Fishing flies with spin tackle?

[AndyLane]

I have several ties that are really meant to be fished with a fly rod. Streamers,Hoppers,Bead flies ect... I plan on getting a new fly rod at some point. My old one was stolen a couple years back but thats a story for another time. I primarily bank fish with light weight spin tackle on small lakes and farm ponds in the spring and through the summer. In the past I have fished flies under one of my small homemade wooden floats with reasonable success. I also sometimes just add a small splitshot and fish without a float. I think my techniques can be improved. I would love some advice on Fly fishing without a fly rod. Now that I've babbled for a minute by questions are...
What are some techniques that have worked for ya'll?
Is using a casting bubble something I should look into?
If i'm fishing a streamer type fly under a float, will one tied on a straight shaft hook fish differently than one tied on a hook with a slight bend at the hook eye?

 

[Fatman]

Fishing them on a spinning rod is no different.

The casting bubble's do work!! One thing you'll want to do is add more line behind it so the flies work the way they're supposed to. You almost want the bubble to land first.

Fishing a straight eye vs. a bent eye to me there really is no difference, fish em the same. I actually like bent eye's on my flies. Only one I don't is a popper.

The pond I fish at for trout, bass and panfish one day the trout were going nuts for dry flies. A Dad with his son and daughter couldn't even temp one with the worms they were using but were getting the panfish. I was just leaving and asked how they were doing - just the panfish!! They had casting bubbles but no flies so I pulled out my roll of extra line set em up and gave them a few extras and stayed for a few minutes to watch. First cast!! both of them hooked nice trout. The guy tries to pay me for the flies and I told him no and let the kids enjoy!!! It was a great day.!!

 

[StumpHunter]

I have fished with flies many times with the same set up as Fatman talked about. If I'm bream fishing and run out of crickets I will go to a top water fly. I want the fly 4 to 5' below the float, throw it out and let the water settle then work the float not the fly but watch the fly for the bites. Great way to fish for spawning bream and other fish will bite this setup also.

 

[smalljaw]

Years ago I was taught the float-n-fly technique but I decided to put my own spin on it to use in the river where they small 1/32 or 1/16oz only has to be 10" to 14" below the float max. I get cheap weighted floats and it works great for bass and for trout I did the same only I used tiny flies a friend would tie and use them behind clear fly casting bubbles. I had an old man show me how he drilled a hole in the bubble to let it fill with water and sink, he was the only guy catching trout one day and I had to ask and he gave me a bubble with a hole with the instruction on how to make them. I tied the bubble on and then the leader with a single fly the guy gave me, he said it was a black gnat size #14 and so I made 1 cast, let the bubble fill with enough water that it sank and just slowly reeled and I got 4' when a trout hit. Yes, I think fishing flies behind a bubble or flaot can be done effectively when done right.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Andy, The Bubble & Fly (or bubble and small jig) is an absolutely fantastic technique that I've used successfully (including just last week on trout in a mostly iced over lake-could reach open water with the weight of the bubble!) in many shoreline situations to reach way out there. For some really helpful FREE videos and written material on this tactic ,go to http://www.bestfishingsecrets.com/ . The owner Craig, is a sincere guy who is really trying to help potential bubble chuckers with his readily available educational material,and he has the absolute best bubbles and other equipment. Also, if you can ever locate this really excellent book (1998) exclusively on bubble & fly fishing, called "Fish Don't Think" by Bob Kane, buy it at any price!I'm currently rereading my copy for the umpteenth time, and always learn something new!

By the way, I'm discovering that Red's small wool/satin jigs in 1/32 oz size are superb for trout/panfish behind a water filled bubble (last week my bubble was ICE filled!!), and can be worked even down into depths with a few tiny split shots inside a full water bubble (sinks very slowly due to almost neautral buoyancy). Bubbles can float,of course, if only half filled. Either way they can take tiny jigs/flies into LONG distant spots where these super effective lures have never gone before. I'd love it if some of the guys on here started to use & share bubble/jig techniques, successes, and experiences!

 

[Pup]

A bubble and fly may be your best rig for a number of reasons, like possibly avoiding snags near pond and lake bottoms.

However, if you feel the need to "chunk and wind" or you opt to fish a river or stream, consider attaching your fly behind an inline spinner. I'm talking about the ones branded "Hildebrandt" or "Joes' Flies". Most come with single blades, though a few are in tandem. Typically, these are either silver or gold and are unweighted. You have the option of weighting the spinner itself with something like small reusable split shot or a rubber core sinker when desired. Shoot for 1/8 or 1/16 ounce weight if fishing very light. I wouldn't attach the weight(s) to your line.

You mentioned getting another fly rod. Inline spinners (unweighted) with flies are dynamite when fly fishing in river/stream current. I used to cast and swing them across the tailwaters of pools, just before the push water that precedes a riffle. Caught several nice brown trout using them when I fished in South Dakota some years ago. Nowadays, I could likely catch quite a few smallmouth bass with them when wading my local river.

