How many of you switch from fly to spin or bait casting?
And Why?
I will start that I can see spin/bait for some salt water & ice fishing, but that is about it for me.
I fish with both flyrod and spinning rod depending on what I am fishing for and what I feel like doing. I live on a small lake (50 acres) and in the warm summer months, the bass tend to move back into the brush along the banks. Unless I want to spend most of my time pulling my fly out of the bushes/trees, then I switch to a spinning rod and a plastic worm. I just love fishing and have no problems using whatever gear is needed to have fun. All that being said, given my druthers, I’ll choose fly fishing if at all possible.
Jim Smith
i started using a fly and bubble with a spinning rod then went to a fly rod.
I cut my teeth using spin-cast gear, then switched to spinning gear as a teenager. Its only been the last 4 years that I’ve really discovered the joy of fly-fishing.
I still use spinning gear (with super-short rods) for ice-fishing, of course. I also use spinning gear during those late Summer/early Fall days for reaching schooling largemouth bass and white bass and wipers (and whatever else hits) on the reservoir and river here. Super-long casts into strong winds are often required for this.
But since 2007, fly-fishing gear use has risen from 50% to 75% of my outings. In those years, I’ve fished anywhere from 104 to 187 days/year, so you can see that works out to a LOT of fly-fishing trips!
Like Jim, I DO enjoy using the fly-fishing gear most of all.
I do all my fishing with a flyrod and don’t really care about the limitations, especially in saltwater (even moreso if you don’t have a boat), but I have to admit I was wishing really hard that I had a surf rod one time fishing the beach at Harker’s Island when the false albacore were crashing bait about 200’ away and wouldn’t come any closer.
Regards,
Scott
I do a lot of bass fishing with spinning and bait casting gear. There are many conditions where fly tackle is just not an effective tool. I fish for bass with fly tackle too. I will use a fly and bubble for trout on mountain lakes sometimes, again when fly tackle is not optimal and I do want to catch fish. If a non-fly anglers hosts me in their boat for a trip, I will use whatever gear makes sense for the type of fishing we are doing and the way they are managing the boat. Sometimes it is nice to be able to toss a lure 100-200 feet, especially in saltwater. I love to fish live bait for tuna, yellowtail, and other saltwater species. I’ll soak bait for catfish on occasion or use live shiners or crawfish for bass. Need to use heavy jigs for fishing for ling cod and other bottom dwellers in deep water. In the ocean, fishing with fly tackle is often difficult if not impossible when the wind and swell come up; hard to fly cast in 12 knots of wind and 5 ft swell but I can fish jigs in that situation. Most of the flyanglers who I fish with also carry bait casting and spinning gear in their boat and we will often switch back and forth between gear as conditions warrant. On a trip to the local kelp beds I usually have a couple of levelwind reels, a spinning reel, and three fly rods.
I was thinking in my area, Lakers would require I stray due to the depth they hang at, but a bunch of friends just got back from the Gorge and they did it on a fly.
CATCHING is not a must with me as we don’t eat much freshwater fish. I grew up with fly gear, but would do the basic pole, line and worm with spinning in there to.
I made the change many years ago to strictly fly and improve my skills. It works for me and I haven’t looked back. I now fish off that 5’ cliff in runoff with my 8 wt and fly and catch fish.
I go to those small creeks and learned to cast around obstacles. I even won a casting contest…LOL
BUT, I still grab a Crescent Wrench instead of open or box end wrenches…he, he, he
I will fish a bait caster in the salt or trying for a dinner species like sockeye, coho or chinook in the river.
Years ago steelheading on the Deschutes we would fly fish until the sun hit the water then switch to hardware…now a days I believe more stick to the fly rod all day with sinking lines.
I started fishing 13 years ago and I started with a fly rod. I wouldn’t even know what to do with a bait caster; no idea when it is, or isn’t, appropriate to use it relative to spinning gear.
I haven’t picked up spinning gear since my daughter got old enough to put down her Little Mermaid outfit.
I went full circle from conventional to ALL fly fishing and back to some of both. Right now I only fly-fish for trout and occasionally for panfish. The biggest reason I went back is I really don’t enjoy flyfishing with heavy lines, heavy rigs or big flies. I find the use of that kind of fly tackle to be more of a chore than it is worth, I just don’t find it any fun and not as effective.
These days all of my largemouth bass fishing is done with baitcasting tackle which I enjoy using as much as a fly rod, maybe more at times because I LOVE fishing soft plastics. I use spinning gear for smallies and other warmwater fish, especially toothy critters. I don’t like spinning gear as much but it works much better with lightweight lures and bait.
The other reason I love my switch hitting is because I found that fishing both ways opened my eyes to people & techniques I would otherwise miss being the fly fishing snob I once was. Opening my mind has made me a better fisherman overall.
Besides, the BEST fishing trip of this year was the one I spent with one of my fishing buddies sitting along a slow moving creek with lunch, a cooler of beer and some worms. We spent a wonderful warm summer’s day not worrying about hatches, tippet size, what fly to use or who was fishing where. We just sat there lazily watching our bobbers, catching fish, drinking beer and laughing hysterically at any nonsense we could dream up.
In my world it doesn’t get any better than that!
I use both fly fishing tackle and conventional tackle although my preference is to use a fly rod. My primary use for spinning tackle is when I’m fishing for walleye or smallmouth bass in lakes where it is necessary to fish in deep water to catch fish. When I take the time and expense to travel to Canada, the Sylvania Wilderness, or the Boundary Waters, I want to be able to catch fish if they are holding where I can’t reach them with a fly rod. I like to catch pan fish, but I only fish for them with a fly rod.
Conventional tackle can also save a trip if the winds are blowing badly.
A few switch hitters:
Sid Gordon
George Herter
Earnest Hemingwway
Charles Ritz
Al McLane
Ted Trueblood
Mark Sosin
Steve Rajeff
Dan Blanton
Lefty Kreh
Doug Swisher
Ted Williams
Mickey Mantle
Another one
I like to be in good company
Steve Molcsan
i did that bait lure stuff until about age 25 then switch hit for a while. went to the fly side of the plate in 1983. tried going to the bait/lure side of the plate last year and didn’t find what i was looking for…no joy in mudville. now we have a couple fly rods and even with limited success i’ve been much more happy.
I have no qualms about using the fly/bobber combo on a lake when fishing for trout. To me it is just plain easier than using a fly rod.
Tim
How so? Just asking;)
Pretty much the only time I spin/bait cast is when I take my kids.I just can’t bring myself to use anything else when I know fish can be caught with flies I make myself. I have been fly fishing since I was thirteen years old and can’t break habits. The last time I took my son he was very upset because he was not using a fly rod and I was. He told me it was not nice to not share. Believe me, a very proud parent moment.
I do about 80% of my fishing with a fly rod but do use spinning equipment from time to time. In fact, I used my spinning equipment tonight at a local lake. The wind was blowing about 25mph and I just didn’t feel like fighting it with my fly rod. Sometimes when the bass are really deep off the points, the best way to get to them is with a spinning rod and a plastic worm or a deep running crank bait.
I reckon it all just depends on the mood I’m. I never considered myself a purist for any form of fishing. To me, it’s all good.
Jeff
ps. Back when I played baseball, I could hit from either side of the plate too. 
I regularly fish with spinning gear. My preferred method is via fly rod, but I also enjoy a good crappie jig on the end of my dippin’ pole!