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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:38 pm • # 21 
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Location: Coppell, TX
I've been hesitant to mention I fish soft plastics with a fly rod because I understand how folks devoted to fly tieing could be offended. I fish practically every day of the year and might fish plastics 30 of them. The largest bass I've caught on a 3 wt was with a worn out popper with a 1 inch twisty tale attached. My largest freshwater fish, a 30 lb catfish, was caught on a #10 jig and pig (4 wt rod). This evening I fished a pretty worn out stimulator with a 1 inch crappie strip attached.
Fly tiers have nothing to worry about as far as I am concerned, there is nothing like casting a light fly and it's not possible to make plastic as light as a feather.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 11:55 am • # 22 
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Location: New Jersey
There's room for everyone. We all have different reasons for what, why and how we fish. I like fly fishing because of the direct connection you get to the fish. As a fly fisher, I can't deliver the payload a gear fisherman can, limiting what can be used to make a fly. To me the limitation is simply weight, not materials. Others find joy in tying and fishing flies made strictly from natural materials, even eschewing plastic tinsels and other synthetics. Then of course there's the mainstream of everyone in between.

When I used to backpack, we would say "hike you're own hike." Those were words often heard when an overzealous ultralight hiker was trying too hard to convince others that UL was the ONLY way to backpack. HYOH was just a gentle reminder that there's more than one way to do something.

Fish Your Own Fish ;)


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Wed Jan 25, 2017 9:16 pm • # 23 
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Made up some beaded jig hooks with a keeper. Used 6/0 thread and 12# flouro for the spike, super glue to lock everything in place. Seems to work well. Thanks FK.

Image


Last edited by Knotty on Thu Jan 26, 2017 12:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 12:14 am • # 24 
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Joined: 11/17/09
Posts: 180
Knotty,

Very elegant, make mine look crude.

Regards,
FK


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 11:50 am • # 25 
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Joined: 11/17/08
Posts: 5497
interesting ties


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:16 pm • # 26 
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Joined: 03/23/16
Posts: 15
like the position of the barb an the fly jig.because of the motion of fly casting this placement makes sense.less inclined to slip off. a little CV glue near the collar is a trick many bass fisherman use as they really wing those baits at times.dont forget that they sell a thin silicone curly tail material for flies.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 7:45 am • # 27 
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Location: Plano, TX
Gene, Pearow, converted me to soft plastics on a fly rod about 15 years ago when I saw him at Lake Athens fishing near some heavy vegetation. It would have been almost impossible to fish that area with anything other than a topwater fly, but a plastic worm fished weedless was able to get in the salad where the bass were. I bought a few 6" worms the next week and the first fish I caught was a 5.5# largemouth bass. Needless to say, I was hooked (or the fish were) after that. The largest bass I've caught on a soft plastic was 6.5#.

Yes, I know, that's heresy to the purists. But I enjoy catching fish on a fly rod, which is what I fish with 98% of the time, and I use whatever I need to to do so. I've converted a number of fly fishers to the soft plastics because they want to catch bass in the heavy vegetation in many of our Texas lakes. Soft plastics fished weedless can slither through heavy weeds and grass, and even lily pads, which is where the bass like to hide. They sink slowly and enticingly and the bass love them. It's also a lazy way to fish because I don't have to work them much.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:30 pm • # 28 
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When Jack Ellis living in East TX published his book in 1993, The Sunfishes: A Fly Fishing Journey of Discovery, we corresponded and traded experiences. We both liked fishing Sage LL series rods in 3wt and compared notes on sinking lines and leaders.

In his next book on Bassin' With a Fly Rod in 2003, he mentioned using soft plastics in one of the chapters,,, Jack received a large amount of negative feedback from many readers. I told him of my experiences fishing with friends on the Connecticut River in a bass boat. Could not get any interest with my fly rod while two friends were hammering the fish with soft plastics on spinning gear. I asked for some rubber worm rigs and set them up on a sinking line, they told me I could not do that on a fly rod,, well I cast out and immediately was into fish.

Later a business friend was visiting from West VA and requested I take him out for smallmouth which he had never experienced. Well my home river is the Housatonic and is well known for SM bass. He used a spinning rod with grub twister tails and out fished me 5:1 with my fly rod and trusty wooly bugger, rather embarrassing. Again, I borrowed some rigs and proceeded to easily hook up fish. The earlier photo of home made jig head with split shot and mono barb assembly was developed for SM fishing with soft plastics.

Regards,
FK


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:44 am • # 29 
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Joined: 07/20/15
Posts: 29
Location: West Kentucky
Here in far west Kentucky where there are no Fly Fishing purists, the few of us who do fly fish embrace plastics, foams and other non-traditional fly tying materials. The first "fly" I was taught to tie in New England in the early 70s was a rubber spider. Admittedly it was tied for bluegill and perch but it also caught bass and yes, even trout. With only two sources for trout around here, one being a stocked pond in a public park and the other a twice a year stocked stream over an hour's drive away, my main pursuit is warm water fish, which are much less selective than trout when it comes to flies or baits, if you will, in general. And as far as non-fly fishing gear, I always have an UL spinning rig with me when I go out as often the wind and weather prevent me from using my FF gear and I will not be denied the chance to put some fish to hand, even if I have to resort to non FF tactics.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Sun Feb 12, 2017 12:18 am • # 30 
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Spinning gear? Now you've crossed the line Clint! :lol

Kidding, of course.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:25 pm • # 31 
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Wow, I want to thank all of you (y'all) for a series of innovative ways to fly fish. Adios Philip


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 6:30 pm • # 32 
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Location: West Kentucky
Knotty wrote:
Spinning gear? Now you've crossed the line Clint! :lol

Kidding, of course.


I guess I shouldn't mention my casting rods spooled with 40# braid either.....


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Plastic Plus
PostPosted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 7:08 am • # 33 
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Clint KY wrote:
Knotty wrote:
Spinning gear? Now you've crossed the line Clint! :lol

Kidding, of course.


I guess I shouldn't mention my casting rods spooled with 40# braid either.....


That would be more appropriate on the whale hunting forums.


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