THE FLIEDERMOUSE

The Fliedermouse 

    

I don't normally fish topwater flies as my primary type. 
There, I said it. Clap me in irons, sharpen the guillotine.

    I tend to view fly fishing as a shallow water style, and top-water flies are a natural. So don't be concerned by that opening statement - I like shallow water floating flies, bugs, and poppers. There is nothing as exciting as that splashy surface bite. 

    Yessir, surface patterns have their place and I usually start any session by fishing the surface. 

    
    But there is an inherent problem with surface flies that is almost never mentioned: They are useful only part of the time. 

    When the sun gets high, or the wind turns sharp and brisk, they start to be ignored. Or, for whatever reason known only to the fish, they just won't come up to take a surface offering.
    At those times, I start probing down in the water column.
Many fly anglers simply won't fish anything BUT a surface fly or bug.... but I'm not one of them. 

    So I'm in two minds - I know there is a time to let go of the surface fly and fish down in the water. But I also like floating foam patterns, and I really like imaginative "creature" flies. 

    Some would say I'm conflicted; but I say, "Not at all."
I call it smart... or maybe realistic. Maybe both.
    And with that understood, I feel safe in saying that I have been taken with this particular foam-and-hair surface bug.

THE FLIEGERMOUSE ... What's In A Name?

    The name of this fly, "Fliedermouse," is a clever play on words, something I also like. The word, "flieger," in German means flyer. There also used to be a popular old pattern called the "Fledermaus" - German for "bat."
    This one borrows from these ideas and mixes them all into... "The Fliedermouse." The "Flying Mouse," if you like.

    This pattern comes from Harrison Steeve III's book, "Tying Flies with Foam, Fur, and Feathers." 

    If you like terrestrial flies and tying with foam, it is a must have for your library.

Rear Quarter View

A UNIQUE APPROACH

    Harrison developed a concept using craft foam discs as the base material for any number of flies, and this is simply that: several foam discs of different sizes, affixed in imaginative ways to the hook. 

    Added to the Fliedermouse is another favorite material of mine - deer hair. In this case, if forms a durable tail and wings.
As far as I'm concerned..., "Deer hair is fish-catching magic!"
You can quote me on that.

    The tail is deer hair tied on the hook shank in the usual way for a tail. I tie it in tight, but not too tight that it flares widely. The body is a disc of foam, folded up and around the hook, taco-style, so it surrounds the butts of the deer-hair tail.
Super glue holds it closed.
    The shoulders and head are another two discs.
One is pinched to a tiny point, then tied just in front of the body to form the shoulder. A jot of super glue holds it tight to the front of the body 
    Next comes two tufts of deer hair, one each tied to either side to form wings.
The last item to go on is another disc, pinched and tied in at the eye, forming the head shell. Here again, a little more super glue holds one atop the other, keeping the hair wing under control.

    Some fur dubbing, or peacock herl, blends the bottom of the what is now a thorax into a whole.

You end up with a foam surface bug having a combination effect:

Part waking slider
Part hair fly
Part critter

NOTE: Fliedermouse is a two material fly, but don't let that fool you  - it is not a "quickie," simple tie. It requires some dedicated material prep, a couple of tricky bindings, skillful thread tension control, and the winging work of a "Humpy" trout fly.
    If you like 2 step patterns, this may not be for you.

    But, it's not terribly difficult, either. If you have other foam and fur patterns under your belt, and aren't raw beginner,... you should give it a go. If you run into trouble, just contact me at the email below and I'll help you over the rough spots.
My suggestion? Tie the first ones big, to get the hang of it.

Bottom View

FISHING NOTES

    Let me be up front here....

    I want to tell you The 

Fliedermouse has caught every species of fish, from Ankara to Zanzibar. 

I'd love to tell you how bass and bluegill leap from the water to grab them. 

    Well,.... I have only fished them in my local warm water lakes and ponds. I have trolled them over submerged weeds. They have been cast in among rocks, docks, wood and weeds in my float tube stomping grounds.
    The fish always react positively, however, and the Fliedermouse gets bit readily. 

So at this point, I can say it works, and has great universal potential. 

    My suggestion is to tie it in the #6 hook range, on a fairly long hook 3X, 4X that hind of thing. I use Aberdeens.
This way, they cast handily, and appeal to both bass and panfish.*

Then, fish the heck outta the thing.

* This size range is known as the Bass-Bluegill Lap and is covered here, by Skip Morris:
The Bass-Bluegill Lap

    Add The Fliedermouse to your kit as a complement to poppers, when something more subtle is called for.

You may find the fish will like them better. 

Or just maybe, you will.

I hope you liked this, and learned something from it. I have  no idea how to make money at this article writing , so I go for a job well done. If you think I did that, please like and share. 

Thanks for reading, and "Tight Lines!"

David Hutton 

If you have questions, you are invited to send them by email to... dahutist@gmail.com
And don't forget to subscribe, leave a comment, and join us on Facebook, here: Palmetto Fly N Fish

All rights reserved, Palmetto Fly N Fish© 2018, 2023

Flip Flop Poppers

The Flip Flop Popper

Cheap footwear into super fish catcher

By David Hutton
May 28, 2018

Poppers!

    Just the word makes most fly anglers sit up and take notice.
Some get antsy just thinking about poppers.

    Since E.J. Peckinpaugh and Will Dilg marketed the first commercial cork poppers in the 1920's, fly men and women have been using the venerable popper to catch fish. 
    Bass were the original targets of the popper, but today most any fish you can name has been taken on them, both in salt and fresh water.
    But we have come to think of them mostly as warm water flies for bass and, increasingly, bluegill. Today, few other fish are associated with the "popper" as much as these two.

