Is this Fly Fishing?

Took a break from slaying chums on bait wrapped K-15's yesterday on the Sky.

Pulled out my fly rod. Not being a purist, threw on a chaurtuse wee sized dick nite spoon. 6 casts later fish on. A nice "bright" 9-10lbs'er. About 10 min later hooked another one but lost it after a couple head shakes.

Now my question is, would you consider this fly fishing? I'm using a fly rod, doing the conventional wet fly swing, but instead of a fly I'm using a small spoon.

Btw, I stumbled upon this concept last year fishing for pinks on the skagit. I'd ran out of small pink flies, but had a few wee-sized dick nites. Put one on and I couldn't keep the pinks off. I hooked fish on 7 straight casts, one cast without a fish, then 4 more in a row. I quit keeping track after that. A couple other fly fisherman in the same drift couldn't buy a fair hooked fish.

Your cheating. It's called FLY fishing not gear fishing. Now if it had a few feathers on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who cares!! It is fishing. You are having fun,and you are 100% leagl. Have a ball and call it whatever you want. Remember the guy who has the most fun wins.

fishing rods are tools you use to catch fish be it a fly rod or a gear rod. The more different ways you use the tools you have makes you a more versitile angler and in some cases a better one. Not limiting yourself can make all the difference.

I guess technically not but , like what Rich said.

Legally??...No!

Should anyone care???...Hell no!!!...just as long as you arent fishing in fly-only waters.

If you have to ask, I think you already know that it is not fly fishing. So long as you were fishing legally, it doesn't matter what it's called.

Taking it a step further: Well, I was using my fly rod, fly reel, fly line, and leader, but instead of a fly I used an earthworm on a hook, trying to "imitate" a San Juan worm fly pattern. Is that fly fishing? You get the idea.

Nonetheless, what you tried seems pretty sporting, effective, and probably a lot of fun.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

My question wasn't so much whether it was legal or not in fly fishing only waters. The regs clearly spell out that it wouldn't be.

It was more about being a "purist" or not. I think some people, especially that breed of fly fisherman who believe that fly fishing is the be all end all, get too wrapped up in the whole fly fishing thing and forget that fishing is about having fun and experimenting with different ways to catch fish.

Judging from the responses its nice to see that the majority aren't "fly fishing elitists"

I've used the same technique for pinks on the stilly. I just let it hang in the current behind the boat and it's deadly. As long as it's legal, who cares what it's called? I call it fun.

Since I've been fishing the Skagit for the last 35 years (damn, that's a long time) I've used this technique many times. It works great down at the forks where the Skagit splits. Sit in a boat using type IV sinking line and a spoon. Let some line out untill you feel the gentle pulse rythum dissapear from the rond and pull about three feet of line back in. Bingo, you in the money spot.

There is a spoon built by a gent from Mount Vernon; some of you may know by the name of Wells. A Wells spoon is a willow leaf 'pattern' made from some of the lightest metal in a spoon I've seen. Each is mady by him by hand and hammmered out. Pink on one side white on the other with a chrome egg hook. This spoon was almost made for casting with a fly rod.

The method you used is often overlooked by many. Too bad too since it's one of the most effective I've ever seen used for pinks, silvers or chums.

To answer your question, NO - it's not fly fishing.

Since we're kind of on the topic, another thing that drives me nuts is when someone insist that tying a bunch of lead thread onto a hook covered by cerise maribou is tying a fly. To fish it you have to make a calculated heave into the water cause a good old double haul's not going to work. They call it a fly because it's made of feathers. Is it??? It's a jig in my book, you just can't see a lead head, but they'll argue all day.

Have fun, fish hard, leave a few for me!

Bossman

Maybe one day you will become more advanced and step up to a bait caster.

OK that comment was all in fun

With a name like leadthrower I just had to say it.

Lead thrower,

Only bait casters I got are on my pluggin rods. If I'm casting gear its on a spinning reel .

But you can't get the same presentation of the spoon with drift gear, that you can swinging it with a fly rod.

One day I seen these two fly fisherman doing the exact thing you described with the Dick Nites for Silvers on the Sky. They did quite well, I was impressed.

Is it really fly fishing, do not know because I do not fly fish but if it is legal and fun and catches fish, I say do it.

Not flyfishing in my book, but I won't say there's anything wrong with it. Typically, when I want to gear fish, I'll use my gear rod, when I want to fly fish, I'll use my fly rod

I guess the way I look at it ... if I have to duck while casting, it's not flyfishing :p

This is always a tough one for me when booking fly trips, especially for anglers from around the country ... the idea of what is flyfishing is very different and it's always interesting to feel the folks out to see exactly what they would like to do!

