Why fly fishing only?

[Terr]

Why are so many waters fly fishing only? Is there something about spin or bait that's harmful to fish population or the environment?

[Robbi]

more fish are taken on a spinner or bait than the fly, it's a way to protect stocks i guess.

[gabrielsdad]

for the same reasons course fisherman wouldnt like fly fisherman coming along and bagging up specimen carp and knocking them on the head. moving peg to peg all day. we just have different rules etc. for example. put a maggot on your fly rod at a fly lake and your cheating and will probably be banned. also i fly fish for all species. pike, carp, tench and perch etc etc! ther is not many course fisheries that will let you cast a fly rod. also trout are opportunistic. if there is a bed of maggots on the lake bed. they arnt so stupid wasting calories hunting. there is a couple of reservoirs down south that allow spinner/plug fishing. why not learn to fly fish? its alot easier than folk would have you believe!

[gabrielsdad]

more fish are taken on a spinner or bait than the fly, it's a way to protect stocks i guess.

perhaps with bait. but a fly will out fish a spinner/plug 9 months of the year. ive regularly outfished a mate for pike on a fly while hes used a spinner/plus while ive fished fly. let alone trout. you go try and catch a trout with a spinner in may or june and you'll see!

[gabrielsdad]

sorry i missed out the main reason. tradition. some of the fly fishing fraternity frown at fluffy lures never mind maggots and spinner. its a bit like asking the local imaan at the mosque if you can quickly fry a bit of bacon in his kitchen lol.

[nodd]

years ago I use to fish on a section of the river wensum the owner was once asked what fly type was the best on the river ? the reply was "Hovis fly" The old saying about trout fishing. trout easiest fish to catch but the hardest way to catch them. i.e. more sporting.

[marcelxl]

perhaps with bait. but a fly will out fish a spinner/plug 9 months of the year. ive regularly outfished a mate for pike on a fly while hes used a spinner/plus while ive fished fly. let alone trout. you go try and catch a trout with a spinner in may or june and you'll see!

Happens often these days given the amount of lures going through the water, I do it all the time and if you watch a fly fished slowly it just holds and shimmers and just looks much more natural......... to me anyway! last time I did it with my mate, beat him 4:1, its much more than just gimmick!

The reasons are usually down to tradition but also that if the bait lads were filling it in with maggots, pellets, worms and the like then you wouldn't get a look in. An artificial never out fishes live bait.

All that said, I am very much a lure angler as much as I fish the fly and one of my local waters opens up to spinning after october, results have not been good on the lures on the few times I've had a go but the lads on the flies are still doing OK. Go figure....... I would have been certain to fill my boots but no, blanked a couple of times too!

[Green Weasel]

Traditional fly fishing was considered an "art" in itself . The gentleman/woman angler would fabricate -often at the waterside - a replica of the insect that trout were feeding upon at the time and only cast to fish that were already rising or moving to natural prey .
This meant that a selective and artisan approach was taken as opposed to flogging the water in blind hope which required less percieved skill and which also risked disturbing and educating non-feeding fish.
Of course fish could be taken by easier methods but traditional fly fishing was not just about catching fish .Specialist casting ,the artistic nature of fly-tying ,sportsmanship and field-craft were bound up in a rather genteel activity that presented a variety of challenges .
Modern fly fishing is a lot less artisic and more about bag limits.Owners of commercially stocked waters have to find a balence that pleases anglers who lean towards traditional methods and those who simply want to catch fish. Hence they allow the use of gaudy ,shop bought lures that would make a purist cringe as long as they can be cast on a proper fly-line rather than straight off the reel in the manner of a coarse angler . Some "anything goes" fisheries allow the use of maggots and spinners as long as you pay for your catch by the pound but a purist might argue that a visit to the fish-monger might be more appropriate and would probably be cheaper .
I ,er ,I mean a "friend" once made merry in a trout lake with a Mepps spinner under the cover of darkness . It was(apparently) a good way of filling the freezer but sporting it was not !.

