# Live bait flyfishing?



## fishreaper (Jan 2, 2014)

I haven't actually begun to practice fly fishing yet, as I'm still acquiring school supplies before I buy an out of state license (just bit a $125 calculator cost. -O,- ), but with all of the talk of matching the hatches of various insects at various times, is it possible to simply catch live specimens and use them? 

I've considered the idea that you could probably pick up some fly tying hooks and rig them up with the fauna of the week. Has this been done before? I imagine the biggest difficulty would be keeping the bait on the hook while casting, but out side of that, seeing as the cast seems to be based on the weight of the line rather than the bait/lure, what could go wrong? Or is it just not sporting?


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## Mr Muleskinner (Feb 14, 2012)

Sporting is in the eye of the sportsman IMO. Between catch and release and what I should or should not be taking home and eating.......I think if it is within the law and you find it enjoyable, have at it. I think tying a live cricket to a fly line would be sporting in its own right.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Live bugs are usually too delicate to stay on a hook when casting the line.

Now, live worms and hoppers… I've used many with the fly gear in the past. Spinning gear is more suited for that though.

One single artificial bug will catch many fish and stay together better and longer. Plus live ones can be difficult to catch. 

.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

A nightcrawler dead drifted on a fly rod like you would a nymph is _deadly. _Casting is done like flipping for bass.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Seining nymphs and using is certainly doable. But there are 5 or 6 basic dry flys that can get you into fish fairly consistently on the Logan, Blacksmith and the Narrows. After doing that you will feel comfortable enough to expand.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Sawsman probably hit on the biggest issue. These little bugs just fall apart when you put them on a hook so it just isn't practical. With bigger bugs, say, stonefly nymphs, it can be done. But not at all with caddis or mayflies. Live hoppers work, but you have to flip cast, as a normal cast, even a gentle roll cast will rip the hook right through them. It is surprising just how much line speed is generated at the end of your fly line on a back cast. And natural bugs just get shredded. 

And I'd add an amen to what Packfish said. 5-6 basic dry flys can get you into fish consistently throughout the year. 

One thing I'd surely caution - is getting into the idea of super picky match the hatch stuff. I've been through that game before. I started fly fishing with the basic dozen or so patterns. And then got into matching every little aspect of the hatch with size, color, segmentation, whatever as I got better and better at tying. Then I found myself drawn back to the same basic patterns I started with. And really, probably 90% of the fish I catch anymore, are on 2 patterns - size 14 elk hair caddis and size 16 pheasant tail. I tie my own, and keep scissors with me when I fish. And if the mayflies are doing it, I'll clip the wings, tweek them around, and fish the mayfly hatch. The elk hair caddis can be fished as a hopper, attractor, match the caddis hatches, or clipped to be something else. I used to scoff at some of the traditional flies that have been around forever - adams, renegade, royal wulff, elk hair caddis, phesant tails, hare's ear, griffeths gnat, etc..... But there is a reason they've been around forever.


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## 30-06-hunter (Sep 22, 2013)

Cooky said:


> A nightcrawler dead drifted on a fly rod like you would a nymph is _deadly. _Casting is done like flipping for bass.


Yes it is, floating/drifting a crawler on about any setup is very effective.


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

WE have done this for years....obviously, hoppers and nightcrawlers for sure. But, we also use rock rollers, stoneflies, crayfish, sculpin, and have even tried mormon crickets on my fly rod!


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

Cooky said:


> A nightcrawler dead drifted on a fly rod like you would a nymph is _deadly. _Casting is done like flipping for bass.


Tying a piece of "garden hackle" on a hook is lethal fish medicine for sure.:grin:


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I know I've mentioned it before, but growing up fishing with Grandpa, he called his fly rod, his stream rod, and he never fly fished with it. Instead, he had the spring loaded automatic reel loaded with 6# mono, and used it to fish small stream. It was better than a spinning rod to flip worms or live grasshoppers up under the willows. It was an incredibly efficient and effective fish catching combination. 

But back to the initial question - catching live bugs and putting on hooks to match the hatch exactly - outside of hoppers and larger nymphs, it really doesn't work out. And even with those, you can't fly cast the way you do with artificial flies.


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

I would bet if you had a small enough hook you could use super glue and glue what ever bug you wanted on it. But imitation bugs work just as good and they stay on longer


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