fly fishing for coarse fish

[Windy]

Originally Posted by bennygesserit

what sort of fly would a perch take ?

Gold bead headed green damsel fly and Gold ribbed hares ear have both worked for me.

[bennygesserit]

Originally Posted by Windy

Gold bead headed green damsel fly and Gold ribbed hares ear have both worked for me.

what size perch ? All my success with decent sized perch has come with broken lob worm fished against the reeds towards dusk. Can A fly simulate that ?

---------- Post added at 23:24 ---------- Previous post was at 23:21 ----------

Originally Posted by bigsean

thanks for the advice nicepix, and keora .... and yes benny, i think it can be done without spending a fortune .... and personally i wouldnt spend a lot of money anyway, just in case u dont take to it ..... the mechanics of the cast is wot has put me off so far ..... and the space needed, as most of my local waters are tree lined .... and my local canals are usually busy with dog walkers and cyclists,

---------- Post added at 06:21 ---------- Previous post was at 06:13 ----------

i'd also like to hear peoples thoughts on venues for fly fishing in and around cities
i live in manchester .... lots of coarse fishing available, but not all with wide open spaces for fly casting from the bank ..... does that make fly fishing for either trout or coarse fish, not such a good idea unless i'm able to travel further afield?

I am sure this has already been posted on here but its of interest BBC News - Why town dwellers can get hooked on urban fishing

[bigsean]

i was actually looking at that trout in dirty places book today in waterstones,

---------- Post added at 14:29 ---------- Previous post was at 14:27 ----------

and if hungry, a perch will take anything

[nicepix]

Originally Posted by bigsean

i was actually looking at that trout in dirty places book today in waterstones,

---------- Post added at 14:29 ---------- Previous post was at 14:27 ----------

and if hungry, a perch will take anything

That might be true of small perch, or chub for that matter. But try and catch a large perch or chub on a wet fly. They are far more finnicky than your average wild trout.

You will get small perch all day long on flies with a touch of green or red in them. I also liketo twitch muddlers and small trout poppers on the surface. This can result in better sized perch, but all the larger perch I have caught on fly, 1lb and upwards, have fallen for epoxy minnows or woolly buggers in rivers. Whilst in still water, some sort of worm imitation cast to the fish and allowed to drop naturally then if not taken on the drop retrieved sowly sink and draw. You have to strike when you see the perch take the fly rather than wait for the tug or pull that never comes.

[keora]

Originally Posted by bigsean

thanks for the advice nicepix, and keora .... and yes benny, i think it can be done without spending a fortune .... and personally i wouldnt spend a lot of money anyway, just in case u dont take to it ..... the mechanics of the cast is wot has put me off so far ..... and the space needed, as most of my local waters are tree lined .... and my local canals are usually busy with dog walkers and cyclists,

---------- Post added at 06:21 ---------- Previous post was at 06:13 ----------

i'd also like to hear peoples thoughts on venues for fly fishing in and around cities
i live in manchester .... lots of coarse fishing available, but not all with wide open spaces for fly casting from the bank ..... does that make fly fishing for either trout or coarse fish, not such a good idea unless i'm able to travel further afield?

Fly casting is harder than it looks, but when I first started I just taught myself from a book. I eventually took lessons. You can now buy DVDs on fly casting.

I lived as a student in Salford for a few years. I think that to find good trout fly fishing you will have to travel some distance. As for fly fishing for coarse fish, although it's interesting, I don't think it's a very effective method. I find it just as enjoyable to fish for coarse fish with float or leger. You might spend money on a fly kit and find there's nowhere nearby to fly fish for coarse fish. It's important when learning to fly fish that initially you fish relatively easy waters where you get enough takes to sustain your interest.

[bigsean]

Sound advice keora, I did a similar thing with my lure fishing for pike, getting into waters with plenty of jacks, and now looking for bigger fish, I think the same goes with all fishing, u need to catch to keep interest and gain knowledge and confidence in wot ur doing .... Not spending a huge amount of money on a fly set up is partially cos I don't have huge amounts to spend, but also partially to do with ur comments, u never know if u never try though, and I love the roving aspect of lure fishing and the whole tricking the fish with an imitation lure, rather than a bait, is a big kick too

[keora]

You're right, you don't need much equipment to go fly fishing, unlike coarse fishing. So that's why fly fishing and lure fishing are so attractive.

You could enquire on this and other web sites to see if there are any trout stillwaters within reasonable travelling of where you live. They usually are quite expensive - I fished a big reservoir near Harrogate last week and it's £20 a day.

[nicepix]

Trout fisheries tend to be expensive because anglers usually take some of the trout they catch and these have to be replaced. The beauty of finding free stretches of rivers other than the price, is that the fish are wild. If you don't feel the need to eat your catch fly-fishing for chub in summer is very exciting and requires a good deal of watercraft.

The fly gear I normally use for dace, chub, perch, etc is a 4 weight Orvis rod, Cortland reel and line picked up from a discount store in the States that used to trade on eBay. All in all, it cost me around £70 delivered to my UK address. All then you need is a folding net, some mono from 10lb to 4lb and some flies. You don't need a huge selection of flies. Size 16 to 12 Elk Hair Caddis will take dace and cub off the top. Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Hare's Ear Nymphs, Sawyer's Killer Bugs and App's Bloodworm in 14 or 16 will take many coarse fish if presented correctly. A streamer such as a silver sea trout fly or a brown or green Woolly ****** is worth having for fast water or where large perch or chub are likely to be. A tub of floatant and a tub of sinkant wil be required for the leader. A hundred quid should see you through if you already have the landing net and mono line to hand.

[philfish1966]

you can fish for most fish with a fly or a lure. barbel like crayfish so ive seen the crayfish fly used and twiched across the bottom and works well in clearish water. ive had lots of carp on bread fly and biscuit fly. when you cant use a real dog biscuit as some waters have band them!perch ive had on black damsel or dennis the menis fly and gold head hairs ear. and other flies. i use a 5wt Rod for most of my fly fishing and a 7ft 3wt if on a small stream if any one needs any flies let me know if there isnt a shop near you ill ty you one up to try.

phil

[bigsean]

welcome to the forum phil,
there is a lake near me and part of it is open enough to fly cast, and it has pike (which i lure fish for) carp, bream, tench, and loads of roach and perch in it, so i think i'll start there and see how i get on
i am currently only fly casting on grass and its taking a while to sink in
there are also a few trout fisheries within 30-40 minutes drive, so all being well, i hope to have a report or 2 to write on here soon