Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Fly Fishing & Other Fish Species Pond Fishing Flies

My defintion of a fishing fly is anything that can be cast with a fly rod on a fly line - what is yours - dry flies, wet, streamers, poppers, pellet flies, earth worms, etc...?

Yeah, we are the ONLY fly fishing forum in the country that is that inclusive!



http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92618#Post92618

Let the games begin - post pictures of you favorite pond flies?

Now that we are getting our fly gear together and visiting the big box stores, check out some flies. First ones I bought were from WallyMart - a couple of Miss Prissy and H&H Bayou Bug poppers and a couple or so flies - this will get you started.

The most productive “fly” for feed trained BG, HSB, and LMB is Cecile Bairds Pantyhose Pellet "fly" - easy to put together. Just wrap a AQMX 600 fish food pellet in a piece of pantyhose - tie off the tit with a few half hitches, put on a hook and cast into your pond - hang on - fish on!

A handy imitation is a Stubby Steve pellet - as good or better product ever invented!
After you get your tackle ready and learn to cast on the grass - go fish!
Have fun!
George

Clouser Minnow, Stubby Steves, and spider are my go to. Need to try and tie up some pellet flies, I am visual person so maybe someone can post pictures of tying this fly.

Ah, the venerable Miss Prissy. I don't fly fish, but have used this bug in black/chartreuse many times on my spinning gear, casting to bedding gills.

Alas, Accardo lures went belly up, and so went the Miss Prissy. I have purchased a few poppers that were advertised as replacements for this design, but thus far I haven't found one that works nearly as well as the original.

Completely new at this, learning on a borrowed fly rig (and have no idea what the wt of the line is), and only knowing what I've seen on TV about fly-fishing, I've always thought of a "fly" as a lure that just stays on the top of the water when it lands and during the retrieve. But am I correct in that fly-fishing can include below surface flies, sinking flies, etc.? And I'm using the term "Fly" as anything being used at the end of the fly line.

After several casts my fly would start to sink and I would pull it in, dry it off and cast again.

Can you explain the various methods?

Also, I started to learn how to roll-cast (if that's the right term), to hit different spots without having to bring all the line in and re-cast. But if the "fly" is below surface or even near the bottom, will it still retrieve as easily, allowing a roll-cast? That is, if flies are even meant to be used sub-surface.

So my question is on explaining the dry-fly, wet-fly, surface and below surface (floating, suspended, sinking, etc.) fly-fishing.

PS to George (and others), thank you so much for initiating this and taking the time to get this going! Especially for new-be's like me that discovered the thrill of fly-fishing, and hopefully enticing others to try it and realize it's not just something done in streams for trout!

A little bird told me that George uses this to catch HSB in his pond.


I also heard that George is keeping some secrets in his fly box.....




Although I think my favorites are these:

OK, I’ll tie up a Cecil’s pantyhose pellet fly for you and take pictures.
You can tie up a half dozen or so by the time you read this post, but don’t last as long on the hook as Stubby Steves.
Over the years I have caught hundreds of every species of fish in our ponds except our Florida LMB - they are reserved strictly for my Spinster and Dusty Abney’s UDF deer hair bass bug...

Panty hose can be used to encase fish food pellets and/or closed cell foam pellets – each has it’s own use and advantage
I like the foam version best when sight fishing and need a floating fly.
The disadvantage is that in clear water the fish get hook-shy fast.

The fish food version is my go to pellet fly, fished on a heavier hook so they will slowly sink. In our Texas turbid water the fish are attracted by smell and not by sight.
Try ‘em – you’ll like them.
George

Thanks George, something else I have to do this winter.

Wow, I go to the frozen north for a few days and George gets a fly fishing forum started, gets everyone all fired up about flingin' flies, and then leads you down the path of tying pellet flies! You miss a week, you miss a lot.

In all seriousness, I've found that I enjoy this weird little sport a lot more by not getting sucked into the "purist" mindset that there is only one way to do something. Keeping an open mind and a good attitude seems to allow fly fishing to stay enjoyable and not turn into something ugly like g*lf.

George sets a great example for keeping our eyes out for the unconventional styles and techniques.

Keith, I'll see if I can get those questions answered for you. Please keep in mind that these are just my opinions and not set in stone facts.

