Anyone Fly fishing?

[Paddy]

We were recently in the Tetons and Yellowstone areas and saw a lot of fly fishers along the small rivers. We staoped as a guy was catching a fish. Turned out to be a white fish.

I have played with a fly rig, but I roll cast. That is where you get the end of the line out there by whipping the tip in a circle to get the business end to either move out or left/right. We used a tiny bit of worm and the bluegills hit along the shore. The idea was the bait hits the water and if just a few seconds there is no action, you whip it again.

I saw a few videos on fly fishing and the type of fly needs to match what ever "bug" is present at the time.

Some rivers out west have invasive trouts that the DNR wants you to keep, i.e. no catch and release. I'd like to do my part to help : )

Anyone fly fish, out west?

 

[oosik]

Its difficult to believe - no takers so far. Well - I was taught by my father that fly fishing was the only way to fish. From a very early age - out on the lawn - proper position - proper wait - proper cast. He and I - every spring - over on some of the rivers on the West side - spring steelhead fishing with large wet flies. I think I have dry fly fished every lake with trout in NE WA state.

Then there is the ever present discussion - bamboo or fiber glass ( now, carbon fiber ). I have a VERY SPECIAL bamboo rod - specially made and presented to him by the CEO of the Orvis company. My father was somewhat of a legend in the fly fishing community.

I don't know if he ever understood why I would fish for salmon - any other way - during my stay in Alaska.

 

[wngsprd]

I do some fly fishing, but only in Virginia so far...bucket list includes a return trip to several rivers I viewed while hiking out west.

Oosik, sounds like your dad was very fortunate to receive that rod.

 

[plowhog]

After years of using bait and lures, I pretty much only fly fish now. Really satisfying to imitate bugs and insects, fool the trout, catch it, and return it to the stream to do again some time.

Never heard of trout overpopulations. Where are those?

 

[houstonscott]

I’ve been fly fishing for over fifty years now, since I live in Texas it’s hard to get out. I fished the high country in Yosemite last summer, luckily before the fires. Need readers to to change out flys but if there’s trout there I’ll take them. I love dry flys and fish them hard, really starting to like stimulators I can see them better in late evening. As I have gotten older I’m down to fly fishing and photography.

 

[oosik]

plowhog - the "invasive trout" situation is more a species situation than a numbers deal. There are some species of trout than simply do not mix well with other species of trout. However - as you can expect, if this situation continues - unchecked - it will most likely become a numbers situation.

In Alaska - when I worked for ADF&G - we planted rainbow trout into a large lake with an established population of big 'ol lake trout. It - over about five years - became the undoing of the lake trout. The rainbows out competed the lakers - for food - and the established population of lakers simply died out. A lesson was learned - I hope. Evaluate the current food situation prior to introduction of a competitive species.

 

[MossRoad]

My wife and I were on vacation last week. We drove down to the Ozarks and bummed around for 6 days. One day we stopped at a trout hatchery..... while I find the raising of the trout quite interesting, and I do fish myself, I found the whole spectacle of hundreds of people standing at the inflow and outflow of the hatchery catching a very human conditioned and stupid fish on every cast to be quite comical. It was ridiculous!!!

I used to fish Indiana's opening day of put-and-take trout fishing. Again, I found it ridiculous. Elbow to elbow with a bunch of people catching hatchery raised fish on just about every cast. I gave it up after a few years.

 

[MossRoad]

plowhog - the "invasive trout" situation is more a species situation than a numbers deal. There are some species of trout than simply do not mix well with other species of trout. However - as you can expect, if this situation continues - unchecked - it will most likely become a numbers situation.

In Alaska - when I worked for ADF&G - we planted rainbow trout into a large lake with an established population of big 'ol lake trout. It - over about five years - became the undoing of the lake trout. The rainbows out competed the lakers - for food - and the established population of lakers simply died out. A lesson was learned - I hope. Evaluate the current food situation prior to introduction of a competitive species.

Just check out the Great Lakes.... they opened the St. Lawrence Seaway, and alewives came in. They overpopulated the lake, so they brought in Salmon. Sea lamprey came in and decimated the native lake trout. Gobies, zebra mussels.... now asian carp is gonna be the next big threat if they come through Chicago. It never ends once man puts his fingers in it.

 

[bunyip]

I fly fish in fresh and salt water and love chasing perch in estuaries, a type of bass.
Surf is good when conditions are right but I love small streams and trout, our season is about to start.
Heading to Tasmania in January to get amongst the bigger trout in the lakes system.
I wade, kayak and float tube, prefer dry fly but a big streamer on dark gets some big hits in the lakes when the mudeyes are active (dragonfly larvae).
Fish from a #2 to#10 rod depending on where but 5-6 is my weapon of choice, using Penn, Loomis imx, st croix and a few others.