Materials
    Many materials have been used for poppers, with one obvious requirement: it must float.
    The first poppers were made in the Ozarks in the late 1800's, from beer bottle corks and turkey feathers. Since then, cork has been the traditional go-to. Its a little heavy, but it is rugged.
    Balsa wood came into the mix in the 20th century prior to WWII. Its light, but can be a tad fragile.
    But these minor flaws aside, I'm betting millions of poppers have been made from cork and balsa, alone. 

    But people like to experiment and try new things. 
    For instance, Louisiana innovator and artisan, Kirk Dietrich, turns popper bodies on a small lathe using paulownia wood - a very light, fine-grained, and warp-resistant hardwood. The works of art he creates this way are testimony to this materials' ability to take a finish.

    But increasingly, expanded plastic foams have been used to the point where I'd say they now dominate the popper field. 
First was Styrofoam, the trade name for air-injected polystyrene - the same stuff cheap ice chests are made from. 
It is buoyant, can be molded in many shapes and is, well, cheap. But it can be crushed easily and will melt if kept in contact with soft plastic lures and baits. 

The Solution
    Enter "craft foam," the generic name for ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA). 
    The stuff is produced in a rainbow of colors and comes in everything from sheets, to rods, to blocks.
It is tough as nails, can be easily shaped, and is practically impervious to anything you or the environment can throw at it.
For the man or woman who ties popper flies, it overcomes the limitations of Styrofoam, cork or balsa.

    And among the many things it is made into (besides flies) is possibly the least likely of fly tying materials - the cheap beach and pool sandal. 

Also known as, “Flip-Flops.”

    These can be found in almost every dollar, drug, and discount store in the country. They usually cost anywhere from 89 cents, to a few dollars for the fancy ones.

    I often find them floating along the shore, the mystery of their loss hanging over them.

 

Cheap Flip Flops

    But whether you buy them or find them, how do you make a cheap flip flop into a fish catching popper fly?

I first learned of this technique from fellow float tuber, Big Bluegill member, and Oklahoma man, Greg McBill. I'm adding a link to his input on the topic....
 
Greg McBill on The Flip Flop Popper

How I Do It
    I normally make my poppers for use on bass and bluegill, so I'm not making gigantic ones.
    I use either a sharpened piece of thin-wall, 3/8" stainless tubing, or a spent .357 Magnum cartridge casing. Pretty much the same thing.
    The idea behind this two-fish role is called, “The Bass Bluegill Lap,” and it started with the late, great Jack Ellis.

Guide and author Skip Morris has an excellent 2-part article on it here...

Bass Bluegill Lap 

    The cutter I've just described is forced down into the foam sole of the flip flop and turned gently as it goes in. I also chuck the cutter in a drill and spin it for a cleaner cut. Either way,  you end up with a pretty neat cylinder of the foam.

    Once the body cylinder is cut out, I sometimes lop off a piece of the rear at a 45° angle, to give the body a taper.
     You can also spin the body on a mandrill in a Dremel tool, and shape it with a sanding stick.

But, more and more, I forego any shaping - the fish don't care, so its just extra work.

    Once the body is formed, I use a sharp single-edge razor blade to cut a slit in the bottom to accept the hook. 
The hook I normally use for this size popper is a #4-#6 Carlisle (aka, "cricket hook"). 
    I bend a hump kink into the hook shaft with round-nose pliers, which prevents the body from turning around the hook shaft. Then, I wrap fly-tying thread around the shaft where the body will go. Finally, I position the foam body on the kinked shaft, hold it closed with a clothespin, and apply super glue to the joint. 

In a few seconds, it’s secure and solid.

The Forgiving Hook
    I also apply some round nose pliers to open the hook gap a little, and bend the protruding hook at a slight downward angle. 
    These hooks are classed as "light wire," which is adequate for bass and panfish with fly tackle. But, because they are heat-treated wire and not forged steel, they give you this ability to modify their shape.

    Here are two more good reasons to use these light wire hooks:

1. They pierce a fish's jaw easily.
2. They can be pulled free from snags

    If kept sharp, these hooks nearly set themselves.
    But sometimes they snag on wood and other obstructions. When that happens, just apply steady tension on the line and pull straight towards you.
    If you tie a good knot (and you should), and your tippet can take the strain, the hook will begin to straighten... and voila! It normally pulls free from the snag.
    Then, use your forceps or pliers to bend it back into shape and you're back in the game. Easy-peasey.

The Finishing Touches
    Once cemented on the hook, the foam body is decorated with dots, stripes, you name it - and eyes. I use plain old nail polish for this work. 
    You can decorate to your hearts content, as this is the "artistic" phase  - again, the fish don't care, but you maybe do.
    Me, I keep it simple. But, do what you want. 
    Once you've decorated the body as you like it, a coat of clear polish finishes it off. That's it.

Say No To Epoxy
    How about an epoxy finish?
    It seems that nowadays, people simply must add epoxy to everything... and poppers are no exception. These folks chomp at the bit to mix up a batch of epoxy, or to whip out the ultraviolet flashlight for a UV coat. But I don't find it necessary with these EVA poppers. 

    The foam is bullet-proof, on its own, and it isn't harmed by smacking it into wood or rocks. So, it doesn't need a hard, epoxy shell to protect it.
    It wont soak up water like natural materials, and it makes little difference to the function if it is not glossy. And besides, if an epoxy finish coat isn't there, well, you can't chip, ding, or knock pieces of it off.
    There is also a weight factor with epoxy, although that's probably negligible. But above all, its just easier to not fool with it. 

    With all that said, if you have epoxy withdrawals unless you smear some on, then use it. But you don't need to. 

The Dressing
    The tail dressing is the last step, and can be anything you want. Deer hair, squirrel hair, calf tail, rabbit or fox, bucktail...all these and more can be applied. 
    For feather dressings, marabou is an option, and the standard embellishment is 2 or 4 cheap, Chinese cock neck or saddle hackle feathers. 

