Big Smiles at AML

[DanR]

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing Bruce. Maybe we'll see ya up there. Not sure which cabin we'll be in, but we'll be in shortly after dark (dependent upon which area of the lake we win up in at dark).

If we're having any success, we're happy to share info. Since its your first time on Eagle, read some posts here on which baits & colors to bring. Keep it simple. My arsenal is basically: Spankys/Cowgirls, Depth Raiders, Grandmas, and Bulldogs. Better luck on more natural colors. I've been experimenting more with Topwater lately too.

Dan

[Northcoastie]

Awesome story. Thanks for sharing Bruce. Maybe we'll see ya up there. Not sure which cabin we'll be in, but we'll be in shortly after dark (dependent upon which area of the lake we win up in at dark).

If we're having any success, we're happy to share info. Since its your first time on Eagle, read some posts here on which baits & colors to bring. Keep it simple. My arsenal is basically: Spankys/Cowgirls, Depth Raiders, Grandmas, and Bulldogs. Better luck on more natural colors. I've been experimenting more with Topwater lately too.

Dan

Thanks for the information Dan... have a fairly full box, so advice to lighten the load is welcome, as I will also be packing some flies to see if they are of any interest to the fish

[Bill Hedden]

Thanks for the information Dan... have a fairly full box, so advice to lighten the load is welcome, as I will also be packing some flies to see if they are of any interest to the fish

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

[DanR]

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

Just like when Han Solo says to Luke, "nothing is a match for a good blaster at your side, kid." when Luke got his first lightsaber. I say, "I'll take a 8.5foot St Croix with a baitcaster, and a smoke/black Spanky over a fly any day, Bill." :-D

[Northcoastie]

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

Great thoughts Bill,
while I have been in this situation alone and with my buddy--also an occasional flyguy for the big fish--your perspective is though=provoking! Thanks for sharing. My favorite buddy is my wife, who flyfishes less than she baitcasts--and less than she offers opinions about what we should be doing differently than we are doing, But her casts are generally shorter than a man's, so we will be close to casting the same distance (me about 75 feet, hers, a bit longer, but from the back of the boa). and besides, having a fly rod handy is as much about follows and throw-backs as it is about blind casting. Still, there's a lot to learn in this gig, so please continue to share.

[Northcoastie]

Bruce,
I have fished flies for muskies and spent quite a bit of time fishing with a partner who was flyfishing exclusively, and I have a few thoughts. First, and if you are the only fisherman in the boat this is irrelevant, but if you are fishing with a partner then both of you should fish flies together. Otherwise, the difference in casting length makes it very hard to put the boat in the right place relative to the structure. My fishing buddy was casting a spey rod 100' but if I put him in the right place I felt like I was crammed on top of the fish and making pooch casts all day. If I set up the boat for my casts, he couldn't reach the sweet spots. Second, though you are casting big, wind resistant flies in a place that is often windy, you probably want a relatively short rod (8'6" or so), because you need to do boatside maneuvers with flies just like with baits. That gives you your best chance to actually have a successful hook set since the fish takes at the boat and turns off so the hook can hit them in the corner of the mouth and get stuck. If a fish takes from behind as you are stripping in a fly, it is terribly difficult to to make a successful hook up. I vividly recall being on Snowshoe Point with Cal and a nice fish took my friend's fly about 35 feet from the boat. He hit it so hard that I thought his rod would break and, indeed, the fish struggled on the line for a few seconds while Cal and I cheered, and then the fish simply looked at us and opened its mouth and let the fly go. It wasn't hooked at all. In sum, flies are a lot of fun and you should surely catch some big pike if you work at it, and they might provoke a muskie when nothing else is working, but everybody in the boat is fully involved in flyfishing and needs to be bought in to the process; and you often hook them at boatside, just like baitcasting. One thing for sure: you can be very proud of any big muskie you catch on a fly.
Bill

Great thoughts Bill,
while I have been in this situation alone and with my buddy--also an occasional flyguy for the big fish--your perspective is though=provoking! Thanks for sharing. My favorite buddy is my wife, who flyfishes less than she baitcasts--and less than she offers opinions about what we should be doing differently than we are doing, But her casts are generally shorter than a man's, so we will be close to casting the same distance (me about 75 feet, hers, a bit longer, but from the back of the boa). and besides, having a fly rod handy is as much about follows and throw-backs as it is about blind casting. Still, there's a lot to learn in this gig, so please continue to share.

And Dan--I generally agree with your thoughts about the baitcaster (esp St Croix's) over the fly... but sometimes it's nice to throw something bit different.