How Many Flies Do You Lose In A Outing?

[Piscator]

How many flies do you lose on the average during your outings to your favorite trout stream or river? Whether by lost from the trout that break your tippet or lost in trees, brush, etc.? Please provide any details that you wish.

 

[gregorykicks]

well, if i'm wading i usually only loose one or two, but if not wading or fishing in a lake i might loose 5. My biggest qualm is not that they get stuck in a tree or on a rock or a fish breaks my line (i've not been that lucky yet) it's that they fall apart. I buy my flys from a reputable fly store in Nashville and it seems like they're always coming unwound. It's mostly the small nymphs I find that do this.

 

[Piscator]

gregorykicks,
You might try to use some head cement where they whip finish the fly off. It might help the fly hold up longer.
Laterz,
Terry

 

[gregorykicks]

ahh that would work wonders. Would my fly shop have that?
edit* i just read a article about not using head cement, and realized that it is usually the tail or the hackles or whatever else is sticking out that falls off or gets mangled. Would that cement help those parts? (and i also discovered it'd be in the fly tying area.. which i've not been in that part yet.. i'm a little intimidated)

 

[Piscator]

gregorykicks,
First of all please don't feel intimidated when it comes to this forum. You will quickly find out that you may know more than you thought.

I'm not sure if the head cement would help the tail or not but I would think that it wouldn't hurt. Your fly shop may carry it so you might check with them first. If they don't check out The Full Creel Fly Shop on what they have to offer http://thefullcreel.com/index.php?cPath=29_162.

Hope this helps. If not Big Cliff ties a lot he may have a suggestion.

Later,
Terry

 

[gregorykicks]

thanks sorry for hijacking your thread

 

[freeze69]

one other thing that you might want to try and you probally have some laying around your house and don't realize it. try some fingernail hardner. check with your mom, girlfriend, or wife. a couple of fly tying videos i've seen are using this. i've started using it on my own flies.

gregorykicks might have to contact you the next time i'm down your way. planning a trip down to fayetville, tn. to visit a friend and look at a couple of horses. good luck and tightlines to all.

as far as the post goes. on a good day maybe one or two a bad day dang it time to go home and have a cold beer.

 

[Piscator]

thanks sorry for hijacking your thread

gregorykicks, your welcome. Freezy Mans advice is great as well. Also, there is no need to apologize.

Freezy Man, put your vote in when you get a chance.
Thanks,
Terry

 

[gregorykicks]

one other thing that you might want to try and you probally have some laying around your house and don't realize it. try some fingernail hardner. check with your mom, girlfriend, or wife. a couple of fly tying videos i've seen are using this. i've started using it on my own flies.gregorykicks might have to contact you the next time i'm down your way. planning a trip down to fayetville, tn. to visit a friend and look at a couple of horses. good luck and tightlines to all.as far as the post goes. on a good day maybe one or two a bad day dang it time to go home and have a cold beer.

yeah i'm pretty sure we have some of that in my house. That probably will work well. Let me know when you're coming to fayetville, that's about an hour from where I live, and if we travel about 30min further to lynchburg (where they make jack daniels of course) there's a pretty good fishing spot on the Elk river just off of Tims Ford dam. I've only fished their once and my friend and we were skunked (along with everyone else) but there is usually good fishing there from what i've heard. I'd be glad to go fishing, as long as i'm not working

 

[BigCliff]

Freeze69 is right, as I was reading down the posts above his, I was about to suggest clear fingernail polish. I would recommend Sally Hansen's "Hard as Nails" if you're buying some new for this purpose.

Here's a trick to make it easier to use. When you pull it out of the bottle, you will find that the brush is cut off at a right angle to the stem. Use your hands or a paper towel to get most of the polish off of the brush, and then use a pair of scissors to cut it off at an angle. This will give you a point that will make it easier to precisely apply the polish to the tie off point of those flies.

I would also recommend using your hemostats to hold the fly by the bend of the hook while you are applying the polish, and then use them to stick the point of the hook into a piece of foam to allow the fly to dry before you put it in your box.

