Playing Tag ...

[JohnScott]

Last summer I decided to finally start fishing flies without hooks...



... and / or tied on hooks without points ...



Fishing flies tied on straight pins is cheaper, which is not the reason to do it, and can lead to a lot more action on the crick, which is a good reason to do it, depending on your priorities. Any number of times it seemed very likely that the same fish were coming back two or more times to try to catch the fly because they had not been knicked the first time they hit it. I suspect in nature a lot of naturals that get hit don't get eaten and fish are accustomed to immediately looking for another shot at a treat. Another possibility is that fish in the immediate vicinity are not put down by the process of an angler landing and releasing one of their buddies.

Fishing flies tied on hooks with the point broken off creates a really interesting challenge - landing fish that would normally be well hooked and easily landed, given decent skills in that aspect of angling. As it turns out, with a good number of fish "caught" with pointless flies, I never could land one. Got close a few times, but just about any slack at any point in the tussle means the fishy is gonna go bye-bye. Perhaps someone using a net would have a better chance of landing a fish caught on one of these hooks, but why spoil the fun.

Last summer, I got away from fishing these flies because I had a shot at catching a steelhead on my regular flies. A bull trout would have been another treat if that happened while fishing dry flies, which is pretty rare, at least that is my impression.

Over the winter, it's mostly a nymphing game around here. And there is no point to fishing nymphs tied on straight pins or pointless hooks. But now that I have caught one mature steelhead ( last summer ) and one good size bull trout ( this spring ), it's time to get back to playing tag with dry flies.

I figure to split my dry fly fishing this year about half and half between the two versions, assuming that I can tie smaller flies that will present properly without the "keel" effect provided by the hook.

Anyone else doing this ??

John

[Byron haugh]

By accident a few times.....

[Allan]

John,

About 25 to 30 years ago I taught a fly tying lesson with a renown, at least in this region, fly tyer/fisher. He espoused 'tagging' as you describe. In fact, he said he often caught 100 trout a day using this technique! As I recall, several of the fly fishers raised questions about the results he described and afterward basically said he was full of himself and it! Here, as I recall, are some of the comments and questions: Many of the fish came to the fly more than 1x but you're counting each one separately; You assume you would not have lost any fish; How do you know all the fish were trout? He did not know the answer to #1, Said yes to #2, and said something like, 'He just knew they were all trout' to #3.

I wonder how you'd actually know you had a strike with sub-surface flies unless the fish hung on for awhile?

Could be fun, although not for me.

Just sayin.

Allan

[Byron haugh]

John,
I was fishing a soft hackle on the Henry's Fork summer before last. Now, with soft hackles, you get quite a few "short takes". But, I was hooking (I thought) some nice fish and quickly losing them. Finally, after 5-6 that way, I checked my fly. The hook was broken off just below the bend.....

Personally, I prefer to bring my fish to net to enjoy seeing their beauty.

[dr korn]

John, I guess I don't get the "point" of this activity.... But then again, neither do the fish...

[dr korn]

Doug -

Like I said, it depends on your priorities.

My point in being out somewhere with a fly rod breaks down like this - outdoors, on my feet, active, in a place I really like to spend time. And I enjoy casting a fly rod, and hunting fish and finding them, and seeing them rise to a dry fly and try to eat it.

"Playing" fish and landing them is no longer a priority - hasn't been for some time. I just celebrated my tenth anniversary fly fishing a couple days ago. After something like 1300 days fly fishing averaging somewhere around 20-25 fish landed per outing, the point for me is to enjoy my time outdoors and the hunt, and not pester the fishies so much. The pointless flies, when fished, will suffice for the challenge of an occasional fish in hand, maybe ....

This is a personal preference just now, and may or may not last. And it is obviously not something everyone will want to try, especially those who really enjoy playing and landing fish. That's cool, and the way it should be. On the other hand, maybe some folks will try it and find that it enhances their fly angling experience in a way that they never thought to try or imagined it would ???

John

To each their own... although I'm not sure your still fishing, technically .... since fishing is the act of "trying to catch" a fish.
Hmmmm... interesting debate topic, since your just trying to fool the fish, not that I want to go there. Anyway, whatever you call it, tag or fishing sounds like your having fun... but it's not for me.

[hungNtree]

I can honestly say, I have never given this a moments thought, but it does sound like fun. Although, I will have to admit, it's really hard for some of my family to understand catch and release fishing, this will blow their minds. Their idea of fishing is a worm and a float. And a bucket to carry them home in.

Still, if you are having fun and its legal, more power to you.


hNt

[Byron haugh]

John,
Don't you enjoy bringing them to net and enjoying their beauty up close?

[CaseyP]

once had the pleasure of fishing with a guide for 3 days out of 4. the day in between, he went out to a good spot and fished it with the point cut off the hook. the next day we went there with "real" hooks and had a great day because he could tell us definitively what would work, and the trout had not been too bothered.

want to try this with bluegills 'cause i'm tired of trying to get my #12 hooks out of their little bitty mouths.

[quivira kid]

I like to catch fish. To me, that means bringing them to hand. There are times of the year I will do nothing but C&R, and there are times where I fill up the fish basket. I like to feel the fight and put my hands on them. If I just wanted to watch a take, I could put on a little foam hopper and watch little bluegills peck at it all day long. To me, that is boring. Another thing is you never know what you're going to have on the end of the line. I have caught many different species and several unique hybrids while out at the local lakes. I never would have known what half the fish were if they hadn't been brought to hand. Catfish and drum bite all the time.... fight like crazy!