Video - Stripping a Bunny Leach

[Phil Lilley]

[Otis Roostertail]

Phil:

Having watched (and immensely enjoyed!) several of your videos, I notice that you use both spinning and fly gear. Do you enjoy one over the other? I have several friends that fish nothing but fly rods and have told me that once you go to a fly rod there is no other way to fish. Your thoughts?

Otis

[Phil Lilley]

Everybody is different. If there's nothing else I've learn from my 56 years on earth, that's clear. And we do change... I have lots of stories about friends switching after many years of swearing they'd never touch a fly rod... a spinning rod.

Me- I use the rod that works best for the conditions. Or I use the rod that's most handy. Or I use the rod that I want to showcase in a video.

The latter was the reason last evening. I didn't think I'd do as well as I thought I did so you may see me stripping streamers more often!!

I do love to fly fish dry flies. That would be my number one go to technique.

[ruthead]

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for all of them. What tippet were u using with the streamer?

[Phil Lilley]

3x.

I haven't been back out since... really want to. I don't have a 6 wt rod rigged, only my 5 wt. I want to throw some bigger streamers.

I've been with people who threw big streamers here and never did any good. I've thrown them too. This trip the other evening- my success was a surprise to me.

[Lancer09]

I threw some during the flood back in 11.

I moved a few fish that would make your knees shake.

They are in there.

[Gatorjet]

I've been really thinking about digging my old fly rod out, and trying it on Taney some day. I have never really been a "fly fisherman" but more a fisherman that uses a fly rod sometimes. Mostly on small streams, and ponds to catch bluegill, goggle eye, and small bass.

My two concerns on busting it out of it's long time storage to use on Taney is

1. The laughter I will have to endure from you guys about my $20 discount store Martin equipment.

2. I'll like it so much I'll have to go spend ten times that much on a new good one!

[mikes custom fly rods]

Stripping streamers is my favorite to fly fish. Hope to do some when I'm down there July 25th and 26th.

[Phil Lilley]

I just got through stripping some bigger streamers. I know- wrong time of day but it's a little cloudy. Had some time.

Worked my bank from up around the corner to the dock using

I had three strikes just above the dock. Should have hooked something.

Then I went across the lake and went down the bluff bank using

Nothing. All the way past Cooper.

Back up to Trout Hollow and came back the inside bank. Use the white streamer for a while, then the black/gold. Nothing.

I know throwing these streamers on Taney is like fishing for musky... the fish of a thousand casts.

[westbranchfly]

I have a few sculpin patterns that I swing in the upper end. Some days are really good, some days I go home with a bunch of swings and misses. Overall, the patterns and swinging have been consistent for me.