7-27-25 - Guest Dick Haas

On tonight's show, we discussed all aspects of fly fishing for bass, sunfish and other freshwater species. Our featured guest, Dick Haas has caught more than 114 species of fish on a fly and taught hundreds the enjoyment of the sport.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:44):
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Speaker 2 (01:00):
Good evening, everybody, Jim Straighter here and welcome aboard. Jim
straighter outdoors. We've got a really fun filled program for
you tonight. We're going to talk fly fishing, and fly
fishing to me is one of the most fun filled
adventures in anglic I mean, catching fish on fly rides

(01:21):
a different thing. But the main reason that we're doing
this program tonight is there are so many misconceptions about
fly fishing. A lot of people think it's hard to do.
They think it's moneyly suited for trout or salmon in rivers.
And I have a very dear to me friend on

(01:43):
with us tonight. His name is Dick Hass. Dick and
I have known each other for more than fifty years.
We worked together in sporting goods back when we were
in our early twenties, and the journey that we've taken
in fly fishing led to warm one water species, bass, bluegill,

(02:03):
shell cracker, muskie, stripers, you name it. And Dick has
caught over one hundred and fourteen species on a fly
throughout his career. That's a quest he started back when
we were young, and man oh man as he achieved
that and then. So so what we're going to do tonight, folks,
is explain why fly fishing is relatively easy to learn.

(02:26):
But most importantly, we're going to talk about the type
of places that it's effective. We're going to talk about
the type of flies that Dick loves and uses most
of the time for each of the species that we
have in this region. And we are going to talk
about this time of year because if you fish for bass, bluegill,

(02:48):
shell cracker, et cetera, all of this known insects are
at their zenith right now. What I mean by that
is they're probably more insects available for forage right now
well that at any other time of the year, and
fly fishing in that regard becomes so effective, And we're
going to talk about the effectiveness and why. Coming back

(03:10):
from breaking Scott, I know you've done a lot of
fly fishing too, but like so many people, most of
yours has been out west for trout, salmon, etc. But
I know you're looking forward to the prog as much as.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
We are really am. When you do take the time
to pick up a fly rod and visit a pond
or a stream or a lake, it's never sort of
amazement of how you can take typical unresponsive fish, especially
laid into the fishing season and end up having a
tight line again before you know it, just because it's

(03:46):
just a whole different way of looking at a topic
that's talked about a lot, Jim, that's finesse fishing. It's
just sometimes people don't have the confidence or the knowledge
you pick up the fly rod, but hopefully after the
night's program they will well.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Dick is the right man for the task. Not only
is the ultimate accomplished fly rod guy for warm water
species that I've ever met, and believe me, I've met
some dandies, but he's also taught hundreds and hundreds of
people to fly fish, and it's just not that hard
to learn. And once you get bitten by what I

(04:21):
call the fly rod bug, you're just as hooked as
the fish you're angling for. So and I mean that
in all sincerity. I'm gonna go to break here real quick.
Coming back, we'll get with my main man, Dick and
talk about the magic of a fire rid and how
fishy it can be, and why the break is presented
by SMI Marine. Go see them the great care of

(04:44):
all your needs, and remember you never get soaked by
my friends at SMI Deck.

Speaker 4 (04:49):
Welcome a Barton, Thank you, thank you, and enjoy being here.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
Well I don't, I guess really many regards have a
friend in this whole world where there's any more memories,
and you and I have together, We've got a bunch
of them, Yes, sir, we bet many many years ago,
five decades ago. Actually, we both were working at Allied
Sporting Goods. I was fresh out of the army and

(05:15):
met you and we ran the hunting fishing departments. You
were my strong arm on the fishing side of things
in many, many ways and lots of estrapades. I've often
affectionately referred to you as my lucky charm. You were
with me for two of my personal best fish ever
in my whole life, and they meant a lot to me.

(05:39):
But it also meant a lot to me that you
were there because we've been friends for so long. Both
of them are kind of odd circumstances that you care
to to share a little bit.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
They were on the weather to begin with.

Speaker 5 (05:51):
The big best day was a tourlet we call it
tornado day, and we knew they were gonna there was
a good chance of tornadoes that day, and there was.
But yeah, I remember that very well. I remember seeing
that big fish. You know when you brought me over
and showed it to me, I didn't realize how bad.
I knew it was a big fish, I didn't know

(06:13):
how big at the time.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Well, we had way back in the day, we had
learned that fronts really put fish on the move. As
you recall, I was one of the first guys in
the United States to talk a lot about weather fronts,
and especially about cellular tables. That's always been a big
deal to me. The moon and there's such an influence.

(06:36):
And that was a full moon period. There was a
huge front coming in out of the west to your point,
and I didn't know. The fish looked so big to me,
and I was so shook up that I went and
got you. We were we were bank fishing, and uh,

(06:56):
I remember the dick. I think I need to mouth
this fish, remember.

Speaker 4 (07:03):
Oh, yeah, very much.

Speaker 2 (07:04):
So.

Speaker 4 (07:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (07:05):
Yeah, that was the biggest large mouth I had just
seen in the flesh.

Speaker 4 (07:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
Absolutely. Yeah. It ultimately weighed ten point two pounds. Yep.
We took it to a Kroger store and you had
it weighed officially because I didn't want all that, you know,
bs around it. And then my other one was a
giant book eal. Yes, and I'll let you tell that
story and I won't see if you remember what you
said when you saw it.

Speaker 5 (07:38):
Yeah, I remember I was the first one to touch,
to put my hands on it. I think when you
brought it, brought it, and I think I said something like,
it looks like a fly the size of a sparrow.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
That's exactly what somebody. Yeah. But the thing about that
fish was I called it on two pounds Lene, Yes, Yes,
you recall I was writing at that time, and I
was promoting like tackle fishing and fly fishing by the way,
and we were cohorts and crime, i'll call it. And

(08:12):
that fish was caught out in open water. Again. I
was writing about the importance of open water fishing. Is
a poster fishing along the bank, and that led to
our personal best day, which was a blue young shell

(08:35):
cracker day. I'd like to describe that.

Speaker 5 (08:42):
Yeah, that that was a day on a golf course
lake after up in.

Speaker 2 (08:50):
Henry, Henry County. Yeah, and it was bedding readier and
bluegill both.

Speaker 5 (08:57):
But I remember the numbers. We caught twenty one or
twenty two panfish that averaged over a pound apiece and
some of them were pound, four pound six unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (09:09):
Well, to this day, that's my best ever string of panfishing.
One day I've caught, you know, well at two pounds
at Alspool gill. But beyond that pound boot gill are
fairly rare, you know they are.

Speaker 4 (09:23):
Most people haven't seen them.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, yeah, that's twenty two on a fly rod, on
a fly rode, I might added, absolutely, that is definitely
something spent. Yeah, absolutely, So you went on to become
addicted to fly fishing, I think the best way to
describe it, and you're infectious enthusiasm for that got into

(09:48):
my bood. You know, I started fly fishing when I
was about nine years old. I had a old I
wish I remember the name of it, but it was
octagon shaped steel fly rod that I got from Bell
Knaps way back in that era, which would have been
in the sixties, you know, or no, I guess that

(10:10):
would have been. Let me think that would have been
late fifties that I had that early, and so it
was in my blood. But you're you're further discoveries about
what it could do really helped me understand how important
it is if you want to catch a lot of fish,

(10:34):
If I may I want to describe and I want
you to pilot here why I have found it so
effective through the years. Number One, it lets you put
the lure in and out in an immediate fashion. There's
not the delay and reeling back in to make another cast.
It's up and out, up and out, which enables you

(10:58):
to fish ashore or a specific piece of structure very
very thoroughly. And the other, and this is the one
you taught me, was it's much easier to get a
fish to really take the bait because the bait most
times is relatively weightless, and so when a fish takes it,

(11:20):
it doesn't realize that it's an imitator. For lack of
a better way to describe it.

