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Flies you don't like/don't fish anymore

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Sngl2th

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On 7/22/2020 at 3:52 PM, The Fisherman said:

Certainly, to each his or her own. Fish the way you like.

 

Very respectfully, if more anglers adopted a trout mentality and applied it to striper fishing, they would catch more stripers. And don't take my word for it. Ask @TheGraveyardShift about his experiences using smaller flies on a team of three, a very trouty approach...

 

:-)

 

Steve Culton

Oh boy I feel a massive disagreement coming on. I must be seeing a different Trout mentality Steve . Best not spit it out on here.

 

 

mike

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This is a good thread to revive. For me it’s not patterns as much as size or color. Simple Brooks blinds in random combinations and craft fur baitfish are killers for me sometimes. Then they disappoint and get ignored.

 

In general, I do best with 2-3” flies in simple light color combos. When I deviate from that I do worse. I really like seadeucers but find it hard to make them last. 

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My FiL used the often repeated “90% of trout feeding is sub surface”.  He created the “Moosehead Bell” in the region to catch landlocked and other salmonidae in just this manner. When he passed i all but retired the pattern, and certainly the tray of about twelve variations he gave me i cherish. Bonefish Belles ect ect…  I’m surely repeating myself here, but when i was dating his daughter at 25yo or so, she questioned him about my late night disappearances after dropping her off at home. “He says he is going striper fishing until morning”. My FIL responded, keep this one honey, he is a keeper.

Edited by phishallways

I'll ignore your cheap aroma,

and your little-bo-peep diploma,

I'll just put you in a coma,

with some dirty love-

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For over a decade in saltwater I have only been fishing Tabory patterns. Snakefly's and Slab fly’s mostly in a variety of sizes, trims, and colors. I like flies that breathe in the water, cast well, no added weight, and are adaptable to many situations with just a pair of scissors. If I had to fish just one fly in saltwater it would be a snakefly. One fly in freshwater would be woolybugger variants for the same reason as the Tabory flies. Natural materials that breathe just sitting in the water. 
 

Not that I didn’t have some isolated luck with other flies but consistently Tabory flies out fished all the others for me. They can keep their weighted or massive synthetic material presentation I’ll stay with what works day in and night out. I have confidence I can go into any environment and catch fish with a snakefly. I even use them down here for tarpon, snook, redfish, and Seatrout( as well as these broad shouldered Florida strain LMB’s) 

Edited by Jim DE
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On 7/22/2020 at 10:27 AM, Jim H said:

:agree:

 

Graveyard, that's some great comments, and insight! :theman:

 

I don't care to fish deep with fly tackle. I've done it in the 20' to 30' range plenty, from a boat, but get below 30', I much rather fish with other tackle. I have sinking lines in a couple of sink rates for when I needed them in strong currents or deeper waters, but it's never been my favorite way to fish with fly gear. For the most part, I've also always been a shallow water angler with fly gear, because where I fished most was shallow, mostly under 10' in depth. When I've had to fish deeper, or stronger currents, I acquired what gear I needed an adapted. I don't think a lot of folks are willing to do that these days.

 

Casting Clouser Minnows or any heavily weighted fly doesn't bother me at all either, nor does using heavier fly gear to do it.

I've noticed a trend in that regard, that a lot of folks seem to have become wussies about what weight outfits they'll use and recommend to others. They worry about fractions of an ounce difference in the physical weight of their gear. Many make comments such as " it will wear you out if you cast a 8, 9 or 10 wt. all day". Well, it may, but I've been worn out before. That's what getting some rest afterwards should be about! It's not as easy on me as it was when I was younger, but so what! 

 

I've mentioned on here before, I use a 10 wt often for LM bass fishing. I use what I feel is appropriate for the fishing I'm doing, where I'm fishing and of course the flies I use. Not because I'm concerned about getting tired.

 

I have no problems casting even very heavily weighted Clouser Minnows, but for the waters I've fished, most of the time, they didn't need to be that heavy, and I used to tie some much heavier than was needed. I lost a lot of flies to bottom snags because they were too heavy. I really like your comment about having a variety, and I do the same thing.

 

My comments here may not apply to a lot of folks who regularly contribute here, but it does seem to me to be a common theme when folks start discussing fly fishing for some fish species other than trouts, that they want to use very light gear. Some say they use 4 & 5 wt's for bass as an example with "big" flies. I call that the trout mentality, and I have no issue with anyone who targets trout. However, other fish often require other methods & gear and certainly require adjusting the mindset and thought process. 

I use a 6 wt for largemouth. And an 8wt.   And a 10wt.   Depending on the fly I've got to cast and the type of structure/weeds I'll be fishing.  And just like rods, different flies are needed for different situations. All well-known flies are well-known because they work in at least certain situations.  It helps if we know the locations/conditions we'll be fishing on specific days and go well-armed. 

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Snagl2th, Steve Culton has an edge in flatwings because he takes great care in which roosters he puts on the rack each day. The rack is one he designed himself, to put a very controlled tension on select feathers, to encourage the feathers to grow long and thin. In cold weather he has to sleep in the henhouse to provide some extra body heat.

That's more work than most of us would care to put in - makes for messy bedding.

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I'm thinking possibly certain flies work better when fishing from a boat, like crease flies, gurglers, etc. As a shore flyfisherman for 25 yrs. or more, I've found crease flies and gurglers just haven't produced much compared to other striper/albie flies I've tied. A foam floating sand eel pattern on a small hook fished on a floating line in the dark for stripers when sand eels are hatching in the spring is a very successful tie for me. So, no, I'm not keen on fishing crease flies or gurglers nowadays from shore. Great patterns, and I've tied many for our fly boxes, but we just don't rely on them anymore.

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Mike O-we have no limestone waters in much of New England so we have far fewer insects and invertebrates for trout (other than chironomids lots of those) much of our trout fishing is not that different from striper fishing. I catch stripers on the same juvenile river herring fly I use for trout. 

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After tying many many patterns because they were new and neat to look at, I've quit tying and fishing, for the most part, flies with synthetics.  I generally find myself selecting a few patterns like a Ray's Fly, or  a Lemon and Lime, or a crab tied mostly with feathers and bucktail and rabbit fur.  Rubber legs on the crab and I still tie some with EP bodies, but not too many synthetics.  I rarely use a Clouser although i think they are incredibly versatile.  I fish mostly during the day in shallow water and natural material patterns look better to me.

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On 10/6/2023 at 7:22 PM, flysully said:

I'm thinking possibly certain flies work better when fishing from a boat, like crease flies, gurglers, etc. As a shore flyfisherman for 25 yrs. or more, I've found crease flies and gurglers just haven't produced much compared to other striper/albie flies I've tied. A foam floating sand eel pattern on a small hook fished on a floating line in the dark for stripers when sand eels are hatching in the spring is a very successful tie for me. So, no, I'm not keen on fishing crease flies or gurglers nowadays from shore. Great patterns, and I've tied many for our fly boxes, but we just don't rely on them anymore.

I would completely agree.  Boat tactics are very different than from shore.  Some flies I throw with great success on my friends boat will never get use from me at night wading.

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  • 1 month later...

Am I the only that hasn't had much success with game changers? The new jerk changers do look promising, but I haven't had a single bite on one yet. I will give them another try this year but if they don't produce for me, they are getting moth balled. Just too much money and time to put into a fly that doesn't produce. 

" Rule #1 Fish where the fish are, Rule # 2 Fish where the fish are ."  Jack Gartside. 

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