Good Article For The Bobber Fisherman

[shaps21]

http://flyfishingwalkabouts.blogspot.ca/2012/11/it-aint-easy.html

[reevesr1]

Cut out the fourth paragraph, and it's not a bad article. Add the fourth paragraph and it makes me want to yawn. Who does the author Stevie Boy believe himself to be in that he can explain to me (and I do fish with a bobber, to the apparent disdain of pretentious Stevie Boy) why I fish the way I do? If I want to use a bobber to add to the myriad of other ways I fish, who is Steve to tell me I'm fly fishing wrong? Here is the sentence where he loses all credibility with me:

 

"I don’t fault or criticize those who use these techniques, since most have been lead down this path as a matter of convenience.."

 

Stevie, I couldn't give the slightest care whether you criticize those who use this technique or not. I'll make a deal with you. You enjoy fishing your way, I'll enjoy it in mine. I can promise you that you derive exactly 0 more pleasure out of it than I do.

[ericlin0122]

yet another article by purest of the purist mighty fly fishermen.

[bcubed]

Come on rick, people nymph for one very particular reason, and it's not for the love of the way it casts!

 

<--- Nymphed the last 3 times out

 

Cut out the fourth paragraph, and it's not a bad article. Add the fourth paragraph and it makes me want to yawn. Who does the author Stevie Boy believe himself to be in that he can explain to me (and I do fish with a bobber, to the apparent disdain of pretentious Stevie Boy) why I fish the way I do?

[Guest Grinr]

Come on rick, people nymph for one very particular reason, and it's not for the love of the way it casts.

 

Amen.

Seriously though,if you want to drift a worm under an indi-bobber and pretend that yer flyfishing,why not just use a centerpin/noodle rod rig,cut out the BS and do it properly?

[reevesr1]

Come on rick, people nymph for one very particular reason, and it's not for the love of the way it casts!

 

<--- Nymphed the last 3 times out

Not my point Brent. I fish in all varieties for the enjoyment of fishing, and catching. I've never cared all that much about the casting aspect of fly fishing in any form, other than in many circumstances a good cast helps me catch fish. Honestly, unlike many fly fishing "authors" (though I dare to say like some actual fisherman), I love fighting a fish on a fly rod more than anything else about it.

So I don't particularly care for articles that make that seem like there is something wrong with that. I find them pretentious.

 

"Seriously though,if you want to drift a worm under an indi-bobber and pretend that yer flyfishing,why not just use a centerpin/noodle rod rig,cut out the BS and do it properly?"

 

Because I'm not "pretending" to do anything. And I don't care what anyone calls it. I call it fun.

[Muffin]

I hardly compare nymphing to a spinner real and bobber. I mean when you catch a fish on a spinner real the line is usually overkill so basically you just real until the fish is landed, no challenge, no fun and no skill. Also with a static piece of bait or bobber the fish will swallow the whole thing from what I have seen making a safe release very challenging. Thirdly I don't recall ever mending my line sitting on a lake catching pike/perch with a big bobber. For the record I was keeping those fish for eating as I still do not think bobber/bait fishing and release is good for the fish.

 

I know I have caught plenty (haha okay maybe more like a few compared to some of the aces in this forum) of fish with a nymph that had very minimal impact to their mouths as a result of the line/nymph actually moving. I also find it challenging to still land a fish as the tippet is usually closely balanced to the pull a fish can exert in fast water. I used to centerpin/noodle fish and it got borrowing so I stopped, that was until I found fly fishing.

 

I will admit that on a small stream with perfect glass like water their is more skill involved in presentation and fly selection but to compare nymphing from a bank to bobber watching seems wrong to me personally.

