Vertical Fishing

[zonker]

I've seen some of you mention it in passing. Just how much vertical fishing do you do from your tubes, i.e., not trolling (or dragging) and not casting. What methods do you like to use? Lures? Flies? Jigs? Spoons? How successful are you?

z~
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Vertical presentations...jigging...is a big part of my fishing. Almost all species of fish hang out on or near the bottom at times. When they are near the bottom they are often more in a feeding mode than when they hang suspended at middepth. And, some fish are simply "structure oriented" and school up around underwater rocks or other objects.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Knowing the lake, the species and their habits is a big help. Having a good sonar and knowing how to use it is vital. One of my favorite fishing expressions is "You can't catch 'em where they ain't." If your sonar shows you that there are fish beneath you, and how they are grouped...or if they are just cruising through...you have a better idea of where to fish and how to fish them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The big exceptions to the above statements are trout, kokanee and crappies. These fish often suspend at some point between the surface and the bottom. In those cases you need to know how deep to drop your lure. It is even better if you have a sonar capable of registering your lure on the display screen, but those are usually higher wattage units than most tubers need or use.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In much of the west, we fish in deep reservoirs. A common target is yellow perch. Perch are a schooling species that tends to forage along the bottom or group in specific areas and remain there for extended periods...especially if there is a food source. So, once we find a school of perch, the best way to fish them is straight down...especially if the bottom is rocky or has flooded brush from when the reservoir was formed. Perch also like to hang around weed beds, so the vertical approach will avoid dragging your lures through the "danger zone". You will still get snags but they are generally easier to get loose than if you pull your lures through an underwater brush field.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In many of our Utah lakes, there are also other species likely to be in the same area as the perch...either preying on the perch or feeding on the same food source as the perch themselves. These often include smallmouth bass, walleyes, northern pike and/or several species of trout. And, the same lures you fish for perch will often catch the other species. I have had many trips where I catch multiple species on the same lures in the same areas.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Small marabou and plastic jigs are a natural for vertical jigging. Use them plain or with a bit of "sweetener"...crawler or fish meat. Some folks prefer just a drop of their favorite attractant, but some scent helps seal the deal. For most of the fishing I do, using plastics, I prefer the small 1 1/2 inch twisters or tubes...in a wide variety of colors. However, I also have my own line of "bait bugs" and "painted body jigs" (PBJs) that work very well. The "Roadrunner" or "pony head" jigs, with a little spinner blade, are very effective for vertical jigging. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When fishing for larger fish...walleyes, smallmouth, pike or bigger trout, I often go to a 3" twister or tube. These get more action when the fish are actively feeding and looking for something bigger to eat. When the fish are less active...during the cold temps of spring or late fall, or the heat of summer...smaller lures work better.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Spinners and spoons are also prime for vertical jigging. Again, smaller is usually better unless you are fishing for big pike or lake trout. Also, tipping with natural bait can help. The key thing is to work the hardware right. A slow lift and drop or just a wrist jiggle/flutter...followed by "dead sticking"...will get more bites without spooking the fish. Violent jigging often scares the fish or at least causes them to stay away.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]"Drop shotting" is a great method of fishing vertical. This consists of putting a weight on the bottom of your line and then creating a short dropper loop from 12" to 24" above that sinker. You attach a special drop shot hook on the loop and use it to present small plastics or bait to fish that are feeding just above the bottom. Actually, it can be a great way to fish flies straight down in deeper water too.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Regardless of what you are using, for what species of fish, you need to have sensitive tackle and know how to both watch and feel for bites. Not all fish smash your lure or bait and if you are not totally focused on your fishing you will miss many bites that you never knew you had. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Fish on the bottom may swim up to take your lure and continue upward with it for a ways. If you are waiting for a "strike", you won't feel a thing. But, if you see your line go slack...or stop dropping before it hits bottom...you need to quickly raise the rod to feel weight and set the hook.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Similarly, some fish will swim in from the side, pause in front of your jig and then just open their mouths and suck it in. If they don't like what is in their mouth, they will just as quickly spit it back out. Many anglers feel nothing and keep fishing...complaining that "There ain't no fish here," But, if you keep a tight line to your lure, and watch where the line goes into the water too, you may feel a slight "tick"...or see the line give a little twitch. Again, set the hook. Hook sets are free.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are actively jigging your lure...as with a spoon...you really need to be aware of how far the lure drops on the down stroke. And, as mentioned, if it stops too soon, react quickly. Lots of fish intercept a spoon on the fall. Or, if you start lifting the spoon on the upstroke and feel a "rubber band" bit of weight, same thing. Set the hook.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you are not a skilled angler, NOT tuned to watching and feeling what is going on below, you should probably not do much vertical jigging. You will aggravate a lot of fish without hooking many, and you will be frustrated. However, if you are attuned to "touch fishing", vertical jigging is a lot of fun and very rewarding. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have made a lot of reports on this board over the years. With the exception of the times I have been fishing for catfish or wipers in water less than 10 feet deep, most of my reports include catches made while vertical jigging. And, since I usually include a picture of the lure hanging from fishes' mouths, you can see that small jigs are my primary lure of choice. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In doing a mental flashback of all the fish I have caught...of over a hundred species...a high percentage of them have been taken while vertical jigging. And, my biggest fish of most of those species have usually been caught on small lures being fished for other species. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]For me...it works.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

