Ok who here has used a bubble and fly setup? I have tried twice now and haven't caught a thing. I am not presenting it right for some reason. I used a Just A Bubble, with a fly. Tried the retrieve slow, tried it a little faster. Got a couple of bites, but no fish would buy into it all the way. Maybe I had the float too close to the fly. I'd say it was close to 6ft from the float bobber to the fly. Tried it with a small wake, large wake, NO WAKE....same thing, NO LUCK. What am I doing wrong?

What are you using when you say "fly". Use a 1/4oz hair jig and a slip float about 3' or mor above it. There was a great article in bassmaster about it not too long ago. Try the archive on http://www.bassmaster.com

I was using a wooly bugger. Plus I used a caddis fly. Plus a couple more streamers about the size of the wooly bugger. I will look at bassmaster and see what they have on the subject, thanks.

If you trying to catch fish this time of year you need be on the bottom and moving slowwww. You'll probably have much better luck with that set up in the spring and summer for bream, crappie and bass. My 2 cents.

I am trying to use this for trout.

For trout, depends on the water conditions you are fishing in. In moving water and using nymphs, brassies etc., they work best when you try your best to simulate a dead or drag free drift. Cast 1/4 up current and drift till 1/4 down current. Fill the bubble till it provides the most natural drift. Lift the rod tip to set the hook when you see any hesitation. You might also need to adjust the length of your leader to the depth of the water and a small split shot to keep the fly near the bottom.

In fly fishing this scenario is called nymphing. A weighted fly or a very small split shot still applies but in place of a float we use a strike indicator so we can see the hesitation in the drift that indicates a strike. This is an often overlooked and extremely deadly technique for trout if mastered. I have caught many many trout on the Guadalupe this way.

In still water, you'll do better if you do the same setup but do a very slow steady retrieve. Simulate the natural movement of the critter that your fly is trying to imitate. Unless of course you're fishing for stocked trout that are more familiar with food pellets.

Hope that helps.

Yes this is stocked trout for the time being. I hoped to take this technique to a river soon. I do not know how to work things like a wooly bugger. I also have a mosquito larvae called a midge I believe. I was told to put that one on the bottom. I am fishing at a lake. No water movement to speak of. I thought I would practice at the lake, and then go to a place with bigger trout. I have fished in upstate NY many years ago for trout. It was river fishing. But we used bait with light rods, NOT flies. So this will be a new experience for me.

A wooly bugger and a dropper with a midge is good. You'll lose a few midges from hangups but that combo works well. I get good results with stock trout using a salmon egg pattern and a brassie on a dropper as well. Oh yeah .. for small stocked trout use no more than 4-6 pound leaders.

You rig up both at once, the bugger and the midge?

Now that is a cool idea. I have done something similar crappie fishing with minnows and jigs. Never thought about it for fly fishing. Thanks so much.

Just get a real fly rod... A walmart setup will only cost you less than $30, and you can learn a new skill. Catching fish using a fly rod is a whole new experience, and I'm not just talking trout.

I have a fly rod in the garage. I never could get the hang of it. It was a Bass Pro Shop White River rod. A starter rod to be sure. I am going to another fly seminar to see if I can get help. I want to learn how to use it, but I am not successful in my cast.

I'll be happy to meet up with you and give you some tips. Send me a PM and maybe we can meet somewhere and fish. I'm usually in the metroplex but on occasion spend time in E. Texas, close to Tyler, visiting in-laws.

first few days of trout stocking this will really catch trout

http://www.chiff.com/a/fish-bubble.htm

you can even use the cheap laker flies they sell at walmart

Yes that link is exactly the thing I am trying to do Bass fro chop. :-)

i use 3 feet for leader. gl

Well maybe I used too long of a leader then. Is this for wet or dry flies you used a 3ft leader?

either, bass pro sells these, which are similar to what i use.



http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores...t=SearchResults

Sells the bubble? I just got a Just A Bubble from Gander Mountain. I am also gonna try a bubble I ordered from Cabelas.

bought mine in colorado

http://www.fliesbyguy.com/cast-a-bubble.htm

You are a lucky dog. I would love to be in Colorado fishing, well when it's a bit warmer that is. LOL.

Don't be discouraged. Like any technique, sometimes it's hot and sometimes it's cold. It was deadly on the stock trout at Bethany in Allen and outfished bait and spinners. I tried it again at Fort Richardson State Park a few weeks later and they weren't interested. Keep the rig with you as an option and you'll see that under the right conditions (and fish mood), they can be terrific. I use about a 3' leader from the bubble.

Wow that was good info and cheered me up at the same time. Thanks Buccaneer. I will do as you say, and I will shorten my leader. :-)