"Spinfishing is more effective"

[PennypackFlyer]

On the lake I mostly use bait casting and spinning gear. Each one of my rods is set up a different way......Line weight - action and sensitivity of the rod determine which lure I will use. Yes, I have more than a dozen rods and when I lake fish (From my boat) I take at least 5 rods with me.

I used spinning gear on the river or creek when the water is stained. Other than that I use my flyrod. Since I am a short distance from Pennypack, I mainly fly fish.

I realized quite some time ago that when I focus on competing against the fish I do far better than when I focus on competing against another fisherman. For me, knowing that I must adjust my mentality in order to be more successful is the challenge.

 

[TwoDogs]

I used to be strictly a spin fisher. Decades of experience helped me gain a reasonable amount of skill at using both lures and live bait. For me, I’d say that bait was usually more effective on the small and medium sized streams I fish.

Then about 10 years ago I finally tried flyfishing … Haven’t used a spinning rod since.

I’d probably catch more trout with bait or lures, but solving the challenge with a fly rod is a lot more fun for me!

 

[k-bob]

If effectiveness = catching more inches or ounces of fish, then fishing for stocked trout is quite effective, even tho it is not really what I like.

As TB pointed out, we fish for fun or sport... I just fished for wild browns this week, 42F water on a very small stream, using only dry flies and super light gear. Great fun for me, and a fine day out, even if I maybe could have caught more fish another way. So people just like to fish w different priorities I guess.

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Apparently using a rapala jerk bait or spinner on a certain popular SEPA stream is quite effective! :lol:

 

[RivDiv521]

It all comes down to who is using the gear.

 

[JeffP]

K-Bob, do you use midges? I just wouldn't think dries would work this time of year. I was out yesterday for a bit and saw lots of midges.

 

[Swattie87]

JeffP wrote:
K-Bob, do you use midges? I just wouldn't think dries would work this time of year. I was out yesterday for a bit and saw lots of midges.

Knowing the type of streams Kbob fishes (really tiny, steep freestoners), the Browns in those behave almost like Brookies. When I say tiny, I’m talking about streams with just maybe 2 or 3 sq mile watersheds, or smaller even. Types of places even small stream fans like me will say are too small to bother with. Fish in those, even Browns, will eat anything, and attractor dries still work in Winter (though not as well as in warmer conditions clearly).

My guess is Kbob was fishing with a size 12ish parachute Adams, with a weird colored post. Let’s see if I’m right. ;-)

 

[JeffP]

I guess I just need to take the bugger off once in a while!

 

[Swattie87]

I think it’s a fairly narrow set of circumstances/conditions where what Kbob does will work in the Winter. On even just marginally larger (but still small) and more fertile streams, the chances of an attractor dry working in the middle of Winter go down substantially IMO.

 

[k-bob]

I was looking for brookies in a berks-schuylkill area stream that comes off a ridge.... but found some small wild browns and no brookies ... I was only using about #14 foam ants with yes a crazy hi viz orange post. I only caught a fish or two but it was a blast. Fishing subsurface or with some other dry in lo 40s water may well have resulted in more catches but to me its fishing more than catching. Flow was high, issues w leader drag, not sure trout or I could have seen a midge up there.