 

[/pine]

IMO the ultimate in fly fishing is Tarpon...although there have been other large sport fish (sails and even marlin) caught on fly rods after being teased up in off shore waters...Tarpon are available to anyone with a kayak or even wading...

The current and pending world records for fly fishing are closing in on over 200#'s

 

[forgeblast]

I have a tankara fly rod, first cast caught a pan fish but then the wind took over. Fly fishing is something I really want to learn, just need to wait for my daughter to get older so we can both learn.

 

[MossRoad]

IMO the ultimate in fly fishing is Tarpon...although there have been other large sport fish (sails and even marlin) caught on fly rods after being teased up in off shore waters...Tarpon are available to anyone with a kayak or even wading...

The current and pending world records for fly fishing are closing in on over 200#'s

I remember watching fishing shows about 20 years ago regarding tarpon fly fishing. That does look fun. What a fighter.

 

[bigtiller]

23 miles east of Payson, Arizona is a 150 acre lake named Willow Springs Lake with rainbow trout, loudmouth and smallmouth bass. It is a heavily forested area with Ponderosa Pine, Oak and Douglas Fir trees at 7500' elevation. I was there a few years ago in September and the water was unbelievably clear.

Willow Springs Lake | Near Payson and Heber, Arizona

 

[grnspot110]

I used to, don't do a lot of fishing anymore, mostly Bluegill & Largemouth Bass around north MO!

 

[/pine]

I remember watching fishing shows about 20 years ago regarding tarpon fly fishing. That does look fun. What a fighter.

If it was a little earlier than just 20 years ago I would guess they were Stu Apte videos...he was pretty much the main instigator in fly fishing for large salt water sport fish and especially Tarpon... google "Stu Apte" to read about an interesting character.

FWIW...
IMO Tarpon are a magnificent species...they are accessible to anyone with a rod and reel...boats are not required, they hit both artificial and live or dead baits...they feed day or night...There is little that can compare to seeing them jump and spin at night under a full moon...they are pure silver and their scales are so big (old species) one or two will cover the full palm of a large hand...!

Ever heard of 'MirrOlure' ?? they were invented by a man named Harold LeMaster who was an avid Tarpon angler...his shop was just a couple of miles from where I grew up

 

[dragoneggs]

I used to do quite a bit of dry fly fishing in the rivers of eastern Washington, Idaho, and Western Montana. Loved to camp and fish from the banks and take a nap along the shore during mid day when they weren't biting.

I tied my own flies, caddis, drakes, hoppers, etc. It was a great hobby at lunch time when I worked in a Boeing cubicle. Eat a sandwich, pull your vice out and clamp to the table edge and tie a few. Had a good friend that should have been a guide instead of an engineer for a day job.

We floated the Yakima several times with great luck. But mostly I enjoyed bank fishing and wading. Learning the rivers is key. Knowing how to read the water, the 'pillows' and dropping your fly (not that) against a grassy bank for best presentation to the fish became an art form.

A great hobby while soaking up nature, but like golf, I have found it too time consuming. Can't wait for retirement.... I have so many hobbies, I will probably be busier than I am now!

 

[cqaigy2]

I'm kinda in the same boat, so to speak, as dragoneggs, too many hobbies.

My dad got me started on his bamboo rod, showed me how to roll cast up brushy small creeks, how to look at the hatch and pick out a fly. When I got a little older, he bought me a casting/fly pole for my birthday. To me, it was a great fishing pole, 7 feet long and very limber. It would break down into a shortish aluminium tube for back packing.

Later, in high school, i started tying flys, floaters and sinking. I would tie up some caddisfly larva or adult, depending, for myself and dad, walk over the the Yakima and tap the water, just on the trailing edge of the water pillowing over a rock, with an adult fly, tap tap tap and sometimes a hit. Great memories of time with my dad.

 

[MossRoad]

Unbeknownst to most, there's a huge salmon and trout fishery in northern Indiana on the St. Joseph river. The river mouth is on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Michigan. It's about a 60ish mile run up the river over 5 dams up all the way to Mishawaka, Indiana. King salmon, skamania, steelhead, coho, some browns, too. Quite fun to watch. I don't participate yet. I'm more of a spinning rod guy. I do, on occasion, fly fish for panfish. That is quit fun. But I can do just as well with a casting bubble and leader on a spinning rod.

 

[dragoneggs]

But I can do just as well with a casting bubble and leader on a spinning rod.

That's cheating... according to some.

 

[Citydude]

Growing up here in Wyoming I learned at an early age to fly fish so I guess I fly fish the West. I run up to Montana and fish the Bighorn or the Yellowstone from time and a yearly trip to fish the Lamar valley in Yellowstone. My home water is an hour drive.

I've caught red fish in the gulf, bone fish in Mexico on fly rods but nothing compares to a large trout rising to a fly that I tied. Well, maybe a new tractor but that a different rush