The Float-n-Fly Technique with Thurman’s Float-n-Flies

Many decades ago, when I was a youngster, my dad would take my brother Lincoln and me to fish lakes. We fished from shore, from floating logs, and from my grandfather’s Klamath boat. Lincoln and I thought our dad was the strongest man in the world. He would pick up that 13-foot Klamath, hoist it over his head, and carry it to the water, or he would lift it up and set it on the boat rack mounted on our old Suburban.

We fished for trout, panfish, and catfish and caught a bass now and then, too. We used any kind of lure, from flies to Mepps spinners to bait. Yes, bait. We were just kids, fishing in the 1970s. We often fished the lakes using a fly rod mounted with an old Eagle Claw One-Fly spinning reel. This reel was loaded with monofilament, which came out of its side. We rigged up with a torpedo bobber and 6 or 7 feet of mono to our fly — dries and nymphs, but also streamers. We fished like this for years. The only place where we used a fly reel and fly line was on streams and rivers. We caught lots of fish fishing the lakes this way and had a great time doing it.

Later, when I started tying flies commercially at the ripe old age of 13, I became more sophisticated with my equipment and tactics on still waters. Many times, I was fishing steamers on sinking lines while my dad still used the old torpedo bobber setup. I began to outfish him, and he loved it.

Today, we are all more sophisticated, as are our fly rods, reels, and setups, But the principle of using a bobber with a streamer underneath still catches fish, and it always will. These days, the technique has been refined considerably and has a fancy name. It’s not a fly fished under a bobber. It’s the float-n-fly technique, and it requires a special kind of fly.

Invention’s Mom

The float-n-fly pattern featured here was developed out of necessity. A couple of years ago, my friend Zack Thurman called me and asked if I would help out tying a fly pattern that he developed for Shasta Lake’s bass. I said sure, so he sent me an order for 1000 flies. He said, “I can sell as many as you can tie,” and he did.

These flies and the tactic of fishing them are just as deadly as fishing that old torpedo bobber setup. The folks at a local Redding bass shop had asked Zack if he could come up with a fly specifically for bass fishing underneath a bobber that would be cast on a spinning rod. For few years, bass anglers had been fishing with a marabou jig underneath a bobber, and winning bass tournaments doing so. Zack went to work developing a fly that would imitate a threadfin shad. He tied the fly on a lead-head jig hook using trilobal dubbing material in different color combinations, including the standard white/gray and white/chartreuse. The bass shop tried them out, and they worked great, but both the bass anglers and Zack wanted more from their fly. So, Zack went back to work. He started playing with different materials, from dubbing to flash such as Flashabou and Krystal Flash, trying to find the right combination.

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FLOAT-N-FLIES CAN BE TIED IN A VARIETY OF BAITFISH OR ATTRACTOR PATTERNS. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: MORNING DAWN, BLUEGILL, SEXY SHAD, SHAD, AND OLIVE. TWO GRAY’S INDICATORS WITH VERTICAL POSTS ARE SHOWN AT THE BOTTOM.

After a couple more months of tweaking and fishing the fly, Zack had an “Aha” moment. A bass shop employee mentioned to Zack that a feather to each side would be a nice addition. The answer was a mallard flank feather on each side. This gave the fly the threadfin shad’s speckled side and shape, and, when the fly gets wet, a translucent appearance.

Fishing a fly under a bobber on still waters has come a long way since we kids did it. Not only have the flies evolved into what Zack developed, but the technique has become quite sophisticated, as well, requiring specific gear and rigging. The principle of how it works is pretty much the same as it ever was, except you’re using a fly rod and line and a fly that works with that kind of rig. Basically, you’re casting the fly/leader/bobber combination setup from a boat or other watercraft to place the fly at the depth where the fish are holding, then letting it sit there while wave action jigs the streamer up and down until a fish takes it.

What depth is that? Fish finders are almost a must when using this tactic, and without a fish finder, you are fishing blind and spending a lot of time trying to locate targets. If you don’t have a fish finder, Zack recommends starting out fishing at 8 feet down and then exploring depths down to 10 feet. However, a fish finder allows you to see where the fish are hanging in the thermal zone. I usually find fish 8 to 12 feet deep. Once I find the fish, I back my boat off so that the cast I make is approximately 20 feet. I don’t want to spook the fish, and this allows me to cast the somewhat cumbersome rig far enough away from the boat without too much difficulty. When set up for depths beyond 12 feet, a float-n-fly rig can be hard to cast.

Rigging: The Drop Leader

Professional bass anglers use these flies on a standard spinning rod setup underneath a sliding bobber so they can change the depth of the fly. Fly fishers do the same with their fly rods. I use a 6-weight rod that has a 9-foot 6-inch length, which gives me additional reach when I cast and also helps prevent me from pulling the strike indicator up to the tip top when fighting a fish. I pair the rod with a weight-forward floating line.

The leader, with its bobber stops and indicator, is the important part of this setup. The essence of it is that part of the leader will hang vertically below the indicator, with the depth of the presentation easily adjusted by shifting the position of the bobber stops on the leader. I make my standard “drop leader” using 20-pound fluorocarbon. First, I cut a 10-foot piece and tie a size 14 barrel swivel on one end. From the other end, I slip on three medium-size rubber oval bobber stops, then the indicator, and then three more bobber stops. The indicator now rides on the fluorocarbon, trapped by the bobber stops. These stops are easily moved to adjust the depth of the fly, and three stops on each side will keep the indicator in place when they start to lose their grip over time. Rubber oval bobber stops are available online and at conventional-tackle shops.

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ZACK THURMAN, WITH A TARGET FOR HIS FLOAT-N-FLIES.

