Fishing Smelt Flies ?

Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:05:38 -0400, "Robert11" wrote:

Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

How weird - I was recently reading a book by William Tapply - a fishing book,
not one of his novels - also, Tapply is the son of Tap Tapply, of "Tap's Tips"
fame - and he was talking about that _area_. I _think_ he wrote a book for
Orvis??? that would cover general fishing in that area, his "home water" for
quite a while. If you're interested in it, do a Google on him, and I'll bet
you'll find it.

As to the underlying question, I have no experience fishing smelt imitations on
the Quabbin and Wachusett, but why would one want a "floating streamer?"
Streamers are supposed to, um, well, "stream." If you want a floating fly, what
about a popper or any number of the on-or-near-the surface "dense hair" flies
like bees, mice, etc.

You don't indicate your quarry - what is it, and when?

HTH,
R

Hi,

Frankly, at my age (in the 70's) will settle for anything that is dumb
enough to take it.

Just a really great excuse to get away from the house, and enjoy the
wonderful atmosphere of the Quabbin and Wachusett
areas. Also like the Deerfield a lot.

Have read, somewhere, that Smelt flies are very effective on the surface
also.
Funny way to fish a true Streamer, but...

Best regards,
Bob
-------------------------

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:05:38 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

How weird - I was recently reading a book by William Tapply - a fishing
book,
not one of his novels - also, Tapply is the son of Tap Tapply, of "Tap's
Tips"
fame - and he was talking about that _area_. I _think_ he wrote a book
for
Orvis??? that would cover general fishing in that area, his "home water"
for
quite a while. If you're interested in it, do a Google on him, and I'll
bet
you'll find it.

As to the underlying question, I have no experience fishing smelt
imitations on
the Quabbin and Wachusett, but why would one want a "floating streamer?"
Streamers are supposed to, um, well, "stream." If you want a floating
fly, what
about a popper or any number of the on-or-near-the surface "dense hair"
flies
like bees, mice, etc.

You don't indicate your quarry - what is it, and when?

HTH,
R

On Apr 6, 11:21*am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hi,

Frankly, at my age (in the 70's) will settle for anything that is dumb
enough to take it.

Just a really great excuse to get away from the house, and enjoy the
wonderful atmosphere of the Quabbin and Wachusett
areas. *Also like the Deerfield a lot.

Have read, somewhere, that Smelt flies are very effective on the surface
also.
Funny way to fish a true Streamer, but...

Best regards,
Bob
-------------------------

wrote in message

...

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:05:38 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

How weird - I was recently reading a book by William Tapply - a fishing
book,
not one of his novels - also, Tapply is the son of Tap Tapply, of "Tap's
Tips"
fame - and he was talking about that _area_. *I _think_ he wrote a book
for
Orvis??? that would cover general fishing in that area, his "home water"
for
quite a while. *If you're interested in it, do a Google on him, and I'll
bet
you'll find it.

As to the underlying question, I have no experience fishing smelt
imitations on
the Quabbin and Wachusett, but why would one want a "floating streamer?"
Streamers are supposed to, um, well, "stream." *If you want a floating
fly, what
about a popper or any number of the on-or-near-the surface "dense hair"
flies
like bees, mice, etc.

You don't indicate your quarry - what is it, and when?

HTH,
R

Bob,

Are you speaking of trolling from a boat? If so, you would want to
experiment with depths and trolling speeds. Salmon and, to an extent,
lake trout will be found near the surface in the first week or two of
the season. After that they will be found deeper. Maybe someone with
more recent experience can comment on this. BTW, there is no such
thing as a "floating" streamer...just streamers. The depth is
determined by how you fish them.

AFAIK, boats aren't allowed at Wachusset, all fishing is done from
shore. I've never fished it, but I would think that the fly fishing
would be better in rivers in the immediate area. I have fished Quabbin
(although not recently), and I would think fly fishing from shore
there would be futile, although trolling streamers in the early season
can be quite productive.

On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 11:21:48 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Have read, somewhere, that Smelt flies are very effective on the surface
also.
Funny way to fish a true Streamer, but...

Hi, Bob

Any of the Carrie Stevens flies would work well in the Wachusett.
Grey Ghost, Black Ghost (not a stevens fly), etc., or any of the
Zonkers. There are other smelt patterns that should also work well.

