Float n Fly

[Fat Ika]

I have never done this technique, but plan on focusing on this after ice-out. I will mostly be shore fishing generally clear water ponds and lakes in northern Illinois with various bream/perch and northern minnow species as the primary forage. 

 

1. Can you use traditional rubber bobber stops just as efficiently as string stops?

2. Are marabou hair jigs as effective as hair jigs that are marketed specifically for the float n fly?

3. Based on your experience, what jig colors for this type of forage in natural clear water lakes in various light intensity conditions?

4. Any custom jig recommendations are welcome

5. Any tips for northern largemouth vs smallmouth

 

I've researched a lot of the internet resources including this site of course, so personalized responses are appreciated.......... and only a link if it's something you feel is a useful rare find. 

 

Thank You

 

[TnRiver46]

Good luck. I never cracked that nut, I no longer try 

[Fat Ika]

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

Good luck. I never cracked that nut, I no longer try 

Hahaha! I'm pretty good at staring at the water and catching air with the dumb look on my face. I'll be pretty disappointed if I can't capitalize on this technique with the strength of the dumb mouthface. I let you know how it goes in March & April up here. 

[Bigassbass]

I have fished for panfish using this technique for years.  You can use any bobber you choose but I like to use a rattling cork, helps attract fish!   Attach the cork at least 3 feet deep or longer, or shorter tie on the jig or fly, move the cork, this isn't bait fishing you got to have some movement.  No smallmouth were I fish but lots of largemouth bass which I don't fish this technique for, but I have caught bass on this rig while fishing for panfish.  I think it would work, don't know why you want to use it for bass though because there's lots better techniques for catching them than this.  I never use jigs I use rubber flies. This technique would work well in moving water.

[Spankey]

Can’t say I’ve ever tried it for bass. This was popular when I was a kid for trout. Or at least this is when it was taught to me. Floats are clear and adjustable. Good luck.  Should work out for ya. 

[J._Bricker]

I’ve used this technique at times in the early spring for bass @Fat Ika, just not with a fly. I’ll wacky rig a senko or a worm under the float and let the wind chop provide the majority of the action to the bait.

[Jigfishn10]

Gonna be employing a similar technique using a wooden egg and bucktail.

You'll notice the jig hooked to the nail. When hooked to a nail you can use the egg as a weight and the jig won't helicopter during the cast. Once it hits the water, the jig simply falls straight down. 

 

Use during a windy day with a chop on the water. The weight of the wood egg will give you distance and the chop on the water will give your lure of choice natural action. Win, win. ?

[Glenn]

I think you'll learn a lot from this article: https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/float-n-fly.html

 

[Jig Man]

A tear shaped bobber is best because it will stand up and let you know a fish is there before it takes the bobber down.  I’ve had no kuck with any jigs other than craft hair.

[Chris Catignani]

2 hours ago, Fat Ika said:

1. Can you use traditional rubber bobber stops just as efficiently as string stops?

2. Are marabou hair jigs as effective as hair jigs that are marketed specifically for the float n fly?

3. Based on your experience, what jig colors for this type of forage in natural clear water lakes in various light intensity conditions?

4. Any custom jig recommendations are welcome

5. Any tips for northern largemouth vs smallmouth

Like all things fishing...people will put their own spin on it and say they have improved the process.

But that being said...this is how it was taught to me by Steve Headrick, Bobby Gentry and Bob Coan. I have talked to these gents at length about the FnF.

First lets talk about the rod...I have a custom rod I made for myself...it basically a 9' 9wt two piece fly rod that has a Tennessee handle. The reel I use is just an old Shakespeare 2052 with no bail...any reel will work. I use 6lb mono. The floats you use are custom. This is something that Bob Coan showed me. He took that cheap Styrofoam float with the weight at the bottom...cut in two...and moved the weight into the middle of the float. What this does is tell you when a fish hits the fly(jig) and rises in the water column...the float will roll over. The preferred jigs are the marabou...they look like their moving when stationary. But people use other things under the float. The long rods are needed for casting...because the floats a fixed to the line about 10' up the line. Its almost like a hybrid fly cast to get the rig where you want it.

