Fishing

Caddis Float U Shape Tube
Caddis Float Tube Fins #31108
Lamiglas G500 Graphite Fly Rod #G906 9', 6 weight
Lamiglas G500 Graphite Fly Rod #G908 9' 8 weight
Crystal River Reels, Coachman CR2003
Crystal River Reels, Coachman CR2103
Scientific Angler Concept Fly Line WF-6
Seaguar Grand Max Tipprt Material

Pure enjoyment to me is the simple art of dragging flies, the trolling method I sincerely enjoy over all the others. The float tube guys have perfected this method and they truly "sluice" the big boys. My float tube is Caddis U Shape that I have used over the last 3 years without any problems. You also need waders for warmth and swim fins to move about. But this story is not about float tubes, it's about the methods and equipment that you utilize for trolling flies. Float tubers perfected this technique by introducing a slower speed movement than what has been done with the age old method from boats. The only difference by boat trolling is the use of the traditional fly rods, fly reels, fly lines and fly leaders from the moving boat. The idea is to barely move the boat and the slower the better. As your fly drags along twitch the rod tip occasionally to add a tantalizing action to the fly. The nice thing for many anglers is that you don't have to know how to execute the infamous fly-casting techniques. It's not important since you can simply pull line off the reel and slide your fly back to position as you quietly oar yourself along. If you have a breeze so much the better, let it blow you along, but not too fast. All the Sierra lakes respond to flies presented this way, although each lake has it's favorite fly patterns.

My equipment is that which I started out with on the float tubes but use most often now from a boat. I use a 6 weight, 9 foot Lamiglas rod. The extra length allows the "tuber" to lift this line off the water from the sitting position in the water. It's best to use a weight forward line which is easier to throw from one back cast. Trout in lakes can be very line shy so you should use 10 foot leaders. Tippets should be as light as possible in relation to the hook size. But it's difficult to keep a 16 inch trout from breaking off on 2 pound leaders from a moving boat. 4 pound test is about the minimum. The new fluorocarbon mono is very invisible and you can deploy heavier test line with it. 4 pound fluorocarbon has the same visibility factor as 2 pound mono. I use three different fly lines which can be changed when needed. Two lines are sinking weight forward types the third is a floating line for dragging along very close to the shallow shoreline. One of the sinkers is a sink tip and the other is a total sinking line. The variety of sinks allows me to put the fly down to varying depths. I use a regular fly reel.

Float tubing is very popular on the lakes but I think an angler can do lots better from a boat. You can cover more area than do the "tubers" and you can go just as slow.