Fishing is really heating up on Allatoona as of late. Earlier in the week the numbers of small fish were really good on crankbaits inside the creeks. I was using a Flat Mini DR in peacock color working rocks and breaklines on the flats. I still feel that the bigger fish are still main lake oriented.
Yesterday I got out with my friend Brian Leiva to do some float N Fly fishing as he has never done it. We caught fish right at the start and it got a little slow but ended up very strong for us. There was no real pattern other than covering as much water as thorough as possible with the Float N Fly. Our leader lenghts varied between 8 and 12 feet and I was using 8lb Triple Fish Fluorocarbon line on my setup. With the post frontal conditions we had we got quite a few lift bites from the fish so be sure to pay good attention to how your bobber is acting on the surface. I found today that the cadence or lack thereof was extremely important. I did a lot of dead sticking today and very subtle twitches to get the fish to react. All of my fish were caught on custom flies (Lester Flies) tied by David Lester of Natures Tackle Box in Hiram, Ga. All in all we had about 10 fish for the day and our best 5 went roughly 13lbs. Pic enclosed is the 2 best fish of the day.
As much as I love tossing big swimbaits, I like to go to the opposite extreme when necessary. I really enjoy whipping around the float n’ fly when the time is right. Usually when the water temp is on the rise from the low point of the winter – ascending from 40 to 45 has been the most productive for me. The best system I’ve used involves a Loomis SMR 1140S – FF rod, a small spinning reel with a very good drag system, some Berkley 14/6 fireline, a three-way swivel, a weighted floater, a quality 6# FC leader of various length, and a “custom” fly. Most of the flies are 1/16 oz in various fish catching patterns depending on the water color and other conditions. I attach the main line to the three way swivel, attach a weighted float (key to casting distance) to the “top” eye of the swivel, and then a FC leader from 8′ to 16′. Obviously, the longer the leader the more difficult to cast. My most productive FnF trips are when the weather is nasty. Overcast, 35 degrees, spitting snow, windy – as I’m targeting smallmouth in winter, they like the nasty stuff. I set myself up to fish points and bluffs “with the wind” as casting a 14′ leader into the wind is all but impossible for me. I’ve caught smallies, LMB, spots, stripers, bluegill, crappie, and even walleye with this deadly little technique.
Those are some nice bass! Can you perhaps blog some more about the technique of float N Fly fishing?