I have talked a lot on this blog about my fly fishing addiction. I still love fly fishing but currently fighting a new addiction, not successfully I might add, ultralight fishing. Spinning gear has always been part of my repertoire but never taken as seriously as fly fishing. That is all starting to change.
I stumbled across a few articles on the web about ultralight fishing, and a good friend of mine recently started dabbling with ultralight gear, which led me to cash in a few Cabelas bucks that I had been saving and buy an ultralight outfit. I ended up buying a 6'6" rod with a 1000 size Pflueger spinning reel and 5lb Powerpro braid. Manufacturers can build longer rods today with a faster action, due to advances in technology. No longer are ultralight rods limp noodles under 6' in length. Combine these longer, faster rods with modern super lines, and you have a very capable tool for small water finesse fishing.
I have been successful using a variety of baits, with jig spinners, small soft plastics, and nymphs at the top of the list. Trout, sunfish, and bass are my main targets. Since I have the most experience with fly fishing, I have adapted a few techniques to the ultralight. One rig that I have had a lot of success with is a nymph rig with a strike indicator. I tie a 2mm tippet ring to my braid mainline, a 4x fluorocarbon leader, and then the nymph of your choice. With this rig, I use a 3/4" Thingamabobber strike indicator. What are the advantages over a similar set up on a fly rod? The main advantage is that the very small diameter of the braid mainline has almost zero drag resulting in fantastic drifts. The blank through handle construction of most ultralight rods combined with the low stretch braid gives you amazing sensitivity. I am sure I feel more bites than I do with my fly rod.
I have started tying a few nymph patterns specifically for use with the spinning rod. These are tied on number 10 jig heads from Walmart.
I certainly don't think I will be putting any of my fly rods on eBay just yet, but I will say that I am having a lot of fun with ultralight spin fishing.
I stumbled across a few articles on the web about ultralight fishing, and a good friend of mine recently started dabbling with ultralight gear, which led me to cash in a few Cabelas bucks that I had been saving and buy an ultralight outfit. I ended up buying a 6'6" rod with a 1000 size Pflueger spinning reel and 5lb Powerpro braid. Manufacturers can build longer rods today with a faster action, due to advances in technology. No longer are ultralight rods limp noodles under 6' in length. Combine these longer, faster rods with modern super lines, and you have a very capable tool for small water finesse fishing.
I have been successful using a variety of baits, with jig spinners, small soft plastics, and nymphs at the top of the list. Trout, sunfish, and bass are my main targets. Since I have the most experience with fly fishing, I have adapted a few techniques to the ultralight. One rig that I have had a lot of success with is a nymph rig with a strike indicator. I tie a 2mm tippet ring to my braid mainline, a 4x fluorocarbon leader, and then the nymph of your choice. With this rig, I use a 3/4" Thingamabobber strike indicator. What are the advantages over a similar set up on a fly rod? The main advantage is that the very small diameter of the braid mainline has almost zero drag resulting in fantastic drifts. The blank through handle construction of most ultralight rods combined with the low stretch braid gives you amazing sensitivity. I am sure I feel more bites than I do with my fly rod. 
Nice post, now I just need to convince you to send me some of those handmade nymphs! :D
ReplyDeleteThanks! I am sure I could part with a few.
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