 

[freeze69]

yeah i'm pretty sure we have some of that in my house. That probably will work well. Let me know when you're coming to fayetville, that's about an hour from where I live, and if we travel about 30min further to lynchburg (where they make jack daniels of course) there's a pretty good fishing spot on the Elk river just off of Tims Ford dam. I've only fished their once and my friend and we were skunked (along with everyone else) but there is usually good fishing there from what i've heard. I'd be glad to go fishing, as long as i'm not working

hoping some time next month. all depends on my wifes work and school schedule. be nice to visit lynchburg again been about 14yrs seen i did that run out of north carolina. will have to let you know for sure.

as far as the fingernail hardner didn't know about cutting the brush on a angle. will have to give that a try.

 

[fshfanatic]

I generally dont fish rivers and streams much, but when I do I am going to lose a few, usually 3-4.

I fish primarily ponds, lakes and reservoirs. I used to lose allot when I was first getting the hang of it. Now The only flies I lose are the ones I cut off and throw into the water after the fish have torn them all to hell.

 

[FowlHabit]

I lost 1 on my first outing.

 

[gregorykicks]

well i've used the "hard as nails" i even tried it to repair a wolley that was loosing his hackle.. i just re-wound it and tacked it down with the polish. they look good. I've been so busy lately.. i haven't gone fishing in almost 4 weeks. All the trout are going to be dead in my creek.. they stock em in the spring, but I bet the water temp is way too hot now.

 

[Bugchecker]

Between losing flies, tearing them up and supplying friends I tie 12 flies a day when fishing hard. Sometimes more.

 

[Yoffione]

It seems all of my answers are "it depends" and again in this case it does.

I voted more than 10 because if I am not getting hung up some I am not getting my fly in the zone I am looking for. Especially this time of year. Most of the time when floating rivers and nymphing I fish tandem rigs and commonly loose both flies. I usually have a large stonefly nymph and a smaller dropper. The stonefly is very heavy to get the setup to the bottom quickly. It tends to snag alot. On a normal day of that I will loose a dozen or even two. It is just part of it and I go out well stocked.

Pounding the banks with streamers I loose a few also. I throw as close to, or in the cover, which is overhanging trees and/or submerged logs. The water is usually fairly swift and it is too much work to row back up to it most of the time.

When I am casting drys or fishing stillwater, I rarely loose a fly.

Last week while nymphing for steelhead I lost every fly I had in my favorite pattern. I took 3 dozen with me thinking that would be plenty for 2 days, but the runs were very snaggy. ALOT of old line. I did loose one to a very large fish about 15 minutes into the fight. Heartbreaker. I HATE breaking fish off after I have worked so hard to hook them. It was a big smart fish and the tippet was very, very worn.

Gregorykicks, it sounds like the flies you are purchasing are not tied very well. It does not sound like a head problem as they are coming undone in the rear. I would try a different source and see what happens. Alot of times I will continue to fish a ragged fly and still catch plenty of fish. Looks a little more buggy. Good luck and keep at it.

 

[GeorgeMcFly]

i got some flies from both anglers dream and big y fly and they both seem to have flies that hold up really well. i have caught 20 or so fish on my hares ear and it looks fine! i ahve also used a hi vis foam beetle and still looks brand new after 15 or so fish. i have never lost one fly yet and i have fished all summer. almost lost one but i swam to the log and got it back :wink: .
the flies are very cheap also 45 to 60 cents. plus they seem to charge only 2.50 shipping unless u get more than 30 bux of flies then its free.both places are pretty good in my opinion. now don't get me wrong i have never caught a trout yet so i don't know how they will hold up but i am sure they will. i have caught some nice cats on um also. only my cousins zug bug took a beating by a 4 or 5 pound cat. didn't even look like a fly after he got done with it. i have never had a fly come apart on me from just fishing it tho

 

[jdgrubbjr]

I don't lose very many dries, but if I'm subsurface fishing, particularly with streamers, I'll average losing 3 per outing. I subscribe to the old adage that if you don't lose a few flies (subsurface) while fishing, you're not getting deep enough.

 

[Fishplease]

The most I've lost in one outing is 2. But on the average, I lose 1 per trip or 2.
But the flies i use often dont hook the snag, instead they wrap around it once and a simple tug will undo it. The hackle prevents it from hooking the snag, as its a gentle cast.

 

[sandfly]

If I'm not losing flie's I'm not fishing in the right places...:wink:
I just break off alot so as not to disturb fish...of course owning a shop helps in replacements...:frogdance