[Dave]

The season always goes too quickly and ends too soon. It is an artistic pastime. Almost spiritual.
The thrill of the deception. Quietude, Stalking, understanding the River, the classifications and lifecycles of the entomological groups, the endless patience sometimes required, the enjoyment, the beautiful enviroment, the solitude without loneliness, the peace, the quiet, the nature, frustration, search for perfection, in your tying and presentation and wading technique. Its got the lot. Its a magical feeling to carefully stalk a wily brown trout, then watch it rise and gently sip your perfectly presented ephemera danica [which you tied yourself] on a hot summers day, on a stunning river, .....Then comes the thrill of the fight, and the respectful, careful release. Highly Addictive.

[Robbi]

The season always goes too quickly and ends too soon. It is an artistic pastime. Almost spiritual.
The thrill of the deception. Quietude, Stalking, understanding the River, the classifications and lifecycles of the entomological groups, the endless patience sometimes required, the enjoyment, the beautiful enviroment, the solitude without loneliness, the peace, the quiet, the nature, frustration, search for perfection, in your tying and presentation. Its got the lot. Its a magical feeling to carefully stalk a wily brown trout, then watch it rise and gently sip your perfectly presented ephemera danica [which you tied yourself] on a hot summers day, on a stunning river, .....Then comes the thrill of the fight, and the respectful, careful release.

my kind of guy ! well put Sir !

[Dave]

Course its not always that much fun, like when your being chased by a horny bull through a field, trying to vault over a wall, and your rod snaps.

I bet Northern Ireland has some great rivers. The Club Im in has rights to stretches on the Dales Rivers, Wharfe, Ure, Swale, Aire, Ribble, and some smaller tibutaries, which can be great fun.

[Neumo]

Many moons ago I used to fish a local lake on an estate with a short telescopic rod, a plastic bobber & big worms on a hook. I did very well a few times & this method provided me with quite a few meals when I was a student. One night down the pub I learned it belonged to the county Police Fly Fishing club...! have never been back.

That said the reasons why flyfishing is required for most trout fisheries is a mixture of tradition, effectiveness & it is probably what the owners think the paying public wants.

[marcelxl]

Course its not always that much fun, like when your being chased by a horny bull through a field, trying to vault over a wall, and your rod snaps.

I bet Northern Ireland has some great rivers. The Club Im in has rights to stretches on the Dales Rivers, Wharfe, Ure, Swale, Aire, Ribble, and some smaller tibutaries, which can be great fun.

Likely I am or have been in the same......... unless its the Waltonians!

[Dave]

Likely I am or have been in the same......... unless its the Waltonians!

Great. May see you on the river. I can think of a few that have access to those rivers, but Im betting you're in 'No1' then?

Im gonna have to pull my finger out and get some tying done.

[marcelxl]

Have been but likely to be bailing out of the UK this year so not renewing, if I can make the time to fish this year it will be day ticket or guesting.

Will be trying to get out chasing a grayling before the seasons out mind you!

[Dave]

Have been but likely to be bailing out of the UK this year so not renewing, if I can make the time to fish this year it will be day ticket or guesting.
Will be trying to get out chasing a grayling before the seasons out mind you!

I think If I had the option I'd be off too. There are some good day tickets to be had. I normally get a few of those as well, just for a bit of variety.

[andibs]

So that they can charge a fortune and use it as a feeble excuse to try and ban paddlers!!! If only common sense and courtesy applied to all.

[marcelxl]

So that they can charge a fortune and use it as a feeble excuse to try and ban paddlers!!! If only common sense and courtesy applied to all.

Hmmmm, if only common sense and courtesy applied to just this thread......

[Adze]

Tsk... cyclists, I ask you!

[mack45]

My Daughter nailed it fly fishing.

[Dave]

So that they can charge a fortune and use it as a feeble excuse to try and ban paddlers!!! .

I'd agree with you actually. The guys I go FF with know I go paddling. [They take the mick out of my wide brimmed canoeing hat]
Majority of anglers dislike canoeists, but its never bothered me a jot as my anarchistic side doesnt see it a dispute between the two.
Rather its all about the corrupt history of Land Ownership in our country: And how those in charge divide and conquer.
http://bashstreetkidjailbreak.wordpr...pt-capitalism/

For me the perfect trip would be a week or so fly fishing and canoeing in unspoilt Scandinavia
Paddling down a river for a day at a nice idle pace. Then Camping overnight. Then the next day, walking back upstream, a mile or so, with the fly rod. Then eating your catch that night, and repeating that.

