flytyer57

A 4wt for popping bugs? Gotta offer them something better than a size 10 dry fly to catch the bigger ones. I don't go smallie fishin with anything lighter than my 6wt and it's usually my 7wt. Start casting BIG flies and you'll start catching bigger fish. My popping bugs are about 3" long or longer tied on TMC 8089's sizes 10 to 2. Some of my streamers are about 6" long. Go BIG or stay home.

Should say: "Yes. and you'll know I'm doing it correctly when you walk behind me and I hook your dumb a**."

They're everywhere man. They're taking over. Run for your lives!!!

Just make sure ya bring some cooler weather with ya.

Ummm... I got $30 in the bank and $375 in bills that need to be paid. I'll trade you the bills for them.

Nice pics. What kind of camera were you using? If you could have gotten a 1 second exposure on those water pics, it would have made that water look like flowing ribbons which would have given them a smoother effect.

But already some of you are talking about "tail."

If I had the money for gas, I would drive up there and attend the float, but I don't, so I can't afford to shuttle either.

Sorry to upset you Pete, but I won't be going on this float. Although you should give up chasing little white balls.

At that price I'll stick to my Berkley XL mono.

First off, the size line you should use would depend on the size of the fish expected to catch. If the lake you are going to is known for large fish, go with the 20# braid. I've never known a pike to be line shy. As for leader, forget the flourocarbon. Go with braided steel leaders in the 20-50# class. Pike can and will bite through flouro just as easily as mono. As for lures, swim baits are productive, as are inline spinners. But don't forget the large safetypin spinners either. I've ccaught some of my best pike on my biggest bass spinnerbaits. Althouogh they will get torn up by the pikes teeth and bent out of shape by the fish thrashing around. I've also had good luck on Rattle Traps, and Rapala Shad Raps. Large beetle spins with curly tailed grubs also produce well. Another consideration is bait color. If the lake you are going to is crystal clear, then by all means, use natural colored baits. If there is any color to it, then use white or yellow. Yellow was my favorite color in the tannin stained lakes I fished back in WI. Do not forget the steel jaw spreaders and a good pair of pliers to get the hooks out. Pike have bony mouths and they are full of razor sharp teeth. You do not want to get your hands near their maws unless you are looking for a trip the local drug store for boxes of bandages.

I thought you were gonna say that your name was Earl.

That just makes me hungry. I knew I should have had the catfish instead of the roast beef for lunch.

There is a way to cast a regular fly rod using spey methods. Just helps keep the backcast out of the trees. Wish I could find someone to teach me. I've seen it in magazines and in videos, but still seems kinda hard to learn that way. I'd be better off learning first hand from an instructor. I did a Google search for "single handed spey casting" and came up with a lot of hits if you're interested.

TMC 5262 all they way down to size 14. And a size 14 woolybugger is a small little fly. No sense tying them any smaller.

I fish a lot better staning on terra firma too. Only problem is, a lot of the fish are in deeper water where standing on firm ground means standing with water up to your chin or higher. Long casts are out too due the the vegetation growth behind you. Kinda makes it hard to get a decent backcast. I've been wanting to learn single handed spey casting just for that purpose. Also to avoid idiots walking behind me as in another post on this forum.

Put the crack pipe down Pete. Them ain't "Wimens." Those is guys in wimens clothes.

"Happily married" does not make one "legally" married so stay away from all that tail Pete.

Then all I can suggest is sharpen your hooks and get all the slack out of the line before setting. What fly were you using? Sometimes materials can get in the way of the hook point and cause this too.

What are you fishing for if you are using a 20# tippet? Personally, I don't like tying the perfection loop. I use an improved clinch knot or a uni-knot. I've experimented with the Eugene Bend knot, but found that harder to tie than the clinch knot. For a loop knot, the uni-knot works great. Or else there is always the double surgeon loop knot. I once had a book of knots put out by Stren, that showed a loop knot used by Lefty Krey, but I forget what it's called. Looked too easy to tie so I never did tie one.

They voted for the dead guy because they knew the other guy (Ashcroft) was a total idiot. Edited: And guess who the idiot was that picked the idiot (Ashcroft) to be the Attorney General of the USA?

May have been panfish strikes instead of smallies. I've had that happen a lot. You'll be catching a mess of smallmouth, then start missing fish. Go to a smaller fly and you'll start catching the panfish.

Found this in an old flyfishing mag and thought I'd pass it along.

Sounds like undercover "liberals" to me.

If it's gonna be in July, better make it an evening float to avoid the 100+ heat.