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How many of y’all enjoy fly fishing?  
I live on a nice lake loaded with bass and bream   I enjoy using my bait casters and spinning tackle but I find myself pulling out the flyrod more and more 

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Since I retired, I've been doing a lot more fly fishing than I used to. Admittedly, I've also been doing a lot more traditional fishing as well. I mostly fly fish for trout, but fishing for bluegills on popping bugs is a blast.

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I was looking at my Dad’s fly gear the other day, thinking I should get that down and, go out and give it a whirl again.

I haven’t fly fished since I was about 16-17, I was always getting all tangled up, just didn’t get into it then.

My Dad is what I would consider a master fly fisherman, or at least in the working of fly rods. He won at competitions, taught youth groups the basics to encourage fishing. 
I have the custom rods that he made, I should really get them down and try again. I’ve got more patience now.

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I got a rod when I was about 14, and learned on my own, mostly from watching fishing shows. Was pretty abysmal for a while, but eventually got it figured out. I used to mainly target smallmouth on topwater poppers etc. Kind of put the fly rod away for a few years, but just this winter I picked up a new rod, line and some flys. I now own a beautiful piece of property with a nice river running through our backyard, and plan to hit it a fair bit this summer with the fly rod for smallmouth and largemouth. 

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3 hours ago, king fisher said:

I prefer fly fishing in streams.  Lakes, large deep rivers, and the ocean I leave the fly rod at home.

Dorado are fun on the fly, great jumpers.

Tom?

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Always wanted to learn and after my father-in-law retired he joined a group and invited me to go several times. Sadly, I got hurt and had a stroke and with left hand issues Ill never get to.

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I like fishing private ponds with a fly rod, since I’m not as handy with one.  However, even that can get frustrating.  

 

There is something immensely satisfying about rolling out a good loop of fly line. 

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not on big water but i have a couple of farm ponds that have alot of small bass. i take the fly rod and some poppers there a couple times a month. dont even get me started on big 9and 10 inch bluegill on poppers. that is an absolute blast!

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Two places where fly rod shines - moving water, and sight-fishing. 

While moving water includes tide passes, I keep telling my friends salt finesse makes salt fly rod obsolete. If you're not catching a fish every 3rd cast on a fly rod, you're using it wrong. Stealth is the most important skill. 

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Been fly fishing since 1974, have caught well over 100 species on fly rod, and fished on national TV twice.  Used to run a fly fishing life group from church, and guided 4 to 14 friends every other weekend.  Ran out of things to prove decades ago. 

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Thirty years ago, I became so jaded catching fish-after-fish on graphite and disc drag, wondering why I was harassing the fish - many fly fishermen reach this point, clip the hooks on their flies and count coup.  I made the switch to old cane rods and click-pawl reels and again found the oh-crap-what-am-I-going-to-do-now feeling

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I'm on the board of GRTU, and run Trout in the Classroom for Texas

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Adding to what Cap'n Phil said below,

fly fishing is about where you go to use it.  Most fish, btw, are caught at your feet - back to that stealth thing. 

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I'll add that mid-length, mid-line-weight glass rods from the '70s fit best in water like just above. 

Edited by bulldog1935
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As a kid, I taught myself to fly fish with a mail order split bamboo rod on the front lawn of our home.  Back then, fly fishing was the only "finesse" bass fishing available.  Bass reels of the day were clunky and bass plugs were large and heavy.  My fly rod could easily cast a popping bug or a streamer fly and I caught a ton of bass with it.  When spinning reels like the Mitchell 300 came out, I retired my fly rod.   Fly fishing for bass is something many people enjoy.  An added bonus is you also catch a lot of large bluegills.  I find it somewhat difficult to fly fish out of a bass boat.  The line tangles around the trolling motor and it seems you are always retrieving the fly from hangups.  Bank fishing is where fly fishing shines.  It works especially well when walking the banks of canals we have here in Florida.  My PB bass on fly is 6 1/4 pounds. Fly fishing is not about catching large bass.  It's about having fun doing something challenging. 

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Picked up fly fishing initially when my dad saved and splurged on a guided trip with the famous Bob Clouser.  Unfortunately I didn't pick it up again for probably 15 years when I moved to Virginia.  Been doing it ever since.  The last three years I have picked up the fly rod probably 95% of the time for all types of fishing.  I've caught some citation sized largemouth, chain pickerel, sunnies and carp the past couple years.  It isn't the most efficient way to catch fish but it is another tool in the tool box to have when needed.

