What is fly fishing to you?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Actually, Spey casting has brought back many to swinging flies for Steelhead.

I am not against indicator fishing, I just don't like that it has taken over as the norm?

[tcorfey]

I agree Bill, I have nothing against euro-nymphing or using bobbers, it is an effective way to catch fish if that is all you are doing it for.

I know this won't sit well with some people but, in my opinion if you are using so much split shot or a split shot and bobber rig so that what you are casting weighs more than your fly line then you have defeated the reason to use a fly rod. In reality using a fly rod is just not the most efficient way to fish those rigs.

If you used a long ultra-light spinning rod like the Okumo Celilo rod in 9'6" with 4 or 6 lb test and an ultralight spinning reel it would give you the ability to cast with minimum room, it would be more accurate, it gives you a better drift (you can hold light mono off the water easily), you have a good drag mechanism and you have no extra line to step on or get tangled in, etc... I have setup spin fisherman with nymph and bobber rigs before and it works great for that technique. Others should try it, I mean if you fish that way to increase your fish count then who cares which rod you use, you may as well use the more efficient/effective tool. For around $150.00. you can get a good rod, reel and line setup then use your existing flys etc... If you use a fly rod for those techniques just because you think it's cool or you just prefer it than that's fine too, whatever floats your boat but, I think there is a better way to do it.

Disclaimer: I hope my short rant helps someone and it doesn't just make people angry it's just the way I see it. Your opinion may differ.

[Larry S]

Ok folks; how about Tenkara? Is this fly fishing?
Asking for a friend.......
Best to all,

Larry S
Sun Diego

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Up in Dunsmuir old Bob Patterson used a fly rod, fly reel, floating line, short leader and a small egg hook to fish the pocket water with salmon eggs. I think this is a common practice.......

In British Columbia around Victoria they use a fly rod, fly reel, floating line and bucktail streamers to troll behind outboard skiffs for Silver salmon or Cochos.

__________________________________________

In Florida I don't have any sinking lines....I just fly fish with floating line for everything.

In 30 years of flats fishing I never used anything but a floating line.

[Jcolin]

Ok folks; how about Tenkara? Is this fly fishing?
Asking for a friend.......
Best to all,

Larry S
Sun Diego

A big part of what i love about flyfishing has so much to do with the reel, big fish peeling line, clickers screaming etc...so ive never gotten into it despite doing a lot of backpacking in the summer. I guess they developed it in Japan separately to western flyfishing? Pretty cool that two very distant cultures came to similar forms of fishing from observing fish feeding on insects, unless one was influenced by the other.
Really good thread, i do want to add in case my post came off as dismissive or rude, that I very much have a lot of respect for the tradition of the sport especially with SH fishing, and those that have been doing it longer than ive been alive.

[DLJeff]

In my opinion it comes down to using the right / best tool for the job. Fishermen wanted to present insect imitations to finicky fish. They couldn't cast the light weight lure so they invented the fly line and fly rod. The line provides the necessary weight to cast the fly, and the rod provides the lever arm and momentum to move the line in the preferred direction, typically at a very specific target. Coincidentally the fly rod also helped protect the light weight tippet required to fool the fish into eating the lure.

A fly rod is not made for lifting heavy fish from deep water - a short, stiff boat or trolling rod is much more efficient tool for that. Can you do it with a fly rod? Sure, but it's not the best way, either for the fisherman or the fish. A fly rod and fly casting is a much less efficient way to cover large expanses of water compared to a spinning rod, especially if you are fishing below the surface. And the deeper you are fishing the wider this gap becomes. While it certainly is possible and entertaining to surf fish with a fly rod, it is not the most efficient and simplest way to surf fish.

A fly rod is made for casting, not trolling, there are better tools for that. So while a person might catch a sailfish trolling behind a boat using a fly rod, it technically is not fly fishing in my opinion because no casting was done. If they have fun doing that I'm happy for them. But unless they went out and found sails basking on the surface or slashing a baitball, snuck up on the fish and actually cast a fly - it wasn't fly fishing.

Same goes for using a sinking line and a jig fly, letting it sink 30 feet down in a lake and jigging it up and down for crappie. You might do that with a fly rod, but it is not fly fishing. Using the light weight flexible rod might be fun, emphasizing the fish's power, and if people enjoy that I'm happy for them. But it isn't fly fishing.

[Mark Kranhold]

What a great post of a great topic Charlie! I have a friend that builds fly rod blanks with spinning reel reel seats on them. He enjoys the fight of the fish better on a light fly rod blank over a traditional spinning rod blank. Maybe these should be marketed for the bobber and untraditional fly rod fisherman? I know a lot of center pin fisherman are using long light spey rod blanks for their pinner builds. Maybe eagleclaw needs to market those spinning/fly rod combo kits again.��