Fly Fishing From Boat

[twosets]

I would take Michael's or Phil's or Bill Babler's or Trav's advice 100 times over a book. These guys are on the lake every day and have fished it in all conditions. They are also dedicated to helping people find fish on Tany

Just my 2 cents worth

[twosets]

I should not have left out Leonard, Project Healing Waters or any of the other fine fellows who also share on this great forum

[motroutbum]

hahaha michael on the lake everyday id like to see that. Most of the other names you mentioned fish the upper lake with the exception of trav, phil or bill. Fishing out of a boat for trout, in the lower lake where it is actually a LAKE, is way different than fishing the first couple miles below the dam.

[Project Healing Waters]

Dude,

I have probably logged more hours fishing lower Taney from a boat with a fly rod in the past decade than anyone mentioned in this thread except for Forsythian...including the authors of those wonderful books. And lower Taneycomo actually fishes more like a big river than it does a lake. Some deep water techniques are handy, and most of that comes from stillwater fly fishing circles. But lower Taney ALWAYS has a considerable current with very few isolated locations that are exceptions. This ain't Scotland. But something tells me you haven't fly fished in either place.

I agree that this chap would probably learn more useful stuff by reading stillwater and big river fly fishing "how to's" than by talking to any pro in this area about fly rodding lower Taneycomo. The pro's simply don't do it. But it can pay off in a big way now and then if you know where the fish should be...trout, bass, and pan fish.

As for locating fish on stillwaters...trolling around with a wooly bugger, huh? Not me. Growing up fishing from human-powered watercraft with no electronics, you learn to read the bank and predict submerged structures based on that. You move from likely spot to likely spot with a "sure-fire" generic fly pattern (something that will catch all types of fish in all conditions) making 1-3 casts at each likely holding spot. Keep moving until you catch something. Then make 3 more casts to the spot where you caught the fish. If no more takes at that location, keep moving. Fishing big water is about covering all the myriad likely holding spots the big water has to offer that you can in the amount of time you have to fish. AS SOON as a spot slows down...MOVE! And I carry exactly THREE different types of fly lines when fishing big rivers and/or lakes. Fifteen means you have no idea what you're doing, so you're taking everything but the kitchen sink..."just in case." Of course, the old fellow who taught me to play golf carried a driver, a 9 iron, and a putter...and nothing else. He loved to get the exercise of walking vs. riding a cart, but he was old and didn't want to lug a full set of clubs around in the TX heat. That old retired doctor took many a $100 bill off of younger men with top-o-the-line, full sets of golf clubs. A true master of 3 clubs will beat a guy who is using clubs he has not mastered nearly every time. And who has truly mastered every club in a full set who isn't on the PGA tour? You can get by with a floating, intermediate sink tip, and full sinking express line. By altering the leaders and weights of your flies with one of these three lines, you can effectively fish any depth a fly rod will reach...which is 0 to 20 feet (give or take a couple of feet).

[motroutbum]

I know this "ain't scotland". Dont get your panties in a wad because none of my posts were directed at you. Yes trolling around with a wooly is a sure fire way to get into fish for a beginner. No I havent fished in scotland, but yes as a matter of fact I have fished Lower taney in a boat with a fly rod, and yes i did catch quite a few fish. Is there really a "sure fire" fly? thats good that you carry 3 fly lines with you when you go fishing. You obviously dont understand competition fishing then. 15 does mean I know what im doing. It means that I dont add weight to the leader, its all in the flies or in the lines, and I am set for every condition that may pop up. Most British anglers carry 30 different lines. Those chaps are the best lake anglers in the world. Learn to fish Loch style then come talk to me.

[Project Healing Waters]

And what does ANY of that competition crap have to do with a guy with a bass boat and a fly rod along with his spinning gear on lower Taneycomo who doesn't even know what rate, brand, and length his rod is? I'm sure he's gonna run out and buy 15 fly lines and extra spools just because that's the way the US Fly Fishing Team guys (who continue to get SERVED year after year) would do it. LMAO! Please, Randy. Who do you think you're impressing with this BS?

[Trav]

I think I have all of you beat with hours on the lake and I dont even pick up a fly rod. And I use 10 pound test for everything. This is silly.

[bigredbirdfan]

Wow. I am usually involved in heated subjects on this forum but didn't expect it here.

Anyway thank you for your willingness to try to help me.

You are correct. I don't even know the length of my rod. I would say 7'5" as a guess and my dad bought it for me to primarily bass fish on Ozarks streams if that helps with the weight. I will obtain this information when I get home from work.

I am thinking of maybe devoting it to popping bugs or other topwaters you might suggest for the summer in creeks and along banks for bass and bluegill. Unless you all think I should set it up for trout. The micro floats I can do with ultra light spinning gear. I might just get a (1) whole new rod and reel so I can fish upper Taneycomo as well.

I will tell you though I have gone on three trips where I went to the fly shop at Pro Bass and the guy with a handle bar mustache has been dead on with my lure selections for trout. Nothing against Backcountry I am sure they would have done the same I just happened to be there for some other fishing equipment and didn't have the time to go to both.

[motroutbum]

I'm just speaking from my experience just like you and everyone else.

[twosets]

Hey big red

You will have a much better hookup rate with the fly rod using micro jigs under a float than you will with a spinning rod once you get used to it.