Speaker 5 (11:26):
Yeah, flies imitate food forms so much more naturally inaccurately
than than lures do than most spinning or casting lures.
Flies are just they have their own inherent action that
they breathe, you know, They're just things about flies that
are just so much more natural in the world of

(11:48):
imitating food for fish.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Absolutely, and there's all kinds of different types of presentations,
and we're going to get into that in detail. But
one of the things about a fly application would you
want to point to, which would be a great reason
people should take it up, if nothing else, just another
way to catch fish.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
Well, you know, of course I deal with it weekly
as far as people want to know. You know, why
how can you? What can you fly fish for in
our area? And it's the diversity of fly fishing has
changed quite a bit in recent years. I mean there's
no water species that's exempt from from fly fishing anymore,
just partially because of the advances and equipment besides just

(12:36):
the knowledge of what but flies have changed a great deal.
It's just it's not as restrictive as it used to be.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
Well, let me take a moment to break on you
here for a little bit, because it's very appropriate. This
is a gentleman that restricted themselves flies only, I guess
for the last decades, right, yeah, yeah, And Dick has
taken two bass over eight pounds on a fly rod.
He's caught five pounds small mouth on a fly rod.

(13:07):
He's caught musky on a fly ride. We mentioned that
string of the panfish, which I'll put that up against
about anybody anywhere. You know, somebody may beat that out
west in Arizona where those shell prackers are three pounds now,
but I still kind of say, well, okay, show me
twenty one of them where they all the way over
a pound. But you've caught one hundred and fourteen species

(13:31):
and sixty some odd fresh water species. What are some
of your favorites shared? Just maybe some of your well
the things that you've accomplished with the fly.

Speaker 5 (13:43):
You know, one of my favorite types of fishing has
always been recent you know, for years, has been stream
small mouth fishing. You know, it's just something that's it's
fairly simple approach in a lot of ways, but it's
something that can be done, you know, in our necks,
in our area.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (14:02):
But that that's right there with you know, my most
my favorite, uh is probably I would have to say
it is my favorite. Uh yeah, But but I can
be excited about almost any any type of fly fishing,
whether it's bluegill on the beds or even under underwater bluegill.
It's just us just such an effective method in general.

Speaker 2 (14:27):
Well to explain people how simple it can be. And
you know me well enough to know I'm gonna keep
it simple. Stupid kind of guy. You know, I've always
been there there, and I like to kind of get
stuff to wear. My mind's on what are they biting
on and how I present it? In my fly fishing
is done with a light rod, and by light I

(14:50):
mean anywhere from a For me, light's about a five
number five. I fish with four, but I'm big. I
wake forward lines floating for most of my fishing, which
I think we need to explain would suit most people.
Oh yeah, almost everything around here.

Speaker 5 (15:09):
That's the meat and potatoes of fly fishing for or
a lot of things and a lot of people. Five
six waight outfit covers a lot of territory as far
as the range of flies you can handle with it,
the species you can catch on it. You know, it's
it's just the go to outfit for most people.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
And you can get into an outfit like that relatively inexpensively.
We're not talking about two hundred dollars rods and stuff here.

Speaker 5 (15:39):
Well, there's combos now that are better than ever, which
include rod real line case they are. Some of them
even have leaders on the line, so they're good to go.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
It's easier to get started that way. And I've never
been a long leader guy in my applications. And again
tonight we're primarily talking about fresh. Yeah, sure, fish far
around here. A six foot leader's platy long enough for me.
Seven has been my standard.

Speaker 5 (16:07):
For yeah, especially a shallow water pond lake fishing. Yeah,
you don't have to have a real long leader if
you're especially fishing you know, shallow like I say, up
against banks or structure.

Speaker 2 (16:21):
Yep, Scott, you had a question for day for a
couple you want to fire mant him here before we go.

Speaker 3 (16:26):
To break well, Uh, I would like just to kind
of know where it is that he finds peace in
fly fishing, not just with the species, but when he
introduces it to other folks and they go for the
first time.

Speaker 2 (16:44):
Of course, there'll always be a little frustration. Uh.

Speaker 3 (16:48):
Where does he find the enjoyment and how does he
see others enjoying fly fishing differently than using a more
mechanically modern age real with with gears and and tranking
and just and bringing them in quick.

Speaker 5 (17:05):
You know, sometimes it's hard to verbalize to some people
what the hook is on fly fishing. But it's it's
a feeling of satisfaction and enjoy you know that you
don't get. Uh, An accomplishment kind of goes along with it,
but it's just something about it that you feel like
you're doing something that's more involved with with nature and

(17:25):
fishing than with other types of fishing.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
And it's a physical thing. I mean. Yeah, And here's
one thing I think we need to just spell very quickly.
It's not hard, it's just not I've taught a lot
of folks, but you've taught hunters. I get anybody pro
fishing enough to catch fish at thirty minutes?

Speaker 5 (17:46):
Oh yeah, yeah, the average fish, the average person. We
always tell them, you know, the casting basic casting is
square one and most people within an hour at least
can can cast well.

Speaker 2 (17:56):
Enough to fish catch fish.

Speaker 5 (17:58):
They might not be great distance casters, but you don't
have to be exactly.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
And if you had to describe an all around outfit
for someone to get involved, what would it be? Would
it be that? Four and five eight? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (18:12):
Almost without exception?

Speaker 5 (18:14):
A five weight rod, real in line, a floating line
wait usually a way forward floating line. The leader, the
diameter and length and pound tests matched to the flies
more than anything else that can vary.

Speaker 2 (18:30):
Yes, And Dicky said, as you know, I've always been
an advocate. I have always found it easier with most
fly outfits to put a line size one number above
what the rod calls for. It loads easier, it throws easier.
I don't know if you agree or disagree about that,

(18:51):
but as you know, that's the way I've always approached it.

Speaker 5 (18:53):
Yeah, that's always called uplining, and depending on the rod
itself in the line, it's not a bad idea. Although
fly lines have changed so much in recent years. You
can you can buy overweighted lines now for even though
they're indicated for the same size. But yeah, loading the
rod is a big part of fly casting. And if

(19:14):
you're not loading the rod, you know you're not You're
you're missing part of the whole.

Speaker 2 (19:19):
Experience, Yes, sir, and we'll talk in depth about some
of the basics of that. It's kind of hard to
describe it. Lord knows, there's a million you nube videos
out there to deep folks the mechanics out of the
passing away the fly rod. Absolutely all right, folks, got
a little break here in This break is presented by
most Properties Art Realty. Paul Thomas is a broker there.

(19:42):
He's got all kinds of outdoor properties for sale. It
can surely help you promote and sell your outdoor property.
Check out his current listings at m O p h
A r T realty dot com. Dick. As I mentioned,
there's tons of you YouTube videos out there to teach
fire fishing. But the casting is relatively easy once you

(20:07):
get it through your head that the line is propelling
the fly, unlike the lure taking out the line and
spending or casting off the reel. Uh in a simplistic
WAYSH knows you've talked so many people. What are the

(20:31):
common mistakes that frustrate people. Well, there's two. Well always see,
there's two basic elements of fly casting. It's it's rod
movement and timing, and.

