Flies on a spinning outfit

[Shawn.V]

I want to try to use flies on my spinning outfit, i heard they can be effective. Im rather new to river fishing and im wondering what setup will be most effective for the flies. 4lb mono liter with some small splitshots?

 

thanks for any advice

[kickingfrog]

Yes you can use flies with spinning tackle. The weight of you line will depend on the size of the fish your after, the length and action of your rod and the water colour. In really small streams where a 10 inch brookie is huge, 2lb line could be used but 4lb or even 6lb would most likely be fine.

 

You'll use more split shot in deeper water or in faster current.

[MJL]

Depending on the type of water you’re fishing, you can fish the flies beneath a float or you can try your hand at bottom bouncing them (which I do both for my steelhead fishing)

 

In faster runs and pocket water, I like bottom bouncing flies (provided the bottom isn’t incredibly snaggy). The easiest way to rig it is crimp enough split shot 16 inches above the fly to let the presentation drift along bottom. Too much weight will have your rig sitting stationary on bottom (you don’t want this). Too little and you won’t reach bottom (you don’t want this either). I normally have my finger on the line (or hold it with my left hand) and feel the tap-tap-tap of the shots bouncing bottom to let me know if I’m in the zone – If I feel something spongy I set the hook (it’s a little hard to explain what a take feels like). For my own bottom bouncing needs, I normally tie on a 6-10lb mono or fluoro leader to my mainline using a uni-to-uni knot or a double surgeons knot and crimp split shot to the tag end where the leader and mainline are knotted together…Similarly if you’re using a swivel, you can crimp split shots on the tag end of the mainline to swivel knot – If you snag up on the shots, they’ll slide off and save you from re-tying a whole new rig. Check you’re line and hook often because a bottom bouncing rig generally goes through lots of abuse bouncing along the bottom.

 

For float fishing flies, rig them like you would a roe bag. Hard to explain but there are lots of tutorials on rigging if you google it. Everyone has their own way of rigging their float set-up. Someone posted a link to a shotting tutorial not too long ago. You probably can find it if you search through the archives.

 

Hope this helps

[steve barrett]

Sure why not? If you try something that works for you .Go for it. I myself try different things that makes me happy and if one catches fish it's a bonus. Keep the lines light especially with flies.

[BillM]

Someone told me this little secret once and it's worked pretty well.

 

Attach the fly with 18-20inches of flouro to a small Williams Wobler spoon with the hook removed. Then attach the Williams to your mainline. Kinda like a small salmon flasher setup...

 

 

F---flouro leader-------Williams Wobler-------mainline (Preferably 4lb mono at most for gin clear streams)

[OhioFisherman]

They used to sell clear casting floats that water could be added to for weight, one end was tied to the line and a leader to the other end and the fly attached to the leader.

 

Also a popular item here during the big white bass days was a casting float shaped like a popper with eyelets on both ends, same deal as the casting floats white bass flies sold here were a hook with a piece of electrical insulation and a chicken feather, most of them were painted with eyes to look like small bait fish.

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=4MKQz8g3g...esult#PPA171,M1

Edited March 20, 2009 by OhioFisherman

[Dnthmn]

Good advice so far. The only thing I will add is that you should use a non-slip mono loop or rapala knot to attach your fly. It gives much better action to the presentation than tying something like a palomar.

 

http://www.netknots.com/html/non_slip_loop_knot.html

[MJL]

They used to sell clear casting floats that water could be added to for weight, one end was tied to the line and a leader to the other end and the fly attached to the leader.

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=4MKQz8g3g...esult#PPA171,M1

 

Those plastic casting bubbles work great. I used them with dry flies a few times and although I didn't get any trout, I got bucket loads worth of chub, shiners and the odd baby smallie. One tip someone gave me when fishing dry flies with those casting bubbles is to put vaseline on the line above those floats so you can mend your line a little easier on the drift.

[Garry2Rs]

I used those clear plastic floats years ago with some success. You could pull them open to let water inside for casting weight. Mono is for choice as a leader on dry flies, because it floats. Fluoro on wet flies and nymphs because it sinks. You can buy tapered leaders of various tip strengths and lengths in the fly fishing section of places like BPS. The line to the reel could be either mono or braid since both float. This is more of a pond or slow stream technique because the hardest part of the deal is mending the line, or keeping it off the water, to eliminate drag. I suppose that's why the centre pin reel boys use such long rods...

