the Tailout May 2020 tailout_may2020finalx | Page 25

hook longer and eliminate the worry
if your bait is gone.
Use A Variety of Colors: Don’t be afraid
to use different color combinations.
I’ve fished with guys who pull out a
roll of leaders and pre-tied Yarnies
only to see some crazy color combi-
nations. One of the most productive
I’ve seen is chartreuse, cerise, orange
and peach. I don’t understand why
these colors work so well together
other than it gets the fish’s attention,
which is what we are trying to do
anyway. Most of the time the attrac-
tor Yarnies are used with a heavy
dose of scent or a piece of bait, like
eggs or a chunk of prawn.
How to Fish A Yarnie: Once again we
find ourselves making a lot out of a
little. The simplest and easiest way to
Complete.
fish the Yarnie is to drift fish them like
you would bait. However, because
Yarnies are so versatile you can fish
them several different ways. Fly an-
glers have been fishing “Yarnies” for
a long time, they just call them “Glo
Bugs.” So, if you like to load the fly
rod once in awhile then you can fish
them with a slow to moderate sinking
line. Those that prefer to bobberdog
will often fish a Yarnie trailed by a
bead on a secondary leader. You can
also fish bait and then use the Yarnie
as your second offering as they are
light and won’t affect the drift very
much, plus if the fish misses the bait
then the Yarnie makes for a great
follow-up that the fish can grab. Float
anglers that fish jigs or even bait under
a float can use Yarnies on a dropper
as well. And if there is a “go-to” lure
when side-drifting, you’ll have a hard-
er time finding a more effective lure
than a Yarnie. Simply put, Yarnies are
easy and effective.
Rigging: Rigging or tying Yarnies
is almost as easy as tying a snelled
leader but don’t be fooled that there is
only one way to tie the Yarnie. If you
were to ask a few fishermen how they
tie them, you will get several different
answers. The first and easiest way to
tie them is to simply take the yarn
you want to use, pull open the egg
loop knot on a snelled hook and tie
an overhand knot with the yarn, trim
it and done. The one problem with
this is that it can make for a large
profile if you use multiple colors and
Trim yarnie.
when making it. Just make sure you
don’t accidentally cut the leader while
trimming the Yarnie.
Storage: After you make several
Yarnies, or dozens, or hundreds, in
the off-season you need to store them
correctly. Sunlight isn’t a worry with
synthetic yarns but the yarn will
collect scents. Once I put a Yarnie on
my line I never re-use, recycle, or even
allow it to touch my rolls of yarnies.
Same goes for my leaders, I never
put a used leader back on my leader
board. If you are using natural baits
like tuna bellies, eggs, or shrimp then
make sure you don’t touch the other
Yarnies on your rolls. These baits will
rot and “go bad” quickly and if you
allowed the yarn to come into contact
with them or transferred the oils or
Put leader loop back through
eye of hook.
that the knot is tight and won’t allow
much scent to soak in and be dis-
persed while fishing.
Other methods are to tie them
into the snelled portion of the hook
tying process or to tie them ahead of
time using a stretch thread that plug
anglers use to wrap their plugs with.
You can sit in front of the television
and watch your favorite show and tie
up hundreds of yarn balls, or Yarnies.
It should be noted you will need to
either use a bait threader to put them
onto the leader or to simply use the
hook which holds Yarnies very well.
You can also have pre-tied leaders
ready and when making the Yarnie
with the stretch thread simply put the
leader into the middle of the yarn
Finished yarnie.
scents onto them then they will carry
these bad smells. Try and keep them
dry as the hook can rust, even with
the slightest touch of moisture, which
dulls the point. I prefer to keep my
yarnies on leader rolls and place each
roll into a sealable plastic bag. This
keeps them dry and isolated so they
don’t soak up scent.
Something as simple as a piece of
yarn can help you catch more fish.
Just make sure you use the right yarn.
Scents help but are not necessary.
Making the most out of your off
the water time by tying them up in
advance will keep you fishing longer
when the time comes. If you haven’t
already learned, Yarnies are one of
the simplest and best steelhead baits.
www.salmonandsteelheadjournal.com
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