Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Favorite fish on fly

I guess 2 categories would be good. Salt and Fresh.

Salt- Dolphin (see attachment)

Fresh-As much as I LOVE Steelhead (my favorite fish) they can be A pain in the ass to fish with fly gear.

That said, I would have to vote Rainbows as my favorite fresh on fly. Then again, Silver's are pretty responsive to flies. Nope, sticking with Rainbows.

That would have to be brook trout. Natives are the prettiest fish on God's good earth IMHO. Largest I ever caught was 17" on an ultra-light fly rod on the little stream behind my home. It was in a current about a foot deep just below a beaver dam. Caught him on a black stonfly nymph that I tied myself. Back then we had lots of natives in the creek. I would love to get into some really big ones someday like they have in Labrador. Can only hope I guess.

Qtip
Soli Deo Gloria!
To God Alone Be The Glory!

AMEN. I have only caught a handful of Brookies. A trip to Labrador is one trip I think WORTHY of the money.

The idea of watching 6 pound Brook trout rising to a size 6 dry fly is TOO much for a weak heart.

Can't say as to salt water fly fishing, as I haven't done it, but for freshwater, I've got two:

For pure beauty, the native brook trout wins hands down for the reasons above.

For pure fun, the smallmouth bass. Nothing in fins in freshwater fights like a smally, and having a 2 pounder on a 4 wt. is a blast. In a good area, you can catch smallmouth until your arm gives out; and I'll guarantee you'll come back for more.

I'd have to say wild rainbows, especially the Alaska and Athabascan strains.

Silver salmon would be a close second!

I'll have to say rainbows too.It still gives me a thrill when a rainbow throws its self out of the water on a hookset.Last weekend they were jumping higher than our heads as we fished from our toon boats.

I've never had the chance to flyfish the chuck,but hopefully next spring I get to go after cohos with my brother,he says they take a streamer readily.

Easy
Grayling.
They will take anything like a bug.
Other than that I like Dolly varden on the Buskin river, I cought a 32 incher there <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />.
This is the best fly for them.
But I tie them with mutipul eggs.

Rainbows followed closely by brookies.Biggest bow was 7 lbs biggest brook was 5 lbs.We have awsome trout fishing in the unterior of B.C. Coho's are pretty fun on the flyrod as well.

Largemouth bass in fresh water. Nothin' like the strike of a really BIG one (6 lbs.+) on a big deerhair or whatever bug!

Salt? Whatever's biting. Just haven't done all that much saltwater flyfishing.

Yep, Coho in the salt chuck, and my favorite freshwater fish on a fly is from a specifc lake that I'll not name. It's in Canada and that's close enough. The fish are the heaviest for their length, the strongest, hardest fighting and best tasting rainbow variety that I know. I'd guess it is a specific race of fish distinct in that lake. Some of them have a cutthroat slash so we assume that they are a cross of some kind but they are way too much on the rainbow side to be a regular cuttbow. And a good number of them go six pounds in that lake, with two to three pounders very common.

If we aren't picky about it being a REAL fly, but just fish caught on a flyrod, I'd go for sockeye in freshwater rivers in a heartbeat. I usually just tie a yarn fly into the hook knot, and sometimes add the smallest corkie, so I assume that doesn't count as real flyfishing?

I have caught both channel catfish and bullhed catfish while fishing for bass with a fly and fly rod. The channels are especially aggressive.

Smallmouth bass on the White River in VT.

Jeff

My brother and I fished in Labrador for brookies several years ago, at Anne Marie Lodge. It was a good trip, and we caught a few large fish but the way they keep their 5 lb. average is to not count fish under 3 lbs. We caught a few fish up to nearly 8 lbs on dries, it was fun. all C&R. The guides were very good, they taught us a lot about fly-fishing using our own gear to demonstrate that you do not need a $600 rod to cast well.

Reds. Pound for pound, more fight.
M

I want to catch a bright king out in the salt in SE Alaska with my 7wt fly rod.

A rainbow big enough to take a size2 bleeding mouse on the Copper river.

River run Atlantic Salmon, There is nothing like seeing a monster in the clear water on the bonaventure or petite cascapedia rising up to snatch a green bomber.

Tarpon in the salt for sure . In the fresh I don't know too many I have not caught to say . I think a king would be a hoot and something about a huge steelhead excites me.

