Quote Originally Posted by kelkay View Post
If you can cast it with a fly rod, it's a fly. If it won't cast because it is too heavy, it's a lure, and meant for conventional fishing.
I can cast most rapalas with my 14 weight, but that still doesn't make them a fly. Game and fish departments that have coverage of 'fly fishing only' waters are always engaged in debates as to what constitutes a fly, and therefore it can change form year to year, water to water, and state to state, and invention to invention.

My 27" trolling fly is identical to my 12" casting fly af far as the tie goes. It's just a deceiver pattern. If I had a 30wt, I could cast it, too. It's a trolling fly, not a casting fly, so is it a lure?

Lures and flies are both artificial baits. As was mentioned, flies are lures, but lures are not flies. The blending of parts of lures and parts of flies makes for debates and opinions vary as to how far one can go. It's an individual thing until a G&F officer stops you and says you're out of bounds with that lure in flyfishing water. Another point, is a glue-gun egg a fly? No thread or materials- just a gob of hard glue. Any different from a lure? Tie a piece of white marabou to a multiple glue-gun egg cluster...is it now a fly?

This debate, along with traditional vs new, natural vs synthetic, dry vs wet, bamboo vs graphite, bobbers vs natural drifting, will go on and on as long as flyfishers have opinions. The only times it will matter is if you catch a record or are fishing in a restricted area. (Maybe a few other times) The records board will decide about the fly and the methods used to catch it. The G&F Officer will decide about the fly (lure) in his fly-fishing only waters.

Is this a fly or a lure? 14/0 zonker for sailfish:

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