Keep in mind also that this is how they do it on Dale Hollow. The water is gin clear and the lake is deep and full of points. The FnF seems to work better when its gets colder in Jan and Feb. The juvenile thread fin shad will start to die off and its easy prey for the smallies.

 

As for presentation...you get somewhat close to your spot (say a point) and then you troll motor in somewhat close. You want to be sneaky and not spook the fish...they will be suspended and will also come out of the depths. Make your first casts way off the point first...you really want to just leave the rig alone and not work it...its tempting to reel but just let it "soak" for a bit.

 

Here is a picture of a kit thats sold by Dale Hollow Tackle...you can see what the jigs look like.

[Fat Ika]

34 minutes ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Gonna be employing a similar technique using a wooden egg and bucktail.

You'll notice the jig hooked to the nail. When hooked to a nail you can use the egg as a weight and the jig won't helicopter during the cast. Once it hits the water, the jig simply falls straight down. 

 

Use during a windy day with a chop on the water. The weight of the wood egg will give you distance and the chop on the water will give your lure of choice natural action. Win, win. ?

? Whoa! Thanks for sharing.

8 minutes ago, Chris Catignani said:

Like all things fishing...people will put their own spin on it and say they have improved the process.

But that being said...this is how it was taught to me by Steve Headrick, Bobby Gentry and Bob Coan. I have talked to these gents at length about the FnF.

First lets talk about the rod...I have a custom rod I made for myself...it basically a 9' 9wt two piece fly rod that has a Tennessee handle. The reel I use is just an old Shakespeare 2052 with no bail...any reel will work. I use 6lb mono. The floats you use are custom. This is something that Bob Coan showed me. He took that cheap Styrofoam float with the weight at the bottom...cut in two...and moved the weight into the middle of the float. What this does is tell you when a fish hits the fly(jig) and rises in the water column...the float will roll over. The preferred jigs are the marabou...they look like their moving when stationary. But people use other things under the float. The long rods are needed for casting...because the floats a fixed to the line about 10' up the line. Its almost like a hybrid fly cast to get the rig where you want it.

Keep in mind also that this is how they do it on Dale Hollow. The water is gin clear and the lake is deep and full of points. The FnF seems to work better when its gets colder in Jan and Feb. The juvenile thread fin shad will start to die off and its easy prey for the smallies.

 

As for presentation...you get somewhat close to your spot (say a point) and then you troll motor in somewhat close. You want to be sneaky and not spook the fish...they will be suspended and will also come out of the depths. Make your first casts way off the point first...you really want to just leave the rig alone and not work it...its tempting to reel but just let it "soak" for a bit.

 

Here is a picture of a kit thats sold by Dale Hollow Tackle...you can see what the jigs look like.

Thanks for your experience Chris!

[Deleted account]

I know LMB guys can't help themselves, but this is nothing more than crappie fishing with a slip bobber. KISS.

[Chris Catignani]

36 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

I know LMB guys can't help themselves, but this is nothing more than crappie fishing with a slip bobber. KISS.

The first FnF rod I had was just a 10' crappie rod...but I needed a little more backbone.

[Deleted account]

1 minute ago, Chris Catignani said:

The first FnF rod I had was just a 10' crappie rod...but I needed a little more backbone.

I use one of my salt fly rods and a spinning reel, but hey, I'm a rebel.

[PaulVE64]

I will only speak to my own experience which is river fishing smallies in SW Ontario Canada.

I throw a 7 ft light stC with a 3000  reel. My line is 6 to 8 lb hi vis jbraid 8.

I put a rubber bobberstop on first. Then an inline bobber and at the end ofvthe braid goes a swivel.

(Edit - i add split shot as needed just above the swivel)

Tie on 6# mono leader about 3ft long.  

(On a side note a longer rod allows this leader to be longer which is one good reason to use a 9ft rod - my next purchase?)

Here is what goes on the end.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CULn5mbpdmS/?utm_medium=copy_link

Last piece of advice is to put on 2 bobber stops if you plan to dedicate some hours into it. The stops do slide after a few trips.

[Bass Rutten]

7 hours ago, Deleted account said:

I know LMB guys can't help themselves, but this is nothing more than crappie fishing with a slip bobber. KISS.

