Life has been getting busy with baby and wife going back to work and there isn’t as much time to fish anymore. However I’m still chugging along and trying to get as many hours on the water as I can. I wish I could get out further and longer but family comes first.
The first place I wanted to try my new UL spinning outfit was at the Yuba River. I’ve seen a handful of gear anglers on the Yuba but have never actually seen one catch a fish. I was always curious to know whether or not the fish on the Yuba would consider eating hardware. It was time to find out for myself.
I initially started out trying to nymph with my TFO panfish rod. I used a barrel swivel and attached about 3ft of 4x tippet, a splitshot, and rubberleg stone with a PMD dropper. I used a regular fly fishing indicator and was surprised at how well I could cast the rig.
Dead-drifting this rig was a bit difficult because the presentation would drag when it reached about 45 degrees downstream however the fish were receptive to my presentation and I had several hits with a few good hook-ups. The trout on the Yuba tend to be super strong but the UL spinning rod reeled them in within seconds with little to no challenge. The disappointing UL spinning fight was a good reminder of why I took up fly fishing; a fair fight between man and fish. A fully bent UL spinning rod does not compare to the feeling of a fully bent fly rod; it’s just a totally different sensation all together.
Dead-drifting nymphs on an UL spinning rod works just fine but throwing hardware such as spoons and spinners is where a spinning rod really shines. I had zero confidence with these types of lures on the Yuba so I figured why not give them a try to see if they worked. To my surprised they worked… and they were absolutely deadly making me question why I never saw gear anglers catching any fish out there. I plan on getting out there again soon to see what other lures and rigs work.
I made a stop at some of my favorite largemouth holes and absolutely crushed them on a topwater Zara Spook. Spinning gear is definitely much more fun when targeting bass. Some of the hardbaits that I used were so fun to just watch swim in the water that catching fish was just a bonus.
I spent one of my 100 degree evenings night fishing for bass for the first time and was surprised how active they were at night. Anything that made a lot of noise on top of the water was getting hit and more so that day than during the hour of power before sunset. I hooked a fish every other cast and had an absolute blast.
Thanks for posting this exploration. I took up flyfishing after growing up with spinning gear and now on the cusp of retirement (and hopefully more time to fish), using multiple approaches is my plan. Back in the 1990s, I was swinging wet flies for half pounders on the American with no action. A spin fisherman throwing hardware a few hundred feet downstream landed a nice one and I thought I should have other gear with me. Some of the water I was swinging a fly through looked like a piece of hardware could be effective.
I’ve always found bringing two rods whether it be two fly rods or a fly rod and a spinning rod to be a bit too clunky especially if I’m going to be hiking and wading all day. I think the best of both worlds would be having a fly pattern that functions like a spoon or a spinner. I’m going to start experimenting with tying spinner blades to flies to see if I can make it happen.
That sounds interesting. Looking forward to hearing how it works out.