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Show f TyyV 'Vl by Dave Mueller Tips on flyfishing with spinning tackle An avid spin-fisherman confronted me the other day and wanted to know why I haven't written an article on fishing a fly with spinning spin-ning tackle, a popular method used by local anglers. Perhaps I could take the time and run down a few of the advantages and disadvantages disad-vantages of using the technique, and compare com-pare fishing a fly with spinning tackle to orthodox or-thodox fly fishing. First I should say that spinning tackle fished with a fly behind a plastic bubble is a versatile method, and is effective while trolling from a boat and also while casting from shore. For the angler who seldom uses a fly, this is probably his best choice. Fly casting requires a certain amount of practice so that it becomes more than just an exercise exer-cise in frustration. The first drawback that the spin-fly combination com-bination has is when the fisherman attempts to play a river or stream where he must deal with the problems of current and drift. Fishing with a fly line gives the fly fisherman a far greater control over his offering when it is in the water. Where fish are selective and have a tendency to be put off by an irregular drift, this can be vital. Again, in tight quarters, where one must lay a fly on a dime to a feeding fish, the fly fisherman has a vast advantage. False casting gives the fly fisherman a much greater ability to judge distance and leads to pinpoint accuracy. The spin-fisherman is handicapped in that he must make his first throw count and cannot false-cast to help his judgment. Another drawback, especially in dry-fly fishing, is that the weight (bubble) required to carry the fly to its target will most likely splash heavily into the water, spooking many fish. A good fly-caster can- lay his fly line, leader and fly onto the water with scarcely a ripple. The differences in results are obvious. ob-vious. But still, it is possible for a spin-caster to catch fish on a fly in a stream if he is careful and is acquainted with some of the negative factors of his technique as listed above. An equalizing of results can come especially in high and muddy water when finesse is not so important. It is on a lake or reservoir that spinning with a fly can have a certain advantage. That advantage comes to the forefront when the fish seems to be feeding some distance from the shore, out of the range of the average fly-caster fly-caster with average tackle. The spin fisherman fisher-man can put more water in the plastic bubble to get a little more distance out of his casts. When the wind is blowing in the face of the angler, this becomes even more important. The fly fisherman is limited by the potential Another problem a fly-caster will have on many lakes and streams in our locale is that he is often casting from a shore with a steep backdrop of slope or vegetation. This will limit backcasting, and unless the fly-fisher is adept at rollcasting he will spend most of his time retrieving flies caught somewhere up behind him. The spincaster only needs enough room to give a short flip with his wrist to put his fly out into the water. Once the fly is cast into a lake, the advantage advan-tage again swings back to the fly-man. His main advantage is a soft presentation the same splashing bubble or weight mentioned above is a handicap to the spin-man. Many times trout in lakes cruise the shoreline when the surface is glassy, using their extremely good vision to spot insects from a long way off. The disturbance when the weight necessary to carry a fly with spin tackle enters en-ters the water, can turn a fish around in a hurry. If a fly-fisherman knows his stuff, he can take advantage of his tackle in another important im-portant way. With knowledge of the lake he is fishing, the fly angler can use any variety of flylines, floating, slow sinking, quick sinking, to make his presentation at the depth that his quarry is feeding. The same results may be achieved, you may think, by adding or taking away split shot to the spin-bubble of the spin fisherman. To a certain extent this is true; but getting the fly to the fish, holding it at that level and then retrieving it at the proper pace to imitate the food form are all problems that can never quite be overcome by spin tackle. Fly tackle is just more suitable, especially to retrieve in the manner imitating an insect. The reeling action of a spinning tackle on the return is basically inferior in-ferior to the fly-fisherman's alternatives with a hand retrieve. When trolling a fly behind a boat, spinning tackle is the proper choice. Drag on a flyline is a hinderance and most fly reels do not have the line capacity to let out the offering far enoi-Ph f-om the boat. In addition, once the line is let out, spinning reels allow the average angler to keep proper tension on a fish once hooked a long distance from the boat. Here again, the fly fisherman, if experienced, ex-perienced, can compensate adequately enough, but a good spinning reel in this situation is hard to beat. Essentially, a fly-behind-the-bubble outfit is a means of getting a fly into the water for the spin fisherman. Fly tackle was created and has evolved with fly fishing in mind, and if you plan on using flies to any extent, it is a good idea to purchase and learn how to use fly tackle. If you mostly use ba!t or lures, but sometimes want to cast to insect-feeding |