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Rock Fish Flies?

3K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  Yeti 
#1 ·
Does anyone know any flies that will work for rockfish?
 
#6 ·
First off, this is a secret, so you have to promise not to tell any one else. Take a white bunny leach with lots of flash and a tungsten cone and cast it next to a school of rock fish, better yet park your boat right on top of them and lower the fly down in front of a big one, next (and this is the tricky part) let the fly just hang there, one of the best techniques involves leaning the rod on the rail and waiting for it to jump. Then when the fish gets on, reel him in. To re-cap, white bunnny leach, don't strip, just hang, jerk when the fish pulls.
Works every time
Jim
 
#7 ·
Uncle Jimmy said:
First off, this is a secret, so you have to promise not to tell any one else. Take a white bunny leach with lots of flash and a tungsten cone and cast it next to a school of rock fish, better yet park your boat right on top of them and lower the fly down in front of a big one, next (and this is the tricky part) let the fly just hang there, one of the best techniques involves leaning the rod on the rail and waiting for it to jump. Then when the fish gets on, reel him in. To re-cap, white bunnny leach, don't strip, just hang, jerk when the fish pulls.
Works every time
Jim
but while you are waiting you need to have a beer and some snacks!
 
#10 ·
I tie up tubes dressed with Fishair and a bit of flash for black rockfish; some weighted and some not. The old standard chartreuse/green over white is good as is the vintage but still excellent Lambuth Candlefish pattern which has been around for about 80 years. Tied with Fishair the tube flies are very durable. Salmon like them as well.
Rockfish are eager grabbers down deep around kelp beds but when they are hitting on top the action can be both fast and exciting. It doesn't hurt to add about 15-inches of 40-pound test flourocarbon with a double surgeon as a bite leader, just in case a toothy lingcoe decides to join into the fray. These critters are not leader-shy.
Good Fishing,
Les Johnson
 
#11 ·
I just wanted to add something to this thread, yes rockfish will eat just about anything, BUT, they will also eat a good looking baitfish more readily then they will some ugly POS fly, or a piece of led/copper on a hook. When I go rockfish fishing, I don't consider a 20fish day a "good day". When you get 20 fish on 20 casts in a row, that's when the fishing is hot. An example is when I'll target lingcod speficially, I put a much larger and gaudy fly, while I still might hook a couple big rockfish with it, I will usually be outfished by whomever im with as they still have a shock and awe on, or some other good baitfish pattern.
 
#12 ·
searun said:
I tie up tubes dressed with Fishair and a bit of flash for black rockfish; some weighted and some not. The old standard chartreuse/green over white is good as is the vintage but still excellent Lambuth Candlefish pattern which has been around for about 80 years. Tied with Fishair the tube flies are very durable. Salmon like them as well.
SNIP
Stick a popper head on the front of these same tubes and you can hammer those rock fish on the surface at times. Great fun.

-t
 
#13 ·
i'll agree with ibn, there can be a difference in flies, even with fish as "non-selective" as rockfish. i have yet to see anything outfish a flashtail clouser (chartreuse and white) for rockfish... and i've done comparisons while fishing. i've seen a rod go dead with a different fly, while the clousers kill, and the rod get back to business when a clouser is put back on.

sometimes it can be as different as changing the retreive. i had a bunch of surf candies tied up that looked like perfect little candlefish in my vice, but using a strip-strip-strip retreive yielded nothing in a bay full of rockfish. i tucked the rod under my arm and did a steady, hand over hand retreive (keeping the fly moving) and it was a fish a cast affair.

i do like jimmy's fishing technique... reminds me of a day gear fishing with a buddy on his boat. we anchored up south of umatilla, but our rods (with metal jigs) in the rodholders... sat in beach chairs on his deck and waited for the rockfish to eat the hanging jigs (and didn't wait long).

the beauty of rockfish is that almost anything will work for them at times... but the popper fishing is truly the best. i'll never forget working the pinnacle last summer next to salmo casting poppers and not being able to keep them off.

btw, i'm having fresh saltwater bottomfish withdrawls.... hard to find tasty bottomfish in CO. ibn, keep up the fishing reports.

chris
 
#16 ·
flyfishneahbay said:
salmo,

no, not yet... you in the market? bad time to be selling a big boat... high gas prices, short halibut and salmon seasons.
Naw, just curious. I upgraded my ride to a 19' boat/4-stroke yamaha last year (that blue alumaweld) and I think I'm good for a long while. Yours is a sweet rig though. Seems like someone out there would like a boat like that for the swiftsure/blue dot/umatilla runs.

-tony
 
#17 ·
Talking about the efficiency of a clouser:
I just got back from Bahamas last week. I had tied up a zillion of the standard bonefish and permit patterns along with a slug of large baitfish imitations. While fishing the ocean side of the island from the beach, the #1 performing pattern for me was a size 4-6 clouser, chartreuse over white. Even with the bone fish, out performed the shrimp patters 3 to 1; they got so torn up that I eventually I ran out of clousers. Even caught a large sting ray with one that I let sit too long (it got to keep that one; ever try C&R on a sting ray? :rofl: ).
 
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