Hello everyone, its been a long time since I've posted anything, guess it was time for me to say something. In the past I've been asked to add a UL Spinning forum but I've always said no. Well its here now.

I've fly fished exclusively for 20 years, but as of last year that has changed. I now have a couple UL spinning rods, and even have a tenkara rod, as well as a Keiryu rod.
It was time for a change in my fishing and my attitude in regards to tackle and fishing styles. I'm no longer a fly fishing purist, and I feel that fishing is fishing, no matter the method or tackle used.

I hope some of you will enjoy this new forum, and for those who do not use spinning gear I will ask that you be respectful of those that do.

Good fishing!

Jeremy

When I do spincast it's almost always ultralight, so I guess this is a good thing, though something in my gut doesn't agree. Not sure why. Either way, thanks for adding a new forum.

I started UL open face spin fishing in the very early 60's. Used a Mitchell 308 with 4lb test line and about a 4ft rod in the winter and
my fly rod with poppers in the summer. Tried 2lb test mono once but those big bream would break it on a strike. I converted the 308
to a manual pick up to save money on bails. The manual pick up gives an advantage too because there is no flipping the bail noise.

I've also mounted bait casting reels on UL spinning rods and fished those with a manual retrieve; manual retrieve meaning there
is no level wind mechanism; the level wind is provided manually. Using a manual retrieve allows more distance and saves money
on replacing the level wind mechanism. Doing the level wind manually is like shifting a car, you don't even have to think about it.

Now, I am committed to fly fishing only because .... well that's what I want to do as I play out my last years.

Glad to hear of this new forum, it will be interesting to see the equipment and experiences.

Oh, I want to add that the most deadly technique for catching fish on an UL spinning I experience was holding the index finger down such
that the line would hit the finger on the retrieve, once every rotation of the spool. This gives a real wiggle to a jig.

i dabble with ul's from time to time plenty of ul rods on the market but still waiting on a holy grail reel ............

Cliff:
When I posted this: "...the culmination is the dry fly fisherman who will only cast upstream to a rising fish, with a fly matching the current hatch, and releases the fish, and wears tweed..." I was picturing you in my head (which is something I kind of try to avoid). When I look up 'purist fly fisherman' on Google, I just get page after page of references to you.

Shimano 500 series J ? i own them.. i also own the little Pflueger how you been dude ?

That right there is what its all about.

You could not be further from the truth, Cliff's only saving grace is the fact that he owns a few fly rods. Purist, no. He does out fish most, how he does it is sometime questionable.

Well, I don't really do any UL spinning any more; when I was guiding on fresh water I did a lot of light tackle fishing. I used 6 - 7 foot light action rods and 6 or 8 lb. line on small spinning reels. This was mostly used for crappie fishing; where I guided I would book four or five crappie trips for every bass trip. I mostly fish salt now (and I don't guide any more), and I pretty much always fly fish. But when the bride was alive she used level winds in fresh water (bass fishing) and UL spinning (4 lb. test) gear for crappies and small bass. In the salt she liked to use spinning gear, so she used 6 1/2 and 7 foot light action rods, small reels (500 or 750), and 10 lb. braid. I often used a similar rig when I fished off the bank with her (she wouldn't get in a kayak) when fly fishing wasn't viable. Interestingly enough, a lot of people on the Texas coast consider that to be UL, and believe it's incapable of landing a redfish (chuckle). We caught a lot of reds on those rigs, and neither of us has ever been spooled yet. As a kid in south Florida I often used a Mitchell 308 with 4# mono (and on very rare occasions, 2) for saltwater fish. Caught several bonefish with it.......

What I have learned from my light spinning forays is that I MUCH prefer a 6 1/2 or 7 foot rod over the 5 footers we used to be saddled with. On a tight small stream the short rod might be necessary, but in most of the places I fish the longer rod serves me much better. I have also found that braided line (in fresh water I preferred Berkley Fireline, but I prefer Sufix 832, Power Pro -- especially the Slick 8, or FINS Windtamer in the salt) works much better than monofilament line, or fluorocarbon and copolymer lines, on spinning reels. Especially the smaller reels with their tiny spools. The braid doesn't hold memory coils like monofilament, and is less susceptible to wind knots (the spinning version; think monumental backlash here) than the monofilament.

I actually still use the light spinning rigs when the white bass run is on. I tie on a chartreuse Roadrunner and prospect for whites up and down the river or creek. Once I find a concentration of fish, the sissy stick gets put up and the fly rods come out.

This is my opinion only, but I believe that if one uses a tiny reel, an ultralight rod, and heavier than ultralight braided line (say, for the sake of argument, 6 or 8 lb. test), that one is arguably still UL spinning. Down here in Texas it's rare to find braid lighter than (or even as light as) 8 lb. test, but the diameter on that stuff is comparable to 2 lb. test monofilament. Anyway, that's my take on the topic. My opinion and eight dollars will get you a cup of coffee in any Starbucks in Texas...... And since there seems to be some confusion about just what constitutes UL spinning tackle, I believe that with monofilament line, 4 lb. test and below is the UL threshhold. What say the rest of you?

I like the short UL rods, say about 5 feet the best. But I'll admit I've never tried a 7 foot rod and may like it.

As to line, I tried braid (can't remember the weight but it was the lightest I could get) and then went back to flouro. I found I couldn't cast the small stuff I use with braid as well as with flouro line. I prefer 2 lb. test but will go up to 4 lb if there are bigger fish around. I never use 6 lb as its too difficult to cast the tiny tube jigs I like.

For a reel I use only small spinning reels. I like the Pflueger medalist.

But I still prefer my UL fly rods by far and will only revert to the dark side when forced to by circumstance.

Harry