Float And Fly Technique?

[fishermantony]

I'm thinking about getting a float and fly kit and trying it out in the fall. Does anyone have suggestions for this technique, or anything they can tell me about how they have done with it?

Thanks

[Evans]

Not sure about up north, but in the south it works great once the water temp gets 55 and below. I like to use craft hair flies from 50-55 and for 49 and below I use mainly duck feather flies. Only explanation I can give for the reason this works is because the craft hair has a lot more movement in it than the duck feathers. Fish dope is a must on the duck feather flies. You want them as stiff as you can get them. As far as equipment, 8-10' rod(I prefer 9'6"), decent spinning reel, and quality 6lb fluorocarbon for the leader. I actually use 10lb braid for the main line and tie it to a swivel and run the fluoro from there. The only part that most people disagree on is the bobber(float, cork, whatever you want to call it). I use bob's bobber(you can make your own but this one is the best straight out of the package) and just clip the bottom part of it to the part of the swivel that is tied to the fluorocarbon. I don't wrap the line around the bobber like most people do.

One of the main things with this technique is understanding your bobber and how it reacts. Obviously if the bobber goes underwater, you need to jerk and set the hook. However, a lot of the bites I get are lift bites. The bobber will just turn over on it's side. This happens when a fish bites it and comes up in the water column instead of taking it down. Adjusting your leader length will also play a big part in how many fish you catch. Sometimes it can be as simple as just making your leader as long as the depth as the fish you are seeing on the graph, and other days nothing seems to work. I use as short as 8' and have fished as long as a 16' leader but usually stay between 10 and 12'. If you're not graphing any fish, try changing your leader every 20-30 minutes if you are not catching anything until you find out where that magic depth is that puts the bait right in their face.

My suggestion to anyone that is learning how to float n fly fish is this:start out by using flies that you can buy, but ulimately start tying your own. It's not that hard(much easier than a tiny trout fly), not very expensive, and you can match the hatch and water clarity on your lake a lot better than flies that were tied for other lakes. I actually use a mixture of craft hair and feathers most of the time. I tie the craft hair first then duck feathers on top to make it look like light reflecting off a shad's scales.

I think you will enjoy the float n fly. My dad showed it to me and several other people about 5 years ago and now all of us look forward to Decemeber and January, more so than any other month of the year. I have yet to find anyone that doesn't like the technique if they have been using it properly. Now for some, it does take a year or two to figure it out, but if you have a good teacher, it shouldn't take more than a few trips to get the hang of it. Just have patience and only take that rod with you. I used to try to fish it and a spoon at the same time and learned real quick that I missed too many bites on the fly and didn't get enough on the spoon! Best of luck to you.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

As tempting as a slip bobber is, the flies are too light to pull the line through often times. Peg the bobber with rubber stops and adjust as needed. To cast long leaders, backcast and lay the line out on the water. The drag of the water will load the rod on the forward cast and launch your rig. Days with a light chop seen to give the jig all the action it needs.

[Glenn]

Here ya go!

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/float-n-fly.html

[Chris W]

Yes the main thing with a float and fly is not to overwork the bait. If there is a chop on the water you do not have to move it at all. When there is a wind I have had days where I only made 10 or 15 casts just drifted with the wind. The hardest thing about float and fly fishing is learning the cast and not overworking the bait. Then figuring out how to land a fish if you are by yourself that is is still tough.

[fishermantony]

Thank you guys for the information! I'm already looking at set ups. I think I'm going to go with the BPS microlite suggested in the article and the Bob's bobbers. I've also seen that kit on BPS with the Punisher jigs and the fish dope that I might look more into. It's a ways off until I will try it, but it is exiting having a new technique to look forward to, especially in that cold water when the fishing can be so tough. Thanks again.