Fly Fishing or Spinning Gear: What has caught you more "trophy" size fish?

[eballat]

I know any fish caught on a fly is a trophy, however, when it comes to size i consider a trophy size trout to be 20" or larger. Some may argue that number, that's not the point i want to make though. My question is, other than those of you that have only fly fished your entire lives, what has caught you more trohy sized fish? A fly rod and reel or spinning tackle. I started fly fishing 6 years ago. The 22 years prior to that i fished exclusively with spinning tackle. In the last 6 years i have caught ALOT more fish in the 20+ inch range. I was just wondering if anyone has expirenced anything similar. And what do you guys think are some reasons for this. The spots i fish now? Tackle and Presentation? Attitude? Or a combination of everything.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Fly gear by far. Ive maybe only caught a few 20 inch fish on spin gear. Keep in mind that i only spun fish for a few years. The majority of my fishing career has been flyfishing.

 

[jayL]

Until last year, I caught more bigger fish on spinning. I have still caught more 18+inch fish in my days of stocked ATWs and "rodeos", but my two biggest trout have come on a fly rod.

 

[tomgamber]

eballat wrote:
. In the last 6 years i have caught ALOT more fish in the 20+ inch range. .

That's because you are now targeting particular fish. More often while spin fish, one fishes blindly.

 

[Acristickid]

I think "how many times you fish the method and when" is a factor as well.

If you consider salt- then hands down spin. No doubt spin gear is effective.

For example; there are trophy browns in excess of 10 pounds in the Yough. I have seen a 12 and 14 pound brown caught by an acquanitence on spin gear. Deep pools that can't really effectivley be fish with fly gear. Spin gear makes me queasy.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Tarpon on a fly for really big fish.That is a specialized fishing and not the norm. Big sharks on flies also ,permit another trophy for the fly rod set.
Personally my biggest trout have come on fly rods .Fishing the fall run in New York tribs. strictly with a fly rod has produced some really nice fish. Add in some salmon that were big and it was good times.
The tarpon season is about ready to start here ,April and May in Homosassa for fly rod "poons". Mc Crays Bait House is the spot to find the guides.

 

[pcray1231]

Well, since steelhead make up 95 + % of my 20+ inch fish, spin gear hands down. When I lived in the western half of the state and got up there more, I was a spin fisherman. Now I'm a fly fisherman but only get up there maybe once or twice a year, it'll take a long time to catch up if I ever do.

Excluding steelhead, its still spin gear, but the numbers of "trophy" fish are far less impressive and I actually have a chance to surpass it. I have exactly five 20+ inchers to my name with spinning gear, all on live minnows or chubs, 3 of which were on fairly small streams I won't name, one on Oil Creek, and one on the Allegheny below Coudersport. I have 2 such fish to my name with fly gear, one on a nymph in Spring Creek and one on a drake in Penns. I catch a fair number in the 17-18 inch range, and always have, but the 20+ inchers seem tougher to come by.

 

[Fishidiot]

FFing by a wide margin. Almost all my trout fishing, even when a kid, has been with fly gear. Most of the 20+" fish I have caught here in PA have come from limestoners, usually in areas where only FFing is allowed. However, for bass and saltwater I still use spin gear a good bit (esp saltwater) and my biggest fish have been on spin gear with artificial lures and, in some cases (tarpon and redfish) live bait.

 

[RLeeP]

I'll redefine trophy back to any fish in excess of 17" and then say without reservation that as a function of trophies per hour by method, its spin fishing for me hands down, even though in pure numbers, I've caught a lot more big fish fly fishing.

Some of this is because I've done so much more fly fishing than spin fishing for trout. And some of it is because my preference during my PA years was to fish small streams with dry flies for wild fish. This produces a lot of fish, but not a lot of large fish. But most of it is because I don't think there is a more effective way to cover a lot of water in a small stream or to pull large fish out from cover than a Size 1 Mepps with no hair on the trebles.

It almost ought to be outlawed, IMO..

Almost...