Most of the "flies" that people think of when they hear fly fishing are "dries", in other words, they are meant to be fished on the surface of the water. Most of the smaller dry flies achieve floatation by being very light weight and having a lot of surface area to allow them to be supported by the surface tension of the water. If the material in a dry fly soaks up water, it can become heavy enough to break the surface tension and sink. This is not always a bad thing. Dry flies often are designed to mimic small flying insects that have landed on the water (e.g. mayflies, dragonflies, and even mosquitoes). In the course of insect events, it isn't at all unlikely that some of them will sink into the water column. If you fish with the extra purist folk, it is apparently considered "bad sport" to fish a dry fly underwater. Obviously, those folks just don't want to catch fish badly enough.

Personally, I also count frogs, mice, and hoppers as dry flies, but I've always been a little odd.

As for getting a dry fly to float again, you can add some sort of "flotant" product to make it shed water better, dry it in a specially designed powder, or just false cast it a few times to let the air dry it.

Wet flies, some of which are also called streamers, are designed for use under water. Nymphs, Clouser minnows, and woolly buggers are commonly used examples of wet flies.

Wet flies are sometimes weighted when tied, however some are more neutrally buoyant. If you want to get a wet fly down deep (6 feet or more) in a reasonable amount of time, you will usually need a sinking fly line of some type. You can fish almost as deep with a sinking fly line as you can with conventional fishing gear, but it requires a bit more patience.

It's usually accepted to refer to anything lashed onto the end of a tippet as a fly.

The technique used to fish any of these artificials is totally dependent on what kind of fish you want to catch and where in the water column they are located. You'll hear the tired old cliche "match the hatch" thrown around a lot in fly fishing. It's tired and old because it's true. "Match the hatch" usually refers to selecting a fly that looks most like what your target fish are eating. I also think of it meaning you need to match the behavior of the bait that you are trying to mimic.

For example, if the largemouth bass on your pond are smacking dragonflies on the surface, not only do you want to find a fly that is similar in size and color to the dragonflies they are eating, you also want to land it on the water and twitch it about to closely match how the live bait is acting.

If you can't tell what kind of bait they're chasing, sometimes using a wet fly as a "search" lure can work similar to using a RattLtrap or a spinnerbait to figure out where the fish are and what they're taking.

I also like to mimic wounded prey, such as a shad or a frog. Sometimes the fish want to strike at something that's making a lot of noise and sometimes they prefer to stalk something that is barely making any disturbance at all. You know how moody fish can be.

One thing that someone else told me early on about fly presentation has really helped on my hook-setting: don't use the rodtip to impart a lot of action to the way you're presenting the fly. Instead, use the way you strip the line in to put the motion in your presentation. Keep the rodtip pointed at where your fly line meets the water. This keeps slack out of your line. The tighter the connection is between your stripping hand and the hook point, the better chance you'll have of getting that good hook set.

With regard to roll casting wet flies, that is certainly a viable way to cast them, but, depending on how deep they are when you begin the roll cast, you might have to roll cast once to bring them to the surface, and then once more to actually place the fly where you want it to end up.

Please let me know if that answered all your questions and feel free to ask for clarification. Hopefully, if I muddied the water too badly, someone else can jump in here and help us both.

Txredraider, you far and beyond answered all my questions!

Excellent response and thank you for taking the time!

Keith

G/All: What's your preferred size/style/brand of hook for highest % positive hookups and reduced weight to allow a good drift vs. slow sink? This would be great info for the forum!

T.J., I don’t over think pellet fly hooks - early on I just used what was handy until I found some “bait” hooks in my tackle box.

I now use WallyWorld #6 or 8 Mustad 9641 bait hooks for sinkers - you know, the kind with barbs on the shank.
I will not use a floating fly for HSB - they strike so hard the wake will knock the fly away and no hook-up.
Pressured BG will get hook shy when floating flies are used. For surface flies, I use foam pellets with short shank #6 Gamakaysu Drop Shot hooks.

About the only time I will use a floating pellet fly is when I find GC eating pellets - they will just sip the fly - then hang on for a wild ride!

Hook size for BG pellet flies are angler choice - I like a larger hook in order to manage CNBG sizes to cull…. 5 to 8 inchers for me.

We can discuss hooks for other flies down the road?
George

We have been talking about pellet flies – panty hose encased foam and fish pellets.
A good or better option exists with Stubby Steve pellets for those that don’t enjoy DIY.
Mrs. G swears by them and when she out fishes me (most often) I switch in a hurry!

Can those Stubby Steve's worms be fly fished? Will they stay on a hook through several casts?

Most of my bass are under 3#'s.

Stubby Steve pellets will stay on a hook when fly fished and last longer than a AQMX PH pellet fly.
I highly recommend them for all feed trained species.
No luck on Florida LMB on Stubbys for me however.
G/

We don't pellet feed our fish. I reckon it's time I learned to tie a streamer for bass...something to cast with a 5wt.

