Is that a rallying cry or what?
Ok, here's a few questions/observations from the perspective of someone who uses both floaters and intermediates a lot (I'm using neither while stuck at work these days, of course!!) and trout fishes as much, or more, than striper fishes.
On many of the flats I fish, the current is often just barely there. There are sluiceways where water spills out between bars, and you can swing a fly at certain tide stages, but more often than not, on much of the flat, there is not enough current to do a Sylvester Nemes. A few miles away, let's say in West Barnstable on the Cape, you might have flats that have so much current that you can barely stand, but in the place I have in mind, there's often little current. Still, these flats are sometimes loaded with fish. In those circumstances, it is about stripping a fly, or at least it has been for me. I don't personally use weighted flies much in these places, although I have and have had friends catch nice fish on them in my presence, and prefer stuff made with feathers and hair, but I am indeed stripping, and I would think that most sensible fisherman would do the same. Now that you pose the question about traditional methods, isn't it entirely "traditional" to strip in your fly in those circumstances?
As to lines, in these places, the floater and intermediate seem to be about a tie for me. It's very useful to be able to pick up a floating line quickly and toss it at a swirl, a tail or a boil that's behind me, and an intermediate causes a longer delay. By the same token, sometimes the intermediates cast a little better, especially when it's windy. I certainly don't use it to "get down deeper" because the flats just ain't that deep to begin with. As far as the clear lines, I dunno. I'm skeptical about the difference they make, but people I know who fish CC Bay a lot insist they do better with a clear line. I fished a floater almost exclusively two years ago, and then switched back to the intermediate last summer. Last summer was much more productive for me, but I can't fairly attribute it to the line. The floater's more flexible for sure.
Anyway, understanding and respecting your points about employing traditional methods, I would still think that casting and stripping is part of the tradition too, and that your larger point is to avoid the "one size fits all" approach, as you would say. Then again, I fish dryflies when it no doubt makes more sense to nymph ......
What do you think?
|
|