Speaker 4 (20:41):
And they're both.

Speaker 5 (20:42):
Rod movement is the leader to make people control the timing.
But you you know the tendency on your back cast
I want to come forward too fast or to you
know that that's one of the most common errors. And
once they get that and you're not loading the rock.
If you're coming forward too fast, that's probably the biggest

(21:04):
error in pocasting.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
Well, what what I was taught was snap the rod
back or lift the rod, bring it to about your
ear not much behind that stop, let the line load
and then thrust forward and to your point. People try
to whip a fly rod too much when they start,

(21:26):
you know.

Speaker 5 (21:27):
Oh yeah, absolutely, they want to make it a lot
faster than it is. It's it's a much more even
keel process.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
You'll probably laugh at this, but I tell people, get lazy,
don't be in such a hurry. You know, let that
rod lift that line up there, straightened out behind you,
and then flip it forward. It's just really about that simple. Sure,
let's talk about why, and I touched on it briefly,

(21:57):
but why fly fishing is so effective and you've done
it everywhere salt water, as I mentioned, you kind of
hunting fourteen species on a fly. You're the been there,
done that guy. Uh, talk a little bit about that
in depth with various species if you would.

Speaker 5 (22:17):
Well, it's like I say, it's it's it's imitating what
they're they're eating is square one. Uh, whether it's uh,
you know, bass, whether they're for instance, they're eating crawfish,
you know, then it's easy to get a good crawfish
pattern and put it you know where it belongs. That's

(22:37):
but but it's it's the old.

Speaker 2 (22:39):
Match in the hatch.

Speaker 5 (22:40):
It's it's a worn out, trout technique cliche. But but
you're essentially doing that, you're you're matching the food form
that the fish that you're trying to catch uh is
going to eat.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
You know, there's another thing that I want to impart
to people about a fly ride in particular that helps
you catch large fish in some regards to a more
forgiving degree than other methods, and that is that that
long ride has a lot of power to it. You know,

(23:16):
the length of it lends to that, and you're not
nearly as apt to rip hooks or panic if you
will during the last part of the fight, like folks
tend to do with big fish. You know, I tell
people all the time, when they get him close, just
take your time here, let him swim. He'll be right there.

(23:39):
You've got him. If you've got him this far, you've
probably got him. And with a fly it once it's
stuck in a fish's mouth ninety nine times out of
one hundred, he's done. All you got to do is
just hang on.

Speaker 5 (23:55):
Get a lot of flexibility and stretch in the fly
tackle system, you know, with the eater in the lot
and the rod, so they can't pull against something rigid
to break off like they can with conventional tackle.

Speaker 2 (24:09):
Exactly Scott. You had a question p Dick about hooks
because out west there's some regulations on hooks and what
have you. You want to pose that to Okay, he
was talking to me before we went on the air

(24:31):
about barb Do you use barbarous hooks and when and
why or if ever?

Speaker 5 (24:36):
So many hooks now, especially that are that are on flies.
The big barbes are not really as prevalent as they
used to be because number one, setting and getting a
barbed hook penetrated into fishes is more difficult than a
than a small barb, a micro barb, or a barblous hook.

Speaker 2 (24:56):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (24:57):
And you can you can hold a fish pretty well
with a bar barbless hook once it's it's you get
the purchase on the on the strike.

Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, But do you rely upon those at all? Not much?

Speaker 5 (25:08):
And we're in an area it's freshwater fishing for warm
water species don't really involve that much in the way
of barblous hooks. Some people like them just because it's
easier to get a hook out of a fish, which
it is.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (25:23):
And like I say, it's it's more effective than you
think as far as holding on to a hooked fish.
But you know, certain places where the regulations mandate barbs,
but we're not you know, our area, and our fishing
doesn't really go there exactly.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Now, another aspect of fly fishing where there's a myth
is that it's a kind of a warm water how
should I say this warm weather application? But that isn't
necessary so at all, No, no, not not.

Speaker 5 (25:58):
In fact, getting back to the panfish and the bluegill,
and this is something that a lot of fly fishermen
don't realize, but we were doing this years ago using
underwater nymph type patterns uh for for panfish and colder
with late fall early spring. How effective that is before
you ever even think about them coming up to a

(26:21):
bedding area.

Speaker 2 (26:22):
Yes, absolutely, we'll get into those particular applications. But another
examples is musky fishing. Yeah you catch muskies in dead
of winter.

Speaker 5 (26:33):
Weather season, Yeah, it's definitely. You know, we say our
musky season is like November through April, you know, for
reasons of water temperature, and those fish gets stressed too
much in warm weather anyway. But yeah, musky fishing with
a fly has gotten to be a and it can
be very much as effective, if not more than conventional lures,

(26:59):
just because a big fly with its breathability and its movement.

Speaker 2 (27:03):
It's a different thing. You know, you've caught musky on
the fly and big pike on a fly. I never
will forget. I went up to Alaska with Van Vance,
my radio mentor here at WHS Radio, and on one

(27:24):
of our side trips, we were able to go to
a lake that had big northern pike in it, which
I didn't realize that was a big deal in Alaska.
And I was throwing mouse imitation and slaughtered those fish.
I mean, it was crazy. Matter of fact. I begged
the guys to stay over and to do that. But

(27:45):
the guys I was with one of as big on
fly rides as I was. But I talked a little
bit about musky on the fly because that's kind of
the most challenging freshwater speed. She's in my mind that
you talk about. I mean, the musky is smart. It's
discriminating fish.

Speaker 5 (28:07):
Lunar fish and solo fish. They more often than not
they're not on the feed. So yeah, they're a challenge
most definitely the old stories they are a fish of
ten thousand casts.

Speaker 2 (28:22):
They're not so much anymore just.

Speaker 5 (28:24):
Because we have more musky here in Kentucky than people realize,
and the methods and the particularly flies. I know some
guys that do extremely well with musky. What were your
go to flies for your musky fishing when I did
that up to Canada some years ago. It was top water,
believe it or not, a big, big, homemade foam headed

(28:47):
fly with a long tail on the surface.

Speaker 2 (28:50):
Yeah. Yeah, there's not many things are more exciting though that. No,
it was, it was. It was an exciting trip. Yeah.
I know you fish little species before. How would you
rate the fly riders an application for them?

Speaker 5 (29:04):
I think now all things considered. In fact, I know
of a quainting some mind. A recent trip to Ontario
caught four muskie in a lake and conventional fishermen alongside
of them caught none. But it's it's about the flies.
These big specialty what they call articulated flies that swim.

(29:25):
There's nothing quite like them that move even when they're
at rest. They have breathability and swimming that conventional lures
don't have.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
Yes, sir, I'm gonna go to break here. Come back
from break. We're going to take a deep dive into
the various patterns you use for different species of fish,
because I've watched you develop some of your own flies
through the years and the little tips and maybe techniques
that you can pass along about how to fish them.
So we'll do that right after the break. This break

(29:57):
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care of all your boating needs, including putting on your electronics,
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boats for sale, and they will treat you royally. Remember
you never get soaked by my friends at SMI Marine. Dick.
Let's start with the quintessential panfish, blue gill, but we're

(30:20):
going to include shell cracker and green sunfish, all the
sunfish species. Talk about your seasonal choices for flies and
a little bit about presentation, your thoughts about why they're
so effective.

