Bubble And Fly Spinning Method

[kkparks_3]

Hello,

I'm new to the trout fishing game (only catch and release) and am trying to broaden my horizons past just soaking powerbait or live bait (Although there is nothing wrong with that when its working). I am a spin fishing guy only, not ready to get into the fly fishing gear.

I found some articles talking about a method using a bubble that can be filled with water. Below the bobber, a swivel is tied with a leader several feet long to a fly. Then, you can either let the bubble sink and work the fly in or partially fill the bubble and let the fly drift near the surface.

I have a few questions about this, first, do any of you guys use this technique?

Second, I've found the bubbles to use but what kind of fly would you suggest to be best for this?

Lastly, is this a slow water technique only or is it good for drifting fast water also?

Thanks for the help,

Kevin

[flyrodman]

The fly you use depends on the river you are fishing. Read some reports for that river and you should get a good idea of what flies to use. Good luck!

[Nortrad]

Hello,

I'm new to the trout fishing game (only catch and release) and am trying to broaden my horizons past just soaking powerbait or live bait (Although there is nothing wrong with that when its working). I am a spin fishing guy only, not ready to get into the fly fishing gear.

I found some articles talking about a method using a bubble that can be filled with water. Below the bobber, a swivel is tied with a leader several feet long to a fly. Then, you can either let the bubble sink and work the fly in or partially fill the bubble and let the fly drift near the surface.

I have a few questions about this, first, do any of you guys use this technique?

Second, I've found the bubbles to use but what kind of fly would you suggest to be best for this?

Lastly, is this a slow water technique only or is it good for drifting fast water also?

Thanks for the help,

Kevin

This is the way I fished before taking the fly rod up again, but, it was in lakes in WA. Similar set up, water bubble, half-full, small barrel swivel, only about 4-5 feet of leader, and a wet fly. Cast to rise, retrieve slowly, twitch...

[Flatbottom Boy]

I fished this way a lot when I was younger out in Wyoming in the high mountain lakes and streams. Like flyrodman said the fly totally depends on the water and time of year you are fishing. Do your research on earlier threads in this forum and it will not take long to figure the fly to use. We would take a larger spooled reel and fill it completely full with light line. This would allow us to really launch this setup very far out into a lake. In lakes I would almost alway just do a slow retrieve. In the creeks it was a little more difficult but still doable. It's not like a fly rod where you can constantly mend line, so that is a challenge just keeping the fly in a good drift. Just match the hatch and use a clear bubble so you don't spook fish. Presentation will probably never be as good as the guy with the flyrod but it can be productive.

[2sheds]

^{I think the bubble technique could work well for fast water rivers with sufficient depth between caster and the bubble. For example, on the Eleven Point, it would seem ideal to fish a Dons Crawdad or MOAT Stonefly or Prince Nymph or almost any other weighted fly. You need enough weight on the fly to get it down to the level of feeding. But once down, the bobbing action of the fast water tossing the bubble will provide just the right action for many types of flys. I can also see this working for light top-water flys, but believe that the landing splat of the bubble will become a disadvantage unless the run/pool is long.}

^{By contrast, the bubble would not work as well on fast water creeks with shallows/rocks between caster and the fly. This is because the spinning line will sink or hang up and cause unnatural drag on the fly. This is one advantage of floating fly line.}

[Aeronikl]

I've used all 3 colors available from Cabelas. I don't put water in them. They allow me to cast great distances with an ultra or light to medium action spinning rigs. I make a short leader to go through the center with large swivels on both ends and connect to my line with a snap and tie a leader on the other. You can use heavier line than normal on the reel and I usually use 12# on the swivel leader and 2# - 6# for the leader for the flly, usually 4 - 6' long. If you get snagged, you can usually break the light leader and save the rest of the rig. I've fished dry flies - caddis, Adams, humpys, stimulators and streamers like wooly bugers. Used the rig on well stocked lakes in Colorado (put & take fisheries) and at Taneycomo. Works good at night with streamers. The length of the leader controls the depth and I like to "twitch" dry flies and retrieve streamers slow with many pauses. Do not overlook this method for catching panfish on larger ponds. When the fish are sipping on top, use ants or very small, dark dries. If the fly gets wet and goes below the film, a small jerks or a slow retrieve can be deadlly. You can attach a small popper and use a jerk or slide and pause retrieve. This method is deadly on small, clear ponds. I also use streamers with a slow retrieve and small crank baits - floating or shallow diving, most of the time with a 4' leader to restrict the depth. One word of caution - beware of the occasional bass. I caught bass up to 6# with a #10 olive bugger and a #12 adams. I've had many strikes from bass on the small crank baits - but the hooks are usually too small to get a good hook up. I've also landed many crappie 2.5 - 3# with the small cranks using this method - as well as panfish up to 1.5# in southern ponds. When I used the rig down south, I converted a number of friends to using this method for fishing from the bank. You can cover a lot of territory when you don't have time to go out in a small boat.

[Aeronikl]

6# bass and 1.5# panfish both caught using a bubbler from a pond in Mississippi. Note the small yellow bug the bass sucked in. The crankbait is 1.75" - gives some scale for the brim.