The other day I was fishing a fairly overgrown stream and the idea of flipping some micro sized baits for trout occurred to me.  Has anyone here tried?  I'm thinking of using a 1/16-1/8 oz bullet with a little crappie soft plastic or a small ball head jig with a grub or hellgrammite on it.  What do you think?

I've done BFS flipping and pitching...but not for trout.

I can't see why it wouldn't work...better accuracy than using a spinning rod.

I only fly fish for trout and I have done my fair share of it in Montana but trout fishing small creeks and rivers is pretty much the same everywhere.

 

I guess it depends on the current and the makeup of the overgrown vegetation. Is it mainly just overhead cover with space underneath.  If so you might be better off casting upstream and then use the current to help the bait get underneath the cut bank where they are holding. Otherwise even if you pitch into it the current will just push you into the snags.

 

Also, try a small drop shot rig fished upstream and let the current do the work. Just maintain contact with bottom.  You might catch every fish in the run.  Fly fishing uses a dropshot setup these days but we use a heavy fly as the weight.

 

An upstream or quartering across cast is almost always the ticket.

 

BFS seems to be growing in the trout world.

I think that’s the fastest growing fishing group in Japan.  BFS guys flipping tiny cranks for trout.  We penciled in a backpack trip next spring.  I’ll go w BFS. 

By my understanding, BFS was initially a trout thing in Japan. It's interesting that they're flipping cranks.  I was thinking about insect profiles when I made the post, but minnows on underspins have been working on spinning gear...

4 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

By my understanding, BFS was initially a trout thing in Japan. It's interesting that they're flipping cranks.  I was thinking about insect profiles when I made the post, but minnows on underspins have been working on spinning gear...

 

Trout are carnivores as much as they are insectivores.

1 hour ago, Pumpkin Lizard said:

 

Trout are carnivores as much as they are insectivores.

Especially big trout

33 minutes ago, MontanaBasser said:

Especially big trout

 

Go fish the Yellowstone east of Bozeman. Sheep Mountain to Springdale. Monsters.

I dont see why it wouldn’t work.  the important thing is being where they are and preventing a bait they want quietly.  Pitching a plastic on a BFS rig will get there.  If you need a full 1/8 plus plastic then you have plenty for a rig like that.  in fact you’re asking me contemplate my options this weekend…

2 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

e my options this weekend…

 

If you're in the Bozeman area, let's hit it together.  

7 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

 

If you're in the Bozeman area, let's hit it together.  

Afraid not.  Opposite side of the country. Good luck though!

Pitching is not very common for trout fishing, BFS or otherwise.  If you're fishing a cramped stream, you will have a very bad time since a lot of line is let out and the range of motion is very large.  You're going to catch a tree with your rod, line, or both.

 

What we do is called flick casting, with the lure reeled almost to the tip.  The range of motion is much shorter and the distances that can be achieved much greater.  To flick cast, hold your rod in front of you, snap the tip downwards, and release the spool when the bend of the rod is at Max.  This causes the rod to load in a short window, propelling your lure.  You don't want an overly fast rod to do this, you want a moderate fast, progressive blank to achieve this.  Once you get the hang of it, it will be the most accurate form of casting.  Here's a video demonstrating the flick cast.

 

 

1 minute ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Pitching is not very common for trout fishing, BFS or otherwise.  If you're fishing a cramped stream, you will have a very bad time since a lot of line is let out and the range of motion is very large.  You're going to catch a tree with your rod, line, or both.

 

What we do is called flick casting, with the lure reeled almost to the tip.  The range of motion is much shorter and the distances that can be achieved much greater.  To flick cast, hold your rod in front of you, snap the tip downwards, and release the spool when the bend of the rod is at Max.  This causes the rod to load in a short window, propelling your lure.  You don't want an overly fast rod to do this, you want a moderate fast, progressive blank to achieve this.  Once you get the hang of it, it will be the most accurate form of casting.  Here's a video demonstrating the flick cast.

 

 

 

That's always awesome watching him do that.  That's the 'original' BFS I think.  Very specific rods and setup.  I considered setting one of those up for fun (I have a couple blanks downstairs that would fit the bill) but then realized that I fish for trout once every other year so...

 

When I do trout fish though, I pitch a ton.  It's usually with a spinning rod a bait, but the action is the same- same pendulum motion, quiet entry, precise placement.  There is no room to overhead cast and even a sidearm will catch bankside vegetation.  A longer rod and a pitching motion are the most efficient way to get a bait where you want it.  Doing it with a casting reel would be even better.  I don't think I could pitch a single salmon egg though on the setup I have, but I am going to try it.

