Fishing
with
The Booby is one of the most versatile fly styles an angler can have tucked away in their fly box. A great design imported from the United Kingdom, Boobies are underutilized by North American fishermen. With two large foam eyes protruding from the fly’s head, to say the Booby looks a little bizarre and off-putting could be considered an understatement. But, strange appearances be damned, the variations of Booby flies are must-haves for Alberta fly fishing.
Why the Booby?
The Booby is tied with a pair of large foam eyes on the front of the fly. The eyes provide buoyancy to the fly, keeping it off the bottom. They are excellent for covering large amounts of water because you can make long casts and the fly fishes near the lakebed for the entire retrieve, regardless of depth changes. This is an advantage over indicator fishing, where the fly is kept at one depth regardless of bottom contours, or with weighted flies on sinking lines which can be too heavy for shallow water, yet too light for deep water. You can fish the Booby fast or slow and it stays near the bottom.
Get Down
A variety of sinking lines can be used to get the fly to depth. As a general rule, the deeper the water, the higher density line needed to sink the fly. If the water is less than 6 or 8ft deep, some sort of intermediate can be used if you wait for the line to sink. If it is deeper, the use of a type 4, 5, or 6 high density sink line will get the fly down near the bottom with much less wait time. Typically, I use a traditional intermediate or hover line in water less than 6ft deep, a fast, clear intermediate line from about 6-9ft, and anything deeper gets a type 6.
Once the fly is down, you want it to stay there. A short 3-6ft leader will keep the fly right near the lake bed, with longer leaders allowing the fly to float back up higher.