Fly fishing

[J Francho]

I totally agree.

[Jon P.]

On 2/22/2016 at 9:39 AM, 0119 said:

Yes it is my favorite way to fish. But very hard to impossible to do in most of the bass waters I fish because of a lack of backcast space.

invest in a shooting line.

when thread fin or yearling bluegill are schooling a little flashy streamer pattern can outfish the best baits any day

[Bassun]

To me, fly fishing is much more than just going out to catch fish.  Personally, I think if you are not tying at least some of your own flies, you are missing out on half of what fly fishing is really all about.  Sure you can buy dozens of flies for the cost of a couple bass lures (or 1/4 the cost depending lol) - but then you probably end up just fishing.  

If you take the time to tie a dozen flies - when you catch a fish, it's all you.  You have become PART of the process and, to me, that makes it even more enjoyable.  When you tie that Parachute Adams, and have a big bull gill suck it under -- when you tie that woolybuger and have a smallie try to destroy it -- you did that.  Not someone else.  That sense of accomplishment, that rush of self created success, adds to an already amazing past-time.

That's not to say it is always cheap, or cost effective.  But you also don't have to buy the most expensive vice, feathers, hurl, etc.  My first fly I ever tied was a weighted streamer, on an old eagle claw hook, with pink feathers from a feather duster.  I used a pair of pliers in a vice to hold it, and tied it up with black thread out of my step-mom's sewing box.  And it SLAYED the bass in the little lake near our house as a kid.  Dragging it through beds was deadly.  I followed that with what I called a black gnat.  Same setup, smaller hook, and basically a bunch of thread.  Bluegill could not resist it.  The point being, you only have to spend as much as you want.   

Now if you fly fish a lot, sure maybe it is worth buying the right tools - and maybe ...MAYBE you save some money in the long run.  If not, then at best maybe it's break even... but chances are it's a loss.  But, it's not about P&L, it's about the experience.  I love wade fishing for smallies with spinning gear...but I never feel as connected with fishing as I do when I am fly fishing with stuff I've tied myself.  

** RE: someone who posted it's difficult to fly fish on a 16' boat.  I 100% disagree.  You just have to position the boat differently vs casting with bass gear.  16 foot or 22 foot -- you still can't easily whip it around across the boat from front to back...unless you're partner would like a new piercing, lol.

[J Francho]

Fishing, for me, irrespective of the gear is always about catching fish.  Anything else is just preparation for my next personal best.

[DrMarlboro92]

On 10/19/2016 at 4:51 PM, j bab said:

How much time and money do you have invested in fly tying equipment? And real estate in your house. Tools, vices, materials, etc...

You didn't pay all that off by making 12 flies. My point stands. I realize it's worth it at a certain point, but it's not for a casual fly fisher.

After making 100 flies a $200 kit (which can normally give you well more than 100 flies) pays for itself when you consider most flies cost $1.75-7.00, and a budding fly fisherman is apt to break off numerous flies in a single outing when starting. 

Personally, I've never upgraded from the vice and tools that came in the kit I bought years ago, and it only took about a month or two to pay off given that in my early days it was quite a frequent occurrence for me to break off flies in trees on the back cast, and wanting to try out every pattern I could possibly tie. Given that even today after exhausting the usefulness of my $80 kit, the only "real estate" my fly tying takes up is a medium sized Tupperware tub in a closet, and a bit of table space  when I break it out to tie, it's not a hard thing to make room for. My bass tackle takes up more space then all of my fly fishing gear, and that's not including a closet full of surplus and multiples storage.

Obviously fly tying isn't for everyone, but it's nowhere near as expensive or cumbersome as many want to make it out to be. But that's just my $0.02 And comments from the peanut gallery. 

[Further North]

20 hours ago, DrMarlboro92 said:

Obviously fly tying isn't for everyone, but it's nowhere near as expensive or cumbersome as many want to make it out to be. But that's just my $0.02 And comments from the peanut gallery. 

'm with you - I buy buy most of rods and reels on E-Bay for pennies on the dollar (Each full rig costs about what a bass fishing rig costs, or less, and I don't own a cheap reel or rod...mostly Lamson, with a couple Nautilus and Orvis Reels, rods are TFO, Scott, St. Croix, Sage, Winston...).  A lot of folks thnk they want to fly fish, buy expensive gear...then give up and you can buy it on E-Bay when they get tired of it cluttering their closets or basements.

I buy little flies - they are cheap, less than $0.50 in bulk.

I tie many of my own bass, pike and musky flies because it's fun and is way less than buying them.  I have a rolling bench that is about 2 ft. x 2 ft. and I store all my materials under it when I'm not tying.  I bought a really nice Renzetti rotary vise used for about $100.

You can let any hobby be a financial burden, or you can be smart about what you buy.  You can fly fish on a budget that is just as reasonable as bass fishing, if you want to.

[Bassun]

On 10/26/2016 at 9:46 PM, Further North said:

You can fly fish on a budget that is just as reasonable as bass fishing, if you want to.

"Just as reasonable as bass fishing" --- I'm SOOO doing it wrong as my bass budget is waaaaay to high, lol.

[Further North]

8 hours ago, Bassun said:

"Just as reasonable as bass fishing" --- I'm SOOO doing it wrong as my bass budget is waaaaay to high, lol.

That was the reason for my caveat.

....I do the same kinds of things for a lot of my bass gear as well.  In the last couple weeks I picked up a brand new TFO GTS casting rod for $68 ($160 list) and a brand new Daiwa Tatula reel for $86.