Hey guys, I've been lurking in the Fly Fishing section for a while, and just wanted to introduce myself.

I've been a conventional rod fisherman for over 40 years, and have been working hard to transition to fly rods with the constant help and guidance of George Glazener. So far I've just fished for coppernose bluegill and largemouth bass at my puddle near Lake Fork, but am planning to transition to lake fishing out of my bass boat.

So, to those of you that do fish out of bass boats, are there any "gotchas" I should know about? I've been working on controlling my stripped line, and casting in various strong winds, but is there anything else I need to be aware of?

I use TFO Mini Mags, Robin's furled leaders, and mono/fluoro depending on what I'm throwing.

Al

Welcome into the light! lol
There are several on here who fish out of boats (Dusty comes to mind) who will be glad to help. I just wanted to say Welcome!, and hope to hear more from you as you progress.

Kirk

Welcome aboard!
One thing that can be nice in a boat is a stripping bucket, something you can drop line into as it's stripped in; as opposed to it going underfoot on the deck.

Robin I've been playing with a collapsible clothes hamper on the bank, but I'm not sure I could weight it correctly enough to make it a viable option. I was thinking a collapsible one would be easily storable under the console, but I haven't seen any stripping buckets other than the rigid ones.



You aren't kidding, it is the light! Fishing has become fun and new again.

that is an excellent idea! I will have to try that out. Weighing it properly, this is a job for the best and brightest of TFF and rates its own thread.

weighing a stripping basket

Welcome.

It sounds like you've already discovered the biggest "gotcha" which is line management. As you strip in the line, it likes to catch the trolling motor peddle, the seat, the cleats, the depth finder, and everything else on or near the deck. You�ll get used to it with practice, but a stripping bucket can be used or use some towels to cover the problem item if it becomes too much of an issue. Dip the towel in the lake to get it wet which will help prevent it from blowing away.

Other items watch include keeping your line away from the trolling motor blades. Especially if any of the line you�ve stripped in has landed in the water instead of on the deck.

Be sure to watch your backcast to insure you don�t catch anyone else in the boat. Keeping the backcast safe can be difficult in windy situations.

Good Luck!

Hey buddy, glad you came on board!
Now get Rex W. to correct all my bad casting habits I taught you.
Guys, pay attention to Al, he has lots of bass fishing knowledge to share.
George Glazener

not sure if this applies to everyone, but I fish out of a aluminum bass boat & find fishing to the left side easier done that to the right, I am right handed & use my left hand to strip line; if facing the right side I tend to have a shorter stroke due to my leg being in the way (I am not willing to remove my leg )

BB, I can see that. Only needing to buy one shoe isn't that appealing to me either.

I'll be spending some tin boat fishing time myself Tuesday, so I'm sure I'll need to be patient. I've got lot's to learn, but that's what's making fly fishing so appealing.

With George's help and that gear, you're way ahead of the curve already.

Line management is my nemesis. I fish out of an old stick steer aluminum boat and deck space is at a premium, so it's difficult for me to find the room for a stripping basket. Instead, I've opted to use the method of stepping on that crucial coil of line that would allow me to place my bass bug in that perfect position. This method allows you to really expand your vocabulary as well as teaching you to dance while you cast to try to not be standing on that coil at the wrong moment. The dancing almost never helps the casting, but it does dissuade others from fishing near you for fear of their personal safety.

If possible, remove everything from the casting deck that looks like it might even THINK about snagging your line.

If you're alone in the boat, you can fish out of either side with impunity, but once someone else climbs aboard, you'll have to modify your casting. Learn to cast across your opposite shoulder, or just cast "backwards" and release the bug on the backcast instead of the forward.

If there's another fly flinger in my little boat with me, I usually approach structure so that my guest can cast with their right hand nearest the stern. The best of both worlds would be to find a flinging buddy who was left handed.

My trolling motor is hand controlled, so that's a constant struggle for me with regard to boat position versus casting. That's why I generally avoid windy days or, alternatively, use my anchor. I'm not sure if a foot controlled troller would make things better or worse. It would probably be something else for me to tangle line around, or another excuse for me to almost fall out of the boat.

Good luck and please keep us updated with your progress. We also really like pictures of big, green sunfish with big oral orifices.

George and I will be fishing my puddle Tuesday out of my tin boat. It'll be a first for us, and I hope it doesn't turn out like a 3 stooges episode.

We'll be in LMB culling mode, so hopefully repetition will help with the learning curve. Besides, if it gets to windy, we can always find some CNBG that love pellet flies.

Allen is a very modest man - it takes a while to dig personal stuff out of him - his "puddle" has produced double digit Florida largemouth bass.
I am looking forward to fly-fish his "puddle"!

Looking ahead at the forecast, it seems you gentlemen will have a rare non-broiling June day to chase them. Of course, we expect a full report!

Oh, and judging from that 'gill picture, that puddle looks like quite a fishin' hole.

Some of Allen's "cull" bass...
These were electroshocked - we gotta catch ours..