Nymphing

[Terry Dodge]

From another thread........

 

Mark P

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Posted 23 November 2010 - 06:29 PM

 

I'm a little confused about this float and fly thing. Are you guys talking about straight forward nymphing techniques with a fly other than a nymph?

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Just wondering if anybody does any nymphing? When I first started to fly fish I read an article on nymphing for smallmouth and found it to be very interesting and actually gave it a shot during my first fly fishing year. I bought some yarn floats and hit the Kish floating Beadhead-Woolybuggers. I did catch a couple smallmouth but I was not real happy with the yarn float. I suppose I should have had some magic floatant powder to dip the yarn float in but I didn't. Why Beadhead-Woolybuggers, you ask? Because it was about the only thing I knew how to tie at the time and the nymphs were way above my tying skill level and probably still are.

So again, a couple questions......

1) Does anybody nymph?

2) Whats the best float?

[Guest rich mc]

i was wondering how a wiggler hex pattern would work as a substitute for a fnf jig.it would still have movement at being still . i have used the m and m fly for years on a lightning brand strike indicator. they are small round styrofoam floats thatyou peg in place with a toothpick. i will tye some m n m flies on a jig hook for a more horizontal presentation. i use bead chain eyes. rich

[Rob G]

A guide once turned me onto this stuff for indicators, it works great, is cheap, and you can make your "bobber" as big or long as you would like. He said other double sided foam tape didn't work nearly as well as the Duck brand. Oh, and you can find it at Menards.

[John Gillio]

Terry,I usually use the fnf with a spinning outfit and a small jig but it also allows the spin fisherman the ability to throw a nymph or a dry fly too. As for nymphing with a flyrod,when using a float,I've found that the small foam ice fishing floats with the peg work well. It is easy to adjust their depth and they are inexpensive. A friend nymphs a local stream regularly for smallies and has luck with a wide variety of nymphs in sizes2-8.He suggests hare's ears,prince nymphs,hellgrammites,and other mayfly and caddisfly nymphs in black,brown,or tan. I've nymphed for smallies occasionally and had luck with my version of the attached hellgrammite pattern tied on a size 4 hook. Channel cats seem to like it also.

[Ben Lubchansky]

I've been dead drifting for bass a fair bit lately and think it might make a good bulletin article. Anyway, I have yet to tie up some jig hook style flies, but as we know the fnf principle is the same as our dead drift, only with a streamer type pattern. I think you can use a regular clouser if you like, althought a sparse jig fly would be optimal as a minnow immitation. Otherwise I have had success with hellgrammites, my cassius cray, a juvenile cray pattern consisting of bead chain ( tied clouser style) cactus chenille body and squirrel tail claws - thats it, size 8 or so. I think the Whitlock fox squirrel nymph is a good choice too and the Foxee Red Clouser found in this forum is a good one too. In summer try damselfly nymphs and caddis larvae. Tandem rigs are fair game! I find this technique effective not only for sluggish winter fish but also for dog day fish or fish in deep, relatively fast slots that have a lot of food brought to them and dont need to chase, or can afford to be selective. Alternatively I like it casting up into a spillway, or below somekind of water fall where fish see things like crays tumbling in suspension in the water column and not just on the bed. I also like this tactic as a changeup on a hole that has already produced fish and the response to my initial, more aggressive presentaion has slowed. Dead drifting a hellgrammite can be just the ticket to pick up another, more discerning fish or two out of the spot. For indicators I am sold on the Thingamabobber. They work, cast like a breeze, are super easy on/ off and last till you lose them. They are affordable and this year I only lost 1 of the 5 in a pack. I really like nymphing for bass. There is something about getting a big fish on a small, subtly presented fly that I get a kick out of. I look forward to hearing more about this topic, and I'll try to post some of my flies.

[ronk]

Ben

Could you post a pic of the bobber & wher they can be bought?

[Jonn Graham]

Wait a minute here. I think some of you are not quite grasping the whole fnf technique. IT IS NOT A DEAD DRIFT! You cast out the fly (jig) and float. When the jig settles, you begin to "work" the float by jiggling the float with your rod tip. Jiggle, jiggle, stop, jiggle jiggle, stop. You are not just casting the rig out and letting it dead drift. There is a difference between the two terms - dead drift and fnf fishing.

