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2019 All Things Fly Fishing

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19 hours ago, saltyh2ofly said:

Now thats a way to enjoy the thrill of a big ass fish! What are the flats like? Saw a program that featured Beaver island that's like killer smallie and carp sight fishing. Congrats!!

Thanks. Yea, Lake Michigan has some great sight fishing opportunities. I haven't been to Beaver Island proper but fished a ton of flats around Traverse City and those peninsulas. That can be amazing, seeing carp as flats fish in a clear, beautiful environment--really elevates them from their stereotypes. The window up there is narrow, with fish on the flats pre- and post spawn, which is from Mid-May to Mid July. Basically the flats are narrow and drop off to a hundred feet deep or more, so the fish appear and disappear quick, both seasonally and sometimes just while you're fishing them. You can get in and wade for miles, but it has become more difficult the past few years since Lake Michigan has risen about 30-36" (yes, nearly 3 feet) since its 2012 levels, so it has given the flats a steeper slope feeling and killed much of the marsh that held a lot of fish (lively grass edges are now brown underwater mass).  The smallmouth fishing is great during this same period, but they are far more camouflage. Casting to any dark spot (usually a rock) usually results in a smallie attacking your fly.

 

In the city (Chicago) by contrast, we do our sight fishing along the seawalls that line the entire city (13 miles North to South, but lots of curvature and one of the largest marina systems anywhere. The harbors have their own populations of fish and different dynamics. Some have diverse habitat from deep weedbeds to shallower rocky shoals, and some are just deep featureless coves. The huge water level rise, while threatening the city's infrastructure, has in some ways helped and in other ways hurt our sight fishing. The pros are that (a) laid up or cruising fish are vertically closer to us; (b) allows for smoother presentation than being vertically above fish by 3'; and (c) netting fish or lifting fish is way easier. The big con is, it's already deep so a bottom presentation (like crayfish patterns) takes forever to get down. There are some beaches in and near the city where you can wade and cast to cruising pods of carp, but most is done from a seawall which is reinforced with giant rock. The fish often come up on these rocks to feed. Another favorite of mine to sight fish is the freshwater drum (looks like a black drum). They are more aggressive and also get large. Sight fishing for carp & drum usually gets better as water warms until late September. We also sight fish smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and pike, although you are much more likely to get the smallmouth on a blind cast around structure or under bait. 

Edited by Intracoastal
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15 mins ago, The Graveyard Shift said:

yes,

 captain_ian@yahoo.com

 

They are not cheap but so far they have lasted two seasons so they are high quality flies.

Awesome. It looks like it is made of some synthetic fiber. I have some congo fiber--imagine I could do something similar. The construction of the fly seems different than other bait fish style flies ive seen. I may try tying a few see where I land. 

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On 6/5/2019 at 8:38 PM, The Graveyard Shift said:

I use the TA 50lb clip for fly fishing it is the smallest size.  on SH 9wt I can use the clips fine for casting but I as said before the smaller flies will jig more in action from extra weight at the front of the pattern.  10WT SH with big flies and clip I think should be fine

Do you know the TA clips come in micro size, 25#?

Used them here on the Cape with a deceiver. Not successful as you said. My buddy wasn't using the clip, same deceiver tied by me, and he was catching fish and I wasn't. As soon as I removed the clip, tied on the same deceiver I had been using, I began to catch. Possibly it was the clear water here or that the action of the deceiver was different, as you said. No more TA clips for me during the day here on the Cape. Possibly at night it might be different. I'm not too anxious to test drive them here while on vacation, that's for sure!

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3 hours ago, flysully said:

Do you know the TA clips come in micro size, 25#?

Used them here on the Cape with a deceiver. Not successful as you said. My buddy wasn't using the clip, same deceiver tied by me, and he was catching fish and I wasn't. As soon as I removed the clip, tied on the same deceiver I had been using, I began to catch. Possibly it was the clear water here or that the action of the deceiver was different, as you said. No more TA clips for me during the day here on the Cape. Possibly at night it might be different. I'm not too anxious to test drive them here while on vacation, that's for sure!

I know the 50lbs ones drastically alter the flies action.  I wont use them on small flies night or daytime.  With a 14" fly the are much more resistant to sinking but even still I prefer to tie a knot unless I am going to fish with several different flies in an hour.

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16 hours ago, crowconor said:

Just tried tying up a few. Definietly far from perfect, but I am starting to understand the pattern a little more. Seems that using a little material as possible is the way to go. 

image2 (3).jpeg

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Something that is not apparent looking at the finished product is how much lead Ian uses to get the fly to keel and cast well.  Check out his instagram page he posts some details on fly construction from time to time.  I took these off his public account to show you its a lot of lead.  I tried making one around 13" long last year without the lead and its action was poor even with a large heavy hook it was rolling constantly.  Ian's flies with proper weighting cast far superior to unweighted versions and keel very well.

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