Think Outside the Fly Box!

[Bear742]

Flies are not the only things you can cast with a fly rod. I don't just mean crickets and worms either, though they have their place. A review of the vintage fly rod lures on eBay is an eye opener. There are fly rod Pumpkinseeds, Trout Orenos, Hula Poppers, and more. Many casting lures have fly rod equivalents.

Our fathers and grandfathers did not buy these lures to leave in their tackle boxes so collectors could haggle over them 50 years later. And these were serious fishing tools.With the minimum wage around a dollar, the $1.50 they laid out for these lures was serious money. In 1960 it would buy 5 (yes 5) packs of name brand cigarettes.

Here's a few examples of the highly effective little brothers of some favorite casting lures.


It seems I have learned something about posting pictures here.Till I figured it out, it was exercise in imagination. Not all bad.

The 3 1/2 inch U20 Flatfish still used for salmon dwarfs the 1 inch F2. Both are still in production.


The 4 inch RW Spoon that works so well on Canadian Pike with its RW baby brother. Canadian Brookies like this baby brother.


Looks like the 5/8 ounce Hula Popper could eat this #8 Popper.


What would this be without a Rapala? A 1 inch home made version for bull Bluegills.

All of these baby brothers are effective on trout, panfish, and Bass. They catch a surprising number of larger fish.

These are just examples. The Rebel Tadfry or Yozuri Snap Bean would probably do as well as the home made Rapala. I didn't have a large Tin Liz to pair up with the fly rod model. What casting sized lure would go with a Hildebrand Flicker? There's pork rind, and so on... Have you got any outside the fly box favorites?

PS Though I considered posting this in the Warm Water forum, I rejected the idea. These are not Warm Water lures. You can bet your Trout Oreno on that. Lately I have been reading Gierarch and noting that his articles flow naturally from Bass, to Crappie, to Trout and back again just like the seasons. His version of fly fishing does not discriminate based on water temperature. Therefore, I considered this to be of general interest and posted accordingly.

[island fly]

Very Good Post. I think Fly Fishing gives you a lot more room to be creative and find new ways to catch fish. All the other methods have limitations or force you into a way of thinking.

Good on you for opening up the conversation. By the way do you glue plastic lures on Fly Hooks and fish them?

Life is good with a fish on the end of your line.

[flymaker2]

With the minimum wage around a dollar, the $1.50 they laid out for these lures was serious money. In 1960 it would buy 5 (yes 5) packs of name brand cigarettes.

So what does 5 packs of cigs cost today? probably a lot more than the the most expensive fly..

It seems I have something to learn about posting pictures here. I hope I can fix this.Till I figure it out: this will exercise your imagination.

Lil' Help.... you only left-off the "jpg" at the end of the image url.








I have noticed that for some, "Thinking" is considered out of the box. Not pointing fingers though. You know who you are

[Panman]

Years ago I caught a fair amount of trout on using a flatfish that were made especially for a flyrod.

Thanks for rekindling those memories.

Tim Anderson

[Bear742]

Flymaker2,

Thanks for the help. Thinking is what got Socrates in trouble, right?

[Bear742]

Very Good Post. I think Fly Fishing gives you a lot more room to be creative and find new ways to catch fish. All the other methods have limitations or force you into a way of thinking.

Good on you for opening up the conversation. By the way do you glue plastic lures on Fly Hooks and fish them?Life is good with a fish on the end of your line.

Gimme a line of credit! Everyone knows you tie the lure on the hook with 6/0 Monocord.

[pspaint]

Back when my dad use to fly fish, they used alot of spinner type lures, with a fly trailer. Now a days, with all the synthetics, the line between fly and lure has definitely been blurred. The Gummy Minnow...fly or lure, the Clouser Minnow, fly or bucktail jig, and on and on. Last night I tied a stonefly numph using a plastic worm body from all the old plastics I had laying around.