    I've used them all, and I keep it simple....

1. Add a sparse tuft of deer hair behind the body, first. Tie this to the hook shank so it flares just past the bend; make it about a hook gap in width. In the next step, I'm adding hackle feather "legs" - and the deer hair helps hold them apart. 

2. Tie in 2 or 4 proper sized hackle feathers. These should be about hook shank in length. Tie them in on each SIDE of the hook, so the deer hair splays them apart.

3. Complete the dressing by wrapping another hackle in the gap between tail and body.

    How about rubber legs? Many folks gotta have rubber legs on their poppers, and the fish don't seem to mind. Not that its required, mind you; long before rubber hackle came on the scene, people were catching fish without it. 
    But if you want to add legs, it is easy.

    Just push an embroidery needle threaded double with mono through the foam body, and pull it out to form a loop on the opposite side. Load the loop with the rubber legs and then pull them through. 
    See the illustration above.

    I like both round rubber hackle, or the silicone strands used to make spinnerbait skirts for bass. A tiny dot of super glue where the legs exit the body secures them.

A Few Pictures

Pond bluegill on a black Flip Flop Popper

Flip Flop Popper Chomp!

Assortment of Flip Flop Poppers

    The six from the top, down, are variations in decorating and size. The third one down is the black popper from the preceding fotos. It is still in my fly box, and has been in use since this picture was taken.

    It has caught its share of bass and bluegill along the way....and it's little worse for wear, today!

    PS the last two are poppers made from small cork indicator floats. Not the same, but still very nice

So, now you know. Try some Flip Flop Poppers yourself and see what you think! 

------------<~~>------------

Writers should always strive for a job well done... even half-baked ones like me. So if you found value in this article, please like, comment, and share it. 

Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com

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Palmetto Fly n Fish

Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2018/2023 If 

Cliff Hilbert: Bream On The Fly

Cliff Hilbert is one of those guys you've probably never heard of - but should have. I've always admired his thinking and its a pleasure to offer his thoughts on fly fishing for bream, aka, "brim" here in the South.
All comments are his, used with his permission - all rights reserved ©

FLYFISHING FOR BREAM

By Cliff Hilbert

"When I was in my teens in New Orleans my grandmother gave me my uncle’s old bamboo fly rod. 

Now don’t get all excited about me having a bamboo rod, because it was an El Cheapo. A wet noodle would cast better.

I taught myself how to use it, though, and went down to the local lagoon and caught bream on it using poppers.
So that got me started.

Years later. I bought a brand new fly rod from Walmart, which must have cost all of $25 including the reel and line. But, remember that was decades ago.*
I used that one for years, mostly bass fishing, but every now and then I went bream fishing with it using poppers.

* (You can STILL buy a fly rod combo from Walmart for under $30 ~ David)

About five years ago I bought my first good fly rod, a 6/7-wt, 9’ St. Croix Imperial from Jim Green at Backcountry USA in Tyler.

I used that for bass, bream and trout fishing (I was just learning the wonderful world of wading for trout). I asked Jim about a better rod for bream and he suggested a 7’, 3-wt. St Croix Imperial, which I bought. Now I was armed for battle!

While at the shop, I was looking at Jim’s bream flies and saw a number of them weren’t poppers (imagine that!).
I bought several of them and began to use sinking flies (wets) for bream for the first time in my life.
My favorite was a Cypert-type minnow imitation which caught me a lot of bream, including my first state fly fishing record – a .23 lb longear sunfish.

About two years ago I began to use some of my trout flies for bream, mostly Prince Nymphs and Pheasant Tails, and found out that the bream absolutely loved them!

I learned that many of the better bream didn’t come up very shallow, and started using flies like a #12 bead head Prince Nymph, #12 Copper Johns, # 12 bead head Red Squirrel Nymphs and others like that which sink fast.
My catch rate and fish size went up dramatically.

I also use bead head Caddis Pupae, Zug Bugs, scuds and bead head Woolly Buggers for bream. Bream feed mainly underneath the surface and they feed mostly on micro-organisms and insect pupae and larvae, just like trout.
Of course they feed on topwater insects, but that is not a main part of their diet.

I rarely use a tapered leader for bass or bream fishing, and I have no trouble at all getting the flies to cast correctly.

Most of the time I use 5 lb tippet material for a leader because tippet material is usually thinner than monofilament and so it sinks faster.
In bream fishing you don’t need the fly to alight on the
water with very little disturbance. Bream are naturally curious and are drawn to a disturbance on the water. So, if a fly makes a nice splash when it hits the water it will not scare away the fish. To the contrary, it will excite them and draw them in.

Ask any scuba diver who has watched fish behavior and he will tell you the same thing; bream are curious creatures and drawn to disturbances, much like people, ambulance chasers being a prime example (no, I’m not talking about attorneys, although the shoe may fit some).

Recently, at Lake Athens, I lost several large bream because they broke the 5 lb tippet material I was using.
No, they weren’t THAT BIG, but the leader was getting frayed from the constant rubbing against vegetation and boat docks, and it broke easily.
I switched to a 10 lb mono for a leader and I didn’t lose any more fish after that.
Bream are not leader-shy, and you can increase the size of the leader and it will not bother them. I don’t use long leaders either. Most of the time my leaders are no longer than the rod.

Ok, that’s the tackle I use; now for how I use that equipment.

When I’m bream fishing I usually fish in coves, big and small, although that’s not a rule because I do fish out on the main lake as well. I try to fish the edges of vegetation, most of the time in 2’-5’ of water.

Bream use the vegetation to hide in, and they will come out of it to attack food. If the vegetation is not heavy and I can cast into it without getting tangled in it on every cast, then I will try to cast the fly into those areas.

