Anybody Try These For Flies?

[Gramps]

It doesn't say how small of flies, but it does say dry flies and it will float. I t sure would be a fast way to change flies, and save tippet.

Your thoughts?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true

[DShock]

Lures, maybe, not flies.
Doug

[Hendrickson]

Guess if I fished a lot of nymphs and/or streamers I'd try them. Couldn't bring myself to use with dry flies.

H.

[Bamboozle]

Gramps:

While I don't want to discourage you from trying anything that you feel will help you; my own feelings are based on an early experiment with them back in the days of "fly fishing made easier" gadgets.

While some might like them for lures I wouldn't. For flies, they might float with a dry but I wouldn't want them with anything under a size 10. Also did you ever consider all the stuff that can snag on the open end of that hook? Ask a jig fisherman about the stuff that collects on the knot when fishing a weedy lake.

As far as saving tippet material, if you break off a fly you break off one of those hooks so you'll still be using tippet material but not as much PLUS you'll need another of those hooks.

If I did the math correctly; I can get about 45 - 24" tippets out of 30 meter spool of tippet material at a whopping cost of $.06 for mono & $.27 for fluoro. I probably replace my WHOLE tippet 1.5 times per trip for a total cost between $.09 - $.41 a trip; hardly worth fussing over. The whiskey I sip streamside or the cigar I smoke cost a whole lot more than my tippets.

It takes me approximately 1 minute to tie the knot of my choice to my fly and on a bad day I change flies maybe twenty times so that's 20 minutes of lost time. Heck I waste more time than that trying to open my flask. Fly fishing isn't a B.A.S.S. tournament where every second counts. Time spent tying knots is time spent observing or resting a fish I spooked. I relish the slow down sometimes.

When I bass fish with conventional tackle and plastic baits like Senko's they cost $.50 a pop and I can go though several bags on a good day. I re-spool my baitcasting reels with fluorocarbon line or braid several times a season which is several 100 yards at a time.

At these rates fly fishing is a real bargain.

[ducksterman]

Actually bought some years ago but couldn't bring myself to use them. I was doing a lot of steelheading then and just didn't want to risk loosing a fish like that because it got the angle on that opening.

[WarrenP]

I would much rather use a fresh knot each time I changed flies/nymphs. That way I would be removing a small percent of the tipett end which may be damaged from rocks, logs and other river obstacles.

[ducksterman]

I would much rather use a fresh knot each time I changed flies/nymphs. That way I would be removing a small percent of the tipett end which may be damaged from rocks, logs and other river obstacles.

Yep...

And if I was using one of those things it would be wise to reknot for the same reasons.

[Gramps]

Bambozzle,

I'm thinking of saving tippet from not having to tie on a fly each time I change. Not when I get snagged.

It rubs me wrong to use them too. I've explained my traditional view on fly fishing.

However it takes me much longer to tie on a fly than one minute. Much longer.

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

I'm just wondering if they will work on small flies. Who knows what them mean by a dry fly? The small size must be pretty light to float. They must mean a large dry fly will keep it floating.

I'm just trying to keep the fun in fly fishing for me. Standing there for 10-12 minutes tieing on a fly gets to be no fun after awhile.

[Bamboozle]

Gramps:

You won't know till you try them. If they make your life easier then that's all that matters. It wouldn't be a terribly expensive experiment to try a few out and draw your own conclusions.

I imagine them not being terribly heavy unless you start getting down to size 18 and smaller dries but if you tie your own flies you can compensate by using the lightest wire hooks you can find and adding a few extra wraps of hackle.

Buy em and try em and tell us what YOU think.

[Gramps]

I did order some yesterday. I was too impatient to see if they'll work, and had to ask if any of you tried them.