[320ccc]

i think that fisheries management is a crapshoot, but generaly it reflects the desires of the most vocal constituency. unfortunately money is often louder than words.

i used to fish a freestone creek in a national forest in colorado. miles of unhindered access. developers secured building leases and easements and closed access to a great deal of the flow.

one of the good things about the u.s. is the lack of history. we don't normally have to contend with centuries of embedded privilege, though money can trump "rights".

the other thing to consider is perpective. i live in a state that is bigger than your main island and has less than two mlllion people contending for access to its resources.your population is 50-60 million for the same acreage, isn't it?

however within an hours drive i can fish close to hundred state and federal waters and a couple hundred miles of river.

a park manager in wyoming told me that the calculus involved the number of fish compared to the number of anglers. the angler value was calculated by method of angling and subsequent fish mortalty. bait fishing was the worst primarily because bait fishermen are meat fishermen. lure fishing was next and flyfishing was least. i have no idea if any of that is true but it was their operating assumption at the time.

my personal opinion is fly anglers tend to have more disposable income as a demographic and destination angling attracts them and their disposable income. so they come and the regulating bodies make a lot of people happy.

i'm just a poor white trash flyfisherman but i say carry the gear that will get you on the water you want to fish and have fun doing it.

[JoshS]

Fly fishing was invented to make it easier to catch fish, same as all fishing methods. Fish feeding on small fly's in clear water will refuse other offerings.

[320ccc]

Fly fishing was invented to make it easier to catch fish, same as all fishing methods. Fish feeding on small fly's in clear water will refuse other offerings.

how i wish that was true.

fishing a creek in minnesota using flies my son outfished me three to one using marshmallows and spincasting gear.

fishing a river in colorado he did the same thing using niblets brand corn and a bobber.

i'd always hoped of turning him towards the light but he grew up to be a confirmed baitfisherman. kids!

[JoshS]

I don't know about Minnesota or marshmallows, but I have found spinning for trout useless when the water is clear, and the sun is shining, fly will work.
I have never tried marshmallows though!
The biggest wild brown trout I ever caught had its stomach stuffed full of bread. It was caught in a river running through a town.

[320ccc]

but I have found spinning for trout useless when the water is clear, and the sun is shining

have you tried switching to gold or copper blades or even dropping a size when it's bright. i don't fish with gear very often but that seems to work for me.

the bread thing is amazing isn't it. the coolest "game" fish eating carp bait. i like to use flies for carp and a couple of tiers i've read tie deerhair or foam breadcrumb patterns.

the most organic pattern i've used is a mulberry-like wooly worm. when the fishing is tough you can dip the fly in fruit drink and the scent/flavor will make even shy carp quite aggressive.

[sasquatch]

i'm just a poor white trash flyfisherman but i say carry the gear that will get you on the water you want to fish and have fun doing it.

Ha ha, that was my approach to fly fishing growing up in Canada! I was taught to frown on bait fishing unless ice fishing in winter. Of course it's a different kettle of erm, fish over here in the UK. I don't know any fly fishers here personally, not even spin casters. Just bait fisherman!

[Adze]

the bread thing is amazing isn't it. the coolest "game" fish eating carp bait. i like to use flies for carp and a couple of tiers i've read tie deerhair or foam breadcrumb patterns.

I have a spun marabou 'pattern' which makes a good breadflake simulator - works well for mullet as it has nice 'flocculence' as a friend once called it. I've taken carp and rudd on it too.

[Robbi]

Adam, i'd be very interested to see a piccy of that pattern mate.

[Adze]

Adam, i'd be very interested to see a piccy of that pattern mate.

Gimme a few and I'll see if I can find one to photograph. There's nothing to tying it... white silk and a size 14 sproat, bind on some white turkey marabou and spin it up into a rope, take the thread up to the eye then wind the marabou rope in the opposite direction, bind the marabou rope at the eye, form a neat head, whip finish and varnish. Either brush up the marabou to make it a little more fluffy or allow the fish to do it for you. Back with a pic if I can find one to photograph.