Favorite bait or lure

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Originally Posted by addictedangler

I think that is true S 10. I love to catch crappie on my fly rod. Many lakes have Mayfly ,Caddis and even some stone fly hatches. At time many panfish including crappie will feed on the surface. Especially when crappie are near the surface during early spring spawn time. Catching a 12 inch crappie on a 5 weight fly rod is not only a lot of fun but very tasty also.

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Addictedangler.. I used to do very well on crappie with the fly rod. Zonkers and basic white marabou streamers worked the best for me. I only fly fished for crappie till trout season came in so I was fishing shallow water. I was a fly fisherman for many years till 3 spinal surgeries sort of canceled my career. Can't wade or stand on a sloping bank very long so that sort of makes it impossible to fly fish. Still love to tie jigs, spinner flies etc. Thanks to the boat I can still get out there and wet a line. Take Care

You can fish wet flys from the boat. Or use a water bobber and wet fly also. I agree on the white streamers. We fished Beaver Dam Swamp reservoir in January and the fish were in the shallow creek water. There were a lot of limbs in it from the beaver so letting any bait drop more then a foot or 2 was a problem. The fly rod was the best tool for the job. I tie a simple streamer on a size 8 3x long shank hook. Silver braided tinsel for the body and either white calf tail or white fox tail for the wing. This can be a killer in low water as does your zonker.

Great thread and info. My Favorites:
Trout - gold Kastmaster and size 3 rainbow trout Rapala in lakes; yellow body with red dots Panther Martin and frog with gold blade Rooster Tail in creeks.
Bluegill - black or white trout magnet slowly retrieved 2-3 behind a bobber.
Crappie - black and chartreuse Southern Pro triple tail tipped with a crappie nibble with multiple other jigs close behind.
Walleye - Hot’n’Tots or gold ol’ night crawlers.
Bass - size 7 black and silver Rapala.

I used to fish the Loyahana creek near Greensburg Pa many years ago as my brother had a cabin on it and it was a family get together. In early spring it was very tough to catch fish fly fishing in the high fast moving waters however I used to use a castmaster and did very well. I would cast down and across and start winding then every 5 feet of lure retrieve I would drop my rod toward the lure and stop the cranking. This would let the lure fall into the deeper holes and it created a very erratic motion. I can assure you this was the ticket for these conditions on stocked water . If you get a chance give this a try. You may be surprised!

Does any one use trout magnets. I see a lot of trout being caught on them

I use trout magnets in streams and lakes for trout as well as the bluegills. I am sold on them. I will use them under a bobber or a slow retrieve. I became sold when I had a rod just hanging over the side with the trout magnet inches under the water. A 12” brown grabbed it right by the boat while I was using one of my other favorite toys on another rod. They are seriously good. They are not far behind my enjoyment of having a kastmaster smacked on a retrieve.

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Originally Posted by gonefishintoday

I use trout magnets in streams and lakes for trout as well as the bluegills. I am sold on them. I will use them under a bobber or a slow retrieve. I became sold when I had a rod just hanging over the side with the trout magnet inches under the water. A 12” brown grabbed it right by the boat while I was using one of my other favorite toys on another rod. They are seriously good. They are not far behind my enjoyment of having a kastmaster smacked on a retrieve.

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They seem to work like plastic worms do on Largemouths. What color tail and dart do you use and or recommend?

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Originally Posted by addictedangler

They seem to work like plastic worms do on Largemouths. What color tail and dart do you use and or recommend?

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Yes, I have picked up some bass on trout magnets as well. Crappies too. My favorite dart is gold. The favorite body for trout is white. Pink has worked in off colored water. For bluegills it is black with either dart. I think all fish see them as a little grub. I ask the fish about their attraction to the magnets, but they don’t offer much in the way of conversation beyond ‘more please’.

I used to do tag trout tournaments and as a fly fishermen I did very well it the water was clear and and some what low. However if it was up and rolling I used a few different tactics. One was to use a gold head with orange or chartreuse grub. Then I would put a black wollybugger for my point fly. I could cast these with a light spinning rod and did not have to have a little extra room for my fly rod. I think this worked for me for 2 reasons. First I could get down a little better with the shad dart type head and it also gave some extra movement to the fly. Usually I caught the rainbows on the magnet and browns and brooks on the fly. I am sure this could work well for crappie and gills also.

If fishing Shenango Lake, and you catch any trout, you must release them back, unless you have a trout stamp. I posted about this before, but want to remind everyone again. This all started , thinking last year, when they started stocking trout, up at the Big Bend area. Really wish they had instead stocked them up at the Covered Bridge area, because they , unless really high waters, couldn't get in to the lake. But it is, what it is. Don't know, but guessing also, if you caught any, without a stamp, you couldn't give them to someone with a stamp, as you would be breaking their laws.