Following Ed's lead with a fishing post!

[fishngy]

Went out to Folsom on Saturday with a good friend for some bass fishing on his boat. I rigged up my 6wt with a float and fly setup. My friend is a conventional bass fisherman and was fishing Ned rigs. I messed around adjusting my cast and overall setup. Finally got it dialed in and it was game on for the next 2 hours. Caught several nice bass and one 2lber. My friend was impress, so we setup his spinning rod with a float and fly rig. Of course he caught a nice bass on his first cast. I think I can get him to use one of my fly rods next time. It was a great morning with a good friend with plenty of stories and a few fish.

[Ed Wahl]

Go get 'em Bill!

I may have to look into that float and fly thing myself.

Ed

[Charlie Gonzales]

When I worked at the shop, I used to talk about indicator fishing for bass and everyone laughed at me, now it's the thing to do.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I guess April/May is the time when the bass are up in the shallows in many low-elevation reservoirs in California.

[albiec22]

Go get 'em Bill!

I may have to look into that float and fly thing myself.

Ed

Can someone please tell me what is different between the float'n'fly and midge fishing under an indicator? Isn't it basically the same concept, except upsized for 6-8wt rods and bass flies?

I was never good at midging, probably because I got antsy waiting for fish to bite. I'd much rather strip and be more active, even if it was a slow finger crawl. One of the reasons I love flyfishing is how active you are. Different strokes for different folks.

[fishngy]

Look on YouTube for Ryan Williams (fly fishing guide) videos on the subject. Fun stuff! Bill

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

YouTube Video:


Loon Outdoors Tools of the Trade vol 4: The Float 'n Fly featuring Ryan Williams


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMKIE3fpiMk

[John H]

I will say the difference is for bass you don’t let the indicator sit. When the fly gets to the bottom of its sink, the bobber stands up and that is when they usually bite. After the bobber stands up you let it sit maybe 5 seconds and then you cast to the next spot. You move along the shoreline and make a cast every 15 or 20 feet. You cover long distances of shoreline. Drop it into their living room and they are going to bite it right away or not at all. If there are multiple fish one will get greedy and try to get it before his buddies do without making any inspection of it. Greed and competition gets a lot of fish to bite that otherwise would be cautious and skeptical. That is what I think anyway.

[albiec22]

Thanks everyone for the information regarding float'n'fly. It looks like the bobber used is not adjustable. Why couldn't you use a sliding bobber stop to make it adjustable? Hmmmm......this reminds me a little of crappie fishing when I was a kid. Looks like fun! Wonder if this works on the Delta?

[John H]

I have gotten it to work in the Delta. At certain places and certain times but it worked well when it did work. I posted a picture of my bobber and fly in a post a couple of days ago.