Depending on the depth, I may let the fly sink for 2-3 seconds before I impart action to it, or I may begin to give it action as soon as it hits the water.

Rarely will I fast-strip the flies in. Most of the time I just strip in 1”-3” of line at a time, just to give the nymph a little movement.

If I strip it back 2’ or so and haven’t gotten a hit, I recast it to another spot. If the fish were interested in it they would have hit it by then.

If I get a hit I will usually cast back to that spot at least once or twice more.

If I catch a fish there, I’ll cast back there several times.

If I come upon an area of shoreline that has no vegetation or structure, I don’t waste my time with it because if there is no place for the fish to hide, they won’t be there.

If I spot a hole in the vegetation where I can cast the fly and work it for a couple of seconds, then I’ll cast it into that hole. The new public waters state fly fishing record redear I just caught at Lake Athens on July 1, .85 lbs 10.5” x 10.2”, was that exact scenario.

I saw a 2’ opening in the vegetation very near the shoreline so I cast the Copper John up into it and immediately the redear hit it. Now a #12 Copper John doesn’t hit the water gently and sink slowly, it hits the water with force and is propelled downward very quickly. The fish are
very, very quick to attack something small and fast-moving like that.

They are much quicker than we think. They react out of instinct. That was not a wary old bream that slowly studied the fly before he hit it, because he didn’t have time...he nailed it as soon as it hit the water.

On July 4 I was fishing at a private lake with one of Gene Bethea’s purple and gold LSU clousers he tied for me and I cast it into a 4’ hole in the vegetation in the middle of the lake in water that was 7’ deep and caught a 1.3 lb redear, a new state record for private waters. I let it
sink for 4-5 seconds, gave it a twitch and the fish took it.

Openings in the vegetation are great places to fish because the fish can hide in the vegetation and attack anything that comes within range. Sure, you get tangled in the grass now and then, but that’s just part of fishing.

If I see a log lying down in the water, I’ll work my fly alongside that log as far as I can. The fish will be under the log many times; it is a place for them to hide.

The state record longear sunfish, .44lb, I caught on Lake Jacksonville last year was under a fallen tree I was casting to in the back of a little cove. If I see a big tree or brush pile in the water, I’ll cast as close to it as possible, let the fly sink as far as possible without tangling in the brush, then slowly twitch it away from the pile.

Many times the fish will come out of their hiding place to attack the fly.

If one comes out, then usually more will come out.

If I get tangled in the pile, then I’ll go get the fly if possible. I don’t worry too much about messing up that particular spot because there are many more places to fish on the lake. If I see a stump in the water, I’ll cast to the stump and let the fly sink next to it. Stumps are hiding places for fish.

I fish boat docks for bream and I catch a lot of bream from around the docks. I try to side-arm cast my fly up under the docks and let them sink for several seconds. Much of the time when a fish hits it you will see just a very slight twitch in the line as it’s sinking (I try to watch the leader as opposed to the fly line).

Or, you’ll just see the leader moving in a direction it shouldn’t be moving.

And, many times, you won’t even know you have a fish on until you begin to twitch the line. You give the fly a little action, you notice a little tension on the line which shouldn’t be
there, and it may be a fish.

I cast alongside boat docks also and let the fly sink for a few seconds, depending on the depth of the water, then begin to twitch it towards me.

I will cast into the boat stalls as well, as far up into them as I can, then let the fly sink. Sometimes I will use a #14 beadhead Prince Nymph, Zugbug, scud, etc, other times I will use a #10 or #12 beadhead nymph, just depending on how fast I want the fly to sink.

If you were to ask me how I choose a different size fly over another one, most of the time I would tell you that it is just a feel I have for a certain size or fly at that time. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong - fishing is a trial and error thing.

If I find a fly that is working for me, I’ll stick with it.

If it’s not catching fish, then I’ll try something else.

If I try several flies and nothing is working, then I’ll try and change my tactics from a slow
retrieve to a fast one, from fishing shallow to fishing deep, from one color to another.

There are times when they simply aren’t in a feeding mood and nothing you throw at them will work, that’s when I go home (hey, I’m not a glutton for punishment).

Bed fishing during the spawn is, without question, the most fun time of year for bream fishing. Most of the beds you’ll never see, usually because they are too deep, except in very clear water lakes. But when you do find them in shallow water the fishing is usually fantastic.

My favorite is using live crickets but, since this is about fly fishing, I’ll discuss that instead.

If the beds are very shallow I’ll use a smaller and lighter fly, if they are 3’-6’ deep I’ll use a larger, heavier fly to get it down much quicker. I find that in bed fishing, generally the fish like it on the bottom, being worked slowly across their nests. That’s not always the case, but I’ve had most of my success like that.

When I’m fishing like that I rarely watch the line. Instead, I know the fish has taken it because when I’m working the line in there will be a tension on it that shouldn’t be there. The easiest way to tell you have a fish on is when they take the fly and run off with it, that’s usually a pretty good indication you have a fish, LOL.

This year, for the first time, I used dry flies some of the time while I was fishing the beds.

It was fun and I did catch a lot of fish like that, some very nice ones.

But most of the time they would just come up and slap at the fly to stun it, those are typically smaller bream.

I’m sorry guys but when I see a fish hit the fly, I’m simply not patient enough to wait until I feel the tug on the line to set the hook. I set the hook when it slaps at the fly, or at least try to, thus I miss most of the topwater strikes. With sinking nymphs I don’t miss near that many, and I
catch many, many more and bigger fish with wets than I do with dries – this from a guy who had never used anything but floating flies until about four years ago. I’m not knocking using the floating fly, but I’ve found that, personally, I am much more successful with sinking nymphs.

Now when I do use floating or dry flies, I don’t let them sit motionless while I smoke a cigarette..., mainly because I don’t smoke.

