Tom L

In the September issue of aTightLoop.com, Gary Borger's article on the Foundations of Casting (page 61-63) discussed 3 different grips for fly rod: 1) Thump on Top 2) Trigger Grip 3) Three Point Grip. http://atightloop.com/PastEditions/September2011.html# Gary preferred the Three Point Grip over the other. I have been using the Trigger Grip for years, but after reading his article I went out and tried the Three Point Grip on my 6wt and 7wt rods casting wind resistant smallie flies. I found that it did not work too well, especially when I tried to shoot the line 50-60 feet out. I found that the Three Point Grip did not provide enough gripping power to secure the rod firmly. It worked well with my 4wt and 3wt rods casting drys or nymphs for up to 40 feet. After that I found the trigger grip provided better grip on longer casts over 50-60 feet. I am just wondering if anyone been using the Three Point Grip and what were their experiences?

This passed season, I tied up some of these Red/White hackle flies and used them several times for river smallies, but had not catch any on them yet. I've been hearing good things about this fly and the same with the Murdich, but have not been able to seduce any smallies yet. Got to keep on trying. Thanks for sharing.

I think this nine point rule is illegal in IL. This is take from the 2011 Illinois Fishing Information A 2 pole anD line fisHing onlY regulation permits the angler to take fish with no more than 2 poles with no more than 2 hooks or lures per line.

That is a good combo Gurgler Bug/Thin Mint. I've been wanting to tie some Gugler Bug for awhile now. I have all the materials to tie except the form back. What would you recommend? A form sheet and cut to size using paper cutter? If my memory is correct, the Gugler Bug started out as a saltwater fly and worked really well with Stripe Bass and Red fish; now more and more people are using it for freshwater species (same as the Murdich). I have been using a tandem rig almost exclusively for smallmouth fishing. I typically used a Clouser (which has a slime profile) as the lead fly and a Marabou Muddler (which has a larger profile, because of the deer hair head) as a dropper. It has been working best on a swing-down and strip-up. It does not work well on a dead drift. Maybe the smallie thought they were fleeing bait fishes or maybe they thought a larger fish (the Marabou Muddler) was chasing the smaller fish (the Clouser). Tangle of the flies has not been a problem for me. Just need to keep your casting loop more open (more open than when casting a weighted fly alone). Tight loop will cause wind knots. And don't shock the rod. Keep it nice and smooth. I used this tandem setup even in 25-30 miles wind with double hauls.

In trout fishing, there is a technique called "Hopper Dropper". That is using a hopper fly (or sometimes dry fly) as your lead fly and trailing it with a nymph or a midge fly as your dropper. It is a very effective technique. Sometimes the fish will key on the hopper (or the dry) and sometimes the fish will take the dropper. The hopper (or the dry) also serves as a strike indicator, especially when you fish midges. Now a "Popper Dropper" would be using a popper fly as your lead fly and trailing it with a streamer (Murdich Minnow, Clouser Minnow or even Shannon Streamer) as your dropper. Has anyone ever tried this in smallmouth fish? I've been wondering about this for a while and want to try it out next season.

I use Google map, Mapquest, and Yahoo Maps. The maps were also taken at different times and seasons. You may see the different in qualities, water levels, sun angles, wind conditions, etc. Use all three and compare.

Oh! I just remembered why they called those black tubes that come with the float, "surgeon tubes". Back in the early 90's, they did not have the steelhead float model yet. Back then we would use the spring float model, took the spring off from the float, and replaced it with surgeon tube cut to size. The reason that we did not want to use the spring was that it weaken the line; because the spring would kink and damage the line sometimes. With big steelhead on, you don't want any weak link on your line. That would be the real advantage of the steelhead float over the clip on type.

I used to use a lot of the Thill Steelhead float for drifting spawn and hair jigs and tube jigs for steelhead. It is a great float. It comes with a black rubber tube (some called it surgeon tube) at the bottom that you can attached your line to. If I want my line to stay on top of the float to clear water for better drift sometimes, I would take a tube from another float and put it on top, then I would have one tube at the top and one at the bottom of the float. I would also spread my shots under the float to have good drift, depending on the current speed and depth. It is a little bit lighter than the float that John used. It is a very good float and a good alternative. Thanks for sharing.

Terry - Thanks for reminding. I set up the profile long ago in a hurry, meant to go back and update but never did.

More sightings of cougars. This one was in Lake Forest. http://gazebonews.co...in-lake-forest/ in Chicago. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/14/cougars-back-in-chicago-r_n_186759.html

Mike, The centerpin has been around a long while. Steelheaders around the Great Lakes have been using it to drift spawn sacs, tube jigs, marabou jigs under a float or sometimes they bottom bouncing with split shots. The fly rod Float-n-Fly that I posted was borrowing from the centerpin idea. Tenkara for smallmouth? Check out this article, this guy used a Tenkara rod for northern pike and he broke the rod. http://www.eatmorebrooktrout.com/2011/09/tenkara-and-water-wolf.html Smallmouth on a Tenkara that would be a real challenge.