Speaker 5 (30:35):
Well early in the year, when the water just starts
to come off the head of wintertime, it's hard to
beat deeper fishing nymphs, damsel flying emphs. I used to
tie on a damsel flying mph is kind of an.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
Olive green color.

Speaker 5 (30:51):
It's wayded of course, but that's an awfully effective fly
early in the year for panfish when they're down several
feet that uh, depending on the depth you're trying to reach.
But but that's hard to beat, uh until they start
coming up into shallower water. But yeah, nymphs in general

(31:12):
waited nymphs.

Speaker 2 (31:13):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (31:14):
One of the great outdoor writers who just passed his
past fall, John Garrick wrote one of his books that
a lot of fly fisheren don't realize how well you
can catch bluegill and panfish on nymphs, you know, ascause
everybody seems to think top water. But it's uh, it's
beyond that.

Speaker 2 (31:34):
Well, you remember back in the seventies, I was uh
crazy about rabbits here niphs. Yeah. For for big panfish
we will yeah, yeah, I mean that's a deadly, deadly
is it fly? Uh? Moving forward then into spring uh,
and not not into spawn but pre spawn with the

(31:55):
panfish again one of your favorites. I know you've always
been crazy about the damsel fly because they're so common
in lake and.

Speaker 5 (32:06):
You and they are a good, good looking a little
little fly, you know, a little marriboo tuft of a
tail and buggy eyes. So they look like some sort
of creature that all fish want to eat. And then
when they move there, they start moving up a little bit.
They used those still work. But these leeches, leech patterns
now we started using in the last couple of years. Uh,

(32:29):
the balanced leeches, you're said, And that's that's something a
little bit different.

Speaker 4 (32:32):
But the way they swim, they don't.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
It's not that baluncy up and down movement.

Speaker 5 (32:37):
That that a lot of weighted flies that are waited
up on the tip of the by the eye of
the hook. These are waited a little farther forward with
the hook in the middle, so they swim more horizontally
and a lot of times that that makes a difference.

Speaker 2 (32:52):
Well, I'm a leech fanatic ause you know, I've always said,
you give me a leech pattern and a wood bugger
and I'll just find any percent of the sure applications,
which is a stretch. But yeah, it's helped me pretty
dark good stead. But I'm not familiar with that balanced leads.
That's I'm all over that. I mean, yea fairly recent

(33:14):
in the world of flies.

Speaker 5 (33:15):
You know, flies are always there's there's some something new
coming out. But but what they've done is when they
decided to put a little it's hard to describe without
it without getting into the actual tying technique.

Speaker 4 (33:29):
But the weight the bead.

Speaker 5 (33:30):
The weighted bead is forward, like I say, of the
the eye of the hook, so that you're timed your
your leader to your hook to the eye of the hook. Right,
it's almost in the middle of it, so it swims
a little differently than anything else.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Cool. Cool. Yeah. Of course, then we get into spawning
season and it's hard to go wrong with about any
small flyer for almost any of the pan fish top
water bugs. Yeah, what what are some of your favorites?
And there's a couple I want to listen.

Speaker 5 (34:03):
Uh, just the very small top ter hard bodied bugs
or hard to beat you know, Uh, they float well,
they can find them real easily.

Speaker 2 (34:14):
Uh, sneaky peat, sneaky peets.

Speaker 5 (34:17):
Another one, Yeah, I say, I say, hard bodied bugs.
You've got two categories. You got the slider bug, which
is what the sneaky peat is that it doesn't create
as much water disturbances as a little cupface does. But
they can both be effective in any given time or
the same time.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
And you know, one of my favorites in yours too
is a sponge spider. Yeah, And a sponge spider is
pretty unique in the world of paying fishy in that
you can fish it as a floater, or you can
modify and fish it where it drops real slowly because
a little bit about that, because it's deadly.

Speaker 5 (34:57):
What a lot of a lot of people we'll do
is use lead light lead wire with several wraps on
on the spider or under underneath it if they're making
their own, and it changes the sink great dramatically.

Speaker 4 (35:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
What I've always liked about a spider in the surface
application number one, Like most people, I love to watch
a fish come up and hit at the surface. There's
just something mister.

Speaker 5 (35:24):
Bell absolutely in the realm of fishing in general, top
waters eats or or or among the favorite.

Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah. And what I had found through the years with
the spider is that your hookup percentage on strike is
generally speaking pretty well about regular popping bug. It's a
lot of time they'll bump a pop buge test a spider.
Is they give it a kiss. Yeah, it's an interesting sound.

(35:54):
It's always the same. It's like just like that, you know,
they just they eat the dark thing. Hell. And I
was known to cheat a little bit. And what I
mean by that is back in the day, i'd put
anisol on that side to give it a little flavor,
which is a different thing, and even today I'll use
golf or some of that stuff to address it a

(36:16):
little bit, and then it's like, oh Candy, all right, Dick,
we'll coming back from break. We're going to move on
to other species. And however, I do want to talk
a little bit about panfish and streams while we're on
that panfish subject when we come back, So we'll be
back right after the break, folks. This break is presented

(36:37):
by Mosel Properties Heart Realty. Paul Thomas is the broker there.
He is really good at finding the type of properties
you want, whether it's a cabin on a lake or stream,
a farm property, or wildlife management property. Check out their
current listings at m p h a r T Realty
dot com. You know, Dick, we were talking about panfish,

(37:00):
and obviously they're one of my favorites. I love to
eat them, I love to catch them. I like to
look at them when I get them in my hand.
They're just really fun fish and a fly rod gives
them everything they can offer. And those jokers. I've often said,
if Blu got to five pounds, you probably have to
break out the ocean tackle. You know, they're a tough

(37:22):
little fish. But there's other species of panfish as well,
And I want to transition a little bit before we
move off of panfish to the sunfish that live in streams,
because Kentucky is most people should know, has more miles
of running water than any state in the nation except
for Alaska the fact, and they're all loaded with various

(37:47):
species of fish. I know you told me in the
shop people all the time bringing in fish want you
to identify them out of Floyd's Fork and Harts Creek
and different local streams here. But let's talk about some
flies for stream fishing for panfish, because you know you've
got green sunfish, long ears, rock bass. I mean, I'll

(38:10):
let you fill it out.

Speaker 5 (38:11):
Yeah, those are the main species, long eer sunfish that
they catch, probably more of those than anything else in
our Floyd's four Herod's Creek.

Speaker 2 (38:21):
Those are real dumb.

Speaker 5 (38:22):
But there are bluegill and other species you know, other
within there too, but.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
The rock bass.

Speaker 5 (38:29):
But the flies don't change that much, you know, the
underwater flies. Some of the smaller crawlfish patterns that are
available or real effective on all those species, even up
in including the small mouth, the small mouth when when
the crawfish are evident in the streams, that's probably their
go to food. So yeah, rock bass the same way,

(38:53):
but any of those in top water bugs too at
times can be real effective for all all those species,
but it's just a more enjoyable way of fishing in
general for them.

Speaker 2 (39:05):
Well, if I said to you tomorrow we're gonna go
stream fishing, old buddy, we had done it. Wow, what
are you going to be? What are you going to
be choosing for? You go to for the sunfish?

