06-13-2006, 04:30 PM
[cool][#0000ff]"Flylining" a bait is an old west coast saltwater term that refers to sending out a bait without any weight on the line. They use live anchovies, sardines or other baitfish and pin them to a hook tied directly to the line, without any kind of weight. This allows the bait to swim freely so that the yellowtail, bonito, barracuda, calico bass or other surface feeding predators will find it more attractive.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just kinda adopted the term for fishing any kind of bait without weight. When I fish for cats from my tube, I usually do not use weight. Instead, I pin a minnow, nightcrawler or piece of fish flesh on a hook tied directly on the end of the line...sometimes using a swivel a couple of feet up the line to reduce twist.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I fish the bait by tossing it out a good long cast and letting it settle to the bottom. Then, I move slowly along, dragging the bait and occasionally giving it a little lift or jiggle. I keep my finger on the line and the bail open. When a fish picks up the bait, I let go of the line and let it run a ways to get the bait well inside its mouth. Then, I flip the bail, crank the handle a couple of times and when the fish pulls the line tight I cross its eyes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Now, that being said, I also fish cats with a flyrod and several different patterns of flies. Wherever the water is clear enough for cats to feed by sight, they will chase live prey and will respond to a variety of different artificials. I once won a bet by catching 20 cats in less than an hour using a six weight flyrod, sink tip line, six feet of level six pound leader and a size 4 black wooly bugger. The bet was actually that I could not catch EVEN ONE catfish on a fly. By the time I finished my demo...with several witnesses and onlookers...the guy who made the bet was long gone.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I just kinda adopted the term for fishing any kind of bait without weight. When I fish for cats from my tube, I usually do not use weight. Instead, I pin a minnow, nightcrawler or piece of fish flesh on a hook tied directly on the end of the line...sometimes using a swivel a couple of feet up the line to reduce twist.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I fish the bait by tossing it out a good long cast and letting it settle to the bottom. Then, I move slowly along, dragging the bait and occasionally giving it a little lift or jiggle. I keep my finger on the line and the bail open. When a fish picks up the bait, I let go of the line and let it run a ways to get the bait well inside its mouth. Then, I flip the bail, crank the handle a couple of times and when the fish pulls the line tight I cross its eyes.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Now, that being said, I also fish cats with a flyrod and several different patterns of flies. Wherever the water is clear enough for cats to feed by sight, they will chase live prey and will respond to a variety of different artificials. I once won a bet by catching 20 cats in less than an hour using a six weight flyrod, sink tip line, six feet of level six pound leader and a size 4 black wooly bugger. The bet was actually that I could not catch EVEN ONE catfish on a fly. By the time I finished my demo...with several witnesses and onlookers...the guy who made the bet was long gone.[/#0000ff]
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