Is it really fly fishing??

[Nomadic Fisherman]

Went out to the Delta on Saturday. Weather was perfect but the wind was a up a bit. Casting poppers and Dalberg divers along the edge of the weedbeds for a couple of hours...nothing.
I then took a Haregrub out and tried to work it along the edges and still nada.
Finally I pitched it into a hole in the weeds, bounced it and WHAM!
The bass went 18" (no scale):( I then began to pitch my grub fly into pockets. I picked up another 16" and a 14" to end the day.

So I told my brother the story. He laughs and says I wasn't fly fishing, I was pitching a jig. I showed him the fly. He still says pitching or dipping isn't fly fishing even with a fly rod.[-X

Is it really fly fishing??:confused:

[Hairstacker]

Was your brother serious or was he maybe just jerking your chain?

I believe we must each define "what is fly fishing" for ourselves; in other words, come up with our own definitions and rules for how we each as individuals should/want to play the game within legal/ethical boundaries.

With that said, some of our choices may be more controversial than others with the attendant risk of potentially alienating others and soiling our reputations. But short of fishing with scent or bait, you're probably safe on that count. Word of warning -- don't ask Ed about fishing with scent.

In my own worldview, you appear to have been fly fishing, and I congratulate you on solving the riddle that day. :D

[Darian]

If you think it was fly fishing, it was.... 8-)

[Scott V]

If you were using a fly rod then it is fly fishing.

[michaeln]

There are people who would say that using anything but a dry fly to catch fish isn't fly fishing.

Do whatcha want. If you are having fun and not harming anything, why not?

[Jay Murakoshi]

Hey, wait until you see what I'm throwing, then you can ask yourself "is it really fly fishing"
My fly even has a blade of the front and creates a big waking sound. It's made with EZ body tubing, has prizmatic tape eyes, a fly hook and is cast with a fly rod, fly line, etc.

Some call it a lure, not matter what, it gets the fishes attention and I've caught a number of fish on it, even a 22lb rooster.

Call it what you want.... A photo will be posted

Jay

[Icastnblast]

I was out on a boat about a week before the BnF with a buddy and his dad who are professionals in Cali. After a while of nothing on top water they were trying to teach me how to flip and jig like that. My buddies dad had me tie on the heaviest crawfish I had, took the rod and started showing me how he thought it should be done using a fly rod. After a few tosses he handed the rod back to me to try and told me he absolutely loved the feel, reach, and touch the rod/line gave him. He asked me how much a setup like that cost, when I told him I think he gave up the idea of adding one to his arsenal.

My .02 is fly fishing.

when you are tucked down behind the grass of a crystal clear creek, short drifting dries or nymphs on the waters edge; is that not similar and fly fishing?

[Mike O]

sounds as much like FFing as throwing a SJ worm in earthworm color under a bobber. If it catches fish, and you thought you were FFing, then you were FFing.

[Mike McKenzie]

you were..Although what we used to do back in the 60's was similar..( We would fish the mornings with top water deerhair bugs and Fred Arbogast poppers and when the wind started howlin' in the afternoons, we would reel about 20' of 15 or 20lb mono on to our reels over the top of our flylines. Then we would tie on some 3/8 ounce jigs tied by my neighbor. They were tied in Crawdad colors using polar bear hair with a brown Creme Worm tail and we'd fish them similar to what you were talking about... ) we called it "tule dippin'" and it was darned effective 'cause the size of the bass we caught went way up as compared to the ones we caught with the bugs and poppers. 5-8 lb bass we suckers for those jigs and between us, we'd have 30 fish afternoons :):) ... Back in those days (before Florida strain largemouths in the Delta).. an 8lb fish was considered "BIG" :eek: . I'm not sayin' we didn't catch the big fish with topwater, we did, but just less frequently than with the Jigs.

By "tule dippin" with the fly rods we were copying what the real "tule dippers" were doing only they did it with long bamboo poles on the end of which, they would tie on a piece of 20-30lb mono about 5-8' long with a jig of various sizes and weights tied to the end.

About the mid 60's a guy named Dee Thomas took "tule dippin" in a new direction as he learned the method...He ended up fishin' the early bass tournaments in the 70's with the method and was so successful that it wasn't long before the method evolved into what they now call "flippin'" and a whole industry was built around "Flippin' Rods" and Reels!

Jeeez! I guess my story evolved into a history lesson...:roll: :roll:

Mike

[Hairstacker]

Mike, that was great, thanks for sharing it!

[Nomadic Fisherman]

Hey, wait until you see what I'm throwing, then you can ask yourself "is it really fly fishing"
My fly even has a blade of the front and creates a big waking sound. It's made with EZ body tubing, has prizmatic tape eyes, a fly hook and is cast with a fly rod, fly line, etc.

Some call it a lure, not matter what, it gets the fishes attention and I've caught a number of fish on it, even a 22lb rooster.

Call it what you want.... A photo will be posted

Jay

Thanks Jay,
Can"t Wait to see it!!:unibrow:

[Nomadic Fisherman]

you were..Although what we used to do back in the 60's was similar..( We would fish the mornings with top water deerhair bugs and Fred Arbogast poppers and when the wind started howlin' in the afternoons, we would reel about 20' of 15 or 20lb mono on to our reels over the top of our flylines. Then we would tie on some 3/8 ounce jigs tied by my neighbor. They were tied in Crawdad colors using polar bear hair with a brown Creme Worm tail and we'd fish them similar to what you were talking about... ) we called it "tule dippin'" and it was darned effective 'cause the size of the bass we caught went way up as compared to the ones we caught with the bugs and poppers. 5-8 lb bass we suckers for those jigs and between us, we'd have 30 fish afternoons :):) ... Back in those days (before Florida strain largemouths in the Delta).. an 8lb fish was considered "BIG" :eek: . I'm not sayin' we didn't catch the big fish with topwater, we did, but just less frequently than with the Jigs.

By "tule dippin" with the fly rods we were copying what the real "tule dippers" were doing only they did it with long bamboo poles on the end of which, they would tie on a piece of 20-30lb mono about 5-8' long with a jig of various sizes and weights tied to the end.

About the mid 60's a guy named Dee Thomas took "tule dippin" in a new direction as he learned the method...He ended up fishin' the early bass tournaments in the 70's with the method and was so successful that it wasn't long before the method evolved into what they now call "flippin'" and a whole industry was built around "Flippin' Rods" and Reels!

Jeeez! I guess my story evolved into a history lesson...:roll: :roll:

Mike

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I still remember my Dad and Uncle "tule dipping" with old fly rods.
I met Dee Thomas back in the 80's and sat in on a couple of seminars too.
Good Times!!:D