My first figure 8 hit...too bad it was just a nibble

[skyriver]

Had a little guy, about 28-30" come all the way to the boat tonight at Tapps. Lake was like a bathtub with rowdy kids in it. Haha! I found a bay that has a slow buoy out in front so had some peace, but I only had about 90-100 minutes. Wished they closed at 9 instead of 8!

Anyway, this dude came all in and then I did 2 figure 8s and he grabbed the last inch or 2 of a nice big black Clarkman fly. Thanks Randall! I could feel him tugging on the feathers, but not on the hook. I did a good job of not yanking it out, but he didn't adjust his grab. Finally let go and then chased it for 2 more figure 8s. Haha! I can see how these guys could be susceptible to snagging. I probably could have snagged him with my single 4/0 hook, let alone a big treble.

So bummed he didn't fully commit, but glad to finally get some figure 8 action. And Randy's fly now has 2 official follows and 1 nibble.

 

[clarkman]

Oh man, those boat side eats are the hardest....even under the best of circumstances.

Regardless, so awesome!

 

[jact55]

I've been trying to catch a musky at Silver lake on Eastside WA for like 3 years.
Probably hit the lake 10-12 times for just this reason, not a ton, but I've fished hard when there. Nada.
Learning to hate those fuckers. Want to choke the first one I catch. But I'll probably just cry and give it a hug.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

I've been trying to catch a musky at Silver lake on Eastside WA for like 3 years.
Probably hit the lake 10-12 times for just this reason, not a ton, but I've fished hard when there. Nada.
Learning to hate those fuckers. Want to choke the first one I catch. But I'll probably just cry and give it a hug.

Are you seeing fish? It's my understanding there are less in there.

 

[skyriver]

Are you seeing fish? It's my understanding there are less in there.

He was the only one I saw. Tapps is sort of like that though. The water isn't as clear as Mayfield and there seems to always be some chop so harder to see. I hit it pretty hard in October last year and the water had way better visibility. I would usually see a couple per trip and those would be follows or my 1 hookup.
I've hit it twice this May, so far, and both times just saw the 1 fish that followed. The last time I went I saw one break water busting some baitfish. I think it's the same one that ended up following my fly since I casted to that area as fast as I could.
I know they planted 1,180 in Tapps just 2 days ago. So that's good!

 

[jact55]

Are you seeing fish? It's my understanding there are less in there.

I've seen one dead one in the water. Thought about picking it up and photoing it and call it a sucess lol. But nothing trailing. Been thinking of hitting newman lake in hopes of better luck.

 

[Dustin Chromers]

I've seen one dead one in the water. Thought about picking it up and photoing it and call it a sucess lol. But nothing trailing. Been thinking of hitting newman lake in hopes of better luck.

If you aren't getting follows and seeing fish it's likely they are not there. At my last check (years ago) the lake you speak of had very few. It takes bodies. My advice is to find a higher populated locale and try more. You simply can't catch what isn't there and you need your fly to be seen by allot of fish generally to catch one.

 

[Dr. Magill]

I’ve had days where the fish were everywhere (not Tapps)
Follow follow follow
No takes
Frustrating but not giving up
Dead one in Mayfield:

 

[jact55]

I'm going to revive this thread.

Been tying some musky/bass flies. Gonna start going for them on flies.
Going to give up on silver lake. Heading closer to Idaho.

There are a couple lakes by where I work that have them. Figured I'd take my raft with me to work, hit it in the evenings.

- is it dumb to fish for musky in a raft? Worried about teeth and thrashing.
I have a fiberglass livingston also, but it needs work.

-leader type when going for musky?

-Fly line? I was going to use my 25' sink tip, it's a slower sink type I think. But it's the best I have in that category.
-or you guys use a floating line and weights if needed?

 

[PhilR]

I'm going to revive this thread.

Been tying some musky/bass flies. Gonna start going for them on flies.
Going to give up on silver lake. Heading closer to Idaho.

There are a couple lakes by where I work that have them. Figured I'd take my raft with me to work, hit it in the evenings.

- is it dumb to fish for musky in a raft? Worried about teeth and thrashing.
I have a fiberglass livingston also, but it needs work.

-leader type when going for musky?

-Fly line? I was going to use my 25' sink tip, it's a slower sink type I think. But it's the best I have in that category.
-or you guys use a floating line and weights if needed?

I wouldn’t worry about inflatables. A bunch of of us fish out of them, and I’ve never heard of a bite puncture. What you may have to deal with is wind and positioning. I fish from my drifter now, and even with a trolling motor and drift sock it can be impossible once there’s any real breeze.

Leader, I use 4 feet of 20 or 30 lb, with a 2 foot break section of 12 or 15. I use a bite tippet of 50 lb fluoro, pretied to the fly and looped to the leader. Others who actually catch a lot may have better ideas.

I use a slow sink or intermediate for the shallows and a full sink when I want to get deeper. A lot of time you want deeper.