[reevesr1]

I don't compare nymph (or dry, or streamer, or any other type of "fly fishing") to spin fishing either. But I like spin fishing (and bait cast fishing, and cane pole fishing, and hand line fishing) also. They all have their place, and can all bring a huge smile to my face (anyone who's ever hooked a 20 lb jack crevalle on a hand line can tell you how much fun!) . I've never spin casted on a river, or at least a free stone river, because I don't see the point of doing it when fly fishing is so effective, and so much fun. But I can honestly say I've considered buying a count down rap, pulling off the trebs and replacing with 1 single hook, and using it for big browns and rainbows just to find out what it's like. And also so that if some of my non-fly fishing family from Texas ever comes up, I can take them to the Bow and catch a few fish.

[bcubed]

And I don't care what anyone calls it. I call it fun.

 

 

Kinda all this thread needs to sum it up...

[Muffin]

Agree bcube and Rick,

 

"I Call it fun"

[reevesr1]

No, keep the argument going! Inject some life into this place!

[Muffin]

I have pictures rick does that count:

 

I just spent a month in Australia and did 9 dives on the great barrier reef. Including a night dive in which we saw 10-15 reef sharks. No pics of them. Also my buddy has some gopro video footage which will be pretty cool I imagine. See if you can find nemo.

 

Oh ya I am the guy in the white shirt beside the girl. The other guy was my travelling buddy.

 

 

 

Australia: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151526374210962.560984.505820961&type=1&l=5f9497d34b

Scuba: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151526546625962.561008.505820961&type=1&l=11efde3aac

[reevesr1]

I'm a sucker for clown fish! Very nice.

[Hawgstoppah]

Gotta love the folks that think their method is more sporting or "better" than anyone else's. Some people drive a car to get from point A to B as cheaply as possible, while others like the comforts, while yet others like the power and precision of a sport car and enjoy the GOING to point B. But is anyone doing anything they don't enjoy? I say no, so leave it be with fishing as well. I'll gladly fish beside a nympher, a centerpinner, even a bait fisherman in a place that allows it, and have fun with them too. Fly Fishing isn't about a staus badge, which some people try and inject into the sport.

[Muffin]

Well said Hawgstoppah.

 

Thanks Rick.

[Guest Grinr]

Unlike Rickr I guess I DO enjoy the casting aspect of flyfishing as much as anything.I could care less if somebody wants to lob an indi-rig 30',mend thru the drift,make a windshield wiper cast,repeat all day.....borrrrrrring...and probly outfish me swinging streamers 5:1(winter at least)?For me it's more about the how than the how many.I spose indi-rign just bears too much resemblance to bobber/bait fishn for me to too excited over it.....like when I was 10.That said,I'll admit to having rigged up a nymph rig on occasion,usually when I'm in a bad slump and desperate for a fish fix....the tug is the drug after all.

Oh,and BTW Muffin,when I commented "drifting a worm under a bobber",I was referring to artificial wire worms,SanJuans etc.,not live wigglers.

 

To each their own,but this topic brings a question to mind.With indi-rigs/nymph fishn being so popular on the Bow,why is that I never(that I recall?)see any noodle-pinners on the river??It really is an effective/efficient way to fish multi-nymph rigs.It seems that flyfishers outnumber spinfishers on the Bow by 5:1 or more,and depending on the season and/or time of day,3/4 of the fly guys are nymphing,but I never see anybody noodln??Seems kinda odd to me is all,given the popularity of bobber-nymphing,I would of thought that moochn would catch on here?On the Great Lakes steelhead tribs,when I lived there 20 years ago at least,I found myself in a small minority of flyfishers,with pinners drifting multi-nymph rigs being by far the most popular method.

Again,it just seems strange to me,if people like nymphing so much and it's all about the "how many",and no doubt nymphing is the most effective method to consistantly hook fish day in and day out,why not use equipment designed to fish that method most efficiently?

And to address Rickr that enjoys the fight of a trout on a fly rod(as opposed to just hooking lots more fish on nymphs?)......pinners and noodle rods are essentially the same kind of gear,long rods,single action reels etc......the moochers simply figgered out a way to do away with the flyline?

