Trolling flies?

[Michael Hartman]

I recently got a canoe as a gift, and i put two rod holders in it, one is specially made for a fly rod. I havent used it for that yet though, i have trolled around out side the piers with rapalas for some bass with good results. Some say its because of the non rythmic movements the canoe makes. But i was wondering what i should look into as far as flies to troll, or how to get them down far enough. I tied up some bigger clousers in chartuse and off white. they have those white eyes with black dots. but i dont think thats enough, to make a comparison the rapala goes down say 7-10 feet, matter how fast i go, my fly with just its weight might go down a foot if im going the speed i need to be. I was thinking of using a heavy poly leader, and a long leader. if anyone has any expierence with this style of fly fishing or has any ideas, please speak up! thanks,
mikey

[johnjarosz(jj)]

Mikey..great that you got a canoe. was it for your b'day? I have an idea . Are you using a floating fly line? It seems to me that no matter what kind of weight you're dragging behind you, the floating line will still want to float. You might want to try an intermediate or full sink fly line to help get the fly down.
The Rapala also has a lip to get it down. The faster you go, the more it digs. You've got no lip on your fly & are relying on weight, and not lure/fly design, to get it down, like the Rap.
I've never trolled with a fly but have done real fast strips for stripers using intermediate and full sinks (300 grain) to keep the fly down. Actually, I did get one striper trolling, but not on purpose. The guide was moving us to another spot (to follow the gulls), & I was letting my fly drag behind for the short distance, & I got one. I had an intermediate line with a deceiver that had no weight. Please let us know what works! Good question as I have a ' yak & will want to try that, too.

[patgreen]

i've put a bill on a fly and it worked pretty well. you could try that- but you'd need to build a fairly bulky fly- sort of looking like a bomber.

[ANDYCAMPING]

When trolling a fly, which is a technique that is very popular in the small Adirondack ponds, typically you need to use a sink tip flyline and some sort of action inducing device on the leader before the fly. In the Adirondacks a thin spoon like item called a Lake Clear Wobbler is tied above the fly. I've used Wigglefin Action Disks with some good sucess also. www.wigglefin.com/ As far as flies go; tubes with alot of action work great. Anything arctic fox, marabou or bunny strips. Granted this is not really flyfishing, just really trolling with a fly rod. It allows you good action when nothing is hatching and the fish are deep and crusing. Bring a spare spoon with a floater and some big mayflies and you can switch if the fish start to surface.

[Michael Hartman]

Thanks, and that is how i discovered the idea brookiesrule. My uncle has a cabin near Long Lake and he trolls with wet flies and what not.
Another thing, when i use rapalas i use orange and white J-9's. Has anyone ever had any luck on say a orange over white clouser? I have caught some with a chartuse J-9, which is why i tied up some of those style flies. I never thought orange would trigger fish like that.

And for anyone who wants to start doing this on lake ontario, i go out by the pier heads and go on the opposite side of which the wind is coming from and paddle around in big loops starting right from the head of the pier and go a long paddle west or east, then go north slowly and turn coming back close to the same line. it produces good amounts of fish, some sheephead and some nice smallies. Im picking up my new camera today, so ill post pictures of the fish i catch on the fly. you could do this in a boat too. And i also remember being little and taking our boat in front of Fort Niagara and catching them the same way. Thanks for your input guys.
and heres the link to the rod holders for fly rods, if you would like to invest in them. They fit nicely and the base can be changed so theres no drilling to be done.
www.oakorchardcanoe.com/fishing.php