I really like a nice fresh silver, sometimes they go airborne 10 times and make about 3-4 screaming runs, just to get warmed up! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

For beauty native Brookies on a #3 ---- for brute fun ,the freshwater bonefish..........THE CARP....Don't laugh if ya haven't tried it.--Jim--

Brookies for their bulldog tendacies under the water and rainbows for their above the water ballet show........haven't got to do salt yet

quote: freshwater bonefish..........THE CARP....

I know a guy in Nevada who ties a cottonwood seed fly, imitating the white fluffy seed balls that float on the water in spring. I guess carp eat them, that is what he claims, anyway. There is some good fishing in parts of Nevada, but not like here!

COHO!

BMT

The problem picking is the fish comes with an environment and the combination of the fish and the environment make for the experience! I really enjoyed my trips to Alaska (Yakatat) and fishing for Sockeye's and Kings and there's nothing like a fresh King on a 7 weight. Included with the fish was bears and moose and coffee with my Grandfather over a campstove. The fish at that point is just garnish.

That being said the wife and I went up to Maine a couple years ago to fish the Rapid River for Brookies and Landlocks and that was a ton of fun. Got a 21" Brookie on a size 16 EHC that was a blast. The better part might have been that I got to help my wife get her first fish of any sort on a dry fly on a fly she had tied.

Ten minutes from the house here I've got the Patapsco where I can walk a mile or so upstream and catch all the smallies I want wet wading on a pleasant summer afternoon when the choirs are done.

Course, if I were to put it down to just plain pulling power I'd have to go with the redfish that spooled my six weight one afternoon in Pensacola 20 some years ago. I've never forgot that total no way I can land this fish on this tippet feeling.

Allen

For pure fight I think silvers would be at the top of my list.
For just a plain fun day of fishing would be grayling and dollies on Yukon River tribs.
I also enjoy pike fishing out in Kaiyuh.

Saltwater: Bonefish for their reel screaming runs
Freshwater: Summer steelhead for their reel screaming runs

Wild spring run Alaskan Steelhead are simply knucklebusters. Fall bows are awesome too but I do love the metelheads.
"http://www.myfishingpictures.com/?p=93042&c=500&z=1"

I gotta vote for steelies and bones.

nice steelie. welcome to the fire, ptarmigan and Frankie.

Being that 99% of my fishing is warm water my fishing passion is LARGE Bluegill sunfish on ultralight gear. Little brother made a 3 weight 6.5 foot rod for my 50th birthday. That rod with 1 or 2 pound tippets makes for a very exciting day of fishing. Salt water is for me wading for mullet (poor man's bone fish) with a 5 weight. They spook like bone fish on the tideal flats, they run, jump, and when that doesn't work they just put their head down and sulk.

Very nice fish and welcome!
M

Big Rainbows-freshwater. Have a San Juan River trip next week and plan on finding some. Being landlocked, I don't have much opportunity to fish the salt, but expect that to change in the near future.

Salt: False Albacore on a 7. Fresh, i know I am speaking heresy to some, but I love Small mouths on a 5!! Make you wonder what the fuss over trout is all about! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> NYS

NICE FISH!!! NYS

Never done any saltwater fly fishing.

Freshwater: Silvers more fight pound for pound than kings. I also like flyfishing for dollies and grayling on a couple of clear water Yukon River feeder streams and northern pike in the side sloughs and lakes in the same area.

Welcome Ptarmigan. Nice fish.
Care to divulge the general location you caught that? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I've never fished for steelies before.

Fresh water - those of you who DIDN"T choose rainbows, come up here and catch an 8 lb rainbow and then choose. Last weekend I took a friend who never flyfished before out to an interior lake. He fought and landed a 4 pound rainbow - it took him 20 minutes - and had a smile on his face that didn't disappear for hours.

Oh how I miss fishing those interior lakes in the kamloops region.When I lived in Heffley Creek,I could be on a lake in any given direction in less than an hours drive,flyfishing for those big Kamloops strain rainbows.

Mine has to be Summer Steelhead, not that I do it a lot anymore since they don't have hatchery fish in the upper Kalama anymore but used to have a blast up there.

Appalachian strain Brookies with stream bred rainbows a close second....

I guess I like large Rainbows almost as much as SE Steelies!
"http://www.myfishingpictures.com/?p=93966&c=502&z=1"

I go for beauty more than size anymore. I love the Greenback Cutts which are an endangered species and native to Colorado.

They're all fun to catch. I like the small native brookies (we call them "speckled trout" in N. GA) but I have to say, there is something to be said about the fighting power of a big rainbow.

Big fall rainbows.Second would be kings.