By the way, I like sensitive indicators, like my Gray’s Indicator, which has a vertical post that swings and dips when the fly is grabbed, but you can use others, too, such as a Jaydacator or an Air-Lock bobber.

I now tie on another size 14 barrel swivel to the other end of the leader. To attach the drop leader to my fly line, I use a 12-inch piece of 30-pound or 40-pound monofilament with a Perfection Loop on the line end, loop-to-looped to the fly line. I tie the other end to one of the drop leader’s barrel swivels.

Finally, from the terminal barrel swivel, I tie on a 4-foot section of 3X tippet material, then the fly. If needed, you can add additional weight to your leader by placing a split shot on your drop leader right above the terminal barrel swivel.

Fishing the Rig

The float-n-fly tactic works all year long. Zack usually targets the bass in Shasta Lake in the prespawn months of March and early April there, which is when the larger fish congregate. You can fish this tactic in the winter months all day long to entice sluggish fish in cold water. In the summer and fall, fish it early in the morning, when the light is low and the water is cooler. I usually start fishing the standard Thurman’s Float-n-Fly Shad — the white-and-gray color combination, which is my favorite. Then I change flies to other color variations, such as the Float-n-Fly Sexy Shad, depending on the catch rate. The fly can be tied on lead-head jig hooks of different weights. (See the sidebar.) I never fish a fly tied on a jig hook that weighs more than 1/16 ounce. Larger jigs will smash fly rods if not cast correctly. (I know this all too well from experience.) I usually start with a 1/32-ounce jig, then switch to a heavier Float-n-Fly if needed. I fish the 1/32-ounce jig down to 9 feet and the 1/16-ounce jig down to 12 to 15 feet.

The fly that Zack Thurman developed is just not for Shasta Lake. It works everywhere that threadfin shad or similar baitfish occur in valley and mountain lakes and reservoirs. At Lake Almanor, I fish it in the spring for the prespawn bass and in the fall when the pond smelt gather in the coves on the lake.

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THE AUTHOR’S INDICATOR AND BOBBER-STOP RIG.

It’s not just a bass fly, either. This last fall on Lake Almanor, I had one of my best days ever fishing the coves on the west shore using this fly. We landed over twenty trout, both rainbows and browns, and we never changed a fly. I usually wait until nine or ten in the morning to let the pond smelt come to the surface in warmer water — fall surface water temperatures at Almanor can be in the low 50s, and pond smelt like water temperatures in the high 50s before they become active — and the tactic I use then is usually casting and stripping conventional streamers on floating or sinking lines. However, with the float-n-fly tactic, I can start fishing early in the morning and suspend the fly in the correct thermal layer of the lake.

Fishing valley reservoirs is a fantastic way to get out and fish during the winter and spring months, times when the float-n-fly tactic and flies work very well. It’s also a great way to develop a new skill that you can transfer to fishing throughout the other months.

Editor’s note: In addition to the bass and trout that Lance Gray mentions, the float-n-fly technique surely has utility for hooking other species: panfish, for example (float-n-fly patterns have some resemblance to crappie jigs), jacksmelt in bays, rockfish in kelp beds . . . And there’s probably no reason why it can’t be applied in some flowing-water situations, as well.


Tying Thurman’s Float-n-Fly

Zack Thurman ties his Float-n-Fly with an opal Hedron Accent Mirage flashtail just an eighth of an inch or so longer than the mallard flank. He still uses trilobal dubbing material, but he adds some Hareline Ice Dub to the fly, with Hareline’s Ice Dub Minnow Belly Pearl mixed in colors to correspond to the pattern, then a mallard flank feather on each side, color to match. The mallard flank is attached with red thread, which imitates gills.

At times, Zack has painted the heads of the jig hooks to match the color combination being tied, but he has found that the plain silver lead ball works just as well. I paint two-part eyes on the lead ball. With further development, Zack also has come up with color combinations to imitate crappies and small bass, not just threadfin shad and pond smelt.

Thurman’s Float-n-Fly Shad

Hook: Wapsi Lead Jig Hook, size 1/32 and 1/16 ounce

Thread: Red Danville Flymaster

Flashtail: Opal Hedron Accent Mirage

Belly: Hareline Ice Dub Minnow Belly, topped with white Hareline STS Trilobal Dubbing

Wing: Gray Hareline STS Trilobal Dubbing

Sides: Natural mallard flank

Thurman’s Float-n-Fly Sexy Shad

Hook: Wapsi Lead Jig Hook, size 1/32 and 1/16 ounce

Thread: Red Danville Flymaster

Flashtail: Opal Hedron Accent Mirage

Belly: Hareline Ice Dub Minnow Belly, topped with fluorescent chartreuse Hareline STS Trilobal Dubbing

Wing: Kingfisher blue Hareline STS Trilobal Dubbing

Sides: Natural mallard flank

Tying Instructions

Step 1: Place a jig hook in the vise. Start the thread right behind the jig’s lead head and tie in 10 strands of opal Hedron Accent Mirage on top of the shank down to the bend. Cut it so it extends past the hook bend one full shank length.

Step 2: Return the thread to behind the jig head and tie in the Ice Dub Minnow Belly. Top it with the chartreuse STS Trilobal Dubbing. Turn the hook over or rotate your vise so the hook point is up. Behind the jig head, tie in the blue STS Trilobal Dubbing as the wing.

Step 3: Tie in a mallard flank feather on each side of the shank, extending back fly about 1/8 inch shorter than the Hedron Accent Mirage.

Step 4: Head cement the red thread, paint eyes on lead head, and coat it with Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails.

Lance Gray

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