Float n fly

[quivira kid]

Have any of you guys used the float n fly technique much? I was looking around on YouTube the other night and am very curious. The way I have seen the bobber rigged with a 3-way swivel is very interesting to me. It looks like a fun and different little trick to have in your back pocket for winter crappie.

 

[hookup]

Great for bass too. Good way to target suspending bass at depth.

Before a buddy passed, I'd tie him some white rabbit or craft fur jigs that he'd slay trophy bass on at Dale Hollow. Often, he'd invite me down, but I was always to busy.

Missed out on that opportunity.

 

[Fatman]

It works good - and if you go to their site check out all the different ties and you'll have plenty to give you tying ideas!!!!!!!! Their craft fur is excellent!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AtticaFish]

Maybe i put it in the wrong catagory in my own head but........... Float 'n Fly is the technique used any time you use a hair or feather JIG under some sort of float/bobber? Very popular among some smallmouth lake fisherman using either Craftfur or Duck as the major ingredient. I don't use it very often for bass but i do use it alot for bluegill and have been using it more for crappie.

......or are you talking about using a traditional FLY under a bobber? Never seen or heard of using a 3-way swivel for a jig/float setup. Need more details. :exclamation: Do tell.

 

[deathb4disco]

The way I have seen the bobber rigged with a 3-way swivel is very interesting to me.

This does not sound fun to cast, and I'd wager it's very tangle-prone. I don't use the F&F method much, but when I do, I don't use a swivel.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Having evolved as a straight line jig purist, don't use floats anymore.

But, I'll bet you could fling a fly waay beyond "normal" fly casting gear range with optimal weighted floats on spinning gear. Be a hoot to hook a lunker bug sucker 75 (or more!) yds. from shore!

 

[quivira kid]

Russ, I am talking about a jig and bobber combo. This seems a bit different than clipping a crappie jig a foot and a half under a bobber, though. I see this could be fun with a negative winter bite!

Here is the only shorter video I could find with the rigging in it, and he doesn't spend much time on it. Mainline to 3-way swivel, bobber to swivel, 6-12ft leader from swivel to jig.

 

[StumpHunter]

That is interesting, never have seen anyone fish with the setup.

 

[Fatman]

Zac couldn't get yours to work so I put this one in.

[video=youtube]

 

[quivira kid]

That is thr one I was looking for and couldn't find!

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

I've been using this method for many years specifically for crappie and gills in deeper water from the bank. No swivels,just a float that I weight myself by drilling holes in the float,adding shot and then adding a drop of super glue to cover the hole. I use duck jigs tipped with crappie nibbles. The rod length is critical and I'd suggest using the longest you feel comfortable with. With a twelve foot rod I can fish as deep as 10 feet or so comfortably and still make long casts. I bring the rod behind me slowly,stop,then bring it forward quickly on the cast. Favorite jigging technique is pointing the rod at the float once it's settled and snap the rod up a couple feet causing the jig to jump a couple feet. Crappie usually hit as it starts to drop again. I look for any movement and if there's any I set the hook. I've had 100+ fish days using this technique. Colder water means lighter rod snaps or if the bite is really off I just raise the rod slowly bringing the float towards me. Lot's of times I'll feel the bite before I see the float even move. I use this method a lot in the spring and fall at a lake in Illinois.

 

[Pup]

I began jig tying, after a very long fly tying hiatus, so that I could tie float-n-fly jigs expressly for smallmouth bass fishing. It's really just a very old crappie fishing technique in my opinion. This "renewed" technique has been marketed toward smallmouth and spotted bass fishermen because, as a winter time technique, few other methods work nearly as well. I like to use it on a local river during winter when few others are fishing. Have caught a good number of smallmouth bass with a few large ones in the mix.

Plus, a myriad of jig styles work. Often, the patterns can be quite pretty and very fun to tie.

The swivel system with center-weighted bobber might be fine for lakes, but it's unnecessary for river fishing in my opinion. Personally, I don't worry about lift bites. So, I find that a weighted-orange Comal float fixed to my main line at 3-5' above my jig does just fine.

I posted some tidbits about this topic at the link below a while back.

LINK

 

[quivira kid]

Thanks guys! I have a few colors of craft hair, and Jim, I was thinking of your flash ducks right away! Right now, I suck at tying thread neck jigs, so I am going to have to work on that. Tied up a couple duck jigs with black head and chartreuse and pink mallard flank for a body. They turned out okay and I'm sure they'll work.....

I'm going to try the weighted bobber with 3-way swivel rig a few times and see how I like it, but it does seem like an absolute trainwreck of a mess in the works. We don't have rivers around here worth fishing, so it will be a lake technique for me!