Trolling a dry fly

Somewhere in my memory banks i remember a friends dad show me Zig Zag trolling a Floating dry fly on a lake. It was cool watching the trout slam the surface and even launch out of the water hitting the fly. In the early evening when the bugs start to come out as i remember.

Anyone done this? 

I haven't even looked at flyfishing gear in 15 years. I don't want to use a fly rod but tie a long leader of floating line(?) on the spinning rod mono.
I know to get the closest looking fly to what hatches at that lake, but beyond that i'm basically lost.Any recomendations on what to use if i was to try this technique?

If you want to stick to spinning gear, you can also look for the clear plastic casting bubbles. You'll probably get more distance casting this way.

This time of year, you might see chronomids hatching on warmer days.They are usually quite small sz. 16-20. Once spring is really under way, you can look for callibaetis and then damsels and dragon flies. There may be some caddises, too, but I don't know your local area.

Probably the best way of quickly learning what's out there is to go make some friends at your local fly shop. They'll also be happy to sell you some flies (and more)!

I have done well slowly retrieving a size 10-12 elk hair caddis.  Floats high in the water and most trout seem to like them. I mostly fish sea run cutts (which seem to hit anything that moves) and by no means could hold a straight face while calling myself a fly fishermen

Oh the memories of my youth trolling dry flies on spinning gear with my dad at sunset.  Straight tie mosquito type patterns to the end of the mono a regular trout spinning rod.  Troll slow ...

-Allen

Skating a dry fly on lakes is a great technique, especially in the evenings. When caddisflies and chironomids hatch, they buzz along the surface to dry their wings for take-off. The trout key on this, and will hit the fly with abandon.

Several years ago, I fished Hosmer Lake in Oregon for landlocked atlantic salmon. I'd tried all kinds of nymphs, emergers, and dry flies, with limited success. I decided to quit for the evening, and reeled my line in. Just as it picked up speed, a nice 15" salmon came up and took the fly. After releasing the fish, I cast out, let the fly sit for a few seconds, and then stripped in as fast as I could - wham! - another fish. I'd solved the mystery, and had really good fishing the rest of the trip. The fish were so keyed to the fast moving flies that they'd come up and whack them all day, even when nothing was hatching!

BTW, Hosmer (near Bend) is a beautiful lake and would be a great place for kayak flyfishing.

Tom

If you want to stick to spinning gear, you can also look for the clear plastic casting bubbles. You'll probably get more distance casting this way.

I'll be trolling it behind the Yak, so i can strip line off , no need to cast it.

Exactly pole , Its great fun when there on!. if you let out enough line, go slow and zig zag you should be able to actually see the hit without craning your neck on the yak

There are lots of different way to do what your asking.  Even going backwards is fun so you can see your fly.  It doesn't take to long to learn to cast..  tie on a yarn ball and play around in the back yard with a hat or hoop.  count how long it takes for the line to go from apex to apex, feel how the rod flexes and watch the yarn ball.  most of the movement is in the wrist and forearm, rod tip from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock.

Welcome to NWKA Fly,

I've actually done a little bit of Fly Fishing, at least that's what i liked to call it, many years ago. It's something i'd like to pick back up sometime in the near future on the Kayak.

thanks for the welcome,

Coos, I bounce up your way some times, next time I do I will shoot you a pm and maybe we can practice a little casting, what type of rod ya flinging?

Two things I've found that help me when trolling a fly:  1.  Keep the rod pointed at the fly, eliminating any belly in the line and 2.  Paddle backwards, it's a blast watching those strikes, easier on the neck, and you won't miss as many fish.

Some of my favorite flies are Wooley Buggers, Doc Spratley's, and my #1 favorite-Muddler Minnows.

Consider getting a cheap fly rod set up vs. the gear-fly rig.  I'm convinced there are times when fly fishing is more productive than any thing else and it is just plain ol' fun!  Gotta warn you though, I know of nothing more addictive than fly fishing.

Gotta warn you though, I know of nothing more addictive than fly fishing.

How long have you been kayak fishing?

thanks for the welcome,

Coos, I bounce up your way some times, next time I do I will shoot you a pm and maybe we can practice a little casting, what type of rod ya flinging?

None, don't have any fly fishing gear. Maybe in a few months if i can afford it i'll pick up something used..

A truly excellent fly casting instructional vid i checked out from the library and highly recommend is called, "The Dynamics of Fly Casting," by Joan Wolff.

I am going to have to go check it out again, as I could use some improvement in my sloppy technique.

With a flyrod and fly line you want to point your rod at the fly, eliminating any excess slack and keeping the rod in line with your line. Then when you get a strike, use a "strip set" to set the hook, rather than sweeping your rod back. This way, if you miss, the fly hasn't moved as much nor spooked the trout, and the trout may come back for a second strike.
It takes presence of mind to strip set instead of yanking the rod tip upward to set the hook, if you are used to gear fishing. I still react that way at times when a hit yanks ME out of some daydream. I'm mainly daydreaming when I'm trolling a fly. You might observe me almost asleep out there, and then suddenly jerk awake, yank my flyrod high, and exclaim "Damn! Missed it!" and then settle back into another daydream. Beats workin'!

My friend taught me how to do this about a month ago. We used this set-up at Detroit Lake but I'm sure it'll work anywhere else too. We didn't skate the fly across the water, we just trolled as usual.

We had a red fin with a barrel swivel on both  sides. One side to the main line and the other to about 18" of leader. The leader to the dodger and 4-5' more leader to the fly of choice.

Small flies seem to work the best. They don't have to be the best fly in your box, in fact the worst fly in your box will probably work best as long as it is small.

We were catching 14-18" trout all day until we limited. I normally catch and release but he likes to keep 'em all.

bsteves,

I started fishing out of a kayak in 2001.  At the time I was living on the Gulf Coast and had gotten out of fly fishing and fishing strictly with gear.  Sure miss the Gulf!

After moving up here I got back in to fly fishing and combined it with my love of paddling.

Bad thing is I left my Sit on Top in Mobile, never dreaming I would need it up here.  Fished last summer out of a 17' touring kayak and recently added a canoe to the line up.  I see a SOT in my future though for the salt.