Float N Fly

[StriperFan]

Well, I have been invited to a weekend on Dale Hollow fishing Float N Fly for Smallmouth. The guys I will be going with have been a couple of years with success, but I will be the first to arrive Friday and will be on my own that day. This is definetly out of the norm for me, but I am excited to try something new. I have rigged with 4# test and slip bobbers and have a variety of little jigs. Any advice would be appreciated. I am planning on hitting fairly steep rocky banks, with my bobbers set at around 12'-15' for starters.

[Travis C.]

IF you want to out fish them the little jigs will work but trout magnets/crappie magnets are better. Especially trout magnets.

Search the forum for trout magnets and you'll find a post or two of Alphahawk using them there.

I have always been told to look for 45 degress banks especially main lake points, secondary points and first pockets up in the creeks. But I haven't had a chance to get up there to winter fish these smallies yet.

[StriperFan]

Thanks, that is good info. Trout magnets are actually some of the jigs I had picked up. Never used them before, but had read enough on here to pick some up. I watched some Youtube videos of float n fly and most folks were useing hair jigs on there, so I was thinking I would pick some up at the local shop up there. But I will stick with the trout magnets Friday for sure. I also have a creek near my house I thought about catching a few minnows to bring with me to put on a jig head. Would you say that would be worth the effort?

[Travis C.]

They catch a bunch on minnows up there in winter. But it is painfully slow fishing similiar to float-n-fly. Light line and hook letting it free spool sometimes a split shot but small.

Another way you can catch them in winter there or anywhere is find those small gravel sloped banks and use the small compact jigs either hair or rubber but a good crawfish color.

If fishing on the deep side of a point cast to bank, let sink, then crank it bank really slow not hoping but similiar to a crankbait maintining contact to bottom. Once you lose contact stop and let line out getting it back down. Work it down the slope back to you. Just the opposite for sitting shallow casting to the deep side of a point. Work it back to you slowly.

Let the bank determine which approach you use...a sharp sloping bank (sit shallow cast deep) .....a gradual sloping bank (sit off in a deeper cast shallow).

Smallies love this in cold water.

[Travis C.]

For those crawfish jigs on smallies or anytime a real good color scheme in my opinion is a pumpkin/orange body with a olive green trailer.

One of the guys that I have seen on tv shows fishing up there uses a yellow pill head hair jig to crawl on the bottom in winter.

[txnative]

A live shiner on a 1/0 gold Aberdeen hook with no weight works, too. Sit a cast length off a bluff bank and cast as tight to the bank as possible, then let the shiner swim where it wants. It's a slow method, and I would try the float n fly first. I like this lure-then-live bait approach, since I can pick off aggressive fish that act as tattle-tales about presence of other fish, then refish an area with live bait to clean up on the others.

You can use two rods at once this way, too. Freeline a shiner with the rod in a holder and work a float n fly with the other, but I recommend using a size 2 circle hook (I like Owner Mutu light circle hooks) to avoid gut hooking any fish that eat the shiner.


Chris

[nejones0923]

I'm not an expert. But, I use 8lb braid on my main line (floats and casts better for me) to a three way swivel. Then 6lb florocarbon to the fly. The third point on the swivel is where I hook the bobber. Where are you staying at Dale? I would use duck feather flys. Check at the One Stop, they have a good supply. The latest I've heard is fishing seconday creek points and then back in the hollows staying away from the bank. That's the same thing I found at Tims a few weeks ago. Bottom line is find the shad and you will find the fish in the near vicinity. Let us know how you do.

Blessings,
Nelson

[Travis C.]

Check at the One Stop, they have a good supply.

Blessings,
Nelson

That reminds me don't forget to stop by One Stop and get some BBQ... hits the spot after a day of fishing.

[StriperFan]

Thanks for all the good info. That makes twice someone has suggested the One Stop for BBQ since I have been planning the trip, looks like its a go. My directions to the location are Highway 111 to Highway 52, then take boatdock road to the end. Those are the same type places I typically fish on Tim's as well. I usually use fairly aggressive baits, swimbaits and poppers, to catch schooling hybrids there. I think it will be a matter of slowing down and downsizing to get the smallie bite. I got some of those soft minnow baits in a jar, crappie magnets, and twister tails so far. I havent picked up anything with real feathers or hair yet, but thought I would save that for the local shop. I will keep you posted.

[Travis C.]

Good Luck!

[StriperFan]

First let me say we had a great time, but there were some bumps in the road. After I got everything in order Friday it was running too late to worry about live bait. I got up there (Mitchell Creek Marina, great folks) in time to fish Friday afternoon. I used the trout magnet on a slip bobber set at 9-12'. Conditions were very windy and I mostly stayed in the creek. That evening I caught the Kentucky and another smaller smallie. Saturday morning, we woke up to one of the boats almost sunk (poor guy came in late Friday and just launched his boat and put it in the slip not knowing his livewell pump was leaking). The smallie was caught on a traditional fly, same rig, along with another and the biggest of the trip 18" smallie.

[Travis C.]

Sounds like a fun trip minus the boat problems.

We helped out in a similiar situation one time a Cordell Hull. A guy had launched and went to park his truck at his campsite. Then came back to the dock only to find it half sunk. He had just bought the boat used and it was the first time in the water. Dad and I tied our boat to it at used the outboard motor to pull the back of his up enough to bail and finally get it back on the trailer. At one point I thought ours was going with it.

[StriperFan]

I had a bilge pump I use for pulling deep water in the summer to keep alewives alive in Tim's Ford. Best bait there is for Smallmouth, Walleye, and Striper/Hybrid. An 800 gph pump encased in styrofoam that I attach 30' of connectable 1/2 conduit to the bottom of to pull cool water with a section of garden hose attached to the top to throw in the live well. In the summer the alewives will die if you catch them and put them in water pumped off of the surface. This way, I can catch them at night in deeper water, and put them in my livewell and fish them deep the next day and they will be very lively. Off topic. Anyway, that pump was not making any headway, so Joe at the Marina went and got his gas powered pump and saved the day. He was our most dedicated trip planner and smallmouth fisherman. He was so distraught that day that he couldn't even bring himself to go in one of the other boats ( he spent the day going and getting and replacing the bad pump, draining water out of his gas, etc, etc.)