Flies and worms

[RPr]

I do not get a chance to fish much but I like to fly fish when I do. Two weeks ago I was in Ely MN canoeing one of the lakes and fly fishing. I was having very poor results. I tried top water, wet flies, spiders, poppers, streamers but could not get many hits. I worked the shoreline, weed patches, rock beds and anything else I could think of.
Meanwhile, the fellow in the cabin next to us was bobber fishing with worms and pulled a fish out every 5 or 10 minutes. Blue gills, bass and even a Northern or two.
The question is what fly do you use when the fish are biting on worms?

[vicrider]

First, you're up in the country I love and spent many years in. Mostly on the north shore of Lake Superior and the lakes and rivers between Finland and Ely. It's a fact of life that there are going to be times when live bait is just going to take more fish than artificials. This is not always true but at times is. Without being there and seeing the conditions I can't be specific but most of the time for bass or northern a streamer matching the local feed source is going to produce. Big, bushy streamers that pulse when you strip are the key in most stillwater situations like you were in. Marabou streamers, or articulating bushy streams like the Hog Snare or Sex Dungeon can be killers. As for the bluegills, if you can't get them to come up to the top for a popper or small Muddler Minnow or similar then it's time to get down and dirty. A couple of beadhead nymphs in tandem worked deeper will usually find the bigger 'gills. If you're not a purist (purists close their eyes now), it's never going to hurt to squirt a little Berkleys or other's panfish scents on your nymphs. That's up to you and your conscience but for me, I like to catch fish, especially if I'm wanting some nice 'gills for the pan.

Another thing that always worked for me in the Boundary Water Lakes was a Pistol Pete streamer or wooly bugger. That little prop spinner seemed to get smallmouth bass and walleyes cranked up when standard streamers were only so-so.

[gqualls]

I've done well in the BWCA with an articulated leech pattern in a black color.

[51BC]

You were in my back yard! Saturday, I was in the BWCA with a friend who was fishing leeches under a bobber. I managed to keep pace with him using a claret mohair leech and an olive marabou leech. Slow, short strips seemed to convince the smallies that it was a real leech The marabou leech was a beadhead and seemed to result in a larger average size. More research will need to be performed to see if theese results can be replicated!

[CM_Stewart]

I would be willing to bet the difference was not worms vs. flies. I'd bet he was using split shot to get the bait down and you weren't using split shot to get your flies down. Try a beadhead nymph or small beadhead bugger next time, and I think your results will be better.

[DaleW]

Those confounded stink bait fisherman anyway!

Well, let's face it ... the allure of something alive (or just was) to a fish has a tendency to attract better then something fabricated out of thread, fabric, feathers and maybe a yank of fur. In that part of the country, this time of year, for blue gill anyway, if poppers or a hopper won't bring them to the surface (posted a hopper below), then a soft hackle pattern wet fly like the Light Cahill sometimes will get results. I've been pleasantly surprised at the varied success the Clouser Minnow has been - In northern Michigan and Minnesota have even caught walleyes drift fishing with it.


http://www.amazon.com/Daves-Hopper-F.../dp/B00548QRQE

[sagefisher]

Sounds like using some San Juan Worm variations may also work. Pink or red or brown or purple fished under an indicator or at the end of a sink tip line slowly worked across the bottom.

Larry ---sagefiser---

[WarrenP]

First I would like to welcome you to FAOL. You will not find a better site anywhere on the web. As for your question, I think CM Stewart has "nailed" it. Your buddy was getting his offerings down deeper than you were with flies. There are several ways to get your offerings down deeper. One would be beadhead flies like a woolly bugger, another is split shot about 12 inches or so above your offering and another is to use either a slow full sinking fly line or a sink tip fly line.

Without being there, I am willing to bet that going deeper with your flies is the answer more than the fly pattern. Try it and let us know what you discovered.

Again, welcome from Tennessee to FAOL.

[Ed_D]

RPr,
I won't repeat any of the advice in this thread but I will welcome you to FAOL. I hope you find this a good and useful site.

Regards,
Ed

[NJTroutbum]

Learned long ago the effectiveness of bait. As a young fly fisherman, and getting skunked through the course of a day on a piece of water reknowned for it's fishery...I spied a cased caddis larva. Tearing it from it's home and impaling it on the end of the #18 Pheasant tail dropper I was fishing....it was instantly hammered. over and over again. Scent is not missed by fish.

If you want to catch every fish in the hole....use bait. If you want to catch fish on flies....fish flies. Welcome to the forum.

Ralph