Hook Classification for Panfish

[josephcsylvia 0]

"If the fish see the hook well enough to know what it is, they would not bite on it."

Yeah ... them smarter feesh, well, they just wouldn't bite a fly ties on some cheap ol' Eagle Claw!

 

Florida here ... NO trout to be had. I tie for bass and sunfish. A lot of my flies are tied on size 8 and size 6 Eagle claw hooks from that box on the bottom shelf. I do like the curved shank scud hooks once in a while, but usually, not.

You can catch little 'gills and other sunfish on small trout flies ... but you'll be hooking a lot of 3 inch fish. Tie a little larger for the 8 to 12 inch fish.

 

Panfish attractor.jpg PA030005.JPG crunchy bumble bee 001a.JPG copied foam hopper (15).JPG fluffy popper.jpg Katydid SBS (13).JPG

 

 

I know this is an older post but Mike I have to tell you there are freshwater trout in Florida, I know a Dr. up near the panhandle that stocks his two ponds evry Nov with trout and he only lets fly fishing for a very modest $20 and you can keep one unless you have a bleeder from a deep swallowed fly then he wants you to keep that one too for obvious reasons I actually will be making a road trip up there shortly

[mikechell 0]

Okay ... a couple of private stocked ponds do not count, sorry. That's like saying there are Musky in Florida because Sea World has one in a tank.

 

$20.00 to cast at the proverbial fish in a barrel is not "modest" in my opinion. This isn't Europe.

 

But that's just my opinion.

 

If I am going to pay to fish for trout ... I am headed to the mountains.

[josephcsylvia 0]

Agreed but trout are actually stocked in many places they are found naturally. I actually was just talking about a mountains trip today!

[Roland58 0]

There are a number of small lakes in the east Texas area that stock Trout every fall when the water temps are right. The difference being they don't charge to fish for them and you don't have to use a fly rod. All the Trout are the same size, just over legal, not very big. Personally, I have never fished for them. The funny thing is that most of them are caught on canned corn on a Wally World hook, one o' dem not so sharp, barbbed ones. So much for sharp and being able to see the hook. Oh, maybe it is because they were raised in the South and ain't as smart as them northern bred ones, ya' think?

Actually, I don't know where they come from. They may be imported from Canada or one of our northern states.

 

I can attest for a big Large-mouth Bass being very picky about what they will bite, unless you are dragging a lure through one of their nests. (It should be illegal to fish for them during spawn. Just my opinion) It is easy to spot a nest, at times, as they clear out a spot that shows up quite well and momma is either on the nest or very close.......if she hasn't already been drug off.

 

When I used to use a baitcasting rig and plastic baits, I would buy the high dollar Gamasaki, Komatsu or whatever hooks for their strength and sharpness. I would still sharpen them after catching a few fish on them. When saltwater fishing, I bought the stainless steel hooks to prevent rust. I guess the saltwater fish don't care if there is a big hook in the bait or even some heavy gauge wire holding it on. Most of them have a mouthful of nasty teeth that can go right through a large piece of mono.

 

The more I learn about fly tying, maybe I will be converted to dedicated fly hooks. Until then, I'll be like Mike and use whatever is handy and cheap to learn on......Bass and Panfish don't seem to mind.

[mikechell 0]

Freshly stocked trout have just come from a hatchery and are used to being fed pellets. That's why they are easy to catch, they're used to being fed. I would suppose that there are very few places that AREN'T stocked, but in the Northern States, they can live years, if they wise up quickly enough.

 

"Bass and Panfish don't seem to mind" .. neither do trout, salmon or any other fish. People always assume some fish are smarter than others. Very little science to support that. Fish that get caught and released soon get conditioned to NOT take lures, especially the "best lure around" because everybody's using it. Makes them look smart, but it's just conditioning. Any animal can be conditioned to like or dislike anything ... if enough positive or negative reinforcement can be applied.

[Philly 0]

We get hold over trout in a lot of the stocked streams around here. Here's a good example that trout aren't as particular as most people think. I caught these two in a lake up in Vermont. The trout are stocked as fingerlings and do reproduce. Not sure how long this one had been in the lake. I was fishing for panfish and bass.

 

Caught this one first

 

Caught this one a couple of casts later

 

 

on the same fly

 

Years ago when I was fishing some of the local streams up there for native brookies, before I got caught up in catch and release. Several of the had cigarette butts in their stomachs when I cleaned them. Thought about tying a cigarette butt fly.

[Roland58 0]

Mike sed, "Fish that get caught and released soon get conditioned to NOT take lures, especially the "best lure around" because everybody's using it."

 

Yep, that's why you change lures~~!!!!!