What do I need to know? --Winter Fly Fishing

[ChrisTheFish]

I have never done any serious winter fly fishing. I have been considering doing more of it and would like to glean some key pointers from those who know. Fly suggestions, advice on leaders, do I need a sinking or intermediate fly line along with my floating... any thoughts would be helpful. I'll be fishing streams and rivers in the eastern Idaho area.

I have also been trying to learn all I can about leaders. I figured someone here could enlighten me on the benefits of furled leaders when compared to mono.

Hope I'm not bothering anyone with all the questions!?[blush]
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[macfly55]

Chris.. first off you are not bothering anyone with the questions.. that is what this forum is all about..

I dont fish in Idaho.. so I dont know what flies to use etc.. but I can tell you that furled leaders are awesome.. one of our members ties them.. and she gave me a few.. awesome to use..

I can say depending on the type of fishing you will be doing..... a sinking line would be good to have along with you as well as your floating line.. for example.. if you are deep nymphing a sinking line will help get your fly down to the fish quicker..

hopefully other more experienced fly fishers will post on this soon..

good luck...

MacFly [cool]
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[flygoddess]

By Eastern Idaho, are you talking Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Island Park area?

As far as flies, on rivers and streams, Floating line will be your main line with leaders 7' to 9'.

Furled leaders are fantastic for rivers. One leader will last allot longer than store bought tapered.
The advantages to furl is all you need is to attach tippet. Put a little floatant on the leader if you want to do dries (Mucillin, Aqual, etc.). For Nymphing you still want it to float, but the tippet will sink. They also hold indicators better.

A sinking line is my choice but a sink tip line will work also. The down side to sink tips are:
If they are the interchangeables, you have to connection to deal with, but you have a choice of sink rates.
Streamer lines with the weighted portion built in to the floating line are smooth transition, but usually are so heavy they are hard to cast.
So, I use a "Wet Cell" sinking line in either Type II or III. Also with a sinking line, you want to cast across and drift down keeping semi tight as you will not see the hit as much as with a floating line.

FLIES: For dries PMD's, BWO's, ADAMS, CRIPPLES, GRIFFITH GNATS. But down size in the winter.
NYMPHS: COPPER JOHNS, PRINCE, PT, BLACK STONEFLIES.
Also try attractors like Sofa Pillows, Stimulators, and Dry Stones.

On the Idaho board, there is Everett who fly fishes the eastern rivers allot and I know he would welcome company.

I will be at Portneuf Rivers Anglers in Pocatello this Saturday (10th) from 11 to 2 doing a fly tying demo. If you are close, stop by, I would love to talk shop...LOL.

In Idaho Falls, stop by Carino's and ask for Dorian....he loves the winter FF thing also.

FG
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[Dryrod]

[font "Garamond"][#008000][size 4]What can I say - after all that is why she is called the Flygoddess. Her furled leaders are a gem to behold. I have fished the east side a few times and always used a floating line. I believe that most of the fish can be caught in waters measuring from 18" to no more than three feet. When fishing lakes that is when I may switch to a sinking tip. Not about to buy another spool to hold a full sinking line. Now with the FGD that is a different story. As a professional she has the opportunity to fish many different bodies of water and I would imagine has a line to meet the needs of each situation. Hope that I didn't step on your toes FGD.[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[flygoddess]

OUCH![laugh][laugh][laugh]
You posted just right. The problem I have is sink tips are limited on stillwater...therefore, I was trying to kill two birds with one stone.

Meaning, a full sink line is the way to go on stillwater, BUT they are also awesome on moving waters....therefore, ONE reel and One extra spool...LOL

I got to say, I bought ONE reel for my 8 weight as I don't use it all that often. I did go the extra mile and bought the multi tip line. Granted allot of money...FOR ONE LINE, but this is four lines now and now the price makes sense.
It is a floating line with a floating head, and intermediate head, a TYPE III head and a TYPE V head. They are 15' long and with a 7 foot leader not bad on big waters, but trying to use them on smaller rivers (carp!) I found the 20+' hard to deal with. The connection was always right at the tip top guide, and it isn't a real smooth transition, so it was a pain.

That is why I now say, try the lines that are ONE piece. Like my Depth Charge. It is 30' of lead core line that turns into 70 ft of intermediate, no connections. The streamer lines are the same, but as I said very heavy. I ended up cutting my streamer line off about 5'. It won't change the taper as the sink portion is uniformed. MUCH BETTER.

BAsically without cutting it off, it was like trying to cast a 12' leader with 20 "BB" split shot. CHUCK -n- DUCK
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