lake flyfishing for rainbows..

[fishermansfriend]

need help as i have never even attempted flyfishing in a lake before. I will be at beaver and phyllis this weekend as i just bought a pontoon!!

not asking for secrets just a few ideas to give a shot!! Thanks in advance to all the helpful ao members!!!

My one important question is would it be worth it to buy some sinking line? As all i have ever used before is dry flies!?

i posted in flyfishing to but i know alot of people use both forums..

[scrimmy]

i've fished both years back, sinking line is something to consider....if you have a spare spool or second rod you could rig it up. If not you can use floating with a longer leader/tippet set up, and with leach, damsel patterns it will get down. A bead head or heavier pattern will getter down...also depends how deep you want to be...bottom line its not a show stopper if you don't have it. Get it out there and try different retrieval speeds - change it up a little. Keep a tight line - set on the tug.
Last time i was at Phyllis was fortunate to land an 8lb. There is some timber down accross from the boat lanch at Phyllis, that's where the 8lb'er was. Good luck.

[fishermansfriend]

thanks so much!!! will give this a shot and post pics if i do have any success!

[commieboy]

Sinking lines will simply give you more options if nothing is rising. Though I fully agree with Scrimmy's post I feel you can only go so long on your leader before it becomes a pain.

I you decide to get a sinking line, don't go crazy regarding price point. I put money into my floating lines for sure (Rio Gold), but sinking lines just get dragged along the bottom and end up getting all nicked. Not a problem since they're supposed to sink anyway. The weight in them make for easier casting, too.

I've used both Scientific Anglers Professional Series Full Sinking and Cortland 333 Pro. Both have caught me a ton of fish and cast well, but I do like the Scientific Anglers a bit more. About $40 each.

[goldscud]

You can fish all kinds of flies under an indicator off your floating line as well. Trick will be to find what depth is the best. I've fished anywhere from 2ft to close to 30 ft under an indicator.

[fishermansfriend]

thanks again for advice i am running riogold for floating line as well and holy crap does it make a difference even for a newbie like myself..

i suppose this time out since its my first attempt ill just try using a longer leader/tippet.

i just spent a good chunk on some other gear.. thank you for the advice..

any idea what flies may work?

[commieboy]

leeches, as mentioned, and I love evil weevils. I also have lots of luck on really small zebra midges..... size 16 and smaller. Small flies can catch big fish!

[tight line]

Watch for the broods cruising cast in front of them! Lol. Dont need sinking for phyllis really, ive always done fine without. Beaver is a little harder fishing but better quality of fish

[ericlin0122]

floating line is all you need to start, dont need to waste your money on sinking line. watch some video on youtube by go fish bc, they have lots of information on how to lake indicator fishing. pay more attention to brian chan videos.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by fishermansfriend

any idea what flies may work?

Originally Posted by goldscud

You can fish all kinds of flies under an indicator off your floating line as well. Trick will be to find what depth is the best. I've fished anywhere from 2ft to close to 30 ft under an indicator.

Goldscud is always right. 95% of feeding occurs underwater. Most fish usually like slower fly presentations.

take a selection of size 12 and 14 chironomids (different colors), mayfly nymph, scud and leech patterns. Use the indicator system... Take forceps for measure depth and adjust indicator accordingly. Take an anchor with you if fishing on the water.

cast...let sink. Try just letting it hang, stripping in slow and steady, stripping in with short, sharp twitches.

[Okotokian]

One extra idea... go with fluoro leader and tippet rather than standard mono. Fluoro has a much faster sink rate. Also less visible underwater. The latter seems particularly important in a lake where a fish has time to leisurely swim up to and check out the fly, rather than the situation in a fast-moving river.

[Prairie_Guy]

Originally Posted by ericlin0122

floating line is all you need to start, dont need to waste your money on sinking line. watch some video on youtube by go fish bc, they have lots of information on how to lake indicator fishing. pay more attention to brian chan videos.

ericlin0122 has it right with his advice to check out chan's videos. Another suggestion, if there is some surface activity, is to use a high floatin' dry instead of the strike indicator, and use the chironomid, scud, boatman etc as a dropper fly.

[Scott N]

Originally Posted by ericlin0122

floating line is all you need to start, dont need to waste your money on sinking line. watch some video on youtube by go fish bc, they have lots of information on how to lake indicator fishing. pay more attention to brian chan videos.

While I agree with you that you can get by with floating line only, the OP wouldy hardly be wasting his money by buying sinking line. Depends on what technique is being used.

[tight line]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

One extra idea... go with fluoro leader and tippet rather than standard mono. Fluoro has a much faster sink rate. Also less visible underwater. The latter seems particularly important in a lake where a fish has time to leisurely swim up to and check out the fly, rather than the situation in a fast-moving river.

X2. And if you do hook into a big guy the strength of flouro is good to have. On a sunny calm day you will see the big guys cruising alot 4-8fow, cast ahead giving the fly time to get down, then get ready to get pulled around by a football! Lol

[fishermansfriend]

i cant wait i am so excited hahaha.. ive seen them cruising before i was ever into fly fishing but the wanted nothing to do with my lures so i am hoping now that ill be fly fishing they'll be more interested!!!!