Instead, I give them a fair amount of action on the surface. Many times when a dry fly hits the water it will immediately be hit by a bream, which throws out the notion that you have to let it sit motionless until you die of boredom.

I don’t let my topwater bass bugs sit still for more than a second or two, and I don’t let floating and dry flies for bream sit motionless for long, either.

I’m aggressive in fishing just like I am in most others things, and I like to see action in the flies. I’m not going to sit around and let spider webs grow on me just to give the bream time to decide if he wants my offering or not. But that is my personality; others are different and like slow fishing – if that’s what they enjoy, well that’s great for them. To each to his own.

Many people like to use spiders when fishing for bream. I’ve had several given to me by friends
who tie flies (I haven’t taken up that addiction yet and never will – there is a fine line between a “hobby” and a “mental illness”... just kidding).

I’ve used these spiders, the sinking variety mostly, and have caught some very nice bream on them. They are an excellent fly and do work well. Bream seem to love those things with plenty of legs dangling all over the place.

Before I close, let me add this, my third rod is an 8 ½’, 4-wt. St. Croix Avid, which I bought for trout fishing. But when I know that when I’m going bream fishing on a windy day, I take this rod along because it handles the wind better than my 7’, 3-wt.

If I know that I am going to be fishing deep for bream all day and using larger and heavier flies, I also use my 8 ½’, 4-wt. That way I won’t come home with welts all over my back and the back of my head from the fly hitting me (that hurts you know!)

One last thought. We have all heard of those “wily old bream” who have gotten large in their old age because they are so smart.

To that I say, “Bull!!”

Fish are stupid, they are not wily; nor are they smart. They feed on instinct, they react quickly to a disturbance in the water – if they didn’t, then they would go hungry because the other bream would beat them to the punch.

If they haven’t been caught yet, it is simply because no one has ever thrown a hook their way with something that interested them.

When was the last time you saw a big yellow spider with long, white legs crawling across
the top of the water? Yet, you fish with yellow poppers and spiders with white legs and some fish will hit them, others won’t. Does that mean that some fish are smarter than others?

No, it simply means that the fly didn’t trigger the feeding instinct in some fish at that time; the
next day it might.

After living all these years, why did that wily, wise and discriminating 9 lb bass at Fork this year hit my chartreuse popping bug this time (which looks like nothing she has ever seen before)?

Is it because she was so wily and smart? Obviously not.

No, she hit it out of instinct, a reactionary strike. She was lucky, because I kissed her then let her go back home.

But she sure wasn’t smart. (She gave me a real sweet kiss too, mmmmmm.)

None of the above are hard and fast rules. These are the tactics that I like and that work for me. If you do things differently and catch fish, then good for you, keep using what you’re comfortable and successful with."

- Clifford Hilbert

The Carp Top 10

THE TOP 10 TIPS FOR CARP ON THE FLY
From Kirk Deeter

This is from a podcast heard on Orvis.com, hosted by Tom Rosenbauer, with guest, Kirk Deeter. Mr. Deeter now has the, “Orvis Guide to Carp Fishing,” in print, but these Top 10 Tips were presented in reverse list format several years ago (2013).

I’m not really a podcast person; but this particular one I thought was interesting enough to take notes. It had tips that are new to me, about a fish that is completely new to me – CARP! 

Often thought of as trash fish, carp are gaining a new following among fly anglers. They are difficult to fool into taking a fly, and this appeals to the challenge-minded angler.

So, without further ado, and from my own notes, here are Kirk Deeters Top 10 Tips for Carp On The Fly.

10 . There is no “Standard Carp”
Every carp is different. With most fish, we try to determine patterns in behavior or activity that holds for all of them, at least for some length of time. It could relate to geography, the season, certain forage, etc. With carp, you wanna toss that idea out and go for a more nimble approach, then treat each fish as an individual. You are going on the hunt for these fish.

9. Where to cast?
Fly placement is important. Imagine the carp you are targeting is wearing a baseball cap. You wanna put your fly out front, so it lands off the bill of the cap. Accuracy is obviously important.

8. Use bonefish flies
This is going to strike you as odd, I suppose, but the best carp fly is one that copies the attributes of bonefish flies. Crazy Charlies are a great choice, as are those with hook-points-up, like shrimp patterns.
(I would start with a Briminator-style with a thick hackle collar and maybe add some rubber legs - David)

7. Where is the sun?
Whenever possible, maneuver yourself so as to place the sun at an oblique angle behind your shoulder. 30 degrees is good. This avoids the risk of direct shadows falling into the fishing zone, but keeps the fish well in your sight and well lit without glare. In other words, don't let them see you.
Remember, carp fishing on the fly is stealthy sight fishing.

6. No Noise
This is where we start into the good stuff.
Carp are discerning, often skittish, and attuned to disturbances in their environment. Anomalous noises, especially, will spook them. And once spooked, it takes them some time to settle back down and drop their guard.....
So if you are whonking the side of your kayak with a paddle, grinding gravel under your boots at waters edge, or making other klutzy noises within earshot of your quarry, you can expect they've made you. And once they know you are there, it may be game over.

5. Space out your casts
If you cast to a carp and it doesn't take your fly – don't fire another shot at it immediately. Keep calm, and plan your next cast even more carefully than your first. A minute isn't too long to pause for the right opportunity.

4. Don't attack them
The foods which carp normally eat, and the other critters in the carps world don't come blasting out of the blue to whack them on their dorsal fin. This is why you cast in front of them, in an attempt to intercept their path of movement. If a cast goes awry, don't snatch it back up and fire another shot straight at them.
Play it out and move it away from them in a normal cadence; they may come to take it if it arouses their curiosity – if you haven't scared the crap out of them by now.