Bob,

That's part of the beauty of using wee dick nites. No ducking involved, they cast just like a small fly.

Boss Man.

I purchased several D.N.'s this last fall to try but never really got the urge, yet. Sounds fun though and I definitely plan to give it a try, maybe next time out. I threw flies all day today without any luck and it would have been a good chance to try something new.

Do most of you use a floating line/long leader with "small spoons" or more of a sink tip/ short leader presentation when casting?

Bossman-
Nope, its not flyfishing. Sounds like you had a good time however. I wanted to let you know that not all of us that exclusively fly fish are "elitists". I spent 20 years gear fishing and was pretty good at it. I now only flyfish wherever possible... (halibut poses BIG problems!) I just enjoy myself more with the challenge fly fishing offers. "Elitist" sounds like your saying were all snobs just because we prefer to fish a certain way. Not true. In many, many trips fishing I have actually only seen a few flyfishers, with elitist attitudes. They annoy me as much as you. Do I fish with gear? not anymore. Do I care how others fish? Not if its legal.

ELKLRUNOUT.

Old chum,

For the pinks I was fishing them on a floating line with about an 8ft leader. For the chum I was fishing in faster water, so I used a slow sink tip with about a 5ft leader.

It all depends on the water I'm fishing and what I think I need to get down to the fish.

I no no one cares and that it doesn't matter in the long run but i am going to imput my opinion.

Fly fishing is fly fishing and gear fishing is gear fishing. They are different! This is not a value judgement just a simple fact. Fly fishing is not gear fishing and gear fishing is not fly fishing.

If a method of fishing is gear fishing it therefore cannot be fly fishing likewise if a method is fly fishing it cannot be gear fishing ( because the two things are different) An apple can never be an orange even if you texture the skin and paint it! It's still an apple.

1.Using a lure intended for gear fishng can never be fly fishing
2. Using a method of fishing identicle to a gear fishing method is gear fishing reguardless of the rod and reel used ( again because gear fishing and fly fishing are different

Therefore : using a slinkie and a glo bug with a fly rod is gear fishing because the method is identicle to drift fishing.

Also using a heavily weighted fly under a large indicator is also gear fishing because the method is identicle to fishing a jig and bobber which is a form of gear fishing..

Again this is unimportant and no one cares but that is reality... if you disagree then you must believe there is no difference between fly fishing and gear fishing

Rob....so fishing a nymph or two and a strike indicator is gear fishing because it is identical to fishing a casting bubble with a couple flies...am I right??

Sparkey.. whats the difference between the two methods???

If you agree with my premise that gear fishing and fly fishing are different and there is no difference between fishing a heavy nymph and an indicator and a jib and bobber how can it possibly be fly fishing??

Again this is extremely unimportant just for the sake of debate kinda thing..

For me -
Fly fishing is where during the cast the power generated by moving the rod is transferred to the line which provides the energy to deliver my lure (fly) to the intended target. In other words the fly is along for the ride.

For gear fishing during the cast the power generated by moving the rod is transferred to the lure. In other words the line is along for the ride.

Clearly much of what has been dicussed (small spoons, bobber and jig flies, etc) is a hybrid between the two. Thus to my definitions throwing small spoons with the bug rod or strip casting un-weight eggs with the gear rod is more "fly fishing like" than throwing bobber and jigs with the fly rod or drift fishing with sinker and fly which are more "gear fishing like".

My philosophy is that all forms fishing are enjoyable and if your choice of method is within the regulations have a good time; just respect your fellow anglers.

Tight lines
Smalma

RA3,
I used to do a lot of 'dapping' when I was a kid. I'd fish very small creeks with a long rod, just a few feet of line out and sneek up on a small pool and dap either a dry fly on the surface or something like a wooly bugger jus under the surface. Sometimes I had to make a short 'cast' go get under some branches or to get a short drift. I would either use an old fiberglass fly rod or spinning rod depending on my mood. So was I fly fishing or gear fishing?

I think that it's time we put this stupid thread to bed. He was using a fly rod and reel with a spoon in a legal maner. Where he was fishing is open to all gear,no matter how it was used. If he was using a fly rod in this manner he knew what he was doing and probably did this just to get a few rises out of us and you know it worked. I've fished flat fish off a boat with a fly rod and what I called it,I called it fun battling a fish with a fly rod.