Split shot

[paul williams 2]

Just read a flyfishing mag and one of the articles is about using split lead shot on leaders for flyfishing....and here i was thinking you guys were pure and simple!!
Now i personally thought the guy was talking sense......a bit like the top coarse match guys and their shotting patterns, not that this guy was "stringing" them out......the odd one to do things with buzzers and wets etc.
What do you lot think......acceptable behaviour or shoot the bugger?

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

No need for split shot at all. Tie flies with lead wire wound around the hook under the dressing.

You have to tie your own flies however. If you can't tie your own flies you are not a complete fly fisher.

 

[Jeff]

I am, as most of you will know, very new to fly fishing, not even having wet my first fly yet, but even I could make an educated guess that split-shot has no place in fly fishing...

Based upon my coarse fishing knowledge, I imagine that the shot would greatly unbalance a presentaion and cause the fly to drag and act most unnatural in the water thus spooking the fish...?

 

[Paul Daniels 2]

Ron,
I have to say that i find your comment "If you can not tie your own flies you are not a complete fly fisher" really offensive.

I am not getting all politically correct, but lots of people do not have the ability to tie their own flies, through no fault of their own.
Some suffer from debillitating illnesses like arthritis, i myself lost some fingers in the Falklands.

 

[Richard Baker 4]

I must object to the above. I think split shot does have a place in fly fishing. I fish a lot of fast moving rivers, which in places are quite deep. The nymphs used to realistically imitate the natural food in these areas are sizes 18-20. I can't feasably get lead n patterns like this without loosing the realistic appearance. As such a small split shot and fine line helps to get the flies down fast to the taking area and keep them there.

This is a standard method in the states where a great number of fly anglers fish natural rivers for wild fish. on the whole they use much smaller flies than your average british angler, as they provide a very realistic imitation. It is impossible to get these fles down without split shot (or a heavier fly as part of a team to get them there). I use both and see nothing wrong with the method. in fast currents it is a must.

 

[Jeff]

Rich,

As I said I was just taking an educated guess and haven't even got a fly line wet in vain yet...

Paul,

I'm not speaking on behalf of Ron here but I don't think he would have mean't anybody any offence in his comment. I feel he was merely speaking hypothetically in that a big part of angling is for one to progress towards things such as tying their own flies or making their own boilies for Carping etc...???

 

[paul williams 2]

I'm with Richard on this one.....even as a "new" flyfisher i can think of situations where lead on the line could help in presenting a fly/buzzer/nympth......as a life long coarse angler i can see applications where both forms of the sport can meet, hopefully in harmony?
An open mind may even be more important than tying your own?

 

[Ian Whittaker 1]

There are times when an unweighted fly will fish at a better angle with the weight on the leader. Split shot or leadcore can be useful to have in the armoury.
Bouyant nymphs spring quickly to mind though and the next thing you'll find is people flavouring their "flies".

 

[Derrick Hodges 2]

There are occasions when it is required to weight the line and other times when it is right to use a weighted fly. And some times both. I always carry lead shot and use whenever required.

 

[Fishing Gimp]

Just to add my two pennorth worth to this debate if you think about it Czech nymphing could be viewed as rolling ledger work especially as some of the 'flies' i have seen used to get the other flies down consist of nothing more than hooks with lead on them or packed with brass or lead beads. Personally i have nothing against this but there are some anglers who do not approve of this style of fishing.