9 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

That's always awesome watching him do that.  That's the 'original' BFS I think.  Very specific rods and setup.  I considered setting one of those up for fun (I have a couple blanks downstairs that would fit the bill) but then realized that I fish for trout once every other year so...

 

When I do trout fish though, I pitch a ton.  It's usually with a spinning rod a bait, but the action is the same- same pendulum motion, quiet entry, precise placement.  There is no room to overhead cast and even a sidearm will catch bankside vegetation.  A longer rod and a pitching motion are the most efficient way to get a bait where you want it.  Doing it with a casting reel would be even better.  I don't think I could pitch a single salmon egg though on the setup I have, but I am going to try it.

Many trout rods are great for flick casting, fiberglass isn't necessary.  The super fast rods, like the Major Craft Finetail Stream for instance, are meant for fishing very fast water, so a much faster action is used for that situation.  Get into something like a Smith Troutin'Spin or Palms Egeria, which are far more moderate, and it works nicely.  My favorite flicking rod is a 6'5" Smith Trouin'Spin and it's a 100% carbon blank.  I flick cast nearly 100% of the time on the stream, once you get it down, other forms can be unwieldy.  About the only time I'm not flicking is in water more than waist deep.  For in close targets, a simple underhanded cast works great.  It's similar to flick casting, but there is no back cast to the motion, just a gentle push with the tip and bam, right on target.

48 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Many trout rods are great for flick casting, fiberglass isn't necessary.  The super fast rods, like the Major Craft Finetail Stream for instance, are meant for fishing very fast water, so a much faster action is used for that situation.  Get into something like a Smith Troutin'Spin or Palms Egeria, which are far more moderate, and it works nicely.  My favorite flicking rod is a 6'5" Smith Trouin'Spin and it's a 100% carbon blank.  I flick cast nearly 100% of the time on the stream, once you get it down, other forms can be unwieldy.  About the only time I'm not flicking is in water more than waist deep.  For in close targets, a simple underhanded cast works great.  It's similar to flick casting, but there is no back cast to the motion, just a gentle push with the tip and bam, right on target.

 

Yeah, but it still means a shorter, light power casting rod setup, whether it is glass or graphite.  That's the main limitation for me.  

I tried this at the pond today and bird-nested badly.  How do you have your brakes set when you do this?  Do you use the clutch during the cast or do you trigger the clutch, thumb the spool and then release.  Is it easier at the beginning to use a heavier lures or a lighter one?

12 hours ago, MontanaBasser said:

I tried this at the pond today and bird-nested badly.  How do you have your brakes set when you do this?  Do you use the clutch during the cast or do you trigger the clutch, thumb the spool and then release.  Is it easier at the beginning to use a heavier lures or a lighter one?

I dial my brake in according to the smallest bait I intend on using, typically right around 3g.  After that it is pretty set and forget unless minor adjustments are needed for windy conditions.  Generally speaking, my reel doesn't backlash unless the bait hits the water before my thumb hits the spool.  The most important part to me is to utilize the action of the rod to propel the bait, a simple motion of the wrist will achieve this.  If you are using your shoulder to compensate, you stand a better chance of backlashing since the rod isn't being loaded up correctly.  

Berkley Mice Tails on a Crappie jig is popular for trout.

Tom

I've been doing well with Northland thumper underspins with a small paddle tail on it.  

I use jerk baits in the 40-70mm range most of the time, and at night I'll use wake baits of a similar size for big brown trout.  You'd be surprised, trout don't require super tiny stuff.  Jerk baits typically attract more big fish as they have a much higher fish content to their diet than the smaller ones.

On 5/26/2025 at 8:41 AM, redmeansdistortion said:

I use jerk baits in the 40-70mm range most of the time, and at night I'll use wake baits of a similar size for big brown trout.  You'd be surprised, trout don't require super tiny stuff.  Jerk baits typically attract more big fish as they have a much higher fish content to their diet than the smaller ones.

One key thing about fishing for trout:  Big trout eat little trout.

 

1 minute ago, Further North said:

One key thing about fishing for (name the species):  Big (name the species) eat little (name the species).

Fixed that for you.

 

At one point or another, all fish species are cannibalistic...they'll eat smaller members of their own species.

18 minutes ago, Further North said:

One key thing about fishing for trout:  Big trout eat little trout.

 

Yep, and trout patterns work best for jerks baits.  I catch most of my fish on rainbow, brown, smolt, and parr patterns.  

On 5/15/2025 at 8:43 PM, Pumpkin Lizard said:

 

Trout are carnivores as much as they are insectivores.

Piscivores

10 minutes ago, MassBass said:

Piscivores

not to be pedantic but they eat anything with a spinal cord that they can catch, plus crawdads, crabs etc.

 

I saw a picture last week of a trout that was simultaneously eating and pooping the same snake.