ARTICLES: THE FLOAT & FLY RIG
By JOSEPH HARGREAVES
December 5, 2006
This is the best rig for small and largemouth bass during the coldest weeks of the year. You will need a long whippy spinning rod 7’-10’ long with a small spinning reel loaded with 4#-6# test mono or fluoro line with a float set 4-8 feet up the line depending on the depth and fish placement in the water column. My favorite lures/flys for this technique are 1 32nd oz. crappie jigs in white or white and red, small hair jigs and steelhead marabou jigs.
How? This technique is at its best when the water is between 37-45 degrees and the water is very clear, either at ice out or where a creek or drainage ditch pours rain (warm and full of snacks) water into the colder lake below. Fish will suspend in the warmer water and will flock to it like a magnet. The trick is to keep the tiny fly suspended at the right depth of the water column.
Hot spots for the float and fly include places where rain water enters the lake, places with a sudden depth change, the tops of submerged trees or logs, or the open water in the middle of small cove pockets. Best retrieve is simply to make a long cast and the to let the bait settle. Deadstick for 30-40 seconds, then shake the bait in place and then deadstick it again for 30-40 seconds followed by moving the rig a couple of feet back and deadsticking it again. Bites will feel like you’ve snagged a plastic bag, so if you feel weight sweep set the rod and reel into the fish.
This rig is weird but in our local lakes (ie. Alpine, Kent Pheonix, etc) it is deadly during the brutal fall/winter transition and for me I will throw this rig exclusively until a week of rains warms and stains the water.
Good Luck!
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