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Are these flys, and would you fish them with a fly rod

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I wouldn't consider those flys not that you couldn't fish turn with a fly rod if you wanted to, they look big enough/heavy enough for it to be much easier fishing then with light spinning gear. I've used rubber baits on a hook with my fly rod as Iook sure a large number of us who fish for Bass have, but if I tie the bait permanently on there it doesn't make it a fly IMO, and there's nothing wrong with that. Tie them on go out and fish them and post a picture if you catch something.

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We just had a long and long-winded discussion on this same topic about a month ago.

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We just had a long and long-winded discussion on this same topic about a month ago.

It's a recurring theme and argument. A fly is a lure too light to cast with conventional gear, in my opinion. So, if you want to fish a 1 inch Rapala 60 feet away, you'll need to cast it on a fly rod ... so it's a fly in that use.

If you cast it using conventional gear, it's a lure. If you cast it on a fly rod, it's a lure one calls a "fly".

 

But, as has been noted, in fly fishing only waters (yes, FlaFly, trout waters only, as far as I know) The definition of a fly is much more strict.

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So, if you want to fish a 1 inch Rapala 60 feet away, you'll need to cast it on a fly rod ... so it's a fly in that use.

If you cast it using conventional gear, it's a lure. If you cast it on a fly rod, it's a lure one calls a "fly".

 

So what is it when it's not being fished?

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Well see now Rapala is something that already has a name by it's series, prefaced by brand name Rapala. And trade Marked no less ( Rapala: Shad Rap, Glass Rap, Shad Jerk ,Original Floating Minnow etc. etc.) I don't see it getting renamed by what kind of rod you fish it on.

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And a foam frog with rubber legs tethered behind a bubble cast via a spinning rod is still a foam frog with rubber legs. Wow, say that ten times real fast !

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Luring some to try deep drop fly rig fishing for reef donkeys where a #13 weight fly rod spooled with an intermediate line having a 700 grain head attached might end up with a cast 20-25 feet away from the boat so a fly that size could just sink to the right depth in freshwater tactics might not be such a bad idea !

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It's so old and tired. There is no magic involved fishing with fly tackle. You want to fish spinning or casting lures on fly tackle? Ok, go ahead. Read "Bassin' with a Fly Rod" by Jack Ellis, 2003. Plastic worm fishing with a fly rod.

 

IF you are on waters which are regulated as "Fly Fishing Only" then you need to worry about what is and what is not a fly. You won't be fishing on those types of water with those plastic lures.

It just doesn't fit. At least not anywhere I've fished in North America. FFO waters are almost universally trout-centric.

 

Casting those on a fly rod, using the mass of the LINE to propel the mass of the LURE, is going to be a royal pain in the ass.

 

Again, there is nothing other than PERSONAL PREFERENCE as to what kind of tackle you use to fish those. NO QUESTION they would be more "effectively" fished on spinning or casting gear.

 

Eons ago, one of the heralded classic anglers, Ray Bergman wrote about fishing "There are bug days, and there are plug days"... he was a foremost fly fisherman of his era,

and the context was bass fishing. He was smart enough to tell folks about how much fun fly fishing is, but to accept the fact that some times it's not the MOST fun. And that's what fishing is about in the end.

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Here we go round the mulberry bush. The first one, I like the idea. I really don't think it would be that heavy. I guess it would depend on the size of a the grub. I have the squid skirts and the large curly tails and the jigs to turn them into flounder killers. We use to use the squid skirts to make daisy chains for off shore trolling or small trolling lures. Would I fish that combination off a fly rod, no. Any more than I would fish a 1 inch Rapala off one. Just realized that my 10 lb braid has the the diameter of 2 lb mono/fluorocarbon. That should solve the problem of casting one with my ultralight rod.

The second one. I already have flies in my box that look like that and plan to tie several more. Difference. I'm using the curly tails you can pick up at the fly shop tied in though I may have to rethink using just the tail off of a grub. The body is long estaz and saddle hackle twisted together and wrapped on the shank, the head is either spinner bait skirt layers or a spinner bait skirt. Would I fish the combination in the picture with my fly rod, no. Just personal preference. If it works for you use it.

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I built a heavy bamboo fly rod for a fellow who fishes with plastic worms for smallmouth bass. It doesn't matter if the head is molded at the factory or made with epoxy at the tying bench and turned on a dryer. I caught a trout by drifting a plastic crappie jig downstream. Didn't even have to cast it.

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Are they flies? Legally, in my state, they are not flies. Not only are they not flies, they would be considered bait. But that's one legal definition. If you choose to call them flies great.

 

Would I fish them with a fly rod? If they are castable, legal and I thought they would be effective, I might.

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I built a heavy bamboo fly rod for a fellow who fishes with plastic worms for smallmouth bass. It doesn't matter if the head is molded at the factory or made with epoxy at the tying bench and turned on a dryer. I caught a trout by drifting a plastic crappie jig downstream. Didn't even have to cast it.

I've caught more than one trout on a bare hook with a split shot jammed down against the knot. Maybe it looks like a midge larva. Is that a "fly" ?

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Not a fly. I tie up to 8oz bucktails at my tying desk they are not flies. I dress the tail hooks of plugs at my tying desk and they are not flies. Can I fish an 8oz bucktail off the end of my fly rod, You bet but its not fly fishing. If the line is carrying the distance it's fly fishing. If the lure/fly is carrying the distance it's not fly fishing. No I would not sling them with my fly rod nor would I ever try to argue they are flies. With that said, if that's what you want to do have at it. Enjoy it however you want. Some people feel they have to wear twead jackets and fish with silk line and dry flies only for it to be fly fishing. Life is to short to pigeonhole yourself.

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