3. Cadence
What works best – fast strips? Slow strips? Pausing for intermittent action between strips?
The answer is: yes.
It may be any of these; but, because each carp is different, you can't know for sure.
In general, a moderate speed is usually best. But if the fish are pressured by anglers, an aggressive approach may be your worst option. On the other hand, if they have a lot of space and rarely see an angler, THEY may be aggressive and chase your fly.

2. Target The Players
This is the single most important thing you can do when trying to catch carp on the fly. It's only at number two, because you can't figure out which are the players without number one.

So what is a, “player,” as applied to carp?
It is an actively feeding fish. 

There may be many fish in a school of carp, but there may be only a few “player's,” especially in a small group. The problem is they can be moody. Those that are only hanging in the water, or swimming idly about, are not active feeders – they aren't in a feeding mood. 

The 'players' have their tail in the air, while rooting along the bottom. Or they are busy sipping whatever surface bugs are available. They are hungry, feeding, and distracted. Fishing to the loafers is likely to just spook those guys, and then the whole bunch is alerted.
So fish to the players, pla'ya.

1. Observation
Numero Uno involves watching the fish, and stalking them quietly so you get to know them. Each is different, remember, and your best odds are with those that are actively feeding - the “players.”
But, to do this, you gotta watch them for a while to determine who is who.
Fortunately, there is a handy, Rule Of Thumb For Observing Carp:

“Spend 10 minute watching the carp, for every 1 minute of casting.”

Think about this.
a. You are sight fishing to the players, so you need to know which ones they are.
b. They are moving around.
c. What is their feeding rhythm - this helps establish cadence
d. Which direction are they headed?
e. Where is the sun?
f. What is the best interception point – and how to approach it?

You may find the occasional suicidal fish that will jump a fly the moment it comes near, but to work the odds in your favor you need to sit on your butt and think all this through while you watch the fish. This isn't luck fishing; this is planned fishing.

This is really fine tuning your fishing skills. In the end it makes you a better angler all around. Those who get good at catching carp on the fly will tell you the attention to detail, alone, will hone your abilities to a fine edge. If you do get good at it, every other kind of fishing will seem easy.

But, always watch the fish to see if you've been made - once that happens its best to either let them move on, or you go find other fish. Pressuring them will only put them further down and may send them scattering for the proverbial hills.

Above all, stick to it – if this was easy everyone would do it.

Adapted from an Orvis, Inc. podcast. To hear the podcast visit here...

Kirk Deeters Top 10 Carp tips (scroll down)

Spin Fishing Still Loves You

Fly Fishing Vs. Spin Fishing

(I've wanted to get this on a blog post for some time now, but was unsure just how to go about it. So I'll just do it and say this: Adapted and Edited from a Tom Rosenbauer Orvis podcast. Full credit given.)

There has always been a rivalry between the different fishing styles, and possibly none is more pronounced than that between fly fishermen and those who use spinning gear....well, between fly fishermen and ANY other style of fishing.
But one isn't necessarily more effective, or sporting, merely by its existence.

Lets face it, they all exist to do one thing – get a hook in a fishes mouth.

In spin fishing, you cast a weighted lure using the coiled power of the rod; the lure then pulls the line out, as the it rockets away from you.
In fly fishing, you cast a very lightweight lure – a “fly” - by actually casting the weight of the line itself. The fly is really just along for the ride.

So, let's examine some points about both, and propose that BOTH are useful. Along the way, we'll encounter some negatives for BOTH, too.

COMPARING THE TWO
Fly fishing actually has a number of positives going for it - and some pronounced negatives we must look at objectively. 

In fact, truth be told, spin fishing is possibly more all-around effective, for reasons that will become clear.
But, lets start with fly fishing.

Tradition
Our first point to compare with fly fishing is tradition.

Flatly put, fly fishing is older and far more established than any other method of angling with a hook.

• The ancient Egyptians depicted what appears to be fly fishing
• Aelian has his account from 200 AD, which offers the first recorded use of a fly to catch fish... and it is thought to recount techniques that were already centuries old
• Dame Julianna Berners is credited with her treatise on angling with flies from the 1400's, and Izaak Walton had his book, a few hundred years later
• Native Americans were using a lure made of hollow bone and deer hide as soon as they got their hands on iron fish hooks.

For those who enjoy history and the lore that accompanies it, fly fishing is a gold mine.

By contrast, spinning equipment didn't appear until the 1930's and didn't achieve popularity until after WWII. Before that we had rotating spool reels, the ancestors of today's baitcasters. But they were crude and cranky, and not really in common use until the late 19th Century.

Cost
Here's a big reason why people DON"T take up fly fishing.

One can buy a complete spinning outfit with everything you need to fish for $30, give or take.
Walmart has rod and reel combos pretty much all the time for around $15.
They include line, too.
Add a few dollars worth of hooks, split shot and a pack of floats. Toss in a tub of worms and you're fishing for $25.

Throw in a six pack and you might have money left over.

No, it wont be the good stuff (including the beer).
It may not last a lifetime (or it might).
But it will function as intended... getting a hook in a fish's mouth.

Meanwhile, you'll play hell getting just a decent fly line for $25.
I think the cheapest complete fly outfit you can get these days is around $50, and its not much to brag about.

Such kits may be difficult to cast as they come out of the package; the line is usually the trouble for beginners. If any tackle is included in the “deal” it is pretty minimal, too - and those are the good points.

Now to be fair, you can find some good deals on fly rod packages these days, and you don't need to skip a car payment to get into it.
A complete fly rod combo possessing decent quality and handiness is anywhere from $100-200, for starters. 
Some Direct-From-China sellers may even undercut that by a little bit. At this price point, it all comes from there, anyway, so....
 
And while we are being fair, we must admit that you can also spend hundreds on spinning tackle, too.
But the point is, you can go fishing right now for about $25 worth of spinning gear.