Speaker 5 (39:16):
Oh gosh, Probably a small crawfish pattern. I've tied of
a couple of variations myself for years. They call super buggers,
and uh, it's it's imitates a small young crawfish and
that catches everything in a stream and not just the
panfish and the bass. But you know, we've got other
species like drum freshwater drum that eat those flies readily,

(39:38):
and the catfish will do it. Carp so carp, and
that's another area of fly fishing in recent years that
have gone that's gone crazy, chasing carp intentionally with the fly.

Speaker 2 (39:50):
I'm delighted to hear that because I used to fish
Central Kentucky streams in May with a fly ride from
big carp. Yeah. Good lord. People about stone fish and
how strong they are. You get a big old cart.

Speaker 4 (40:03):
There's nothing like them in our area.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
I don't yeah, absolutely, and admire you know, I do too.

Speaker 5 (40:11):
I think they're great. It's they're hard most of the time.
They're wary and hard to get to take a fly.
But boy, once they do well, the crawfish is what
I oh, yeah, that's that's what they love to eat
in the streams. Uh as much as anything.

Speaker 2 (40:25):
Now for those bad boys, you got to beef up
your ride a little bit.

Speaker 4 (40:29):
Yeah, that's something.

Speaker 5 (40:30):
You gotta get your hands full of a five or
six waight out fit with carp.

Speaker 4 (40:35):
It's doable. But as you you've got a job to do.

Speaker 2 (40:38):
Yes, sir, you know I've got an old I think
you'll remember this. Walt Fenriss Fintriss tackle guy back in
the day, gave me a Leon Chandler signature fly ride. Okay.
It was glass you know, yeah, yeah, or graphite, and uh,
nostalgically that's what I use when I'm fishing for the

(40:58):
carp or some of the bigger here. Just because I
loved mister Finchers, he was very kind to me. I
was a young guy that was hard bitting, and he
realized that when he was he was a good mentor him. Anyways,
he's a big bluegill finanial. Yes, he was so so
that was cool. Uh, when you're talking about bass, there

(41:23):
are several applications here. Let's start with your number one
beag fish baked for bass. And I'm pretty sure I
know what you're going to say, and it has to
do with a critter that we hunt. That's a hint.

Speaker 5 (41:40):
I don't know if rabbit, Yes, a rabbit strip flight, Yeah,
And I would my number one early season, large mouthed
ponds and lakes. It's like the fly fisherman's jigging eel.
You know, we've tied the way I've done it with,
you know, heavy dumbbell eyes and a strip of rabbit,
but you know the action and the durability. But yeah,

(42:03):
that would be number one early.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
And I've seen you catch a lot of big, large
mouth on that bait early in the year, and like
you say, it's such a great imitation. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (42:16):
And your favorite color, as I recall, not a times
black almost exclusively. Yeah, yeah, yeah, might mix a little
bit of red or something in there and some other
material just to contrast. But yeah, basically black okay.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
And then as you move up in the seasons and
talk about especially like going into this time of year
as well. But I want people to have a little
inkling of how deadly and varied the applications can be
for bass, because it's it's killer.

Speaker 5 (42:49):
Streamer fishing can be awful good at times for bass.
The old deceiver style streamer can be really good before
you and then course when they move into shallower water,
you're back to your top water bugs, bigger bugs. But
but deer hair bugs, foam body bugs, cork bugs.

Speaker 2 (43:10):
All that. When they get in that mood, that's another
category of fly that's you don't pre spawn up through spawn.
For me, it's almost impossible for me not to be
throwing the phone bugs or the deer hair I mean,
they're just they're deadly. There's something about that lazy action.

(43:33):
And back to our earlier comments, they don't test it
like they would test a Xara spooker, something you would
throw from the tackle. When they decide to eat that
phone bug or that deer hair bug, it's it's much
a done deed to eat it. Yeah, they're sure. Uh,
how about this type of year for large mouth?

Speaker 5 (43:56):
Well, this is this is one of those times where
early and late or you know, it's still hard to
beat top water bugs. Another problem you have with fishing
for bass and a lot of ponds is algae. Uh
that you've got to contend with underwater. So it's it's
hard to fish some of those fly patterns underneath in
the heat.

Speaker 2 (44:16):
Of the summer.

Speaker 5 (44:17):
So it's uh, I kind of you know, lean towards
just top water and try to make them eat it rather.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
Yes, okay, great, how about uh let's move off to
a small mouth because I know, as you said earlier,
that's your favorite.

Speaker 4 (44:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
Uh, small mouth in Kentucky's have a big place in
my heart. Oh yeah, uh and part of that's our heritage.
Oh yeah, sure, we go back to doctor Henshaw. Yes,
and uh what was you said about smallmouth? The game
is fishing, Yes, yes, And you have a lot of
patterns used there that kind of trickle over into pan

(44:57):
fish and that's the cool thing about it.

Speaker 5 (45:00):
Yeah, there's there's you know, once again, I keep getting
back to the various crawfish patterns, of which there are
numerous ones. Another one that's kind of making a comeback
in the world. Of the people I talked to is
the helgamite patterns. Uh, you know that have been around
forever and then they kind of went away. But something
that imitates a hellgamite can do real well and in

(45:21):
most of our streams. But once again, just as a streamer,
depending on the time of year, these new articulated streamers
in the in different sizes can be awful good. They're
doing a lot of that right now.

Speaker 2 (45:39):
Describe those articulated streamers.

Speaker 5 (45:41):
Well, there are flys that are tied on on you know,
with multiple sections of on shanks, so you've got your
main head, you know, with a hook, and then then
three or four different metal shanks that you continue the pattern.
And nothing that swims quite like them. They just move
like like they're alive.

Speaker 2 (46:02):
Yes, it's almost like the segment. Yeah yeah, yeah, casty
tackle exactly and exactly. It is really really deadly. Uh.
Top order applications in streams, Yeah, I know you tend
to be underwater, but yeah, but there's times and you know,

(46:24):
the best surface time I've always found in streams for
top water is fall, Like in the it's not early
early fall, but once once things start turning a little bit,
you know, temperature Wisember, Yeah, lates exactly late September early October.

Speaker 5 (46:41):
That's my favorite top water. It can happen at any time.
But but I don't know, they just seem to be
you know, a lot of the aquatic underwater life is
diminished by the time you get to that time of year.
There aren't as many crawfish around, and so it's it's
hard to beat the top water bug.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
What's your number one two punch? On the top water
side of.

Speaker 5 (47:05):
Things, I still like I like deer hair quite a bit.
You know, nothing moves and sits quite like deer hair.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
And but too.

Speaker 5 (47:15):
Foam body paupers are good. They're durable, you know that.
They not that they have to be durable, but they are.

Speaker 2 (47:22):
Okay, yep, all right, I'm gonna go to break here.
Coming back from break, we're gonna move forward with some
other species and other applications, and we'll be right back
after this. This break is presented by s M I Marine.
Go see them. They're great at troubleshooting any of the
problems you got with your boat. They're great helping you
select the right electronics and learning to use them. They've

(47:45):
got to use boats for sale. And remember you never
get soaked by my friends at if you don't. We're
talking about smallies. I know you've caught a tongue in
lakes as well. What's your go to fliers there and
any real differences?