I live in Hoffman Est. It is a short drive to the Fox, 10-15 minutes. The southern part of the Fox, where you mentioned, is much prettier than the northern part of the river which where I normal fish from South Elgin to Algonquin. The southern Fox probable got more fish too. Maybe, that is why Eric has been catching lots of them, not to discount his skills and knowledge. I'll have to get myself down to the Montgomery areas and explore a little this coming year. Yes, we have a lot of carps in the Fox. I have hooked into many of them while fishing for smallmouth. They are good fighting fish, especially with a 6wt or 7wt.

What a fine looking stick. I bet it will cast beautifully too. I have a st croix avid 3wt 7' 9" that I use for trout in the driftless areas and blue gill. But it has not seen much action this year, I've been using a lot of the 6wt and 7wt for smallie on the Fox.

Phil, I have these jigs in 1/32oz and 1/16oz. They are about size #6 and #4 hooks. I hope that helps. http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=703575&destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct.jsp%3FparentCategoryId%3D104793480%26categoryId%3D104736780%26subCategoryId%3D104544180%26productId%3D702262%26type%3Dproduct%26destination%3D%252Fcatalog%252Fbrowse%252Ffishing-fishing-jigs-rigs-roundhead-specialty%252F_%252FN-1100354%252FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104544180%253FWTz_l%253DSBC%25253BMMcat104793480%25253Bcat104736780%26WTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104793480%253Bcat104736780%253Bcat104544180&WTz_l=YMAL%3BIK-113503

Phil, Have you tried some of these jigs? http://www.cabelas.c...%3Bcat104544180 http://www.cabelas.c...%3Bcat104544180 http://www.cabelas.c...%3Bcat104544180 I used these on my craft fur jigs. They seems to be very strong and well balanced. http://www.cabelas.c...MAL%3BIK-113503 I also used some bucktail hairs tied on the inside of some of my craft fur jigs to make them a little stiffer.

Jude, I don't think the tandem flies would work well in this case; because the craft fur jig has to breath/move in an impending way and float horizontally. Adding an add'l fly on the jigt may cause it to lose that balance. But good luck. Give it a try. It may work, who know? Sometimes we need to experiment.

Norm, It is true that floating a jig, a fly, or a bait under a bobber (float or strike indicator, whatever terms you preffered) is nothing new in fishing. But I think the whole secret of the Float-n-Fly is "the Craft Fur Jig." I was pessimestic at first too, until I tried floating it in my kitchen sink. The craft fur breathes and moves seductively in slow current or no current at all. You cannot duplicate it with other materials, not even marabou or arctic fox fur. Of cause there are other factors that you have to meet too, in order it to work successfully. such as: Horizontal Presentation The jig has to float horizontally. If you tie your craft fur Clouser styles or streamer styles, it's not going to work as well. That is why it is important that you tie them with crappie jigs or any other jigs that will float the fly horizontally. The clouser styles will work if you tie them with a fly jig hook and that you can find the balance point on the hook. (Manny - Good luck in finding that balance point.) Right Depth That is when the float come into play. You can adjust it until you find the right depth that would daggling the jig in front, or just above, or just below of the fish. Stealth It goes without saying "a freighten fish won't eat." It is dificult to achieve this with the traditional floating fly line, even if you use a very long leader. You floating fly line creates shodows and movements that may distract and scare the fish. Location The fish have to be there. Fish Mood The fish have to be in the feeding or a marginal feeding moods. I think another reason that the Float-n-Fly works so well in cold water is that the craft fur jig has a power to induce the fish to feed when they are in the marginal feeding mood or even not in the mood at all. We danggle the craft fur jig in front of them until it drives them nut. That is why many success reports said "my float just went side way" or "my float just jiggling". Yes, the Float-n-Fly seems very familiar and simple. But the real secret of it effectiveness is "the Craft Fur Jig". And that is new to most of us.

Ryan, If you need more options and want to be more confused, here is my input. I've been using a St Croix Legend Ultra in 7wt and a St Croix Legen Elite (NSi model) in 6wt for smallie on the Fox. Both have plenty of backbones to fight fish and power to cast in windy conditions. I had hooked into plenty of carps on both of them and had no problems landing them. Although, the 7wt is a better carp fight rod and more power to punch into the wind. Good luck....