I do a great deal of VERTICAL fishing. For me it is Deep Nymphing. Generally with Chironomids, but I use nymphs as well. Anywhere from 8' to 30' leaders. Probably my favorite style.

There are certain lakes I fish that VERTICAL is not an option. Like the Lake I am at right now. It is at the most 24' deep, with most fish being caught in 13', so it is the cast and strip. I have caught fish here on Chironomids and Vertical, but, it is slow.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Say hi to "Henry" for me.[/#0000ff]
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[flygoddess]

Henry is being kinda today....allot of crying....AND WIND! 42 degrees air but with wind feels more like 30's plus WET!
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[zonker]

Thanks for the responses.

My vertical fishing has been mostly with chironomids under an indicator for trout and jigging spoons when fishing for kokanee. I've also connected with suspended largemouth and smallmouth bass using shiny silver spoons near large schools of threadfin shad. We don't have many yellow perch in Oregon - at least not close to me. Ditto with crappies.

One of the big surprises for me some years ago was how many kokanee hit the spoons when dead sticking. Twitch it a couple of times, then just let it hang, using spoons such as Buzz Bombs, Crippled Herring, and my own homemade versions of the same. Some of the strikes while doing this are savage with the rod tip suddenly plunging. Of course on some days there is little indication of activity on the terminal end and you have to be quite observant, as TD has pointed out, to detect the take.

Also, during a damsel hatch I have found that suspending a damsel nymph under an indicator at the proper depth and just letting it hang with no action imparted can be deadly. I "discovered" this quite by accident many years ago when eating lunch in my canoe. I'd had no action so I just tossed it out and let it hang a foot or so above the bottom. I almost didn't get to finish my sandwich because the trout kept yanking the indicator under. This after absolutely no results using horizontal presentations.

I've found also that when spin fishing, using non-stretch braided line and a fairly responsive graphite rod really helps detect the sometimes subtle strikes.

FG, you said you also use nymphs (besides chironomids) for you vertical fishing. Do you fish these with any imparted action besides the wave action on the indicator?

z~
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[SHigSpeed]

[quote flygoddess]I do a great deal of VERTICAL fishing. For me it is Deep Nymphing. Generally with Chironomids, but I use nymphs as well. Anywhere from 8' to 30' leaders. Probably my favorite style.

There are certain lakes I fish that VERTICAL is not an option. Like the Lake I am at right now. It is at the most 24' deep, with most fish being caught in 13', so it is the cast and strip. I have caught fish here on Chironomids and Vertical, but, it is slow.[/quote]

You fly fish a sinking line and THIRTY FEET of leader straight down from your tube?

Also, being new to fly fishing, can you differentiate between chironomids and nymphs? I thought that chironomids (very large group of "bugs" that emerge from water) all are nymphs at some point?

What particular patterns do you use?

I fished new water this weekend and the fish were rising everywhere but I had zero luck on any of a few dry patterns I was throwing. I thought that I had left my leech and bugger box at home (it was actually the flip side of my dry box!!) so I ended up catching a few casting a baby Rapala floater in the end.

_SHig
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[flygoddess]

First off, Floating line with a 30' leader, plus and indicator. Brian Chan deep nymphs with a sinking line with probably a 7' leader, but he drops the line straight down from rod tip and jugs or slow retrieve.
I prefer the indicator. I buy special slip indicators that when the fish hit the indicator will come loose and slide. I also prefer the indicator, because the waves make the nymph/chironomid bounce.
Now Chironomid is more a PUPA, Larva stage. Like magots or worms.
Nymphs are different insects like Mayflies. Start off as Nymph them Emerger then dry. I suspend my Chironomid one foot off the bottom in most cases and have another maybe 3 feet off the bottom.
Generally if you look at a lake you will see shucks floating, chances are this is a Chironomid shuck, plus gives you an idea of size for that lake.
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