Am I In The Wrong?
I've been a "fly fish only" guy since I was 14ish (1997). Last year, I got attracted to the whole "kayak fishing" world. As such, I decided to get a kayak with the intent of going after bass on the local lake (it's a big lake) on the fly despite many forewarnings of the challenges fly line and this and that present on a kayak.
While I have no complaints about fly fishing off a yak, I also used my kayak as an opportunity to try to learn how to try to use/cast (I never learned how) "gear" on a baitcaster rig. Fact is, I find it inarguable you can cover water with a fly like you can with gear in some scenarios.
Now, as I write this, I seem to feel like I'm "cheating" on the days when I feel like going out, floating around, but not chucking a fly in the wind on a 8-9 weight looking for largemouth. That said, I'm of course happier to be out than have sat at home, but I'm growing a bit "addicted" to learning the "bass on gear" game as much as I was learning how to fly fish creeks and rivers until I grew very confident.
I feel like, community wise, you're either a "fly fisherman" or a "gear guy". I can't help but ask... Isn't there a great place for both?!
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by jad814
Your best option here is to grow up and realize you’re an adult who shouldn’t care about ridiculous labels and cliques.
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by IGotsMeSomeQuestions
Plenty grown, was just looking for conversation on the topic. I appreciate the reply though, take care!
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by jad814
I don’t spin fish but my buddy does who I fish with quite often and I think fishing is fishing. When I used to skateboard a lot I would see the same parallels when it came to street skating vs vert skating but the longer I was into it the more I got psyched on both. I could see myself getting a spin rod for certain situations but I would most likely fly fish 95% of the time.
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by eatinstromboli
When it comes to blindcasting in deeper water, spinning gear simply cannot be beaten. There is no shame in using the right gear for the right situation.
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by FLORI_DUH
Agree. And I've actually enjoyed spotting an area I think makes sense, then working it. So usually I chuck a clouser or something big thing on the fly and slow roll it, then I'll strip something faster a couple ways, then I'll throw the gear. To me, I just enjoy trying to figure them out!
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by jad814
Absolutely not wrong, while I always prefer using a fly rod and my own flies I consider myself an angler first and absolutely enjoy bottom bouncing or pitching spinners/spoons/jigs to salmon in deep holes in rivers you can't effectively fish with flies, trolling for salmon in the salt, jigging for hali/ling, or deep trolling for lakers with a downrigger... I like to try the trolling first with a fly rod and one of my flies but when your boat mate is smashing them on spoons/plugs and you're just watching then sometimes that's short lived, it's nice to have a big reel spooled up with mono and then you can at least keep using a fly rod. There are "purists" to every level, some guys will only use bamboo, some only dry flies, some will only fish streams, some only fish for steelhead/atlantics... me, I'm a purist too, I just fish.
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by ChuckFeathers
This is an awesome point... Thanks for replying!
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by jad814
You are not wrong. I was solely a gear guy, (mostly spinning), for decades, and I have never even approached the sizes and numbers of bass on the fly as on conventional gear. I happen to really like flyfishing one of several 8wts from canoes and kayaks, but in terms of fishing success, I was much better with plugs and softbaits.
It also depends on what the mission and scenario is. If you are on a big windy impoundment and want to cover a lot of water quickly, the conventional casting and spinning gear is the obvious choice. However, one drawback to conventional gear is needing to reel the lure back in every time to recast, (not much of a problem with today's high retreive ratios). But, if you are on a smaller finger of the lake or on a pond and need to pick up and recast to fishy areas without a lot of retrieving through slack water, the fly rod has the ability to repeatedly hit in the 25-55' range, and with practice, the ability to greatly vary the presentation from splashdown to delicately just dropping in.
Conventional gear has the advantage of being easier for most people to cast further with vastly less training, and the ability to cast heavier lures through more of the depth of the water column. Fly gear has the advantage of the potemtial for more of a fight, even on small fish.
Even though I've been concentrating on fly fishing for the past several years, I have zero intentions of getting rid of spinning gear entirely. In many ways, spinning gear is just too versatile and useful. There is a lot of room for more well rounded fishers who are comfortable with a range of gear and species.
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by Independent
Awesome man, my experience kinda happened backwards in that my confidence is all fly but the "just get out and fish" in me is enjoying learning the gear game...
For me it's just about solving the puzzle of figuring out where they're at, how they're eating, and getting them on my line... I just love the puzzle.
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by jad814
The techno aspects of removing the puzzle from the equation is pretty much what drove me back to fly fishing after a decades long hiatus. The equipment race part of conventional fishing just got to be such a turnoff.
I know too many guys who have hot bassboats loaded with a dozen rod rigs, with all the latest electronics, where fishing is more like a video game than just relaxing on the water. I'm talking about GPS equipped fish finders that may as well be underwater cameras where you can watch the crappie jig fall right in front of the fish you've picked out of the school. It's not quite shooting fish in a barrel, but it's predictable and IMO, not terribly rewarding, unless you just really crave marina bragging rights.
I just decided I really like paddling around and really connecting with the surroundings. Catching fish, (which I mostly don't eat), can be a bonus, but it's secondary to why I fish. When I fish I'm just as interested in birding and observing nature as catching the fish. So, these days I focus on fly fishing and bird watching. But, if the mission is to provide for a fish fry, I'll have both a fly rod and a spinning rig on board and will use whatever is the most effective at the time.
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by Independent
I love to FISH. I don't see a moral issue in it as long as you are respectful of the laws and the fish. I literally have and have used and enjoyed about every type of fishing tackle ever made and used. I will occasionally even break out the Cuban yoyos and handline fish. Fly fishing, baitcasting, Spin Fishing, Spin casting, and a long bamboo pole have their place and are fun. I fish for any and every species that live in the water where I fish. Your fly rod wouldn't last 30 seconds with a 100-pound alligator gar on it but I love to fly fish for bass and bluegills. Casting rods are the best for big catfish but I still often will grab a kiddo and some Zebco 33s and go catfishing for fun.
Do you know what I love more than fishing?? Taking someone fishing, especially kids, and watching them light up when they catch some fish. If you like to fly fish, enjoy it. If you limit yourself to that one type though I think that you are missing out on a lot of pleasure. Take your yak out and try to hook up to a big catfish if you want a thrill. It will drag you all over the lake and you will feel like Captian Ahab being dragged by Moby Dick!! I have not done that in a yak yet but I have a belly boat that I've done it in. I had a 9 lb bass spin me round and around until I was nearly sick once too. GREAT Memories...
The tackle that you use isn't a moral issue of right and wrong. It is an issue of pleasure and what YOU enjoy. A kid, a cane pole and a can of worms isn't as sporty as an expensive fly rod but watching that kid learn to love fishing is priceless.
changing up is what keeps things fun for me. nothing wrong with it. you may learn that you can love both
Use whatever you are comfortable with, except no dynamite! I was on a bayou boat once, and a couple of guys started talking (with very heavy accents) about how they loved to salmon fish back home. I assumed they were old school flyfishers with $50 married-wing, golden pheasant, extinct bird feathers, double hook flies and 12 foot bamboo rods. Nope. Dynamite! And I think they were serious.
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