if all species are like that but I defiently consider Smallies much easier on the fly rod!

Look at that belly! Nice fish and keep us posted on getting your friend to swith

[Jim Hester in MD]

That's a nice fat Smallie! I too like to use many of the deerhair patterns used for Salmon & Steelhead. Wakers, Glitter Bugs, Bombers are all great Smallie flies.

There is an attitude among most people who have never fly fished that it is difficult. It is probably a little more than spinning, but I believe anyone can fly cast if they have some patience, and a reasonable understanding of what they are trying to do. Having someone to teach them certainly helps!

I've come full circle with my fishing, starting with spin & spincasting tackle when I was a kid, to the fly rod, and now back to some spinning tackle, and baitcasting as well. I've always enjoyed using a fly rod the most and still do. No matter what method you use, you have to understand that all have limitations, and under some conditions one method will probably out produce the others. There will however always be those days when everything works!

I think any fly angler with enough experience can do as well as those who just use the conventional tackle if the conditions are favorable. For example, fishing on a day with 30 mph winds, the fly tackle is at considerable disadvantage, and even light spinning tackle would be difficult. Those types of days it's probably best to leave the fly rods at home! There are just too many variables that allow one or another method to out perform the others. But, on what could be considered an average day, I think fly fishing can certainly hold it's own.

There is a certain amount of gratification when you kick your spin fishing buddies butt using flies, especially on bass!

[Steelheader69]

I actually religiously use both fly and gear (I don't use spinning rods, ewwwwwwwwwww ) Baitcasters only for this guy. But I don't limit myself only to the fly. I love to fish salmon/steelhead/sturgeon primarily. Sometimes a SRC, but rarely. If I simply only flyfished for above species (well, would have to add scent for sturgeon), I'd have to expand my fishing types. Most guys I know who primarily flyfish have to fish when conditions are appropriate. Only problem, during the fall/winter months you usually (not always) have sporatic conditions. I know I've taken friends with me to the Hoh and Sol Duc that complained because we drove all that way and water was heavily stained. I had gear with me as well (which i told them to bring, but they refused). Fish can be caught, but has to be in front of their face. Alot of flyfisherman would've went home, or gave up. I switched my gear and hooked a few fish that day. He didn't even attempt, I had him row my driftboat back then.

I say the best thing to do is to not push him. Let him try it. I'd say, he's just not a good fisherman with any rod Especially if he didn't hook anything. I don't fish bass, so can't tell you what they're about, or what to use. So not sure which is better and when. But I know some days the fly is only way to go, some days gear is. I've outfished both spectrums, and have been outfished by them. Just depends on the day and the river. Nothing is a surefire guarantee, except a feed pellet on a hook at a fish farm.

[SmallieHunter]

I think all of the variables of fishing is what keeps our interest! Weather conditions, gear selection, fly or lure selection, etc all play a part in the success of the outing. We spend countless years trying to increase our knowledge so that we can be more successful. I think the "bad days" are important to us because we strive to have less of them, and the "good days" seem so much sweeter!

If you wanna be a successful fisherman you have to learn it all: spin casting, bait casting, fly casting, topwater, freshwater, saltwater and the list goes on and on. Believe me I'm no expert at any one particular aspect but I am decent at many different things which gives me some leverage compared to some who focus on just one thing.

[Leaky Waders]

Nice fish smallmouth,looks like fun in a kayak