[Hawgstoppah]

Grinr,

 

some people enjoy the "how" of nymphing aka bobber fishing... just as much as you enjoy your own "how" as well. It's not really about how many (at last to me it isn't) it is about fishing a method that is enjoyable while at the same time challenging. The real issue is folks that look at other people's enjoyment and call them down for whatever reason they have in their minds that their own way is somehow "better". But the truth is, it's only better to you.

 

I like my steak medium. I suppose you guys that like it medium rare would call me out for not doing it the proper way too? I bet the medium well crowd has a say too. Can't a guy have his steak done the way he wants without another man looking down on it??

 

Just sayin'

 

cheers

[shredneck]

Unlike Rickr I guess I DO enjoy the casting aspect of flyfishing as much as anything............me swinging streamers

 

Wow! So now swinging streamers is the benchmark of the fine art of fly casting? Hmmm, if I were an elitist I'm sure I would have chosen dry fly fishing.

 

Seriously though, when I go to the river I have always have high hopes of seeing rising fish and getting after them on top(this is in fact my preferred method) however this is not always the case. Often times there is no surface action in which case I have NO problem adapting to the conditions and adjusting from my "preferred" method to the most effective method at the time. Sometimes streamers, sometimes nymphs or even worse sometimes the dreaded worm. I don't believe a center pin would give me this kind of adversity or adaptability.

The game is catching fish. The method is the means of catching fish. The result is enjoyment. Served however you choose, your choice.

[Guest Grinr]

 

Wow! So now swinging streamers is the benchmark of the fine art of fly casting? Hmmm, if I were an elitist I'm sure I would have chosen dry fly fishing.

 

 

Whoaaaa.....slow down there Shred.....I didn't say swinging streamers was any kind of benchmark,YOU did.

I SAID I like the casting aspect of flyfishing.Lobbing a plastic ball upstream is not my idea of flycasting.I used swinging streamers as an example.Would it have been classier or more elitist if I had said swinging wets and skating dries for Atlantics?Irregardless,standing nutz deep in a river,double hauling and striving to shoot to the backing is my idea of fun,fish or no fish.Good thing I'm easy to amuse,or I'd be sadly dissapointed if I measured my success in salmon hooked per day.......more like fish per 1000 casts?

Sure,some purists think that finesse casting to spooky risers is the epitome of flyfishing.I like dry fishn and surface takes as much as the next guy,but I won't pretend to be any kind of finesse fisher,and when the surface action is slow or non-existant,I'd just as soon swing streamers.Dead drifting a Bomber the size of my thumb on 1x tippet over a taker the size of my leg and watching her porpoise below it with her big black mouth open......that's about as finesse as I get.Other than that,I'm usually shootn for the far bank.Maybe I'm just a product of my misguided upbringing,but the best anglers I've known and the most respected anglers on the river where I'm from are generally also the best distance casters that can lay out a nice line to the backing and cover the most water,reaching lies that less skilled casters simply cannot.

Sorry Jayhad,you might have to actually wade past your knees to be a contender in that game or else..............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

you guessed it....FAIL

[Chadillac]

if its good enough for brian chan, its good enough for me. I use whatever i feel like using, im not out to impress anyone with what a purist i am. Its the evolution of the fly fisherman.

[bigbowtrout]

over a taker the size of my leg and watching her porpoise below it with her big black mouth open......that's about as finesse as I get.

 

Dude what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

[Hawgstoppah]

One more small thought on this thread.

 

I've taken out hundreds of folks. Some are the greatest casters I have ever seen. Most need a LOT of work and normally that's what I am there for to help them make some adjustments to the cast to effectively present. I find the art of fly fishing isn't so much about being Brad Pitt standing on a rock waving some fly line in a setting sun (while a good caster IS awesome to watch do not get me wrong) but fly fishing is moreso the art of deceiving a fish with a proper presentation. I think having the versatility to adapt to what the fish are doing is a great challenge and a lot of fun. My last season on the Bow saw me do a lot more light nymphing, dry dropper, small streamers, and dries than chucking the big indicator around too, but that's where most of the fish were too.

