"Grinnin' like a mule eatin' saw briars."

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Fishing has been great this past week. I've heard reports from Little River and Little Pigeon sheds to the South Holston, and all are promising. With dry fly action being off that proverbial wall, I ask you, what's your favorite type of fishing? If it's fly fishing, do you prefer dry flies or nymphs? If you're a spin fisherman, do you like slow moving jigs, or cranks? Here's my two cents (and in this economy, that's a lot).

Fly fishing: I spend 99% of my rec time with a fly rod in hand. When I began, it was all about the dry fly. The main reason was, it's easy. I was young and it was what I'd always seen pictures of, fish taking big dries on the surface. But then something happened, I put on a nymph. A big, ugly helgramite. And guess what? SLAM. A trophy brown in the Smoky Mountains. Yeah, it was luck... then. But now it's how I hunt the big boys. That doesn't mean I don't dry. Some of the nicest browns I've caught have been off dries. In fact, I guarantee I fish dries more than anything else, unless I'm after smallmouth. So, I guess my fly swings both ways, if you catch my drift. 

Spin rod in hand, which isn't often, I set in with jigs. It's always exciting to feel that first hard knock on a slow retrieve. And my go-to is a crawfish pattern, brown mustard or chartreuse. Crank baits, well, they have their time. But it's too fast for me.

Hope y'all have a great week, and stay wet!

5 comments:

Mark Kautz said...

It's OK to be an indiscriminate fly fisher. LOL Personally, I'm an indiscriminate fisher. I use dry, nymph, streamer, and even spinning gear. Guess you could classify me as multifunctional. Another LOL.

Mark

James C. said...

Nice! We all need diversification -- and I can't believe I didn't segue into streamers. But I fish them much like nymphs. I'm glad YOU'RE multifunctional, I'm lucky to be functioning at all, on the river and off!

Michael Agneta said...

Good question. I'm an equal opportunity angler, so I use them all. This year it's probably been 60% tenkara (primarily with nymphs), 20% fly rod & reel (I'll use my whole fly box), and 20% UL spinning rod with spinners. The only line I draw is to only bring one type of rod, that way I'm not tempted to run back to the SUV and grab a different type (ie trade in fly rod for spinning) if the fishing is slow. I want to make whatever I have work.

Dwayne said...

I see you have learned the ways of the nymph young fly fisherman. It is good to see that you realize the importance of sub surface feeding. Come to the Caney or Elk and I will show you what big fish look like!

James C. said...

Nice, Dwayne. I've been to both, and while the Caney holds some nice fish... well, it's the Caney. The Elk is fun, when I'm stuck in Grundy Co. That's some big fly talk for a noob, buddy!

Michael, how are you liking tenkara? I'm still on the fence about it.