I'll also disagree with the poster above a out catching a fish every third cast.  Sure if your primary goal is sight fishing and that is what you do then I can understand but you can also use a fly rod as a search tool as well with great success.  

it all boils down to what you want to do and how you want to do it.

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obstinate can definitely be a "quality" of fly fishermen. 

While long brave casts are rarely useful, they most often put down fish, and beginning fly fishermen become hung up on casting. 

Catching fewer fish does not mean it's time to cast more - catching fewer fish is usually the result of casting more. 

Adding to the skill set, reading water is important, and that's where I've always had a natural skill (not that thinking like a fish is a challenge). 

The goal of sight-fishing is catching a fish every cast.

I will stand by my statement and results.

Alaska in September - they were all this size gorged on salmon flesh and eggs - one every 3rd cast.  Had to kick salmon carcasses aside to step into the river, and the black slate bottom was pink with salmon eggs. 

More proof about Gary Borger's trout IQ data - whatever could entice these fish to take your fly under those conditions. 

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24 of these was enough to call the day, and send me to the firepit for a cigar and cognac. 

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In stark contrast to my guiding from my 21ft boat, I would take 2 anglers, load them up in my Jeep Wrangler and run up logging roads to fish native trout streams.  Then go to the Shenandoah river to wade and catch 75 fish a day all on fly rods. For smallies, we used poppers and beaded nymphs, trout were much pickier and you had to match the hatch depending on the time of year.  My rod of choice was a Sage 5wt in close quarters and a Scott Brightwater 9wt for everything else.  I even caught striper in the Chesapeake bay on that 9wt.  I learned very quickly not to palm the reel with striper. ?

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On 4/6/2022 at 4:55 PM, GANGGREEN said:

Since I retired, I've been doing a lot more fly fishing than I used to. Admittedly, I've also been doing a lot more traditional fishing as well. I mostly fly fish for trout, but fishing for bluegills on popping bugs is a blast.

Mos def  but don’t give up on trout flies for bass  read on …

On 4/6/2022 at 6:55 PM, GRiver said:

I was looking at my Dad’s fly gear the other day, thinking I should get that down and, go out and give it a whirl again.

I haven’t fly fished since I was about 16-17, I was always getting all tangled up, just didn’t get into it then.

My Dad is what I would consider a master fly fisherman, or at least in the working of fly rods. He won at competitions, taught youth groups the basics to encourage fishing. 
I have the custom rods that he made, I should really get them down and try again. I’ve got more patience now.

Imo it would be the perfect way to honor his memory ?

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On 4/6/2022 at 4:33 PM, Ovid said:

How many of y’all enjoy fly fishing?  
I live on a nice lake loaded with bass and bream   I enjoy using my bait casters and spinning tackle but I find myself pulling out the flyrod more and more 

DBC39B47-0F37-41AD-8332-4423245493E4.jpeg

May not be huge, but it is pretty.  I hope to do some fly fishing this year.  Purchased a few rods over the winter.  Primary target was supposed to be bluegills.  However, I would never turn up my nose at a bass!  I learned about 'blue lines', and looked at a map of my area.  I have 3 that are closer than any lake, so I may try for a trout or two this year as well.  Might as well make use of that lifetime trout stamp.

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I've been fly fishing now for about 30 years.  First time I ever saw anyone fly fish was on a farm pond in NW Tennessee when I was in college back in the early 70's.   I thought it was interesting but not what I wanted to do.  By the late 80's, early 90's I had worked my way down to ultra-light fishing.  The next step was fly fishing, so I built myself a fly rod, learned to tie flies.  Like a lot of folks who take up fly fishing I thought it was only for trout, and a local club I joined, at the time, was trout oriented and reinforced that idea.  I spent my first couple of years fly fishing for trout and tying trout flies.  When I fished the local stocked streams, I'd use the fly rod for trout and switch to my ultra-light tackle for panfish, and discovered my "home" creek also had smallmouth...It took a few months, but eventually I just took the fly rod.  Went through the same process, when I discovered you could fly fish salt water.  These days I fly fish 95% of the time. There are four of us that fish together a lot.  I'm the only one who fly fishes. These days I mostly fly fish from a boat or shore.   Tying flies helped me keep my sanity during the lockdown.  

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On 4/6/2022 at 3:33 PM, Ovid said:

How many of y’all enjoy fly fishing?  
I live on a nice lake loaded with bass and bream   I enjoy using my bait casters and spinning tackle but I find myself pulling out the flyrod more and more 

DBC39B47-0F37-41AD-8332-4423245493E4.jpeg

 

Look up a guy on yt called "Louisiana Blackwater Fly Fishing".

 

He does a LOT of fly fishing, and does videos on how to tie your own flies, etc.