I'm thinking something with a frayed rope, or something. Can you tell I don't know?

It appears that most (if not all) of you tie your own flies. Is it a necessity to get into fly tying also? I'm sure I'm capable but know absolutely nothing about it.

Cisco, I've dabbled in tying my own, but for times sake I'll buy 'em. George gave me some and they work fantastic. There is a satisfaction that comes from catching a fish on something you made.

Stan, fishing for bass with a 5wt flyrod is like going bear hunting with a peach tree switch...
It can be done tho, but not by the weak of heart...small olive wooly buggers, grasshoppers, small streamers, etc..
Dusty and Al need to chime in about now - they fish with 3 wt fly tackle at times..

I'm a heavy tackle guy for bass - we'll get to that subject once interested folks get their tackle in shape and learn to cast.

I have a couple of on-line fly shops that that I can recommend to provide affordable good quality flies when this thread gets ready.
http://anglersdream.net/default.aspx

George

I do enjoy my 3wt quite a bit and suckered Al into trying it a couple of months ago, so now he's got that bug too. I don't target bass with it, though, instead, it's my bream stick. One of those bream like George raises that have foreheads are a ball on a 3wt. If you happen to catch a small to medium bream on the 3wt and a bigger bass sees an easy meal, that can be exciting to say the least!

As for flies on the lighter tackle, I use pretty much the same ones I use on the big stick, just downsized. For instance, where I might use a Clouser with a hooks size of 1/0 or 1 on my big Mini Mag, I might throw a size 8 Clouser with my 3wt. The same thing would be true for poppers, or any other fly.

It should also be noted that with a 3wt, you're going to fling flies down in the range of size that most people consider true fly fishing and not the huge furry monstrosities that we chuck and duck at bass. You'll also be surprised to learn first hand that decent size bass sometimes slurp up a dragonfly nymph tied on a size 10 hook.

Remember to not go crazy with tippet size on lighter tackle. Your tippet should be the weak link in the chain between your stripping hand and the fish's mouth. If you're fishing for bream near heavier cover, you'll be better off with a tippet you can break off instead of taking the chance of hanging up, and possibly killing, a good bass that you've worked so hard to grow.

With regard to tying your own flies, I look at that like I do reloading ammunition. The average person isn't going to reload enough or tie enough flies to do it more inexpensively than a company that can take advantage of the economies of scale associated with mass production. What fly tying or reloading does offer is the ability to custom tailor your hobby's "consumables" to your specific wants or needs. I love to tinker, so both of these activities fit me well.

Fly tying can also help to keep you sane in the months when the fishing is slow due to heat or cold. There is some great fellowship associated with sitting around with others of a similar bent and lashing materials to a hook while you talk about life, liberty, and the pursuit of fishin'.

Just remember that your fly fishing career can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. There are a lot of great local and online places to buy pre-tied flies and there's no shame in using those. Find what you enjoy and go to it!

I've bass fished for over 40 years and know if I hang a monster I'm pushing my luck with the 5wt....however, this lake is bass heavy and most of our bass are 12" and under. We're working to reduce that class of fish in order to start catching larger fish. I do worm fish exclusively with a spinning rod, because we have zero cover on this lake except for docks and fish structure I've placed.

I'm loving this fly fishing thang!

For you fly tying guys, here's Bob Clouser showing how to tie his Clouser Minnow.

It can be tied on any sized hook, with any color combo, and using most any type material. It's an ubiquitous fly that catches almost anything that swims.

It's a great fly to start with, and it's easy to tie. I just match the colors to my FHM and CNBG, depending on what I'm after.

Clouser Minnow

Just a friendly reminder of a simple set of pond flies - Al's post above of Clouser is on far right in photo.



As Al says, the Clouser is simple, a quick and easy tie - and a killer fly!
Hardware store bead chain can be used for eyes.
Al, thanks for the post - very helpful!
G/

Great! Just ordered a rod yesterday, now I have to get some tying gear. Just what I needed, another hobby. Just kiddin guys, this is going to be fun! (I hope)

Really enjoying this thread, George. I broke out my fly tying kit for the first time in more than a few years and am trying to remember what I'd learned then. Almost forgot how enjoyable it is to tie something and the anticipation of fishing it. Also trying to teach my son what little I know, but he seems to be really enjoying it anyway

Al, what colors of bucktail do you use for your Clouser Minnows to mimic the FHM and BG? We watched your link and would like to try that next.