Off the Hook

I saw a guy fishing from his dock with a fly rod. Instead of fly fishing, he was using a small spinning reel and launching his bait with the fly rod. Has anyone tried this method before?

Tuna Man

Best when used with a closed face reel. That tell you anything.

Mellow Yellow

It works just fine. Ask one of the thousands of guys who steelhead fish the same exact way. Just remeber to lift instead of jerking, when setting the hook. Good luck

JoshH

I throw flies in my pond with an ultra light. A lot easier than a fly rod, at least to me.

surfstryker

I have a ultra-lite spinning rig that I throw popping bugs with ,for bass in ponds. Works great.

Tuna Man

While out West Trout fishing, there were times that there were either too many trees or bushes to use my fly rod from the bank. In such cases I would use either my ultra-lite/light rod and reel to cast a fly out. Since the fly or Salmon egg was too light for any distance I used a bobber as pictured below. They come in all sizes. The center will slide out and you can dunk it in the water and add some for weight. Using a small rubber bobber stopper and split shot enables the bobber to slide down the line thus not having 4'-6' hanging and trying to cast.

xlr8

I've used this before with a pack-type graphite fly rod and a small Shimano spinning reel for trout and salmon up in Alaska. It works well if you can match a smaller-type spinning reel for the particular weight fly rod. I caught several trout and salmon in the Kenai River and a salmon or two in Prince William Sound with that outfit so I'm sure it could handle specks.

Good Luck! :usaflag

tat

I've tried it for trout in W.Va. streams where I grew up.

I've also seen it recommended as a way to toss light, soft-plastic baits to spooky reds and bones in S. Fla.

I currently use a 8.5 ft. steelhead rod to do the samething, the extra distance means more shots at spooky, shallow water reds. This combination is also good for tossing live bait a longer distance without killing it or having fly off the hook.

I've also used a bubble-type bobber to lob flies to trout under dock lights. Sometimes they'll tear up a fly, but no other artifical (live shrimp usually work, though).