How to Fish With Flies & Grubs

Hand-tied flies and live grubs make excellent bait when fishing streams, creeks and rivers, consistently outperforming many mass-produced lures. Compared to plastic and metal lures, artificial flies and live grubs more closely match what fish feed on in the wild, tempting even the most wary fish into striking. And the method for fishing with flies and grubs uses the flow of the stream to carry the bait across large areas of water, increasing exposure and the likelihood of catching fish.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Freshwater fishing pole with reel and fishing line
• 3 feet of 4-lb. test fishing line
• Float or bobber
• Small barrel swivel
• Small hook

1. Attach a float or bobber to the end of the line that's on the fishing rod and reel, and leave 1 foot of line trailing after the float. Tie a small barrel swivel to the end of the fishing line that is attached to the float. Tie a 3-foot leader line of 4-lb. test to the other end of the barrel swivel. Tie the artificial fly to the end of the leader line or a small hook to hold a grub.

2. Cast the line with the float and fly or grub into the water being fished, leaving the bail on the reel open so the line can peel off freely. Use the weight of the float for casting, or simply drop the float in the water and let the current carry it downstream.

3. Allow the current to peel line off the reel as needed and carry the float over the most promising areas where fish may be hiding. Direct the float if need be by moving the tip of the fishing pole around as necessary.

4. Reel in the line when the float has gotten too far downstream.

5. Recast the float into the water, letting it bob with the current with the fly or grub trailing behind. Allow the float to drift freely as though it were a small twig from a tree bobbing in the water, thus presenting the bait in as natural-looking a manner as possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Reel in the line quickly, as fish typically don't bite on this type of tackle setup when the fly or grub is being pulled upstream against the current. Fish will bite as the bait floats downstream. Continue casting the float and allowing it to drift with the current even if no fish bite the first or second time you cast out. While fish may well strike on your fist cast, often you can be successful by patiently working the same stretch of water, but if you get no bites after repeated attempts, move elsewhere and try.
• Be careful not to let your float get carried too far downstream before reeling in and trying again. While you can use the current to get your hook across a lot of area, thereby increasing your likelihood of catching a fish, getting a snag far downstream with a lot of line out can be hard to handle.

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