Haha funny you say that, it is in fact simple. A good friend of mine who happens to be a bonafide crappie junkie turned me on to twitchin’ for crappie many years ago, a technique used for locating spring crappies. The rig catches plenty of bass too. Rig: 7’6”+ rod, weighted foam bobber, a 1/64 to 1/16 ball or insert style jig, and a 1.5-2” tube jig, no slip bobbers, fixed float is a must, play with leader depth and colors. Fan cast weedy flats in 4-8 fow, twitch and pop the bobber a short distance, pause, twitch, pause, reel in gobs of crappie and bass, be happy, repeat. Works a charm in northern natural lakes, not sure about down south. It’s on deck every spring, all spring.

[Luke Barnes]

Ive targeted large mouth from time to time with it but I use a Gulp Minnow. Usually a 2.5" or 3.5" with just a weighted fixed bobber and maybe a split shot. 

 

But for Panfish I have a dedicated setup for it. Its a 4'8 UL ugly stick combo and always has a slip bobber with a rubber stopper and a 1/64 oz Panfish Magnet darter style jig head. I used to only use the Panfish Magnet lures, little tiny split tail worms, but switched to 1" Gulp Minnows and either plastic I caught bass. I caught a 3lb bass on my daughter's Moana kids setup while fishing with my son. I have the exact same thing tied on hers that I do my UL.  I know it weighed 3lbs because a couple of teenage boys that were fishing the same pond saw it and said can we weigh that? I cant believe you caught that on a Moana pole!!! Haha. 

 

A Moana pole and a float and fly setup.......

[Fallser]

I was going to say I had never tried Float n Fly but before I took up fly fishing I used the standard red and white bobber with a jig and a Mr. Twister tail grub.  We would cast the rig out and slowly retrieve it, adjusting the depth till we found the crappie.  It worked fairly well.  We caught bluegills/sunfish and the occasional bass with the rig.  I plan on trying it with my fly rod in the spring.  I've been tying up some 1/32 oz hair jigs and 1/20 oz bucktails, and I guess I'm going to be adding some marabou jigs to the mix.  I'm planning on using small slip bobbers and like the idea of using two bobber stoppers which will allow me to keep the fly at depth when I'm retrieving it.  Definitely getting some good ideas here.

[WRB]

Suggest watching Bill Siemantel Float n Fly video’s.

Tom

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, Fallser said:

I was going to say I had never tried Float n Fly but before I took up fly fishing I used the standard red and white bobber with a jig and a Mr. Twister tail grub.  We would cast the rig out and slowly retrieve it, adjusting the depth till we found the crappie.  It worked fairly well.  We caught bluegills/sunfish and the occasional bass with the rig.  I plan on trying it with my fly rod in the spring.  I've been tying up some 1/32 oz hair jigs and 1/20 oz bucktails, and I guess I'm going to be adding some marabou jigs to the mix.  I'm planning on using small slip bobbers and like the idea of using two bobber stoppers which will allow me to keep the fly at depth when I'm retrieving it.  Definitely getting some good ideas here.

Wooly bugger and Palsa pinch indicator is a crappie slayer on a 4/5 wt 

[PressuredFishing]

On 12/22/2021 at 8:51 AM, Fat Ika said:

I have never done this technique, but plan on focusing on this after ice-out. I will mostly be shore fishing generally clear water ponds and lakes in northern Illinois with various bream/perch and northern minnow species as the primary forage. 

 

1. Can you use traditional rubber bobber stops just as efficiently as string stops?

2. Are marabou hair jigs as effective as hair jigs that are marketed specifically for the float n fly?

3. Based on your experience, what jig colors for this type of forage in natural clear water lakes in various light intensity conditions?

4. Any custom jig recommendations are welcome

5. Any tips for northern largemouth vs smallmouth

 

I've researched a lot of the internet resources including this site of course, so personalized responses are appreciated.......... and only a link if it's something you feel is a useful rare find. 

 

Thank You

 

Anything you like you plastic colors in works lovely for any hair style baits, greens, Grey's, etc etc. It's fun, I throw em on my trout rod,