Flyrodding vs. spin/baitcasters

[deathb4disco]

Shaw Grigsby can cast as well as Lefty can, and guys like Roland and Bill are as good with a fly rod as most fly fishing guides are.

I agree with you on Shaw and Roland, but the last time I saw Bill Dance cast, it was pretty pitiful. He was using a cheap, horrible rod from one of his sponsors, though. Maybe that was the problem.

[Buddy Sanders]

FlyGoddess,

I get the whole long leader thing. But for bass, it's not just the 'depth' but the presentation. I can get a fly down there, but if the fish aren't actively feeding, I can't trigger them with it.

A 3/4 ounce jigging spoon worked vertically causes reaction strikes from otherwise non feeding fish holding deep in the cold winter waters. It's the speed of the fall that does it, and I can't find a fly rod equivalent. A drop shot rig works lets the angler wiggle the bait erratically in one place. Another way to 'trigger' strikes from non feeding fish. Again, I just can't get this from a fly rod set up.

The problem here is the fly line, it has too much water resistance to allow the lure to free fallquickly enough, and the weight of the flies, they don't have the mass to drop fast enough to trigger strikes in these type of situations.

I could put fifty feet of 'leader' on the rod, and work it just like a conventional set up, but what would be the point?

DB4D,

I watched 'ol Bill throw an entire fly line with one of my rods at a tackle show many years back (I still can't do that consistently). While talking about using a fly rod to target bass in the TVA lakes. One thng I'll always remember was, as he handed the rod back to me, he said 'it's not the tackle, it's the fisherman'.

Nice guy.

Buddy

[deathb4disco]

I watched 'ol Bill throw an entire fly line with one of my rods at a tackle show many years back

Interesting. In my case, it must have been that crappy rod he was using. As far as him being a nice guy, I have heard the same on many occasions.

[cycler68]

This has been a very interesting and informative discussion the past few weeks. I figure it's about time I threw my $.02 worth in.
I definitely catch more fish with my fly rod than I did with conventional and unconventional conventional tackle which included mainly spinning rods but also a few graphite poles and some baitcasting tackle. I did everything from snagging paddlefish to fishing jigs for walleyes to suspending worms under a very light float for crappies and bluegills (a very effective way to catch them and, imho, most people use bobbers that are way to heavy.)
In my case the main reason why I catch more fish is I simply go fishing way more often so my skill level is up and I'm there more often when the fishing is good.
That said I'm on the water a lot when conventional tackle fishermen are also there and I often ask them how they did and what they used. From these conversations coupled with watching them fish whether or not I catch more than they do seems to depend a lot on the time of year and the fishes preference for baits. Just after ice out I have a hard time catching anything but spin fishermen generally do a little better. As the water warms fishing begins to pick up for them a littler earlier than it does for me. A little later yet in the spring when the fish have moved into the shallows the effectiveness of the fly goes way up on bluegills and I begin catching more than they do on that species. I still trail on bass though. When the bass begin ripping topwater and the bluegills don't have the sense to know they shouldn't hit a bass popper I often surpass the catch of those using conventional tackle. For a while the fly rod rules. Then as they topwater bite slows I loose my edge and roughly equal them. Sometimes I get more but a lot of the time I catch fewer. And that's the way it goes into the fall when conventional tackle fishermen definitly catch a lot more than I do. Things changed very late in the fall this year it looked like to me that I had better luck on bluegills than they did. I kept at it and kept on catching bluegills and the rare bass until several weeks before ice up when I began fishing for stocker trout. I did very well for a little while and then my luck ran out.
And that's about the way it goes for me for now fishing the local lakes and a few of the ponds. It seems to me that the fly rod is the better tool when the fish are shallow and/or want something on top. The fly rod is also very good when nymphs or other small baits are on the menu. But when the fish want something else I have a hard time with them. One more situation I think the fly rod is the better tool is when sight fishing.
My opinions will probably change as I get better with the fly rod and learn how to be effective in more situations. I hope the day comes when I can outfish conventional tackle guys almost all the time.
But for now that's what I think.

[jeffnles1]

I too have been reading this thread with interest. I've fished almost exclusively with my fly equipment for the past 3 years only backsliding to the dark side a few times.

Depending on the water conditions and what the fish are feeding on, I can usually be just as effective with the fly rod as I can with my spinning equipment.

However, there are times when the fly rod just won't cut it, especially for bass/bluegill and other warm water species in the lakes. When they're really deep, I'd prefer to use spinning equipment or crank baits to get down deep. There are times when nothing is going to beat a plastic curly tailed worm bounced slowly along the bottom off of dropoffs or along the edge of weed beds. In early spring when the bass are still deep but in a pre spawn mode, a crank bait like a rattle trap fished fast and deep is quite effective. There are also times when the tried and true rooster tail is the lure of choice.

I still fish 90%+ with fly equipment mainly because it's more relaxing and more interesting than toss, reel, toss, reel, toss, reel kind of fishing.

Jeff

[Guy]

Flyfishing is a very effective means of fishing that can outperform gear under certain conditions.

1) The fly angler has to be able to cast, if you can't cast, you will not be in the game at all.

2) The fly angler knows what technique and fly will work when and where. In other words the successful fly angler has to improve his knowledge and skill set to a much higher degree in order to be consistently successful. Without this knowledge you will reaching for the worm bucket more often than your fly box to catch a fish.

3) Flyfishing requires fairly clear water as we rely on primarily visual triggers to get the fish to eat our flies.

4) Flyfishing does have an advantage for fishing shallow water (say less than 3 feet deep) or near the surface to fish that feed by sight and spook easily. Call it the stealth factor - the abilty to cast extremely light weight lures (flies) that land softly and do not sink quickly.

5) A good flyangler will not be handicapped in water depths of 3 - 10 feet if he has the knowledge, skill and fly tackle to fish these depths with fly gear but he doesn't have the advantage anymore over other tackle.

5) Fly anglers can still catch fish at depths over 10 feet, but gear has a decided advantage in deeper water.

6) Finally some species and / or circumstances were simply made for flyfishing, ie mountain stream cutthroats or post spawn pike and walleye in shallow water. Here in Alberta I can catch 6-12 pike / walleye per hour pretty much through the whole month of June. By comparison my gear fishing friends will catch 2 - 6 fish per hour. However come July I am hard pressed to get any walleye on the fly once they drop down deeper and require an additional trigger (such as a minnow to appeal to their sense of smell and taste) to get them to eat.

I have been flyfishing for 40 years now. Eventually you become rather shallow minded and seek out those species and situations that favour the fly rod, so under those circumstances you should outfish the gear guys. For me that means post spawn pike in the spring, mountain trout in the summer and Carribean bonefish in the winter!!!

Tight Lines!

Guy