 

Now I am not saying it cannot be done with a fly rod...............it can. You are going to need a smaller float (of course) and lighter fly than the standard fnf jig. What I have done is take the same hook that we use for our fnf, and bend the eye back sligtly toward the point of the hook. This bending allows the fly to sit horizontal when in the water - VERY IMPORTANT. Then, for weight I tie in bead chain eyes on the top of the hook right in front of the 90 degree bend of the hook eye (which will be less than 90 because you bent it). Then, I fish the technique the same with the fly rod as I would with a spinning rod................jiggle, jiggle, stop, etc, etc.

[Rob G]

John, do you have any pics of your flies that you've modified for fnf? I'm not sure how I could make a fly float exactly horizontal.

[Mike G]

Rob,

 

The fly in Float'n'Fly is a smallish jig 1/32 to 1/16 oz. built on a bass size hook. It is fairly easy to hang horizontally. Check the website punisherlures.com. They wrote the book on FnF. Here is a sample from among 30 or so patterns they sell:

Hope this helps.

[Jonn Graham]

Rob:

 

First, you have to get a small jig hook (90 degree bend). Then heat the junction of where the shaft meets the 90 degree bend. Once you warm up the junction, bend the hook eye toward the point just a little. That way your hook eye will be right above where you tie in your bead chain eyes. If you do it right, the fly will sit horizontal under a float. I will try to make a couple tonite and post tomorrow.

[John Gillio]

I picture the underwater scene at the Fox River to look sump'n like this in the winter:

 

 

The Illinois too. Just need to substitute carp for most of the bass.

[Terry Dodge]

Where ever Eric is fishing there's a girl walking around without a brassiere.

[John Gillio]

Thingamabobber

I forgot I had thingamabobbers. I bought them early in the year thinking they would be just the ticket for nymphing with a float. I believe they come in 3 sizes.

[John Gillio]

Jonn,I agree that using the fnf, as discribed here, works best when jiggled with a long spinning rod. I've always called it a bob-n-jig. I guess that dates me. I started using it years ago for reaching crappie along pilings and snags that were otherwise out of reach of a shore fisherman. I found that it also caught a number of other species. Just wondering if you or anyone else is familiar with the fnf kits that came out years ago (1980 or so). They came with a clear bobber and dry flies and were for spin fishermen, allowing them to throw a dry fly quite a distance. I think K-MART may still carry a version of it. I'm sure they were meant for trout.

[Rob G]

Where ever Eric is fishing there's a girl walking around without a brassiere.

 

and in close proximity to a love bug, coincidence?...I think not!

[Norm M]

Where ever Eric is fishing there's a girl walking around without a brassiere.

 

Shoot, I actually caught a big red lacy bra outta my river, I think it was last winter. I would have been happy to have returned it to the unfortunate lass.

 

 

Alas, there was no lass.

[Mike G]

Shoot, I actually caught a big red lacy bra outta my river, I think it was last winter. I would have been happy to have returned it to the unfortunate lass.

 

 

Alas, there was no lass.

Too bad. But you may have had a problem returning it since, if you are like a lot of guys, you are better at taking them off a girl than putting them back.

[ronk]

Checked out the thingamabobber info Eric posted.It calls for a toothpick to hold it in place much like the sliding bobber I've always used for nymphing.I'll get a pack to try out.I wonder if a good old small red/white dayton bobber that simply clips on the line might be the best.No toothpick to fall off & easily adjusted for depth.

[BenG]

I tried the technique a few times afeter reading and article in a magazine. I use a long rod. I got the GLOOMIS float and fly rod. I use the rod more for crappie jigging though. I use a braided mainline and tie to a 3 way swivel. Another end goes to flouro leader and the other end gets a small mono loop tied on it. On the loop I clip a weighted float. The magazine said to use a float with a weight on it. I use a bass pro weighted float about 1" to 1.5" diameter. The mono loop that float is clipped to alows you to move the jig with little effort and without disturbing the float.

