I would like to know if anyone wud like to share their favorite fly rig while floating the south fork. I will be floating pali
es dam down on friday. My previous floats have mostly landed a lot of white fish....i typically use floating line 9 ft mono leader to black or brown rubber legs . I attach a 24" flourocarbon tippet to bend of rubber leg hook and then tie on a Pheasant tail or beadhead prince...
For the sake of experimenting i was hoping to get some tips on other rigs that are useful. This friday i will likely use hoppers and nymph droppers.
PMs would be great. Will give a detailed fish report in exchange for tips...
thanks everyone
MatchT
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Jealous Match!!!! Just a thought but I would try the Kelly Galloup approach. It has always worked for me. Big flies and a slow sinking line like a Type II or a sink tip.
When retrieving, use the pull then strip like big fish on the ocean, except horizontal instead of vertical.
Ex: Cast straight out to the side, let it drift to the back of the boat, pull the rod to the front of the boat, stripping line in as you let the tip return to the back of the boat. Keeping tension on the line at all times.
I know I didn't explain the well, but Kelly does have a video demonstrating it.
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by far one of my least productive methods on the river is using a streamer pattern. But I will try what you described....I do have some articulated patterns and muddler minnows.
Thanks FG.
MatchT
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Some that do well on the rivers recommend Clousers too.
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Hey match, look at the last couple fishing reports on jimmy's all season angler site and you should get a good idea of what they are catching fish on in that neck of the woods. If not there then stop in at the fly shop in conant valley, they are usually pretty straightforward with info and if you need to grab a few flies they will have them. you're probably right on with the hopper dropper rig this time of year or really most terrestrials fished close to the banks. good luck!
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If you do check Jimmy's, talk to Everet...he is the Clouser dude.
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Thanks everyone...closuses, chernobyls, and pmds on the menu. We will be scheduling our shuttle at conant so will picking up some flies/tips from those guys as well.
Want point out Jimmys has always been great to me.... took in a 3 year old lamson reel that failed on me (just the drag). They quickly fixed on the spot free of charge.[cool]
MatchT
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Really depends on the time of day. Evenings I've been yanking em in on pmds, Adams, bwo, caddis, and emergers of them to. But my most consistent producing pattern all summer is this. 7 foot leader to 4x sandymite with 2 feet of 4x with a beadhead hares ear. On a floating line. Cast across and at about the 45 of the swing to the 90 is when the hits come. Do a lift after its hit the 90 and let it sink back. We'ge caught a lot of fish and big fish this summer swinging wets that way. Some of the most violent takes ive ever had have been with that setup this summer.
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I'll 2nd Bmarsh's advice. This summer the SF fish really want to hit something moving. Skating a dry and wet combo works better than the typical sight fishing for risers. Think about upping your Tippett size and keeping your rod tip up because the hits can be hard and random. It makes for a lot of missed strikes and snapped off flies, but the trout are acting more like bass this year.
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Thanks again everyone,
will post results later tonight or tomorow.
match
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Good post whale, I forgot to mention the tippet part. I'm usually a 6x guy up there and fish with a light drag. But after loosing Flys on 5x , to Tue tune of about 20$ worth one week, just due to the hard strikes I settled on 4x and its been the ticket. I can't get over how hard some of the strikes have been on the swing this year. The guy who is now managing the flows needs a pat on the back. The higher winter flows brought the fish through the winter in great shape. Then Tue flows have been extremely stable compared to years past. The fish this year we have been catching have all had a lot of girth to them and are better fighters, even the cuts have been fighting instead of rolling over n playing dead.
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Thanks everyone for the tips,
My experience on a drift boat is limited so my theroy is the my presentation is lacking.
I managed two small trout nymphing with bh hares ear...only one on a hopper and a really nice health cutty as described above....chubby and a great fighter.
no takers on streamers....[mad]
Mostly white fish through out the day.
I am not sure my setup is best to get to the trout...i wasnt feeling the bottom with two small nymphs...I ended up 7 feet leader to a rubber legs with a smaller nymph trailing behind it. it produced more hookups....the problem is the setup is so heavy, i lob back and forth over the boat as false casting is not possible this way...any thoughts, suggestions?
Match
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what weight is your rod you are throwing the rubber legs with? it gets harder the lighter the rod is and the heavier the bug. i use a 6wt on the southfork this time of year because i can throw bigger chernobles and clunky heavy nymph rigs. and i usually run a 10 ft leader.
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I forgot to mention that I added weight above the rubber legs, its why I had to do lobbing to cast out... like i said this method worked best for me....
I use 6 wt rods...reddington pursuit and TFO signature series rod.
yes, when it lands it a Clunk...the guy fishing spinners did best...
I saw a method where a guy was slamming the nymph at the bank...making a big splash...
Match
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Match, that kind of nymph set up is ugly to cast no matter who is doing it. A 7wt helps tho. The key to fishing it well lies with the rower. The guy at the oars should be adjusting the speed of the boat to keep a long drift going and keeping those flies whistling past his head as few times as possible. With a good rower you can really just drop the flies in the water beside the boat then follow them. That's why you'll see so many guided trips throwing strike indicators. The client can fish with almost no casting skill. You won't see them do it on their day off tho.
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I never add weight above the rubber legs for two reasons. the rubber legs i fish are weighted already and the second is if that small split shot happens to make contact with your rod while you are casting.......wellllll......lets just say its not a good thing.
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whale,
thanks for the feedback. Since I have limited experience on fly fishing on a drift boat, I wanted to get a feel of what others exerience nymphing. I also confirmed with jimmy's fly shop that my setup is a "normal way" of fishing. Mostly I fly fish stillwater.
Chrome,
I have felt the split shot on my cheek, it reminded me not to false cast....not fun and you point out something that I had not really thought about, damaging the pole....
Just need to go out there and get more practice....at first it was intimidating, but river fishing is growing on me...
MatchT
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Although I have done very little drift boat guiding, Whale is dead on.
As for split shot...nasty, nasty stuff. I agree totally with Chrome.
SINKING LINES!!!! Not sink tip however, that is a better choice than split shot. The problem with shot and sink tips is the weight is all at the end. Like lobbing a small dog back and forth.
Full sinking line. All I can say is check out some Kelly Galloup videos.
I rarely weigh my flies, and the ones I do weigh, I add a red thread head so I can spot them easy.
By using a full sink line, you just need to play with the leader length.
I still believe more fish are going to be caught from under nymphs and streamers although dries are so much fun.
I am betting a nice Wet Cell Type II or III with a 7 foot leader and that TADPOLE in all Olive would have been fun.
Any way you look at it, I am still jealous Match.
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My setup is a little different than the "normal". I won't take credit for it though, because it has been around for a long time. The basic setup is this, a 6wt rod with a floating line a 7-9 foot leader with a little extra tippet. Regardless of how my flies are tied in, either in-line or as droppers like wet fly fishing, the last thing on my leader is my split shot. I will just tie an overhand knot and place the weight above it. Any type of indicator will work. I prefer my flies un-weighted other than a bead head. The weight takes the flies down where they need to be without hanging up.
I have found this cast a little better. In a normal system, the flies and leader below the split shot hinge at the shot. The system I use does not. I get less tangles and rod taps with the shot.
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