Why are Flies so popular?

[MarkNY]

hi guys, i have no experience with trolling flies and id like to learn more about them. they are obviously very popular and so they must be effective too. what makes them effective and so popular? looking at them, im not too impressed. being a long time fly tyer im always striving for realism, especially with a baitfish pattern. but trolling flies do not seem ultra realistic. no eyes, mainly all flash material. is it the combination of dodger and fly that does it? id appreciate your comments on this. thanks alot, mark

[GAMBLER]

They flat out produce BIG fish. Flashers draw them in and they can't resist the fly behind it. I strictly run A-tom-miks on my boat. Tried other brands and they are not the quality as A-tom-miks.

[YodaMage]

Here is my thought, and to follow up on above:

-Spoons catch a ton of fish, probably the most in quantity year round. Flexible in speed, size and color to hit whatever is out there.

-Spin Docs are next in line, I'll second the A-Tom-miks though I'll add the Dream Weaver flies have done well too, they also seem to catch BIG fish.

-Bodied baits like Fastracs still rule the Browns especially in the spring.

-Plugs do me right come fall with the big boys.

-Dodgers have their place but I've never done enough to run them anymore. I only pull them out in desperation.

Spring I run Spins low, spoons middle and bodies high.

Summer I run spinners then anything with a few spoons mixed in.

Fall is Spinners and Plugs with an occasional spoon.

Keeping in mind that many things trigger a hit with predator fish. Trout and salmon are not like stream fish, skittish and shy only looking for prey. They may want food, they may be defensive, aggressive, agitated, annoyed or hungry...they are apex predators with no natural enemies so triggering them is just different then the fly mentality. More like nesting bass which will hit anything that passes their nose and looks interesting.

[bigweenies]

Mark, Flies from now thru aug just flat out catch fish. Send me your address, I have a new fly looking for a couple guys to try them and no better way than a guy looking to learn, BW

www.bigweeniebrand.com

[MarkNY]

guys, thanks for the replies. im getting more and more interested in flies! something i need to try. BW, i sent you a PM! best, mark

[A-TOM-MIK]

Mark, Here are a few answers to your original question:

- Ease of use

- Speed tolerant

- Literal endless choice of color schemes and combinations

- Readily available

- Much info "out there" about them

- Proven track record for many years

- Give off a broader influence in water, which can be seen or heard from further away

.....and yes it is certainly the attractor/fly "combination" that does the trick.

A few things to keep in mind:

-Color presentations during sun or over cast

-Better when targeting Kings below 50 ft most times (except late fall)

-Stretch from trolling weight 8 to 12 ft in green water or when down deep

-Stretch in clearer waters and later in day, or if in upper water column and/if bright out 12 to 25 ft even as far as 50 to 60 ft

-Downspeed of 2.2 most generally

-Leader length of fly (22" to 24") measured from head of fly to connection on attractor

- Excel on long lines (wire divers and copper flatlines) don't be afraid to stretch out your wire diver leads (8 to 12 ft) An attractor/fly combo on wire divers and copper lines can be the most successful presentation in your spread on many days. The coppers' stealth added to your spread can add to your late day take of weary/worked Kings.

An attractor/fly combination will represent one of several concepts:

-A feeding Salmon slashing through a school of bait leaving a wounded follower behind for an easy meal

-A school of bait

-Bait and/or Prey/Predator

HIH

Tom

[ray koziatek]

He He ,you dummys

flies keep you busy between fish swating them.

they lay eggs that produce tasty maggots.

they give the rednecks a reason to wear kneehigh (white) sox with sandals,and shorts.

and the president lets em crawl on his face without batting at em.

[chowder]

Flasher/fly combos on divers & riggers seem to work best for me when fish are aggressive and sometimes they can work on long copper lines when the fish are 'neutral'.Spoons typically out perform ff combos when the fish are neutral/negative. I don't typically have 'hot inside' info on the fishing picture so on any given day I start out w/ a flasher fly on one rigger and cheat it w/ a spoon and a spoon on the other, also cheated w/ a spoon. I typically set up both divers w/ flasher fly combo appropriate for the level of light or cloud cover. Then I go w/ a pair of coppers out on the boards, 1 w/ spoon and 1 w/ ff combo. If nothing seems to be going on, vary speed/vary the depths of the presentations. The fish are gonna tell you what to do next. If you find a 'hot' ff diver bite, then obviously you want to mimic that presentation w/ short leads on the riggers and load them w/ ff combos similar to what's working. If the spoon program is the only thing that's working, I still usually leave 1 wire diver down w/ a ff and run spoons on the rest of the rigs. Remember that the bite can and does change so don't get stuck thinking that what you have out is still the best spread even if the fish are telling you something else.

If you are just getting your feet wet w/ the flasher fly deal I would suggest that you consider the following concept; When the bite is hot a pretty basic assortment of ff combos will work, you want to have combos appropriate for early/low light, sunny conditions, cloudy conditions, and flat bright sunny days. If the ff bite is not hot, it will help somewhat to have some more esoteric ff combos but that probably won't help you as much as running some stealthy copper or lead core lines, changing spoon colors, searching different depths, temps, speeds and locations w/ a spoon biased program. Main point I'm trying to make is that although flasher/fly combos can be awesome you need to be prepared for the average and below average days when the bite is 'so so' to 'negative'. Just my 2 cents. -Andy

[danno]

Good topic. So, what colors are best sunrise/sunset, bright sun, cloudy? Darks when it's dark, bright when it's sunny?

Though I'm a true greenhorn, seems like greens and whites are my most productive when I'm catching (which is more the exception than the norm), but now that I think about it, I'm not running a whole lot other than those colors.

[jekyll]

They work!

[MarkNY]

thanks guys, its been a good lesson....

[shadster]

danno makes a very good point. If a color combo is working there is no need to put on anything else. The principles of water color and light penetration should be used to find a starting point.

[jasondigi]

just wondering leader length from flasher to fly

have heard anywhere from 18 - 24 but i personally have not had much success with the flasher fly combos

just wondering what i maybe doing wrong

thanks