 

[flipnfly]

for me its spinning gear but i was targeting particular fish as fly fishermen do but i have been only teaching myself fly fishing and fly tying for the last 3 years but im sure ill break even or surpass once i get this fly fishin thing ironed out..... i know because of fly fishing i pay alot more attention to the stream its self... my largest has come due to a combination though i was using a soft hackle hares ear on spinning tackle with weight in the yough trophy trout area 23 inch brownie not too bad

 

[flipnfly]

i see you guys putting "IMO" WHAT IS THAT...

 

[tomgamber]

in my opinion.

 

[eballat]

Dont get me wrong, i have caught a lot of big 18"+ fish on spinning tackle. However, since i have switched exclusively to fly fishing (for trout) i have caught considerbly more 20+" fish on the fly rod. I will mention that i do put a lot more thought and foresight into my fishing when using a fly rod. My biggest being a 31" 13lb 7oz brown from elk creek with a fly rod. I dont know though. I just wanted to see what everyone else thought.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Part of it maybe what you are using. What were the flies you used when you caught larger trout?

Most of mine have come on nymphs, buggers and scuds. All three are big trout forage. (Buggers replicating fleeing minnows or big nymphs/leeches) Big trout, at least those that have grown big naturally, have never seen power bait, spinners or worms really. They will key in on something and stick with it. Also you always have the option to dry fly when a big trout is rising. Something a spin fisherman will have trouble doing. I can replicate, via fly, anything a spin guy can throw at them. Hard for them to replicate a sulphur.

Also you may have hit the nail on the head:

I will mention that i do put a lot more thought and foresight into my fishing when using a fly rod.

We all do, its part of the evolution of being a fly fisherman.

My biggest being a 31" 13lb 7oz brown from elk creek with a fly rod.

Now thats a trout! what did you catch him on?

 

[wetnet]

Trophy is a relative term. The first bluegill caught was with "Gramps" on a stick and a string. We were bored and not home and waiting on sawdust to take home for the cows. Fished the same rig at Tilly's Creek near Meshoppen. Worked good there too even though the cats didn't eat our catch. Creek chubs must taste bad even for cats.

 

[FarmerDave]

Depends on the species and I'll go by largest fish rather than numbers and include the pattern (but the answer is probably the same if I go by numbers of big fish).


Biggest trout ever (steelhead): fly (black woolly bugger)
Biggest Smallmouth: fly (black woolly bugger)
Biggest largmouth: spinning gear. (Jig or jointed rebel (tie))
Biggest fish ever was a white Amur while I was fishing for largemouth: fly, Cicadas pattern,

The rest were all probably spinning gear. However, I have caught multiple 1 pound+ bluegill on a flies too, but probably more on jigs or bait. But the biggest bluegill I ever caught, I baited it up to the surface with bread and beaned it with a rock. True story, but relax. I was just a kid (with a good arm).

I've only used spinning gear on steelhead a couple of times, and only caught one that way, and that was only because spinning gear was all I had in the truck that day. She was a shiney 4 pounder that clobbered a jointed Rebel. Over 20 inches, but certainly not a Trophy for steelhead.

The numbers are probably just skewed towards fly fishing because i prefer it.

 

[MattBoyer]

wetnet wrote:

Creek chubs must taste bad even for cats.

Frozen and quartered, they are hands down the best catfish bait ever!

Boyer

 

[MKern]

Fly gear....

....but that's all I have fished in the last 8 years, plus 100 times the amount of time on the water with fly gear, so it's kinda unfair.

 

[PaulG]

As a kid we were river rats, my buddies and I spent a lot of time fishing the river in the Harrisburg area. With casting rod and spin gear we caught a lot of huge Catfish.

For trout my biggest trout were caught with a flyrod. My to biggest fish were a 25inch rainbow and a 24inch brown (stockies) both caught in the Wiconisco creek, both in the same week. I've caught a few 20 inchers on Spring Creek over the years.

 

[greenghost]

I use a fly rod 90% of the time, so my answer is obvious. If the question were, "Which is the better tackle for catching trophy fish?"
the answer would be spinning tackle, hands down.

A guy proficient with spinning tackle will out fish a guy with a fly rod 95% of the time. Periods of heavy hatches might be the exception. But even then, a spinning angler can easily fish weighted nymphs.
The versatility and effectiveness of spinning equipment is simply unmatched by a fly rod or bait casting equipment.

Sorry, Izaak.