 

I don't fly fish bc I suck, but I find the vids of him tying his own handmade flies really cool for some reason.

27 minutes ago, Fallser said:

I've been fly fishing now for about 30 years.  First time I ever saw anyone fly fish was on a farm pond in NW Tennessee when I was in college back in the early 70's.   I thought it was interesting but not what I wanted to do.  By the late 80's, early 90's I had worked my way down to ultra-light fishing.  The next step was fly fishing, so I built myself a fly rod, learned to tie flies.  Like a lot of folks who take up fly fishing I thought it was only for trout, and a local club I joined, at the time, was trout oriented and reinforced that idea.  I spent my first couple of years fly fishing for trout and tying trout flies.  When I fished the local stocked streams, I'd use the fly rod for trout and switch to my ultra-light tackle for panfish, and discovered my "home" creek also had smallmouth...It took a few months, but eventually I just took the fly rod.  Went through the same process, when I discovered you could fly fish salt water.  These days I fly fish 95% of the time. There are four of us that fish together a lot.  I'm the only one who fly fishes. These days I mostly fly fish from a boat or shore.   Tying flies helped me keep my sanity during the lockdown.  

 

 

I wish I possessed the skill...honestly.

 

I could really get into tying my own flies...as in down the rabbit hole into it.

 

My fiance would divorce me though, and we aren't married yet lmfao!

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On 4/6/2022 at 7:06 PM, Way north bass guy said:

I got a rod when I was about 14, and learned on my own, mostly from watching fishing shows. Was pretty abysmal for a while, but eventually got it figured out. I used to mainly target smallmouth on topwater poppers etc. Kind of put the fly rod away for a few years, but just this winter I picked up a new rod, line and some flys. I now own a beautiful piece of property with a nice river running through our backyard, and plan to hit it a fair bit this summer with the fly rod for smallmouth and largemouth. 

Sounds great   I travel up north and out west every summer for trout 

On 4/7/2022 at 8:33 PM, new2BC4bass said:

May not be huge, but it is pretty.  I hope to do some fly fishing this year.  Purchased a few rods over the winter.  Primary target was supposed to be bluegills.  However, I would never turn up my nose at a bass!  I learned about 'blue lines', and looked at a map of my area.  I have 3 that are closer than any lake, so I may try for a trout or two this year as well.  Might as well make use of that lifetime trout stamp.

I always thought my dream home would have a trout stream on one side and a bass lake on the other  lol  seems like your pretty close to heaven ??

12 hours ago, Fallser said:

I've been fly fishing now for about 30 years.  First time I ever saw anyone fly fish was on a farm pond in NW Tennessee when I was in college back in the early 70's.   I thought it was interesting but not what I wanted to do.  By the late 80's, early 90's I had worked my way down to ultra-light fishing.  The next step was fly fishing, so I built myself a fly rod, learned to tie flies.  Like a lot of folks who take up fly fishing I thought it was only for trout, and a local club I joined, at the time, was trout oriented and reinforced that idea.  I spent my first couple of years fly fishing for trout and tying trout flies.  When I fished the local stocked streams, I'd use the fly rod for trout and switch to my ultra-light tackle for panfish, and discovered my "home" creek also had smallmouth...It took a few months, but eventually I just took the fly rod.  Went through the same process, when I discovered you could fly fish salt water.  These days I fly fish 95% of the time. There are four of us that fish together a lot.  I'm the only one who fly fishes. These days I mostly fly fish from a boat or shore.   Tying flies helped me keep my sanity during the lockdown.  

I think your progression into fly fishing is pretty typical   I guess we all started with a zebco (except for us geezers who started fishing before zebco’s became ubiquitous) then progressed to Spinning (Mitchell 300) then To fly and bait casters 

I too learned  to fly fish from trout guys but when fly fishing for bluegill I was also catching bass  

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Ok so here’s a kicker  

I was absolutely slaying bass up to 18” for two days using a 1” mop fly ?  

I would strip it like a streamer then stop it and they would hammer it on the drop  

I was targeting bluegill but all I were hungry bass   I swear I would have won a tournament ? 

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I use a lot of mop flies...  If you find the right mops you can tie flies up to three inches long and if you add a marabou tail you can stretch them to  four inches.

The largest largemouth I've caught on a fly rod took a floating mop fly about 2 inches long.

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It was post spawn.  I'd like to have caught it in the fall, after it fattened up a bit

You can see the fly better in this picture.

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These are a couple of the bigger mop flies.  I've modified the floating one by switching out the piece of a foam cylinder to using dumbbell eyes made from foam cylinders.

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