MyFishFinder Forum

MyFishFinder Tips and Techniques => Fly Fishing => Topic started by: livin4ice on Mar 10, 2004, 08:28 PM

Title: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: livin4ice on Mar 10, 2004, 08:28 PM
I was just wondering if anyone else gets funny looks when you show up to a popular fishing hole with the fly rod.  I have gotten a lot of sideways looks from other fisherman.  I think most of them think I am crazy until they see me catch more fish than they are.  It may also be because I fish for everything and anything I can with the fly rod.  The purist may not like that but I don't mind (not a lot of trout streams here in Indiana).  My buddy bought a aluminum fishing boat and has it set up for fly fishing (high, flat fishing decks on front and back).  I can't wait to see the looks we get with that.  He he
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Cider on Mar 10, 2004, 09:48 PM
Funny looks with a flyrod eh?  These aren't quite what you are referring to, but I can't resist sharing them anyway.  Let's see...

I was stationed in Bosnia as a combat engineer when I ordered my first truly "expensive" Orvis flyrod outfit.  Only problem is that it came to Bosnia instead of home like I requested.  I was the only soldier wandering around Bosnia (no fishable water within a couple hundred miles) with a flyrod in hand!

We go to a remote wilderness in northern NH (27,000 acres of undeveloped land with only ten rustic cabins on it) for annual flyfishing trips.  I was hiking to the top of a cliff with my flyrod and waders one morning after fishing a nearby stream and drew some very strange looks from other hikers I was passing on the trail.  They kept asking me where I expected to find fish in the middle of the forest at such a high elevation!

Another trip, I was fishing with a buddy in a small stream that ran along a class B highway.  There was a cow pasture nearby and an electric fence that crossed the stream.  My buddy reached out and touched it with his flyrod to see if it was "hot" and after determining that it wasn't he made it across safely.  I reached out to touch it with my flyrod and was lit up like the statue of liberty on the fourth of July in the middle of that stream!  Let me tell you, cars were slowing down that day to watch the spaz with the flyrod!
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: rgfixit on Mar 11, 2004, 08:27 AM
Only funny looks I get are from other flyfishers who really know what they're doing.

Sometimes my casting looks a bit like a Whirling Dervish with a flyrod in his hand.

I used to practice the Pat McManus technique of smoking a pipe and looking thoughtful or bemused....but I kept setting my pocket on fire with the pipe....so I quit.
RG
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Cider on Mar 11, 2004, 09:31 AM
I used to practice the Pat McManus technique of smoking a pipe and looking thoughtful or bemused....but I kept setting my pocket on fire with the pipe....so I quit.
RG

Let me guess, you also know a shorcut that will get you to each fishing hole faster too eh!
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: rgfixit on Mar 11, 2004, 11:20 AM
Shortcuts are a story of their own. I'm a natural born practitioner of the McManus Method and have  been known to follow one of his shortcuts directly to the water.....abruptly.....but directly.

You know, you can't trust Mother Nature to provide a decent down fall tree to get across that pool.

RG
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Cider on Mar 11, 2004, 11:54 AM
RG - nice avatar.  Is that a son or grandson?
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: rgfixit on Mar 11, 2004, 12:53 PM
That's my grandson Colin Daniel  1yr 4 mos. Yes I'm a proud grandpa.

RG
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: flynuts2004 on Mar 11, 2004, 05:13 PM
The Funny looks I like are when I am catching the fish and the others are trying to see what flies I am using. A TRUE Fly fisherman will say (would you like to try one of my flies)
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Cider on Mar 11, 2004, 05:29 PM
The Funny looks I like are when I am catching the fish and the others are trying to see what flies I am using. A TRUE Fly fisherman will say (would you like to try one of my flies)

yeah, and then give them that one hideous fly in your collection that has no chance of ever catching a fish, telling them that this is the ultimate trout getter and you couldn't possibly go wrong!

With my luck, the other guy would make that fly perform miracles...
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: seaweed01 on Mar 11, 2004, 05:37 PM
Cider,
I have given many  flys away that were catching fish,
having the correct fly always helps, but remember
you have to have a drag free float. Sometimes  a
person just cannot get into the right position for a
good float. I have had this happen to me many times
and  I'm sure you have it happen to you also.  It is
always frustrating.
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Cider on Mar 11, 2004, 05:57 PM
Seaweed - I completely agree.  It is all about the presentation.  I was just messing around in my last post here.  But, you nailed it on the head.  This is one reason why I get so frustrated with wind knots.

The fly must land on the water before the leader or line.  Skating that fly across the surface is important too.  It has to look natural - drag free like you suggest.  It is good to pick your landing point so that you can get the best possible skate across the entire area you think are holding fish.  Try to let the current/water do the work for you with as little mending as possible.  This is a great reason why it is so important to know how to "read" trout streams.

I think this is why I like the elkhair caddis fly so much.  You can see that fly from quite a distance and watch it as it skates the surface and gets quietly sipped under by a hungry trout.  It is fun to watch the whole event play out.

Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Germ on Mar 18, 2004, 04:56 PM
Funniest Look i got was Last year Night time FLy fishing for Pickerl at Some locks a hour of where i live..Everyone else was using Bucktail jigs tipped with worms or minnows ..I came out and brought my flyrod...I had some smirks jeers and laughs towards me..You can always hear the ever so famous..(that guy thinks he is going to catch something using the flyrod..then a laugh) Anyhow about 1 hour into the Fishing i already had caught a few nice pickerel using some Wolly wuggers not to mention..Bass and Bluegills and one carp Caught in the eye socket..Poor guy..Anyhow The fishing was awesome and i had all the guys that were laughing at me asking me what i was using and checked out the Rod and Most of them said they were thinking about FLy fishing...Anyhow point is that Usually at first you get the weird looks but atfer your outcome is better then thiers they seem not unestimate the FLyrod after that....
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Dark Cloud on Mar 18, 2004, 05:34 PM
Funniest looks I ever got was when catching walleyes on big white streamers at night up on Oneida a few years ago. We fish it from shore quite a bit in the fall at night. One night we could see fish with the flashlight but they wouldnt touch a thing. I had a streamer in the bottom of my tackle bag and was able to cast it once wet with a spinning rod to those fish. Most of em attacked it when it slowly dropped in front of thier face. Next week we had the fly rods with us and had a ball.....
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: TroutFishingBear on Mar 27, 2004, 07:39 PM
Once, on the colorado river, I was catching a lot of catfish while using an elk hair caddis. All of the cat pros and old timers frowned at me, and I just grinned and went back to catching the cats. Got about 13 in 2 hrs.  ;D Flies do work for cats but keep :-X about it

jk tell anyone you want they will think you are nuts!!! But I will keep on catching them ;)
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: PGKris on Mar 29, 2005, 01:21 PM
OK this is old but I'm posting here anyways :laugh: The funniest looks I get come when I break out my flybox on the ice ;D I've also been known to collect a few sideways glances when I RELEASE the biggest fish of the day :o
KRIS
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: bigredfishing on Mar 29, 2005, 02:07 PM
no funny looks around here, its seems everyone fly fishes...but i've still not seen anyone targeting carp with flies...even though its fairly easy and so much fun!
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Kodiak Commando on Mar 29, 2005, 03:53 PM
Never heard of anyone catching catfish on flies, that's pretty awesome TFB! I rarely get any funny looks when i start fly fishing around other people cuz fly fishing is real common up here. There are 3 exeptions where i do get funny looks.

1. When i am fishing for reds and trying to get them to bite instead of snagging them. When i start getting reds to hit my super secret flies using unconventional drifting techniques those funny looks turn to confusion and then anger. I get so pumped when i am getting reds to bite and everyone is trying to snag sometimes to no avail. Sometimes i grin and say "who says reds don't bite" ;D

2. When the fishing is real tough and all the lure fisherman who haven't caught anything are watching me fillet my limit of fish.

3. When i fly fish for halibut, some big halibut move into 20 to 30 feet of water to feed on pink salmon.
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: cnyfishing on Mar 29, 2005, 07:28 PM
Ive had plenty of funny looks, especially on the salmon river when I'm doing traditional fly casting while everyone else is doin chuck-N-duck.
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: PGKris on Mar 30, 2005, 03:59 PM
chuck-N-duck.

 ;D ;D ;D :rotflol: :rotflol: :rotflol:
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: saltyshores on Apr 03, 2005, 03:27 PM
My wife and I had some funny looks from the local game warden several years ago while fishing a small brook trout pond in Maine. The ice had only been out for a few days and all the shore anglers were fishing unsuccessfully with worms. We were 100 feet offshore in a canoe fly casting a bright size 10 attractor fly and caught and released 46 trout between the two of us. The warden hollered out to us, "What fly are you using to catch all those trout?" I replied, "it's called a Leon's Special, originated by Leon Cyr of Madawaska, but it's not a fly many people know about -- we'll stop by your house on the way home and leave you one of them." He appreciated getting a fly that, for that day at least, worked better than worms! ::)
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Buckski on Apr 20, 2005, 10:16 AM
Most fly fishermen understand the flow of water and how to get the right presentation.
Been steelhead fishing off lake Erie tribs and landed fish, while drift fishermen were doing poorly, ya get the looks.
Tying flies and sharing I agree ya gotta be proud of the stuff ya tie. Fished Burt dam several years ago and the salmon were in thick and there were some hogs 20lbs tackle busters. I changed up flies to a mylar body, maroon cape type streamer. It had lead wrapped in it for weight, I was getting fish also every cast. I use 12 tapered leaders and was fighting fish in the chaos know as the shoreline. Guys were PO because I was fighting um and not winching em in. After hitting about 8 or so one guy across the stream stated I was snagging um. A young fishermen began to net our fish because he had never seen a big salmon.
The kid kept telling the guys another hook in the mouth.
Even among the fly guys, I was upset that some had thought that while they were fishing across the same small stream.
P.S. I like to float fish and the water was stained and slightly high, not even able to see the fish.
Funny looks into funny comments.
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: PGKris on Apr 20, 2005, 12:52 PM
20lbs tackle busters.

What!? You gotta come to BC......20 pounds is little
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: Germ on Apr 24, 2005, 08:09 PM
I also Use FLys for ICe fishing. Seems the SUnfish like them and SO do Big perch...Iv'e alsoi caught a Few ROckbass thru the ICe with FLies and Untill THis year my biggest perch was on a FLy i tied:> But you get the strangest looks i tell ya:>
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: PGKris on Apr 25, 2005, 12:16 PM
I use flies thru the ice too.....but don't tell anyone....it's a secret shhhh
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: cnyfishing on Apr 25, 2005, 02:43 PM
I use flies thru the ice too.....but don't tell anyone....it's a secret shhhh
same here but keep it quiet
Title: Re: Anyone Else Get Funny Looks
Post by: synergyboy10 on Apr 30, 2005, 06:41 PM
i have felt the same way. and then they dont like ie anymore when u outfish them.