Good luck

 

[jact55]

I wouldn’t worry about inflatables. A bunch of of us fish out of them, and I’ve never heard of a bite puncture. What you may have to deal with is wind and positioning. I fish from my drifter now, and even with a trolling motor and drift sock it can be impossible once there’s any real breeze.

Leader, I use 4 feet of 20 or 30 lb, with a 2 foot break section of 12 or 15. I use a bite tippet of 50 lb fluoro, pretied to the fly and looped to the leader. Others who actually catch a lot may have better ideas.

I use a slow sink or intermediate for the shallows and a full sink when I want to get deeper. A lot of time you want deeper.

Good luck

I like the idea of a break section.
I'm assuming that is meant for if you snag or something, you at least have a chance of breaking it off? Or am I misunderstanding.

I came across this on YouTube.

Surflon Micro Supreme, Nylon Coated 7x7 Stainless Leader, 13 lb (6 kg) test, .013 in (0.33 mm) dia, Bright, 16.4 ft (5 m)

www.afwfishing.com

He's running 4' of 40 or 60 lb flouro, then this steel leader to a big swivel to easy fly swapping.
Anyone used this tieable metal leader? Easy enough to go with 50 lb though. I'm probably complicating it.

Appreciate the input phil

 

[PhilR]

I like the idea of a break section.
I'm assuming that is meant for if when you snag or something,

Yes.

I haven’t had enough success to have an opinion about wire. At this point I just follow @clarkman lead.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

I like the idea of a break section.
I'm assuming that is meant for if you snag or something, you at least have a chance of breaking it off? Or am I misunderstanding.

I came across this on YouTube.

Surflon Micro Supreme, Nylon Coated 7x7 Stainless Leader, 13 lb (6 kg) test, .013 in (0.33 mm) dia, Bright, 16.4 ft (5 m)

www.afwfishing.com

He's running 4' of 40 or 60 lb flouro, then this steel leader to a big swivel to easy fly swapping.
Anyone used this tieable metal leader? Easy enough to go with 50 lb though. I'm probably complicating it.

Appreciate the input phil

I fish for Northern Pike a little. I run 3-4’ of #40 fluoro Albright knotted to 1’ of #40, 7 strand coated wire, perfection looped to a #3 or #1 swivel and duolock or stalock. The waters I fish are from a boat and I am rarely near wood, so I no longer worry about breaking off. Pike are not leader shy, and my unweighted flies cast better with the extra weight in front, as well as making worn out fly changing easy.
Musky are much scarcer than Pike. Musky guys are more likely to feel the need to eliminate anything that might put off a fish.

 

[clarkman]

@jact55 Here's what I'm currently running: 4' 40lb, 1ft bite...I run a hard fluoro for mine, others swear by wire....I just know that I get more eats in certain ultra clear waters with fluoro and have put a ton of fish in the net without anything close to a bite-off. That's it. Line: clear intermediate 400gr (I like Cortland compact) unweighted flies. I'm too lazy to pull them up now, but do a search and you'll see a bunch of info on all of this. Only thing to worry about with an inflatable is burying a 5/0 into it...I've heard someone has done this, but has not been confirmed. In other news, I got a new boat cause my old one had a slow leak.

 

[clarkman]

I played around with barrel swivels but ended up simplifying things.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

@clarkman what is your knot of choice for the bite tippet to the fly?

 

[clarkman]

@clarkman what is your knot of choice for the bite tippet to the fly?

nonslip loop. I tried the snaps but every so often they would get retrieved kinda cock-eyed...never had them fail though.



I've always only done 3 turns for everything heavier than 10lbs.

It's also super easy to tie in the 7x7 coated wire that many folks use.

 

[SculpinSwinger]

nonslip loop. I tried the snaps but every so often they would get retrieved kinda cock-eyed...never had them fail though.

View attachment 73216

I've always only done 3 turns for everything heavier than 10lbs.

It's also super easy to tie in the 7x7 coated wire that many folks use.

Thanks, the non slip loop is my go to in almost all situations. Super strong, and I have total confidence in it.

 

[skyriver]

I would say 80% of my fishing is with an intermediate. I enjoy fishing over the weed beds as well as the edge of the shoals. At least on Tapps & Mayfield. If your lake doesn't have much of that then probably beat any cover you can find with the intermediate or sinking. If not much cover then I would go with the sinker. I also have a full floater that I hardly ever fish, but will probably fish more this Sept & Oct. Again, over & around the weeds.

My leader setup is 4-5' of 40 lb Maxima nail-knotted to fly line then perfection loop to 10-12" of 100 lb fluoro for the bite tippet. Then a perfection loop to fly. I prefer the perfection loop to fly since it's smaller and easier to tighten with 100 lb fluoro than a non-slip loop, but both are great knots.

My sinker is roughly the same, but only 3-4" of 40 Max and then a 1' long section of 12 or 15 Max as a break leader between that and the bite tippet. All perfection loops.

I don't change flies much, but do have all my flies pre-strung with 10-12" of bite tippet, in the box, for quick changing. Just unloop the old and loop on the new. Way easier to do at home than on the water.

This is a great video on how to tie on a hook using a perfection loop.