Fly fishing is more expensive. Sorry.
In this instance, fly fishing chalks up a negative.

Learning Difficulty
Here's another negative for fly fishing – it's harder to learn. Seriously, if it were easy, everyone would do it.

This is because fly casting is a far more dynamic activity than spin casting.
There is a 2-part forward and backward motion that involves proper timing, just to get the fly line moving.
Then come all the little half motions, like roll casting and hauling.
You have a lot more to do with your hands, too.
How about the never-ending chore of line management? This is crucial to keep your line from tangling on waterside sticks, rocks and your own boots.

On the other hand, spin-casting is far more easy and natural.
We are raised from an early age to throw things away from us; balls, rocks, Frisbees, and so on. That's really all spin casting is, an amplified, outward throwing motion.
Quite natural. And easy.

Sorry fly fishing - its not looking good for you on this one.

Complexity
Flatly put, fly fishing is quite complicated, even in its simplest forms.
The spinning reel itself is a complicated piece of machinery, for sure. Gears turning, shafts reciprocating, bearings supporting, spool winders rotating, whew... these things are high-tech!

But that's it. The spinning rod, itself, is essentially the same as a fly rod.
Spin fishing terminal tackle is less complex, too, although still very cool. There are some really awesome lures and baits suitable for spinning...and all of them pretty much UNFIT for fly fishing.

Meanwhile, fly fishing has a zillion things to keep in balance.

The fly line has to be matched to the rod, the leader to the line, the tippet to the leader, the fly to all of the above... and that's just to cast it past your feet.
Put a too-heavy lure on a spinning outfit and it will cast – pretty good, in fact.
Put on a too-heavy fly that throws your rig out of balance and everything ends up in a heap.

And the fly fishing gear... oh the gear! Waders and fly boxes, floatants and wading boots (in addition to waders), special hats for every climate with logo names on them, tippet spool holders and extra reel spools with different lines and...well, its complicated.

Remember, I said that BOTH spinning and fly fishing have uses to the well rounded angler? Well, spin fishing is looking pretty good right now.

More Spin Fishing Advantages

- Its great for prospecting. 

You can cover a lot more water with a spinning outfit.
They cast farther, and they can be made ready to cast much quicker.
Their fast retrieve speeds gets your lure back, and back out, quickly.

- No line spooking.
Cast a fly line over the heads of fish and you might be done. That big, heavy line flopping down on the water is likely to put the most human-adapted fish off its feed.

By contrast, spin casting lines are pretty much invisible and make about as much disturbance on the water as an egrets fart.

- Wind.
Casting a fly line in the wind is often an effort in futility.
Paradoxically, the wind pushes oxygenated water and food into concentrated areas, so you WANT to fish there.

But to cast a fly line effectively under windy conditions, well, you may have to move into just the right position, angle your arm just so, get the wind at your back, maybe up-size your rig.... its complicated.

Put on a little weight or the next size lure, and the spinning rig will keep on casting in the wind.

UPDATE:

Fishing Deep

There’s also a very good case to be made for switching to spinning gear when one must fish deep. Fly fishing tends to be, basically, a shallow water proposition. 

Much beyond 15 feet deep and it can be a decided pain in the butt. 

Special gear, special lines, special techniques, long wait times for weighted lines to descend to depth…well, that’s all part of it.

Typically, with spinning gear, none of that is needed.

You normally just need a different lure, and maybe some added weight, and you can plumb the depths to your hearts content. 

Put bluntly, spin fishing is probably more efficient, effective, and likely more productive when the fish are deep.

HOW ABOUT FLY FISHING?
Okay, so what advantages are there to fly fishing?
Well, to be blunt - not all THAT many.

We don't do it because it's hands down, undeniably, always consistently more effective.

We do it because it's fun.
We do it because its complex and intriguing.
We do it because of its tradition and fascinating lore.
We do it because if it were easy, everyone would do it.
We do it because its what I call an, “Everest Activity.”

Why do people climb Mount Everest, today, after thousands before them have made the trip?
Because they can, and they want to prove that its possible to push themselves to great and soul-satisfying achievements.

Fly fishing is like that.

WHY FLY?
So if spin fishing is so wonderful, are there places - and times - where fly fishing offers an advantage? Well, yes, there are.

Small Prey
Fly fishing excels at presenting imitations of small prey items. This is most exemplified by the dry fly, which mimics tiny insects little bigger than a match head. It is probably impossible to deliver such lures as these to feeding fish in any other way.

Before someone says it, yes, there is the plastic casting bubble. But that is more like a meteor impact than a great way to deliver a fly. Drop that whopping great orb into a trout pool and you may as well quit while you're ahead.

But its not just dry flies and trout.

Often times, fish will focus on smaller prey items.
I don't think I could catch big bluegill with any regularity on another artificial like I do on the fly... and I've tried most all of them for years.
Flies just work better for these fish, with their small mouths and slow, sheltered ways.

Early season crayfish, small crabs and shrimp in salt water, minnow-busting bass in Spring shallows, are other examples.

I remember Henry Cowen telling me how the stripers on Lake Lanier key in on small, 1” baitfish during certain parts of the year and reject anything else.

A teensy fly delivered on a fly line may excel, when most spinning lures might be rejected.

Small Streams
The small stream is difficult to fish with a spinning rig because they are so tight and cloistered. Most any weighted lure flicked into the water is bound to set up a shock wave and spook the fish.

A fly, by contrast, can be tossed here, flipped there, and all with nary a ripple on the water. It simply better matches the life and quiet nature of a small stream.

Ditto small ponds and other such backwaters. The life and doings in a small body of water focus on one thing: quiet and predictability.
Life is serene, even pastoral on the small pond or cove. Dropping in with great kerplunking lures and noisome whooping n' hollering is as likely to scare off the residents as lure them to your hook.

