No one has mentioned pike, at least not as far as I noticed in this thread. My experience is that, in shallow water (< 10 ft), especially in the spring, my hardware buddies rarely outfish me. This was confirmed by a lodge-owner friend who has observed that when the pike are in shallow, fly gear outfishes, metal, plastics and dead b**ts, the latter of which is the "go to" option for big pike in late winter and spring in these parts. Those big, undulating flies are just too seductive, I guess. I also think that the larger splash of hardware spooks shallow water pike more than people realize.

I also hold my own as far as sizeable fish are concerned. In fact, most of my big pike in my life have been fly-caught, all in shallow water. Come summer, when the big guys go deep, it gets pretty tough.

As to fly fishing vs conventional gear, for me the key is learning: if I am out there enjoying my surroundings and learning something about my quarry, it's a good day. Learning with my fly rod is my choice but I'll try other things if the circumstances take me that way...TIM