Speaker 5 (48:03):
Not really, No, you know I haven't even mentioned probably
the number one fly in the world. You know, it
is the Clouds are Mento. Yes, I mean it goes
everywhere depending on size, color, but uh, you know it's
hard to beat. Whenever you're looking for a Mento imitation,
it's just the number one. So I'd add that into

(48:25):
the mix, even in streams to back up. You know,
at times it's it's can't get around it, it's it's it.

Speaker 2 (48:33):
Yeah, Clouds is definitely a good one, you know. It's
it's interesting to me that you talked about carp on
a fly because you know me well enough to know
I don't care if it's a chubman what it is.
I just love catching fish. I've always been enthralled by
fishing since I was a child, and today's skip jacket

(48:56):
no matter what you want to talk about. But I've
been a carp secretly been a carp free. Uh and
primarily in streams for a long time. Uh. It's inspiring
to me the people are recognizing those fish now with
a fly.

Speaker 5 (49:16):
Absolutely, it's one of the hot the biggest things that recently.
I mean, yeah, they're they're difficult, they're challenging, and there's
there's nothing tougher on a on a fly rod, on
any any kind of tackle and pound.

Speaker 2 (49:32):
And during the break we were talking about, during the
cicada had uses, there's opportunity that's unparalleled for carplesh Yeah,
you know I did it many many years ago with
our mutual friend Howard Patterson. Yeah. We were ripping them
at No Len, I mean ripping them because they were
surface feeding. Oh yeah, we did it later at Cumberland

(49:58):
and uh gosh, they're beasts. They are.

Speaker 4 (50:01):
It's the funniest thing. I say.

Speaker 5 (50:03):
You got a fish that's basically feeds on the bottom
most of the time, but when there's a cicada hatch,
they go stupid, you know, they just can't stand it.

Speaker 2 (50:11):
Yeah, yeah, it's really really cool. Let's move on to
another one of your favorites and mine on the fly
And I don't know hardly any lure that will be
other than flies, and that's white bass and hybrids. Oh,
it is so deadly on those critters, it's unreal. And

(50:32):
I want to start this part of the conversation with
the fact if they're into jobs or they're on a riffle,
nothing enables you to get that lure back in front
of them quickly. That a fly ride because you don't
have to reel the thing back in and cast again.
You shoot it out, you're in front of the fish.
You bring it back, you shoot it out, you're in
front of the fish. But speak to that and your favorites,

(50:55):
because man, hardly any lure will duplicate what you do
those fishing.

Speaker 5 (51:00):
With a yeah, Klouds or mennows once again, you know,
that's that's hard to beat for for those for white
bass in general in the river particularly or or the
runs you know, the Taylorsville or Nolan Lake runs. Uh,
you know most of the time because they're they're weighted
enough to get down quickly.

Speaker 4 (51:19):
So so there's.

Speaker 5 (51:20):
Hardly nothing any better to you know that you could
use other than the klauds or minnows. And more often
than not, chartroos and white is the color.

Speaker 2 (51:29):
Oh yes, yeah, I mean you and I have absolutely
ripped white bass. Oh you had the hybridge in the
river with those things number years ago, we'd go up
to Markland and just kill them, you know. And uh,
the o hot river fishing with those is is really superb.
Any other applications there that you wanted to talk about.

(51:53):
That's a pretty straightforward thing when they're on.

Speaker 5 (51:56):
Uh, you know, we've had a terrible year this past
year on white bass runs. You know in the in
the it didn't happen, you know, because of flooding. It
just blew right past it. Yeah, yes, sir, but yeah,
ordinarily that's it's hard to beat.

Speaker 2 (52:12):
Uh. And now we're moving into the late summer period.
The jumpster shouldn't be evident that a lot of the
legs and again that clousers killer. Yeah, it's just killer. Yeah,
let's talk about muskies a little bit. We touched base
on it earlier, but I want to return to it

(52:33):
because number one, you're talking about a whole different tackle
requirement going into a little bit of that for anybody
that's been by that bug or you know, there's a
lot of our listeners who go to Canada every year
for northerns and oh my gosh, are they a sucker
for fly proce and buddy, a big northern on fly

(52:54):
rock is a handful and fun about as fun as
it gets. Go into that a little.

Speaker 4 (53:00):
Well, that's that kind of number one.

Speaker 5 (53:02):
The tackle you need for either muskies or northerns, big
northerns or nine or ten weight. Yes, you know they
had and there's uh in these like I mentioned earlier,
these new articulated flies are just.

Speaker 2 (53:16):
You know, the real ticket. You don't have to have them.

Speaker 5 (53:19):
Northern pike are more aggressive than than musky obviously, I
mean there's no comparison, but uh, those those kind of flies,
uh just kill them. It's uh, you know, muskier being
musky there. You know obviously we've talked about know what
musk you're like? But uh, but there's that's opened up

(53:41):
a whole new world, the new new flies available and
the tackle, some of the lines that are available to
cast these big flies with great big catch, floating shooting heads.

Speaker 2 (53:53):
Uh, what are beyond your favorites? Uh? And those articulated
fly as you talked about, what what's big on that
scene right now? What what's what's the pulse? I guess
I would say, is it really climbing rapidly or people
finding out how effective a fly can be.

Speaker 5 (54:12):
Oh yeah, fish most definitely. I know a series of
customers in the business, I mean that that are into
that and the well, once again, it's a it's a
November and to April kind of thing temperature wise, condition wise.
But yeah, they they chase them. Uh, but it becomes
an addictive sport no matter what the you know, the

(54:35):
weather is not always the best. But but that kind
of those big streamers and it's basically a shell, you know,
if not on the surface, but a few feet below.
Is the technique When you.

Speaker 2 (54:49):
Have fought musky and caught them, how would you describe
that fight on a fly rod versus the other methods.
I know, it's kind of a funny thing to ask,
but man, they get you down in the backing. And
of course the muskies are so acrobatic. Yeah, they're not
long runners.

Speaker 5 (55:08):
Some people think when we rigged a tackle rigged for them,
you don't need a lot of backing, but you have
to be prepared. You know that they could go into it.
But uh, yeah, they're they're they're rugged that Like I said,
they don't have a lot of endurance for a fish
their size, but they're just so so wild and crazy
for those first several minutes.

Speaker 2 (55:30):
Yeah, how would you rate them for yourself as far
as a game fish.

Speaker 5 (55:37):
Oh, they're right up at the top. As far as
the challenge and an accomplishment. Yeah, and freshwater yeah yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:44):
All right. Uh, coming back from break, we're going to
continue on through some other species and your your favorite
glass will stick with us, folks. This break is presented
by bossrel Property's Heart Realty. Paul Thomas is a hunter
and fishermen. He knows the type of outdoor proper as
you're looking for. Check out his current listings at mop

(56:04):
h a r T realty dot com.

Speaker 3 (56:07):
Nick, when it comes to determining what fly to use,
what your strategy and technique? Do you net some insects
in and around the area or just pay attention to
match the hatch, I know that's a big deal to everyone.
And once you select your fly that you're going to use,

(56:28):
I know that hook said is a is a big
deal too, And whether you're using a sinking fly or
a floating fly, a lot of times can be kind
of a tug versus a visual time to set the hook.
So I'm interested in what your strategies are with those
two parts of fly fishing.

Speaker 5 (56:47):
Well matching the hatch you will, I said once again,
a lot of times you're not seeing anything visually. You know,
especially as it relates to bass or pen fishing. It
may be something and just based on experience or or
what the food base might be where you are, Like
in a stream, it's going to be crawfish or likely

(57:08):
or minnows one or the other. Uh it's uh so,
you don't, I mean, it's not a visual match the
hat that hatch things that often it could be, especially
if you see bait fish minnos moving around that could
that could definitely play into it.