Fish them with a floating line. This will put them on the "surface"
(actually just a foot or so beneath the surface if you strip slowly).
However, the best way to fish them is to get them deep using either a
sink tip or full sink line. Don't want to change reels or spools? Go
to Orvis in Concord and buy a 7 foot sinking leader with loops at
either end. First loop it to your fly line, then run a 3 foot piece
of tippet (3X) off the other end. This will get the fly down. The
longer you wait before stripping, the deeper the fly will get.

If you are in moving water, you can control the depth of the fly by
mending upstream. Each mend will allow it to sink deeper. Stack
mends (3 or 4 mends performed one after the other) will get it even
deeper.

I last fished Wachusetts about 12 years ago. Never did have that much
success, but it was an easy place to get to. Have you tried White's
Pond in Concord (just around the corner from your house)? It is well
stocked and the fish come easily to a nymph or streamer. If you have
access to a canoe or float tube, get down to the west end of the
"pond" and fish along that shore. White's used to be a trophy brown
and rainbow water. I took a 20 inch brown by dragging a wooly bugger
off the bottom using a full sink line. If I had to choose between
Wachusetts and Whites, I would go with the latter. However, parking
could be a problem at Whites. Get there early before the bait boys.

Dave

Hi Guys,

Just a quick thanks for info.
Appreciate it.

Bob

------------------

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:05:38 -0400, "Robert11"
wrote:

Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

How weird - I was recently reading a book by William Tapply - a fishing
book,
not one of his novels - also, Tapply is the son of Tap Tapply, of "Tap's
Tips"
fame - and he was talking about that _area_. I _think_ he wrote a book
for
Orvis??? that would cover general fishing in that area, his "home water"
for
quite a while. If you're interested in it, do a Google on him, and I'll
bet
you'll find it.

As to the underlying question, I have no experience fishing smelt
imitations on
the Quabbin and Wachusett, but why would one want a "floating streamer?"
Streamers are supposed to, um, well, "stream." If you want a floating
fly, what
about a popper or any number of the on-or-near-the surface "dense hair"
flies
like bees, mice, etc.

You don't indicate your quarry - what is it, and when?

HTH,
R

On Apr 6, 8:05*am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

There are plenty of floating smelt patterns -- just google "floating
smelt". They're fished like a dry fly.

On Tue, 7 Apr 2009 15:43:27 -0700 (PDT), redietz wrote:

On Apr 6, 8:05*am, "Robert11" wrote:
Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

There are plenty of floating smelt patterns -- just google "floating
smelt". They're fished like a dry fly.

I did just that. What I found on all of the top 3-4 hits was a "fly" that
looked like a Rapala "built" rather than tyed with a single hook. IMO, this is
bordering, if not right smack on, yet another chapter in the "fly fishing for
people who really don't want to fly fish" story, but hey, YMMV...

TC,
R

On Apr 7, 6:43*pm, redietz wrote:
On Apr 6, 8:05*am, "Robert11" wrote:



Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

There are plenty of floating smelt patterns -- just google "floating
smelt". *They're fished like a dry fly.

The "patterns" described were developed for a particular circumstance,
i.e. smelt caught in the discharge of generators. Predatory fish like
trout and salmon wait in the outflow and grab the helpless fish as
they float by. These are not streamers, and would in no way apply to
the type of fishing the OP wants to try.

On Apr 8, 11:41*am, george9219 wrote:
On Apr 7, 6:43*pm, redietz wrote:



On Apr 6, 8:05*am, "Robert11" wrote:

Hi,

Have never fished streamers much, but am thinking of getting a bunch of
flies
imitating Smelts for some fishing on the Quabbin and Wachusett in a few
weeks.

The streamer flies I do have, that supposedly imitate Smelt's, are
non-floaters, and I have always fished them deep.

Think it is worthwhile to try and find some floating Smelt flies, or are
Smelt imitations mostly
fished non-surface, or deep ?

If so, any suggested patterns for "floaters" ?

How would they be fished; just a dead drift, or... ?

Thanks,
Bob

There are plenty of floating smelt patterns -- just google "floating
smelt". *They're fished like a dry fly.

The "patterns" described were developed for a particular circumstance,
i.e. smelt caught in the discharge of generators. Predatory fish like
trout and salmon wait in the outflow and grab the helpless fish as
they float by. These are not streamers, and would in no way apply to
the type of fishing the OP wants to try.

I was more thinking of flies like this the one pictured in this
thread:

http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/thread?id=837960

which is a streamer, and I've seen it used as a smelt pattern.

I agree that a floating smelt is only useful under special
circumstances.