|
Spinning Rods for Trout and Steelhead Fishing.
Spinning Rods Trout Steelhead Fishing
Spinning is not a new method of fishing. It has been used in England and on the Continent for a good many years, but only during the past few decades has it been taken up by American anglers. Now it is being used on everything from bullhead to trout. Spinning Rod Fishing Spinning has been called a cure-all method of fishing by some of its devotees. Dyed-in-the-wool fly fishermen have called it a number of things not quite so complimentary. It is trite to say it has found its place in American angling. It is more to the point to examine its merits and limitations. When we do this we find it deserves a place between the extreme viewpoints of the spinning enthusiast and the fly fisherman. Spinning is not going to make all other methods of angling obsolete you may be sure of that. In its place it is effective, but when you try to make it take the place of fly fishing, or of some forms of bait casting, it is less effective than the methods it tries to displace. Spinning's position in angling is with those light lures intermediate between bait and fly rod fishing; it bridges the gap between those two methods of angling. There are days when a bait rod will not pay off on bass, times when a fly rod is not the most effective means of taking trout on the high, silt-laden streams of early spring. For such situations a .spinning outfit is ideal. There are plenty of good bass fishermen, though, who confine all their fishing to the use of a spinning rod. They use those small 1 Ato Bounce plugs, wobblers, and weighted spinners. Very effec tive they are, too. Such spinning lures are naturals for sharpshooting the small openings and pockets among the cattails and lily pads. One universal appeal of spinning is that most inexperienced anglers believe that they automatically become experts just by purchasing a spinning outfit. But, like any other method of fishing, spinning requires plenty of practice to develop the casting skill which makes it most effective. True, even the greenest tyro can cast a fairly presentable line with a spinning outfit, right from the start. And he will take some fish on his very first fishing trip. But to realize the full fish-taking potential of spinning is something else again. Too many anglers are using this method of fishing without realizing how it responds to improved casting technique. They achieve an ability to cast forty feet with a spinning outfit, find they can take fish occasionally, and that is that. The two most common requirements of all angling accuracy and delicacy are inherent in spinning, but it takes practice, study, and experiment to bring them out. Once I watched an expert with a spinning outfit work a willow-fringed shore line of a Idee. He was casting from a boat at a time when few anglers were making any catch at all. But those shy, large-mouth bass lying under those willows were setups for his careful casting. Only a Devon Minnow, dropped lightly under the branches of those willows, where the dark water outlined a small shadowed area, would interest them. Time after time I watched that tiny silver explosion in the brown water as his cast snaked out, and the Devon Minnow dropped in those gloomy pockets with a small splash. In many places, willow branches came down within a foot of the water, but not once did I see this angler in trouble with his spinning outfit. He would cast from about forty feet, and his uncanny accuracy and skill paid off with three good bass during the morning's fishing. Here was both accuracy and delicacy. I must also note the more obvious part of this technique which is often overlooked. As I keep emphasizing, accuracy and delicacy are basic in all fishing. They are the how of angling. But of equal importance is the where. This angler not only had the skill to drop his lure with accuracy and delicacy; he also knew where to drop it Quite a number o spinning devotees have yet to learn the latter part of this art. This is much more true of spinning than it is of fly fishing. For fly fishing is not so easily mastered, and when an angler approaches a fair degree of skill with a fly rod he has spent enough time on the water to know a bit about the where of casting. A comparatively new method like spinning if it can still be called new is bound to have an excess of zeal attached to it. Many American anglers turned to spinning convinced that they had the all-around best method of angling at their fingertips. But there is in progress a marked shakedown and adjustment to the limitations of the method. You no longer hear so much about using flies with a spinning outfit a very nice thing. Flies should be left to fly rod fishing with one exception. That one exception brings spinning into the picture when dapping flies for bass or panfish. A small plastic ball, partly filled with water to give it weight for spin casting, is attached to the end of the monofilament line. This ball is never filled so completely that it doesn't float. Several feet behind the ball a dropper leader is attached to the line. This should be about two feet long. With this rig you can duplicate a may fly touching the water as it deposits eggs. You can also imitate a terrestrial fly caught on the surface and trying to arise. Cast into acceptable bass water, let your lure rest for a moment until all disturbance has subsided. Raise your rod until the dropper fly is clear of the surface, then lower it, and dap the fly gently on the surface. A bass, panfish, or trout finds this action very attractive. Often, when one is angling with a spinning outfit, and they are not striking other lures, this method of dapping a fly will save an other wise barren day. Spinning has more possibilities in other directions. The Devon Minnows, Spinners, and Wobblers cast like a dream with a spinning outfit. One season, when the great runs of winter steelhead were entering West Coast streams, spin fishing was very much in evi dence. Many steelhead were taken with spinning outfits using a "Terry" of salmon eggs and a Bounce sinker to get it down on the bottom. Red and white Daredevle, Flat Fish, Hellion Wobblers, and Russle-lures were also very effective with a spinning outfit. Most steelhead anglers using spinning rods and reels had con verted from heavier bait casting outfits. Practically all of them I interviewed felt spinning was the more effective and sporting method of taking winter steelhead. During these later winter steelhead runs, there are but few rivers and fewer days when flies can be used with success. The choice is either to use a spinning or bait outfit or not fish. To my notion, spinning is definitely the more sporting method of the two. Get a twenty-pound rampaging steelhead on an eightor ten-pound test monofilament nylon line, and you need make no apology for the fact that you didn't take him on a fly rod and fly. Spinning reels are varied and very interesting. They actually fall into two basic types: those designed with outside line pickup, for the conventional spinning rod, and another type, resembling a fly reel in appearance, which is often used on a fly rod. I find this latter type very convenient, in that I can carry such a reel while fly fishing. Then, if the exigencies of weather and water so indicate, I can change from fly to spinning without trouble. The use of this reel on a fly rod has certain analogies which simu late fly casting, too. The line, like the fly line, is held in the left hand, using the right hand for casting. At least that is my way of using a spinning reel on a fly rod, and I like the old familiar feel of a line in my left hand. My spin reel, used on a fly rod, has another virtue which has saved me several large fish. It has a star drag which can be set two or three pounds less than the breaking strength of the line. Then, when a heavy bass, steelhead, or trout surges against the line, there is little chance of breakage. A fly rod spinning reel is not indicated for one of those pet 2, 3, or 3 1/2 ounce dry fly rods. In order to handle the usual spinning lures, die rod should weigh from 4i4 to 5 1/2 ounces and have a fairly punchy action. Conventional spinning rods, for all-around fishing, should have a center-tipped action, should weigh about 4 to 4v ounces, and should be 7 feet in length. Many anglers use a shorter rod than this. Some swear by a 5-foot, 3-ounce spinning rod, but the longer lengths will give more control and delicacy, and are to be recommended for average all-around angling. A monofilament nylon line is almost standard for spin fishing. It should be soft, as most of the better grades of monofilament are, especially those of recent manufacture. It should be as light as will consistently handle the fish you are after. For ordinary trout or bass fishing, a line testing not more than 4 pounds is ideal, unless you are fishing in water abounding with lily pads and snags; then you must have a heavier line to keep your quarry away from these entangle ments. For steelhead, salmon, and other heavy fish, you need a line testing around 6 to 8 pounds. Lines heavier than this are hard to cast, and they cancel out the inherent delicacy of presentation of this angling method. Spinning is no magic way of taking fish. On the contrary, its attraction is the fact that it has such a large fish-taking potential but one which is only realized after long, careful study and practice.
|
