How to Use Flies with a Spinning Rod - 2 Easy Methods (Bubble and Fly + Dropshot Rig)

Flies aren't just for a fly rod! Here are 2 methods for using flies with a spinning rod -- a fly and a bubble, and a dropshot rig. You can use dry flies, nymphs, streamers, poppers or any sort of fly with these setups. The video will go step by step from picking a rod and reel, to tying the rigs.

I am always surprised by how rarely these rigs are used considering they are so effective. Especially the second rig, I have personally never seen used but I have caught trout with it almost every time. This video explains everything step-by-step so you can see for yourself how well artificial flies and nymphs work for catching all kinds of species.

We're getting close to 10K SUBSCRIBERS!! Thanks to everybody for the support! I am getting a nice library of content going and also a good collection of tunes I've composed for the vids. I am thinking of doing a "Soundtrack" video at some point with all the music so if you haven't yet, subscribe so you don't miss this unique aspect of the channel!!

[woodrealty]

Nice work -- lovely background. Don't know much about fishing, but YOU do! Love, Mom

[thomasflickinger]

I am an old guy, really like your take on the drop shot fly. The unweighted flies are less expensive. Yes young man you sure got the idea. Thank you for sharing. Good fishing to you.

[wingnutbert]

That triple surgeons looks like a better option than Uni to Uni. Not that the Uni to Uni is bad. But tiny line like that, sitting in a kayak, with even a bit of wind, calloused finger tips and older eyeballs makes things challenging enough. Thanks for showing me that!

[hbghwhe]

My most memorable fishing experience was with a dry fly on a closed-face reel with about 8lb mono 5.5' brown Shakespeare from the '80s. You can do quite a bit of dry fly casting without a bubble. Plus there is less disturbance on the water, without the fly line. If you fish ponds or lakes, spin gear eliminates all that back-casting. There is so much small-stream trout fishing that is not much further than 10' from the angler, your rod plus mono/fluorocarbon is all you need.

A spin-rod also makes a great 'spey' rod. All you need is a fly line and reel to go with a spin set-up. Short rods make much better bow-casting rods, in my opinion, and actual fly rods are really a bit long for many streams.

[justinpeterson]

Cool. I kind of stumbled across this method this summer in Colorado. I had a spin rod and thought "Wait, can I use this with flies? What if I put a bobber on the line, so I can cast?" It worked. Trout, in a river. Like a charm.

[kellycoote]

Excellent! I've been wanting to learn how to catch trout on flies with a spinning rod but all the other videos I've watched are so hit and miss and honestly most of them are just trying to sell you their products from their sponsors. Most of them are just marketing videos, not instructional videos like this one. Finally I understand what to buy, how to set it up and what techniques to use. It explained everything I need to know. Now I need to watch it again and take notes so I can purchase my gear, rig it up and get out there. Thank you so much.

[chappysguide]

Nice video. I am in my 50’s and live in New England and have been fly fishing since I was 8 and tying flies since 13. I fish all styles. I love the fact that you resonate with the youth and that is wonderful to see - as they will listen to you more than and older man. Anything to get youth out in the environment enjoying nature will create stewards that will protect our environment in the future 0:02 . I have been using many of the rigging techniques you show for almost 20 years when braid first came out. You explained it well. Then you bit your line. After many exterior filling that fill little dents in the incisors, I highly suggest using nippers 100% of the time. Fluoro is harder than mono and over the years it will wear and tear on the teeth and these “fillings are not cheap and they rarely last 5 years.

[hughjarse]

Hey buddy we have clear bubble floats in Scotland just fill with water and tie at the end off your line with two/three flies bout 4/5 ft above float add a maggot to the fly and its very successful 😎

[guyh.]

Nice video. I've been doing this for years as well.

To tie braid to mono, I recommend to use a double Uni knot. Works equally as well as your Triple Surgeon. Another way, & is highly recommended, is to tie a swivel to the braid, then the mono to the swivel. Cuts down significantly on line twist.

For the float, I use either the clear torpedo or bubble float. The nice part about the bubble is that you can pass the line through the bubble then put the plug back in. If you need more weight to get out even farther, pull the plug, and fill the bubble with water. Do not fill the bubble no more than 1/2 full.

Thanks for making it. 😊😊😊

[Kerrsartisticgifts]

55 yrs ago I watched kids with a spinning rod catch trout in a Scottish lake using a clear bubble float with dry flies. That bubble float had a little plug that let them half fill the bubble with water for weight to help them cast.
They used a small split shot on the fly end to keep a space between the float and fly and they played it with the reel like you did, to mimic fishing with a fly rod. Those kids caught a lot of trout that day and I caught my first pike on a 5 of diamonds lure that I couldn't believe any fish would take.

[basilmiller]

Been doing this for years, caught 3 of the biggest native brown trout I ever caught with it. 1/ 27 1/2 and 2/ 28 1/2 inchers.

[sonnychapmanable]

The dropshot weight is used by just inserting the line and then yank it up in the pinched loop. That way you can adjust the depth and if the weight will get stuck you only lose the weight and not the whole setup.

[money_murda]

Wow thanks for showing the different knots, making that loop was pretty impressive I haven’t seen that one before

[t.nicklasson]

Very good instruction, well described and with a calm voice. Superb!

[chitownarcher]

Good video. Your right about the complicated knots some people recommend. Good idea putting a loop on the fly instead of tying it. This will make fly changes faster. I will try this next time I'm out fishing. I normally use those clips for flies, but they have some issues.

[gillgetter]

Been using this with poppers for bluegill for years, only difference is I use mono line because I want line and popper to float. You can also pull top of that float under water and add water to float for more distance. I’ve caught some nice bass with this setup also.

[Elmatt]

Love the video. Been a fan of using flies with a spin rod and you've taken it to where I want to go.

[rgTORO_grOSO]

For the dropper on the drop-shot rig, I typically use a ridiculously weighted fly/jig pattern for that ... works well in lakes. Never know ... and as alternative for the bobber/indicator, I sometimes use a large floating fly (same idea = never know).

[amberjarman]

Thanks for this my boyfriend will use this technique during our uk trout season as it lets him use his gear as it’s dry and wet fly only on rivers 15th March to 15h June

[winterapparel]

Ive seen a guy use spinning gear with flies before. He used a crank bait with a wet fly behind it and got more bites on the wet fly. Crank gets their attention and the fly is an easy meal behind it. He also used a painted green spoon as a weight (he said he’s never gotten a trout bite on an all green spoon because he’s convinced they think it’s a leaf. he paints the shiny side with green nail polish) and then ties two wet flies on behind it. Pretty interesting stuff