Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition 3815 July 5-19 2019 | Page 8

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July 5 - 19, 2019
VOL.38 • ISS. 15
Catch & Release Fishing!
Hook More & Bigger Fish With Flies...
Flies & Spinning Gear: A Deadly Combination
For Trout!
By Cal Kellogg
Flies work great when teamed with conventional
tackle. Teaming flies gear has been long been an
important element in my trout fishing bag of tricks.
Teaming flies with conventional gear when targeting
trout is nothing if not simple. I believe this approach
is effective, because it isn’t often used and presents
pressured trout with something that they haven’t seen
before.
Let’s take a moment to discuss which types of flies
are best suited to being teamed with spinning gear.
Traditional fly anglers use dry flies that represent
insects resting on the surface of the water. They also
use nymphs and wet flies that imitate immature forms
of aquatic insects that live underwater. Finally, they
also employ a class of larger flies called streamers that
imitate minnows, leaches and other large prey items
When it comes to fishing big deep fast moving water with nymphs and wet flies spinning gear does an
found below the surface of the water.
efficient job both in terms of casting and hooking fish.
When trout are feeding on the surface, traditional
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
fly tackle is the best tool for catching them. For the
conventional tackle angler, it is subsurface patterns that hold the most
In still water situations, whether fishing from the bank or a boat, I
promise.
fish the casting rig by casting it out as far as possible and then retrieve
Over the years,
it slowly. I usually start out with a steady retrieve, but if that doesn’t
the woolly bugger
work, I’ll mix things up by imparting twitches and pauses.
has emerged as my
In
favorite streamer
rivers and
pattern. If you only
streams
carry one fly pattern
I use my
with you, this should
woolly
be it. The woolly
buggers
bugger, an updated
and
version of the woolly
marabou
worm, sports a
streamers a
chenille body that is
great deal,
covered with hackle
but I also
and a marabou tail.
When using spinning tackle, it doesn’t take a large
make use
selection of flies to catch fish. A few mediums size wet
Both the hackle and
of nymphs.
flies and nymphs like these are all you need for success.
the
marabou
look
At times,
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
extremely lifelike
I’ll even tie If you only have one fly in your stream and lake fishing arsenal to
under the water,
pair with spinning gear, a No. 8 black woolly bugger is tough to
two flies
pulsing and writhing continually with the slightest movement. I carry
on a leader beat.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
both black and olive colored buggers with black being my favorite in
and fish
sizes 6 and 10.
them both at the same time. This is accomplished by tying one fly to the
In addition to woolly buggers, you’ll
end of the casting rig’s leader and then adding a 12-inch section
want a few size 6 marabou streamer flies
of leader to the bend of the first fly’s hook tipped with a second
in white, orange and black. A few No. 8
fly of equal or smaller size.
and 10 light and dark colored stonefly
Moving water is most effectively covered by using a drift and
nymphs featuring soft hackle legs along
swing presentation. To accomplish this, the rig is cast directly
with a couple size No. 12 or 14 soft
across the current or a bit upstream. Allow the rig to sink on a
hackle pheasant tails will round out your
semi-tight line. When the line tightens below your position allow
assortment nicely.
the fly to swing across the current and back to your side of the
To set up a casting rig for general
flow.
casting or drifting applications I tie a
At this point don’t be in a hurry to retrieve the rig. Instead allow
swivel to the end of my main line with
it to hang in the current for several seconds as you slowly pump
24 inches of 4-pound fluorocarbon leader
the rod tip. It always amazes me how many trout I pick up by
attached to it. I tie my fly of choice to the
jigging or pumping a fly right next to the bank on a tight line.
end of the leader and add an appropriate For getting your flies near the bottom of the
Having the correct amount of weight on your line is critical
amount of weight above the swivel in the stream you’ll need a selection of split shot.
when fishing current. It is best to use several small split shot for
Soft English split shot works best because
form of split shot. If I need to go really
weight. This allows you to add and remove weights until the rig
it’s easy to remove allowing you adjust the
heavy, I’ll often put a quarter to half
amount of weight based the depth and flow of is just ticking the bottom occasionally on the drift.
any given stretch of the stream.
ounce bullet weight above the swivel.
Photo by CAL KELLOGG, Fish Sniffer Staff.