Speaker 2 (57:28):
Hooks that is more of a lot of mistakes.

Speaker 5 (57:31):
A lot of people do what they call trout striking,
which is to say lifting the rod to try to
hook a fish. You need a low rod position with
it and strip the line when you when you feel
a take feel a strike. Otherwise you're you're going to
pull it right away from them. Uh So the strip
strike is a major factor as far as.

Speaker 2 (57:54):
A technique and hooking fish underwater. Take it describe that
into tail.

Speaker 5 (58:02):
Well, say, when you're when you're working an underwater fly.
If you're stripping a streamer or a crawfish pattern or.

Speaker 2 (58:09):
What have you.

Speaker 5 (58:10):
Uh, you should have your rod position low pointed at
the water where the where your line is, where the
fly is coming in, and when you feel it, of
course you're working with your line hand. You're moving your
your fly with your line hand. So when you get
feel a take or a strike, when you just immediately strip.

(58:31):
Don't lift the rod until you feel the pressure. Strip
with your line with your line hand, and then when
you feel the resistance, go ahead and lift the rod.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
Okay, it's got anything else there? Well?

Speaker 3 (58:46):
Over the years, is there you're talking about? You kind
of dis instinctively know what to use as far as
a fly, But has there been anything that you've actually
made or tied up that doesn't necessarily represent anything? And
it's almost kind of what the modern day bass fishermen

(59:07):
would call a just a creature bait.

Speaker 2 (59:11):
I think the rabbit hair would yeah, yeah, definitely.

Speaker 5 (59:15):
Rabbit strip flies just and what their appeal is is
just the movement, uh, you know when that when that
uh piece of rabbit hide gets wet, you know, with
the skin and the and the hair, it moves like
nothing else it's just uh.

Speaker 2 (59:32):
And so that.

Speaker 5 (59:32):
But they don't really represent anything particular. They just look
like something to eat. Whether it's a big bait fish
or or or a leech or whatever it happens to be.
It just looks like something to eat.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
You know. I've often thought that presentation, just like a
jigging pig, you know, for regular fishing, imitates a salamander
to a large degree.

Speaker 5 (59:57):
I think it does, especially early in the year when
salamanders might be more evident, you know, in some of
the waters.

Speaker 2 (01:00:04):
Yeah, to Scotch point, what are some others that maybe
don't really match the hats. They're just something that appeals
to fish because you experiment.

Speaker 5 (01:00:16):
Owl Yeah, yeah, uh, some of the top water bugs
at all. I mean they're just they're you know, they
don't imitate anything specific. They're just just a creeturel on
the water that you move.

Speaker 4 (01:00:29):
And what they take it for.

Speaker 5 (01:00:31):
You got to wonder whether they take it for a
great big insect or a bait, some sort of bait
fish that's that's struggling on the surface. Uh, you know,
it's just a one of those fishing mysteries sometimes.

Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
Okay, Scott, anything else there? I had just sake.

Speaker 3 (01:00:51):
One of the neatest things about fly fishing is your
presentation is a lot of times so subtle, or you
can make an aggressive move, but if you put something
in front of a fish that looks like something they
eat on a regular day basis, I just I do

(01:01:11):
think that there's times that maybe a blade.

Speaker 4 (01:01:14):
Or a rattle or whatever it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
Is of modern.

Speaker 3 (01:01:19):
Fishing baits. You know, fish do get aware and shy
of it. And I think there's just an approach when
it comes to fly fishing that you can just get
that mother Nature's automatic, you know, sucking that fly up,
whether it's on top or just slowly sinking. And the
good thing about it is is it tends to be that.

Speaker 2 (01:01:41):
The fish are really aggressive.

Speaker 3 (01:01:43):
Over the years what flyfishing I have done, it seems
that once they commit to going after it, that it's
not like a little hesitant commitment, it's they're all in.
And it makes it for such a fun bite and
such an AGGRESSI and bite.

Speaker 5 (01:02:02):
That's part of the I think, part of the whole
appeal and the thing to fly fishing. That's the way
they take fly They look so natural to them, they
just eat them rather than hesitant to you know, be
hesitant on something else.

Speaker 2 (01:02:19):
You know, Scott, I'd like to make a comparison as
to your point. Uh, A jerk bait for a spin
caster testing application, because of the way it pauses and
the fish when it takes it doesn't feel any resistance,
is very very effective. That's true across the line with

(01:02:42):
fly fishing. And honestly, it's that ability to suspend or
to float and when the fish does take it. Dick, Ah,
he's done more times than knots. Yep, with flyes. This
is just my person. I find that with flyers, once

(01:03:02):
they take once, they once that entices them to hit,
it's pretty well game on immediately. It's not you know,
you just don't miss many strikes.

Speaker 5 (01:03:15):
No, because they take they like you said, they take it.
They don't they don't just knowse it or knock it around.

Speaker 2 (01:03:21):
Uh, it's just to eat we call it eat. Yes.
And because there's no resistance from light yeah. Uh, it's
just well you said that's Scottish subtle. You know, it's
just they think they think they got the job done
and the next thing you know, it's game on. Baby.

Speaker 3 (01:03:42):
Going back to the hooks that Dick, it seems that
when you take folks that have had a background in
fishing their whole life and they've been used to that
traditional fishing equipment of a ride and the reel that
is so different than fly fishing equipment. What's some secret

(01:04:04):
that you can give to people about setting the hook,
when to kind of strip your line bring it back
to you, and when to utilize.

Speaker 4 (01:04:12):
Your real it.

Speaker 3 (01:04:13):
It just seems like when that fish does commit and
they hit, when a new angler is exposed to fly fishing,
that panic button gets thrown automatically and it's kind of
like everything falls apart on them. So kind of take
us through your process of gathering your line, when to

(01:04:36):
start relling your line, how to keep your rod angle
and tension on the line to get to fish landed.

Speaker 4 (01:04:44):
Well, I think you know one thing about it.

Speaker 5 (01:04:46):
You know, once you hook a fish on fly and
you the biggest percentage of time, if you're talking smaller fish,
it's going to be stripping them in with the line,
keeping rod pressure on them and so forth. U if
you are dealing with fish that that can that are
going to make a run and get you to the
fly reel, e carp you know, hybrids, stripers, those kind

(01:05:10):
of fish. You it's a different ball again, in a
different ball game. When you hook a fish that's gonna
run and you need to forget about to left, take
take the line to the reel and and play them
from the reel. You won't have any choice.

Speaker 2 (01:05:25):
And Dick, you've caught striped barlin and big muskies and
all these other species of fish. Uh. Describe that because
where Scot's going with this, of course, is there's different
methodologies for fighting fish with a fly. Yeah. It's you know,
there's rod pressure.

Speaker 5 (01:05:44):
Uh sometimes and of course that gets into another whole
thing too. Uh, rather than just straight up and down
lifting rod you know, with side pressure pulling. Pulling on
the side is harder on fish than then straight lifting.

Speaker 2 (01:06:00):
Uh. It tires them out faster. Uh. But yeah, that's
that's part of it.

Speaker 5 (01:06:05):
Uh, just learning the techniques and how to wear out
a fish that that you do have on the on
the reel and the you know, uh, basically that's it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:17):
What is the toughest fighting fish you've ever caught on
a fly?