 

But my point is, getting back to it, that I have seen people who can cast a 5wt line 50+ feet and land a fly on a frisbee sized area from that distance, but some of those folks honesty absolutely sucked at having that sixth sense of being "fishy". They spent so much time perfecting the cast and worrying about what gear, what fly, this and that, diddling around for hours on the bank trying to figure out that perfect set up, that they forgot about the fish and how to catch them. BUT.... they love to cast, period, and to them the enjoyment of the sport comes from that. The thrill of catching one fish on their own perfectly tied setup might equate to someone else's thrill of catching 10 fish. But man are those good casters deadly when the have the sixth sense and a drive to present flies to active fish. And I love to watch and take pictures of perfect loops too!

 

I hope this thread does help people realize that their way of enjoying the same sport as the guy down the river is really not "better" or worse in any way. Go say hi next time, ask him how he's fishing, maybe you could learn something new!! (This also goes out to the nymph crowd who think these folk enjoying swinging streamers on spey's is an elistist bunch, it's not the case, in fact they really enjoy the hell out of it... have a look!). Maybe the guys swinging could realize what a great tool a spey is for tossing a nymph rig out there too! (gasp!)

 

Have fun out there!!

 

cheers,

[shaps21]

although I have never fished a bobber and will never fish one, I can see both arguments but to call it the "evolution of the fly fisherman" No, my friend evolution is progress. I dont know the full history of the bobber but it has been around probably for a very, very, very long time and to start using a bobber on a fly line would be a step back in evolution or some kind of reverse evolution. The fly line was designed and is designed to cast the fly, when you attach a bobber you might as well be center pinning.

 

again to each their own

[Tungsten]

Oh god here we go!

 

If i tie in a little hackel on my bobber can i fish with you?Oh and careful sometimes my backcast dips a little as the rapala im nymphing is a little heavy!

 

And yes my *hit stinks!

[Guest Grinr]

One more small thought on this thread.

 

I've taken out hundreds of folks. Some are the greatest casters I have ever seen. Most need a LOT of work and normally that's what I am there for to help them make some adjustments to the cast to effectively present. I find the art of fly fishing isn't so much about being Brad Pitt standing on a rock waving some fly line in a setting sun (while a good caster IS awesome to watch do not get me wrong) but fly fishing is moreso the art of deceiving a fish with a proper presentation. I think having the versatility to adapt to what the fish are doing is a great challenge and a lot of fun. My last season on the Bow saw me do a lot more light nymphing, dry dropper, small streamers, and dries than chucking the big indicator around too, but that's where most of the fish were too.

 

But my point is, getting back to it, that I have seen people who can cast a 5wt line 50+ feet and land a fly on a frisbee sized area from that distance, but some of those folks honesty absolutely sucked at having that sixth sense of being "fishy". They spent so much time perfecting the cast and worrying about what gear, what fly, this and that, diddling around for hours on the bank trying to figure out that perfect set up, that they forgot about the fish and how to catch them. BUT.... they love to cast, period, and to them the enjoyment of the sport comes from that. The thrill of catching one fish on their own perfectly tied setup might equate to someone else's thrill of catching 10 fish. But man are those good casters deadly when the have the sixth sense and a drive to present flies to active fish. And I love to watch and take pictures of perfect loops too!

 

I hope this thread does help people realize that their way of enjoying the same sport as the guy down the river is really not "better" or worse in any way. Go say hi next time, ask him how he's fishing, maybe you could learn something new!! (This also goes out to the nymph crowd who think these folk enjoying swinging streamers on spey's is an elistist bunch, it's not the case, in fact they really enjoy the hell out of it... have a look!). Maybe the guys swinging could realize what a great tool a spey is for tossing a nymph rig out there too! (gasp!)

 

Have fun out there!!

 

cheers,

And the post of the month award goes to^^^^

 

Peace,I'm out.