How deep do you fly fish

[rainbowchaser]

I regularly fish a small lake with very big bluegills but they are almost never less than six or seven feet down and often much deeper. Across the way is another lake with nice crappies but they are usually about fifteen or twenty feet down. About the deepest I have had any success with flies is the six/seven foot range. After that the amount of slack in the line (I think) means that I don't detect any strikes. How deep do you fly fish and how do you fish deep?

[Gramps]

Since I fish dry flies 99% of the time.

Not too deep..

[James Smith]

In colder weather, I fish as deep as 12-15 feet for bass and brem. The fly I have the best luck with for bream is the Carter's Sculpin. It has weighted dumb bell eyes and on a 9 foot leader with 2 feet of tippet and sinking line, it gets down there pretty well. It is a biut more difficlut to detect a strick though.


Jim Smith

[flyster101]

I fish for bass in 2 ft. to 30 ft. of water. The deepest I have caught bass was in 35 ft. of water (acorrding to my depth finder) and that was only one single time. There is just too much belly and line strecth to get a decent hook set. But I've caught quite a few fish in the 20 to 30 ft. range. My largest 2 fish were caught in 22 and 28 ft. deep. I hate to say how large they were because people just don't believe you can catch fish that size using a fly rod in deep water. Well, if someone twists my arm I'll tell them . As for fishing deep it's all in the fly line (super sink) and takeing time to let it sink all the way dowwwwwwn. You have to get hung up on the bottom a few times to really know where your fly is at. I've always used a trolling tecnic in my float tube and try to keep a tight line. When the bass are busting shad, I let the fly sink to the bottom and strip the fly in using quick short strips all the way back in. Here ia a fly I use when the bass are on shad.

[ilikefishes]

I regularly fish a small lake with very big bluegills but they are almost never less than six or seven feet down and often much deeper. Across the way is another lake with nice crappies but they are usually about fifteen or twenty feet down. About the deepest I have had any success with flies is the six/seven foot range. After that the amount of slack in the line (I think) means that I don't detect any strikes. How deep do you fly fish and how do you fish deep?

I think the key would be the line. If you are trying to go deep with a floating or even an intermediate line you are probably falling way short. Use a type II or III and you might have better luck. Good luck.

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

I fish sinking lines down to 30 feet or so. I caught a Burbot down at 40 feet once when I was stopped to eat lunch. It was a huge suprise. I have sinking lines from Type #I all the way down to VI . the type VI will get you down quite fast and you use it with a quick retrieve. The I sink rate sinks very slowly , I am usually in the III or IV rate for Stillwater lakes.

With the II or the I you are making a super slow retrieve.

[gonfishn]

Gnu bee,Did you eat the ugly beast?
They make great fish chowder.

[Fly Goddess]

I regularly fish a small lake with very big bluegills but they are almost never less than six or seven feet down and often much deeper. Across the way is another lake with nice crappies but they are usually about fifteen or twenty feet down. About the deepest I have had any success with flies is the six/seven foot range. After that the amount of slack in the line (I think) means that I don't detect any strikes. How deep do you fly fish and how do you fish deep?

I just answered this somewhere else if you know what I mean LOL

[vtfisher]

depends what i am fishng for but at the max probably 10 ft

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Burbot are one of the best eating fish around, I usually get them at over 150 feet deep on jigs. They make the very best fish and chips.