Speaker 5 (01:06:22):
M Well, probably stripe Marlon would probably have to be it.
Be right, there caught two of those that are trip
to Mexico about twenty years ago. You know the jackspecies
in Florida for for people that have never caught the
different jack species, they're they're animals.

Speaker 4 (01:06:40):
Pound for pound.

Speaker 2 (01:06:41):
Uh, I love them.

Speaker 4 (01:06:43):
They are.

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
There's nothing quite like them. Uh.

Speaker 5 (01:06:46):
But you know, once again here locally in our region,
the carp or nothing to be taken lightly either.

Speaker 4 (01:06:53):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
They're probably if they've.

Speaker 5 (01:06:55):
Got any room to go, they're going to put you
on the reel and you're not going to have any choice.

Speaker 2 (01:07:00):
That is so interesting to me that they're finally getting
their dude, because in Europe they're beard. Oh yeah, I
mean they're like right up there with salmon, but they
don't fly fishermen in Europe.

Speaker 5 (01:07:11):
They spend fishermen fishermen with dobate.

Speaker 2 (01:07:14):
Of some kind of twelve foot rides. And it's kind
of interesting. Yeah, all right, I'm going to go to
break here real quick. This one's presented by SMI Marine.
Go see them to take care of all your boating
needs and you'll never get soaked at SMICK. You're a

(01:07:36):
very well traveled fly ride angler. I must say you
fish from way up North down to Central American, etc.
What are your top catches?

Speaker 5 (01:07:47):
Well, you know, in terms of what they gave you,
and they pound bass on a flower. It is a
hard thing to I mean, it's a difficult thing to
come up with, you know, just or to be lucky
enough to catch. So that would be there and you've
been there twice, yes, yes, and I see you catch
a lot of five to seven Yeah, done that?

Speaker 2 (01:08:09):
Yeah, yep. Uh. The stripe marl and the two stripe
marlin in Mexico are hard to beat on a fly
out of curiosity? How long did it take you to Landos? See?

Speaker 5 (01:08:20):
The one was like forty five minutes? Oh wow, And
it was like thirty those minutes. It went one hundred
feet deep and it was just a lifting and you
know game. Yeah, it ripped off a few jumps and
then went one hundred feet deep.

Speaker 4 (01:08:36):
So that was that was that was different.

Speaker 2 (01:08:39):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (01:08:39):
You know big steel head in Michigan, fourteen pounds steel
head in Michigan rinks up there. I caught a thirty
pound with barracuda in the Bahamas on a fly one
one year, which.

Speaker 2 (01:08:51):
Is all it was.

Speaker 4 (01:08:54):
It was it was quite a fish.

Speaker 2 (01:08:56):
What did you get out of curiosity? What did you
catch that was on?

Speaker 5 (01:08:58):
And no needlefish fly that I tied just for that purpose.
It took thirty minutes probably, Yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (01:09:06):
Mean, folks, so you understand Coude of that beach got
a head literally like oh yeah yeah wow. Uh you know,
uh that raises a quick question leader material for pike
musky and or something like a barica. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:09:25):
Well, this this new tible wire stuff that's since it
came along, it's hard to be it's almost I must have.
Uh you know you can tie tie with it, just
like you do monofilament knots and things and tie your
fly to it. So it's it's made big inroads in
the in the world you know of fishing in general
for toothy fish.

Speaker 2 (01:09:45):
Yes, sir, okay, what would be up next as far
as your personal best or well I want to take
in a side here, folks, Dick and should all these
other fish. He held the state record all rock bass
for that number of years. He always bushes at that,

(01:10:07):
but he was a state record holder, and I think
justifiably very proud of that.

Speaker 4 (01:10:12):
Well.

Speaker 5 (01:10:12):
I helped him fill a vacant category, is what happened
was and they just needed a big enough rock bass
to do that at the time.

Speaker 2 (01:10:20):
Yeah, but it was a oh yeah, yeah, other species.

Speaker 5 (01:10:26):
Gosh, you know the trip to the Amazon years ago
with all those peacock bass and those species.

Speaker 2 (01:10:32):
That was a hoot too. That was that was a
good experience. Was that group fly only or were you
the fly guy and the others had other tackle? It
was fly only fly? Yeah? Oh another uh, king salmon
and Alaska. I don't want to forget those, you know,
big on fly. Yeah, that that's not an easy thing

(01:10:53):
to get to do anymore. Right, how big was it?
Thirty five? Oh man, that's yeah, that's a dandy. Yeah,
no doubt about it. Talk to because you and I
came out I spin fishing in casting ranks and I
still am there. You know, I'm I'm a light tackle freak. Guys.

(01:11:15):
You know I mean that that bullgill I caught that
two pounds ten ouns blue that was on two pound line.
My one of my three pound cropperty was on two
pounds line. There's things you can do, but talk about
the genesis of someone really need to learn about fly

(01:11:38):
fishing to become a complete anger. I think, uh, there's
there's a importance to that, and I think it rounds
you out. I think it takes you through a different level.
And I think for certain species of fish, there's nothing
that you can throw at a bluegill. It's really more
effective than at know, and it's just not absolutely no,

(01:12:01):
I think you catch the red worlds, yeah, full little
hair zeer or a leech and a flying uh flying
to bed to see what house?

Speaker 5 (01:12:10):
Yeah, absolutely, uh, but it fills a niche for some
people of a different you know, different take take the
different species of fish that they might not do with
conventional tackle, like the Betting bluegill. You know, that's that's
a classic example of I know, people that only fly
fish in that situation, you know, just because it fits.

Speaker 4 (01:12:31):
It so well.

Speaker 2 (01:12:33):
And stream fishing in Kentucky Central in our region of
the United States, United States in general. But let's talk
about the Southeast for pass bluegill, shell cracker, uh, pike busky, I.

Speaker 4 (01:12:51):
Mean all those.

Speaker 2 (01:12:52):
You know. Guess what I'm getting at is you don't
have to feel like you're taking a back seat to
other beth. No, No, you get good on them now,
not at all.

Speaker 5 (01:13:00):
You're effective across the board for all those once you
learn enough as far as how to apply it and
you know and approach it.

Speaker 2 (01:13:09):
Yeah, well, I know from the years that I fish
with you. You're so accomplished that I wouldn't see you
taking a back seat to anybody. I mean, you're not
you gonna be a tournament bass fisherman or something. But
in terms of fish per cast per day, you know,
I put you right up there with anybody. I want

(01:13:29):
to return to something he said early on the fly
Rod's ability put a bait in front of the fish repeatedly,
to take a bank apart, or to fish a run
in a stream, or to cover that we edge. There's
nothing quicker more fishing. There's no no All right now, Deck,
you work at Quest out Doors, Flyshop, Quest that Doors,

(01:13:54):
Flashop off Shovel Road US sixty here in Lower anybody
wants to know more about it, They're more than welcome
to come see you anytime. And you're delighted to teach.
That's what I love about it. Yeah, you just love
to share it. Yep.

Speaker 4 (01:14:08):
I love to talking.

Speaker 2 (01:14:09):
If I can't be doing it, Ay, been on that, buddy,
All right, Well, I can't tell you how much I
appreciate it. And it's been a great trip down memory road.
And here's good a friend as I got, Buddy, I'm
proud to say you're my friend. All right, folks at
the wrap, be careful out there. God bless everybody.