[OhioFisherman]

Just another off the wall tip that may be useful to some. Mono floats pretty well, not perfect, I used to do a lot of live bait fishing with large minnows, chubs, perch and bluegill where legal, ect.

 

A throw a large bait out and let it get itself into trouble while you sit back and enjoy the day kind of fishing. Open bail or bait caster in free spool and let the bait wander.

 

A big chub, perch, will easily take a slip float 100-150 feet from your location, either shore or in a boat, and depending on soaking the bait time the mono will sink. This can cause problems, it sinks into submerges weeds, wood that may be on the bottom, and sometimes the wind is pushing your line one way the fishing going a different way.

 

It can make setting a hook on a fish problematic, you think you have enough slack out of the line for a good hook set and don`t. LOL I like to cross their eyes, especially when using large bait.

 

A product I found that helps to solve this issue was Gerke gink? a wax like fly line dressing that works on mono as well. It used to come in a tin like snuff no idea on it now. Makes being a line watcher a lot easier.

 

Had days when using a 6-8 inch chub would only get you a couple hits a day, making them count was worth the effort.

 

Just like spooling your line, take out as much as you are comfortable letting the bait wander, take a paper towel or piece of cloth and rub some gink on it and run the line back on the reel.

[chukkk]

Until I read these answers I thought I was a pretty good fisherman... However with all these excellent and knowledgeable suggestions ... I sure have a lot to learn. But .. like they say just getting out there is worth it and who knows I always try the wonderful tutorials that can be found on OFC. In any event I appreciate the tutorials and tips that I read on here and just can't believe the wealth of information that can be had here , just for the asking

[Shawn.V]

You got that right Chukk, thanks for all the great advice guys, i cant wait to get out on the tribs to try it out.

[OhioFisherman]

LOL some of us are geezers and used to fish,

[singingdog]

Another vote for the spoon/fly set-up. It can be tough to cast, but is a definite fish catcher.

[OhioFisherman]

http://www.chicagolandcanoebase.com/NoNameLure.html

[chukkk]

http://www.chicagolandcanoebase.com/NoNameLure.html

 

 

 

That is some good reading there OhioFisherman I copied the pictures to a file I keep on this stuff ... who knows what works for fishing.

My background is horse racing and it's the same thing there don't discount it untill you try it in a race

[River Rat]

I run flies under the float all the time. Tie em jig style for slow water so they "swim" horizontal.

 

RR

[douG]

I'm a geezer, and some fish scare me, ok?

 

A little slack. If you don't mind.

[OhioFisherman]

LOL douG your still a kid, me too I just feel like a geezer!

 

Chukk, ya the net is great! an at home library, it just makes things so much easier. As a kid I had some pretty good teachers, dad, a few of his friends, a couple of uncles.

 

Just a different era, depression kids, fish was food for them. My dads father died when he was 13, 6 brothers and 7 sisters and short on cash, fish to eat. His friends were mostly the same age and had the same thoughts, same life experience. Changes the view on it some I guess when not catching means not eating?

 

Still fun for them when the situation changed and they had decent incomes, but they were sort of self limiting, walleye, perch, crappie, cats, food fish, mix in bluegills. Dad also fished for burbot (lawyers) thru the ice, and I am guessing that anything that bit was bucket bound as a kid.

 

Completely different for me, Dad had some faults, but I never missed a meal because of them, and growing up the fish fry was the regular deal. For me with food on the table regularly food fish weren`t a limiter, I got the bass bug pretty early. Dad would rather fish for just about anything else. The walleye and Blue Pike disappearing from Lake Erie got him going to Ontario. New stuff to learn for me, but still the search for food fish for him.

 

Just different life experiences, I rarely keep fish, he couldn`t let them go without some pain. Next chapter? Italian bread, I never buy it and don`t care to eat it!

[chukkk]

I hear all that Ohio F. it was interesting to see your dad came from a family of 13.

My Mother had 19 kids 12 boys and 7 girls...

It took us older ones a while to figure out why they had all those kids.

 

Mom was deaf as a post all her life and when her and dad went to bed at night dad would always say in his quiet voice

"yah wanna go to sleep or what"... her being deaf and all would say loudly "WHAT' well you can take it from there