Unconventional fly fishing techniques

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (whrlpool) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:14:18 GMT

Here's one from this morning. Boiling fast current. Saw the fish porpoise, from a deep lie well underneath the fast top current. Four casts--well above him into the froth. WF 6, type 6 sink tip, olive wooly worm (a brute brown trout on the feed can rarely resist these) tied to a leader just a few inches longer than the fish turned out to be: 23" 5 lbs. 13 oz. I didn't intend to keep the fish, but he was all over that fly like a street punk on an unlocked BMW, and he was hooked so...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (whrlpool) — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:58:40 GMT

Sorry, a favorite 8' 5-weight relatively soft graphite in the photo, but the rest is relevant to the points about sink-tips and short leaders. Not that landlocked salmon are that hard to catch when they start feeding aggressively in the spring, but here's the result of the sink-tip, short-leader method. LLS are rarely leader shy and love motion on a fly; folks who catch one "accidentally" this way soon realize that it's more likely accidental to catch them on a dead...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (Flywalker) — Sat, 23 May 2009 10:44:59 GMT

That's great, Pearow. I know exactly what you're talking about. I remember some times when I used to bass fish more that I would make a cast and then think to myself that the only way I was going to get the fly back was if I hooked a fish, so that I didn't hook the brush on the way out.

Course, those were the random casts that didn't end up wrapped around a limb and cinched down with a double half hitch... Funny, I don't think I've ever caught a fish one...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (pearow) — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:07:39 GMT

Bass in clear water lakes in East texas are very wary after theyve been beat to death by the chunk and wind crowd all spring; a fly line in the air will spook them. One of the "unconventional "ways i have of avoiding this is to toss my weedless diver into a bush or grass on the shoreline; leave it there for a few minutes(feels like an hour) and then gently work it to the edge of the lake and let it drop into the water; then let it just sit there; sometimes ole bucket mouth will...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (whrlpool) — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:42:05 GMT

I don't enjoy fishing with split shot or heavily weighted flies--this is fishing with a fly, but it is not fly fishing or fly casting. It is a convenient method for fast prospecting and timed drift boat trips with people who can't cast anyhow, or at least not well enough to do it together two in a boat. It gets the fly down quickly, eliminating the need to read and judge current, then position oneself accordingly to cast and mend line so the fly goes where it needs to be. On small...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (Laramie Spinner) — Fri, 22 May 2009 12:18:51 GMT

After fifty years of this I'm still not sure about what I'm doing, either. I often find myself engaged in an activity generally known as "fishing," but beyond that what can I be sure about? I just do some stuff that seems to get me connected to a fish now and then.

I feel as though "accidental" fish don't count for some reason, though. That's unfortunate, as I've caught some really good ones without intending to. Sometimes I...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (swalker9513) — Fri, 22 May 2009 09:20:26 GMT

I would bet that nearly everytime I've caught a trout on a fly it was quite unconventional. I really have no idea what I'm doing. I fish everything the same way--toss it upstream, let it drift by until I'm satisfied, repeat.

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (Flywalker) — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:06:55 GMT

One thing I've been curious about, but haven't had a chance to try yet... has anyone used sinking line with a short leader for high-sticking (czech nymphing?) instead of several pounds of split shot and heavily weighted flies? Of course it wouldn't work for indicator fishing...

Seems like it should work. And with a loop to loop connection, you could just remove your dry fly leader and add a 10' piece of sinking line with the leader already attached. It would make...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (clarkman23) — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:09:52 GMT

My personal favorite occurred just last weekend, I was nymphing for large redsides on the Deschutes with a size 4 black stonefly nymph with a PT dropper. I let it swing at the end of the drift and had a really nice fish slam the stonefly nymph on the swing...never had that happen. When was the last time you saw a salmonfly nymph swimming similar to the naturally...for me? never....

the sad thing was, I felt somewhat cheated by that fish...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (gypsy) — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:39:00 GMT

Lets not forget the classic "I was wading to a better spot in the river, dragging the fly in the water behind me when holy sh!t a trout came up and nailed it!!" I Guess that falls in line with trolling but this "technique" never fails to amuse me.

Lol Mdwwhw I just re-read your original post and we're talking about the same thing. This might be the best kept secret since European nymphing.

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (tonemike) — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:23:36 GMT

corlay wrote:

tonemike wrote:
proceed to catch his prey with his bear hands.
I see that you've not yet fully recovered from your Alaska trip...

Thanks A Lot for bringing that up! but as a matter of fact, i don't think i am.

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (corlay) — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:50:16 GMT

tonemike wrote:
proceed to catch his prey with his bear hands.

I see that you've not yet fully recovered from your Alaska trip...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (tonemike) — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:53:45 GMT

we sent my young son fly fishing without his rod one time.
we were catching loads of chum salmon with a small pink chum fly and my boy was tired and was taking a little break. he was 8 and a very fine gillie. he could tail a decent-sized fish properly even then. my buddy told my boy he didn't actually need a rod if he'd move really slowly and came up behind the fish quietly. tail him firmly with the right hand and support it's body between the thumb and index finger and in...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (WetFlyAction) — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:28:26 GMT

FWIW- the wet fly swing with the popper sounds exactly like the technique used for steelhead with a waking or skating fly.
And of course, hanging a streamer or a wet fly in the current has to be one of the oldest techniques out there. It's just about the only way to fish some of the sea-run brook trout streams on cape cod. There are so many blow downs and overhanging vines and branches that even roll casting is impossible much of the time. There's some skill involved in...

Re: Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (bulldog1935) — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:07:32 GMT

what's wrong with trolling?

my best unconventional technique is standing at the top of a chute with a sinking line and trolling with a creeping slow retrieve, dragging the rod tip from side-to-side to comb the different current seams.

Unconventional fly fishing techniques

feeds@yuku.com (mdwwhw) — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:50:47 GMT

This morning I was fishing a creek that riffles and pools with my FF75 and a small popper. Moving through a riffle upstream to the next pool, I just let the popper drag in the water because its mostly roll cast territory. The line went taut and I thought I'd snagged something. I had, a largemouth bass. I don't intend to add that to my technique repetoire but if it works?

My other favorite was when fishing from a canoe. I'd put the rod across the gunnels to fool...