Ryan, Sometimes fishing for trout, steelhead, and smallie, I do exactly as you described, indicator nymphing. For winter steelheading, the traditional indicator nymphing can be very effective at times. But some how for smallie fishing, it works well in the warmer months, but become ineffective in the winter. I'm not sure weather the thick fly line spook them off or something else. Replace the fly line with a monofilament line allow you to be more stealth in your casting and presentation. It also allow you to stay on the bank without get wet. As you already know with fly casting, you need some room for your back cast even for a roll cast, a lot of time you need to wade into position. Wading in winter can be really cold and it may spook the fish too. Maybe that's why I was not able to catch them and that's why I think this setup is better than the traditional setup for winter smallie fishing.

Eric - That was what I thought too. But after looking at it closely, I could not find the barbels. http://www.roughfish.com/content/view/47/128/

First of all, I would like to thanks John, Eric, and those ISA members that have been sharing information on the Float-n-Fly system and posting the success and effectiveness of the system for stream smallmouth fishing in cold water. As a fly rod aficionado, I love to catch all things that swim with a fly rod. But when the winter approaches, my traditional fly rod setup becomes ineffective in cold water streams. So I would normally hang up my smallmouth fly rod, wait until spring, or turn my attention to other fish species such as Steelhead. While I was reading John’s Float-n-Fly article (posted by Eric) and he mentioned that he preferred an 8 ½ foot spinning rod for his setup, I could not help but thinking to myself that the Float-n-Fly is a lot similar to a fly rod system that I used to drift spawn sacs, tub jigs, and hair jigs for Steelhead back in my Chuck-n-Duck days. So with little knowledge that I have and if I may, I would like to share the fly rod Float-n-Fly system with you. But first, I’d like to point out that this system is not my original. Steelheaders around the Great Lakes have been using it for a long time. I first learned about it was back in the early 1990’s. The Rod, the Reel and the Setup The fly rod Float-n-Fly system is quite simple. You can use your existing favorite smallmouth fly rod and reel. All you need to do is a slight modification to your fly reel by replacing your existing fly line with a 12lbs monofilament line. You don’t need to take the backing off the reel when you do this. Just attach the monofilament line to your backing and spool the monofilament line onto the fly reel. However, if you have an extra spool for your fly reel, then you can just spool the 12lbs monofilament onto the extra spool and use it on the reel. This way you are always be ready to switch back and forth between a traditional fly reel and a Float-n-Fly reel. It is important that you use a 12lbs monofilament line or a litter bit larger if you want to, but any smaller monofilament line may not work as well. After that you need to attach about 16” of 3x or 2x tippet to the 12lbs monofilament line. The rest is just like the Float-n-Fly as described in John’s article that you attach a craft hair jig (fly) and a 1” bobber (float) to the line. After you are done, you will end up with something similar to this. Now you are ready to go fishing. Casting and Presenting the Fly First, strip some monofilament line off the fly reel (enough to reach the area that you want to place your fly), keep the float about 1-3 feet off the rod tip, and when you’re ready just flip the whole things (Float-n-Fly) out to your target. If you need to recast, all you have to do is striping the Float-n-Fly in and manage the monofilament line with your line-hand or let it piles in front of you, just as you would with a fly line. Do not reel the monofilament line onto the spool. If you need to drift your fly further out, just strip some line off the reel and feed it through the guides. There you have it, a fly rod Float-n-Fly system. Yep! Forget about your double hauls, aerial mends or other fancy fly casts that you are so proud of, you are not going to be able to do any of those with this system. But you will be able to fight a smallie with a fly rod and reel, if you are lucky enough to hook into one. First Smallmouth Float-n-Fly Outing I took my newly setup Float-n-Fly fly rod out for a test drive yesterday. I did not catch any smallies, but I hooked into a carp sucker. I know I still have a lot to learn about winter smallies and their wintering holes. But, it was a good start. Again thank you for sharing the secrets of the Float-n-Fly. Now I can get out and chase smallie in the winter. I hope you will do too.

Wow! Amazing! That was quite entertaining, but I'd not want to be in the boat with those guys. Thanks Rob.

These are beautiful. Thanks Mike.

Mike, I agreed on both the musics and stories. I watch the films last night. I got thru only half of the films and had to turned it off. This new film CONNECT is not as good as their first 2 films, DRIFT AND RISE. It is too commercialized, while DRIFT AND RISE are more spiritual and captivated (at least to me anyway). It is true that the spirit of fly fishing or any fishing in general doesn't have to involve traveling to exotic places. I love walking and fishing our local streams and lakes. But these films provided me some small peeking windows into other worlds and other species of fly fishing in a much inexpensive way. And they also make good winter companions, beside reading and tying flies. There is a new film just came out in October called "Off The Grid" by Beattie Out Door Productions. It features some Midwest fisheries in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. Here are some of clips. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLTx0Dzjqvw Maybe Eric and help put something together to feature our beloved local fisheries.

Eric - That is a good idea. I'm willing to share my fishing DVD collections with our ISA members.