Quick Lure Re-positioning
All spin rigs are fast to get into action. But they have a shared drawback – you have to reel the whole thing back to orchestrate another cast. With long casts, that takes quite a few seconds. In prospecting, this might not be such a big deal.

But added up, cast after cast, you could waste half an hour in any fishing day just reeling in your lure to cast it back out.
Normally it is also being reeled in over unproductive water, adding insult to injury.
You're fishin' over THERE – but you have to bring it back through all that vacant water, to get back HERE.

A fly can be picked up straight away, once it leaves the strike zone, re-positioned within seconds, and put right back into the action.

This way, you keep your flies out there, unless they have a fish on them.
This means they stay in the working area much longer.

Mortality Reduction
Now, a lot of people will tout the reduced mortality of fly fishing, but this is questionable. A lot of fish end up mortally wounded from fly fishing, too.
Any single hook lure, whether delivered by spin or fly, may do as much harm as another.

And lets face it - you can be a ham-fisted klutz that badly handles a hooked fish no matter what method you use.

What I think happens is that fly fishermen are more careful and conscientious. It kinda goes with the territory.

They tend to be more understanding of their quarry's life-cycle.
Usually, they understand more about the aquatic environment.
There is a tendency to get a fish out and back into the water unharmed, etc.
This stems from a huge catch and release following in fly fishing, one that has been there for a century and a half, or more. Call it an ingrained sense of stewardship.

That simply has not been part of the other methods, which originated from a “meat fishing” mentality, and which still cling to that in large measure.

This “do no harm” school of thought has spilled over into all aspects of fly fishing.

Now, this isn't to say spin anglers are excluded from this; not at all.
I spin fish a lot, sometimes more than I fly fish, and I am still careful about handling, doing all I can to help the fish I don't intend to keep.
I would also say that since I started fly fishing many years back, my release efforts have been enhanced when spin fishing.
Remember, its not the catching as much as BAD HANDLING once the fish is hooked.

There, that's my soapbox moment.

WHY FLY FISH AT ALL?
Here, I'm going to dispense with the touchy-feely stuff fly anglers love to ooze when they hear that question. You guys know who you are.
You gush, "It's my passion...," or, “being in the glory of Nature...,” and, “soft sunsets, with the... feel of the water against your waders,” etc.

Oh, brother.

But you can achieve these same esoteric things with a cane pole, if you want, so they don't really count.

Honestly, most people fly fish for the things we've already mentioned, plus a few that may surprise you...

Tradition
For many, they grew up with someone who fly fished, and either learned it or were exposed to it that way. Or they discover the centuries of lore and development behind fly fishing, and that draws them.

Complexity
This isn't tossing worms with a float. I enjoy that kind of fishing, sure, but there is a certain complicated element to fly fishing that attracts the gear geek, and the deep thinker.

Fascination
Lets be honest here; its just fascinating that a hook dressed with bird feathers, thread, and animal hair, entices a fish to strike. I'm still fascinated by it each time it happens.

Uncommon
As long as it has been around, fly fishing still remains relatively uncommon.
I wouldn't call it obscure, and it is seeing a growing popularity these days among everyday anglers. It's not just for prissy, rich guys anymore.
But I still get a lot of wondering questions when people realize I'm actually catching fish on flies, especially in warm water.

Challenge
There is more stuff to do with your hands.
You have to understand why a particular fly should be placed here, and not there.
Fly fishing is a stealth game most of the time, and often a “stalking game,” much like hunting.
These challenges force a man or woman to rise up. And that suits many of us.

Connectedness
This sounds a little touchy-feely, so I gotta be careful, but its important:

Your average fly angler has more knowledge of the aquatic world, and a deeper quarry awareness, than most other fishermen.

Only the competition bass angler comes close in our collective experience.
The fly fisher understands the food chain, intimately, and how a given fly imitates what fish are eating.

Fun
It is just plain fun. Its almost hypnotic, in some ways, what with all the stuff going on while fly fishing. And its clean – no smelly baits, stinky chicken guts or worm slime under your fingernails. It is literally good, clean fun.

Fly Tying
Here, I've saved the best for last, in my opinion.

You can catch fish on effective lures (flies) that you craft yourself, by the thousands if you want, for little money.

Now a spin angler can purchase blank, plastic lures and paint them.
Or he can make his own spinners and spoons from parts.
Or he can carve and paint plugs from wood.
And I have done all that myself, and I liked it.
I can also say that this is not the same as tying your own flies. Fly tying boils down to making something useful from virtually nothing - it is the apex of creativity.

You can tailor a fly to mimic any single prey item, or a dozen different ones, with just a few basic materials that fit in a vest pocket.
You can create a fly right at the waters edge, too, one that can match any forage or prey that is showing, either above or below the water.

While a select few of the materials are costly, most are generally inexpensive, and can be used in dozens of ways. Some can be downright mundane, and cost nothing. The first fly I ever tied used hair brushed from my own dogs butt, and some old carpet yarn...and it still catches fish!

SUMMARY
Do we need to fly fish? No.
One might say the same about spinning, too.
I mean, you can catch fish with hand lines, cane poles, or spears, even.

At the core, fishing equipment merely becomes a tool to achieve that shared aim – to get a fish on a hook.
How you go about it is your choice.
What I hope is you've gained some insight that might help you see the merit in the different ways to do that.

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Thanks so much for reading, and...

Tight Lines,

Dave Hutton

© All rights reserved, David Hutton/Palmetto Fly N Fish 2018/2023 

Adapted and transcribed from a Tom Rosenbauer Orvis Podcast.

All credit given, all rights reserved © 

To hear the source podcast, visit Fly-vs-Spin-Podcast