 

[jiggerjohn]

Andy, a quick upgrade ;just was in touch with a 69 yr old Alaskan Inupiaq Eskimo Elder who wrote of his lifelong experiences with the bobber & fly , entitled "Kiana's Cast". His name is Chris Kiana, and his book description is at his website www.kianascast.com . For incentive to use the bobber with fly ,here's what this expert specialist has to say -
"All I know is you can work more efficiently in probably 25% of the time or less, working a creek or river than with the regular fly rod. As I kid, I learned to cast up to 100' with the #12 royal coachman and other flies. I went fishing with an expert fly rod fisherman (deceased now) who worked a stream with me. I was catching 4-5 fish to everyone he caught. He started to notice this and quit fishing, just to watch and marvel at my techniques for a couple of hours. I asked him why he wasn't fishing - he told me, "I have never seen anyone catch fish like you do with such expert speed and efficiency. You work the stream faster than I do, and I am good." All I know is that few fisherman have outfished me with flies and bead head nymphs for the past 40-50 years. I am 69 now."

 

[AndyLane]

Thanks everyone for your info and advice.
Great links JiggerJohn. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to have to give those bubbles a try. Chris Kiana seems like quite an interesting person. I think I'd like to read his book(s). On a side note I am so anxious to give ol reds jigs a try. If I dont get to go fishing soon I'm going to go crazy

 

[Fatman]

I've been using the Betts Oval weighted 1 1/2" and 2" weighted floats

along with pear shaped Comal weighted floats

for fishing with flies and jigs.

Pup - I always have hildebrandts style spinners in the box

easy to make

 

[mjm76]

I've had quite a bit of success fishing the missouri trout parks with spinning gear. I actually prefer to fish those with a fly rod, but since my son started going with me, I found that he has better luck playing the fish off of a spinning rod, so that is often how we fish. I use really light line (maxima ultragreen 2 lb test) on a whippy ultralight rod and a tiny float. You can cast a 1/120 oz jig or a wet fly with a tiny split shot a reasonable distance. I would say you could accurately cast about 30 feet, which is plenty for those streams. The trick is in the cast, you have to arc the cast quite a bit more than with standard gear, but it still works once you get the hang of it.

 

[Pop]

FYI Amazon.com has the book "Fish Don't Think". Quite pricey for a paper back book. Pop

 

[AtticaFish]

I tied flies for several years before my Dad bought me my first fly rod. I started out flinging the big red/white bobbers and caught my fair share of LM Bass using a spun hair mouse a few feet behind one of those gaudy bobbers. The bobber was sometimes just as attractive to them as they would inhale the float every once in awhile. Can remember even landing a bass once that refused to let go of the bobber!

Since then, i have upgraded to some fancy slip floats and other techniques. The small cheapy 2" cigar shaped clip on floats that are weighted are excellent for casting tiny jigs. I use them alot crappie fishing in the spring with 1/64oz kip jigs in deep water. At dusk, the crappies rise in the water column, even taking bugs from the surface on a few lakes i fish. Use a long rod and set the float as deep as possible where you can still cast. As soon as it hits the water just begin to slowly reel with the occasional pause. The little cigar floats even telegraph the bite where you can feel it after dark - no visual needed.

One other trick i have learned (a little off the main subject here) is to use the cheater floats that are used on some walleye crawler harnesses pegged above heavy jigs with a thoothpick. The heavy jig will sink the cheater float slowly - so a heavy jig will sink MUCH slower than normal. When you reel, the float will pull the whole rig higher in the water... pause and the jig will pendulum down under the float. You can make a 1/4oz. (long casts!) jig stay in the strikezone for suspended fish even casting from shore. It works great at times on a deep water, upground reservoir i fish where there is no bottom structure or vegitation and the fish roam and suspend most of the time.

 

[Bucho]

Fishing flies behind a casting device is very popular here in Europe. In Italy, there is a whole universe of bombarda floats, some even with rattles, some made out of solid glass. All of them cast very, very well. Some are almost invisible to the nakes eye once in the water. They are made for stocked trout ponds and come in different sizes and sinking rates, from floating to fast sinking.

Here at the baltic sea, we use 1/2 to 1 oz, such as described in this article
http://globalflyfisher.com/fishbetter/bubble/#rigging
they move very subtle in the water and cast extrmely well. Even if you downsize according to your light gear, if you get your hands on them they might surprise some trout in corners of the pond where they haven`t seen a fly in a while...

 

[hookup]

I've caught many trout fishing w/ a black knat on a bopper.

Get a long spinning rod, light line, and a bopper that has a plastic shaft down the middle that lets water in to adjust depth.

Run the line through the shaft, the tie on a swivel. Add leader w/ bopper & fish.