 

I rarely use the techniqe and never see anyone else using it. I have caught a lot of nice fish, all kinds on small crappie jigs.

[Ben Lubchansky]

Wait a minute here. I think some of you are not quite grasping the whole fnf technique. IT IS NOT A DEAD DRIFT! You cast out the fly (jig) and float. When the jig settles, you begin to "work" the float by jiggling the float with your rod tip. Jiggle, jiggle, stop, jiggle jiggle, stop. You are not just casting the rig out and letting it dead drift. There is a difference between the two terms - dead drift and fnf fishing.

 

Now I am not saying it cannot be done with a fly rod...............it can. You are going to need a smaller float (of course) and lighter fly than the standard fnf jig. What I have done is take the same hook that we use for our fnf, and bend the eye back sligtly toward the point of the hook. This bending allows the fly to sit horizontal when in the water - VERY IMPORTANT. Then, for weight I tie in bead chain eyes on the top of the hook right in front of the 90 degree bend of the hook eye (which will be less than 90 because you bent it). Then, I fish the technique the same with the fly rod as I would with a spinning rod................jiggle, jiggle, stop, etc, etc.

Alright I stand corrected...of course I would't say you have to always dead drift any most any presentation, I like to keep things animated too. Perhaps drag free is what I was looking for. Nonetheless, the two keys here A) making a fnf fly that works for this presentation that is, it suspends horizontally and B ) nymphing for bass is versatile and perhaps underrated technique.

[Ben Lubchansky]

Checked out the thingamabobber info Eric posted.It calls for a toothpick to hold it in place much like the sliding bobber I've always used for nymphing.I'll get a pack to try out.I wonder if a good old small red/white dayton bobber that simply clips on the line might be the best.No toothpick to fall off & easily adjusted for depth.

Ron,

I've never needed a toothpick with these. As you attach them by looping your tippet through and over its loop at the base, the beauty to me is that they can be added or removed without cutting off your fly to thread the thing on. I am lazy that way, but it allows me to present the same subsurface fly a coupple of different ways without rerigging. For example, that EP1 fly I posted, I could stand in the right spot and high stick it through a deep hole in front of me, then swing it down and across the tail of the pool, then add the thingamabobber in a flash and dead drift the slot coming in, and then fnf the far bank while mending to prevent drag. I'm not a salesman, so please pardon the pitch, but they work for me and my fly inertia.

As for setting depth, they can slip down the leader a bit, although this has not happened much lately for me, so setting them above a knot can be helpful. I tie my own leaders, so I've usually got a couple convenient ones to use.

[Guest airbornemike]

Buy a center pin and be done with it if bobber fishing is what you're after.

[Paul Chausse]

Where ever Eric is fishing there's a girl walking around without a brassiere.

I guess you and I think alike Terry, cause i'm stuck on the chic with no bra on in winter no less. Probably has her high beams on....

[Mike G]

Rob:

 

First, you have to get a small jig hook (90 degree bend). Then heat the junction of where the shaft meets the 90 degree bend. Once you warm up the junction, bend the hook eye toward the point just a little. That way your hook eye will be right above where you tie in your bead chain eyes. If you do it right, the fly will sit horizontal under a float. I will try to make a couple tonite and post tomorrow.

 

A Float'n Fly fly is an interesting challenge since you need a 120 deg jig hook. Besides the way Jonn makes them, I came up with this since I do not have a ready supply of jig hooks.

 

 

Aberdeen hooks from Wally's are flexible enough to bend. I used a round nosed pliers, also available at Wally's, to bend a #2 hook to the shape I wanted. (BTW the #2 Aberdeen has about the same gap as a #4 Mustad 3366.) I left the bend rounded to avoid a sharp kink that might weaken the hook. You could do this with just about any size of hook. I bend a #8 Aberdeen gold hook to make a 60 deg hook for M'n Ms.

[Rob G]

Thanks Mike,

 

Also saw these at Bass Pro fly tying stuff, go down to 1/124 oz.and 1/80 oz.

 

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_3085_175004002_175000000_175004000?cmCat=CROSSSELL_THUMBNAIL