So I finally got my Jon boat up and running. Thought it would be fun to start Fly Fishing for bass out of it. Is there anyone that exclusively Fly Fishes out of a boat for largemouth?

I just got rid of my 16’ long 70” wide Alumincraft, but I only fly fished when in the boat. I stood on the bow seat or just below on the deck. A Jon boat works great for fly fishing. I’ve got a low profile pontoon now so I use that.

Not exclusively, but chasing LM, SM, and Stripers from a boat is the primary way I fish. But I'm not proud, I'll use a kayak and wade too.

The main thing is to keep clutter or anything with angles away from the loose fly line. That’s true no matter what platform you are fishing from. Line management may not get the attention the fly cast gets, but handling line well is central to enjoyable fly fishing.

yes.just use a cloth laundry basket as a stripping basket

True! Try to keep the dog off the fly line...

Ha, ha! Tate, my dog tends to hang out in the stern. Usually, a tungsten bead whacking the aluminum good and hard sends him that way. He does like to come and inspect the catch.

Love the fishing buddies.



Side Note: Also nice bass!

i could never get used to that, an old towel thrown over trolling motor works too, but I always toughed it out & after a while got to be good at avoiding snags on deck.

Yes, I’ve never used a basket. I watch where I stand and how I strip off the line.

Captain Mac should be chiming in before long

This is awesome. I had no idea there was that many of you out there. I went fishing today and (almost) took the fly rod. It’s going to be hard to leave the tradition tackle behind. I’ll do it soon though!

I went through a period where I forced myself to use the fly rod for 15-20 minutes, then I’d take a break and fish with baitcasting gear. I felt very competent casting and using bait casting gear, but not at all that way with fly tackle. If you know the pattern on the fish and say the bass will take a surface frog, then that’s probably a good time to work in the fly rod with something like a deer hair diver or froggy looking surface popper. If you are confident about knowing what the fish want and where they are using the conventional gear, then there’s often a fly rod approach that will mirror the conventional tackle. But if the fish happen to be very deep, I think the fly tackle is then at a disadvantage and that might not be the time to work on using fly tackle.

The more you cast and handle the line, especially under fishing conditions, not just out in the yard, the more second nature fly fishing becomes. It’s tough mentally when you feel like an old pro at the baitcasting or spinning gear, but then have to put the training wheels back on for fly fishing.

All that muscle memory you likely have with baitcasting or spinning gear works against you fishing with fly rods. The timing on the cast is all different between the one where the lure weight loads the rod and the other, fly fishing, where the line weight loads the rod.

I still have a tendency to overpower casts with the fly rod due to I think all those years tossing plugs or whatever with baitcasting gear.

Don't be scared, just walk away. Flycasting is much easier on your wrist, elbow and rotator cuff if done correctly