scented flies.

It seems that the lines of fly fishing become more blurred as time goes on. I don't scent my flies but your question on this has larger implications, ie., "What is fly fishing?" While looking through my fly box I find synthetic this and synthetic that, materials etc. that I am working away from. That being said, I prefer my graphite fly rods, something that might make some of the pioneers of this sport turn over in their graves. So I am somewhat of a hypocrite. Some fly fisherman have decided that egg patterns do not qualify as "flies".

There was an article in the latest edition of Northwest Fly Fishing that discussed the use of flourocarbon leader material and what it has done to innocent wildlife. The article also goes on about the use of lead and how we contribute to the deterioration of the very sport we love.

So the only thing that I've decided is that fly fishing is pretty much left to the individual to decide what should or shouldn't be done. It will be interesting to see what others think on this topic.

Skinny

Thanks Skinny, I bet we could go on forever, and I promise you I won't let that happen, Chris wouldn't either.The part about being an individual decision, what a person does, that's always true. As conservationist fly fishers it's important that we consider our impacts. I do feel that as time goes on the lead issue will be more and more important and will be banned altogether. When I lived back east I noticed that every Great- Lakes area store sold spools of heavy lead, split shot, sinkers etc.All along the Hudson River valley and the Long Island Sound shores, the Atlantic Coast etc., The same is true here. It's done allot of harm to the environment over time and we're just becoming aware of it. there are some places where lead is forbidden. It's only a matter of time.Wildlife; ducks, geese, swans, shorebirds etc.,eat the stuff when they find it, mostly split shot, shotgun shot etc. Heavier forms of lead may be less immediately dangerous but do get broken down into the water and soil over time. Right now there are millions of tons of lead in our environment nationwide as a direct result of sportsmans activities.That's a dark legacy indeed.So we need to be aware of that. Im not sure that using a carbon graphite rod is quite as disqualifying as baiting a fly with scent, but I'll think about that one. I bet the pioneers of fly fishing were also the pioneers of modern graphite rodmaking and modern fly line technology.Having said that, There's always room for bamboo on my water, and I don't even own one.

I did have one other thought on this however and it deals with removing all scent from flies, and more specifically as it would apply to fishing for salmon and steelhead. As we're all aware, salmon and steelhead have an intense sense of smell.

I've read articles that mentioned how important it can be to avoid introducing unwanted man made substances when handling your flies, a common one being gasoline. How many times have you filled your truck on the way to the water, got out of the truck and noticed that your hands smelled of gasoline?

It got me thinking about dyes and other synthetics that we tie our flies with and whether or not they may have some effect on discouraging takes from time to time. Has anybody ever tried rinsing or washing your flies in some substance to nuetralize ordors?

Skinny

Nice topic. I must point out one thing, all flies have scent. You are only masking one scent with another scent. Probably the most pure way to mask a scent is by the fish's own habitat. I have noticed over the years that if I catch one fish on a wet fly, I usually have a better chance of catching another. When a fish gets a fly in his mouth it changes the scent. When a fly is scrubbed into some moss on the shore line, it is well masked.

If you use a commercial scent you are breaking purist laws. If you aren't a purist and it is legal, by all means. I have never had BETTER luck by using commercial scents.

If you want the best scent, take 20 periwinkles from their cases and take them home and grind them into a juice/pulp. Then you will have the best scent ever. Especiall if you let the juice sit in the sun for 3 days. Just make sure to keep adding water to keep it from drying out.

I have often thought about the smell of the fur and feathers and how they inflence fish. Have you ever noticed how much better a fly catches fish after the first fish? I call it getting the stink off when a trout slimes it. Also I will often rub my steelhead and wet flys on a slimmey river rock to get the human smell off.

Putting a scent on your fly (or any other lure, plug etc) to attract fish changes your offering to the bait catagory. The regs used to mention this. So putting Dr. Juice, Shrimp Oil, Ketchup etc on a wooley bugger and fishing it th Yakima would be againts the law.


I don't know where they would draw the line on scenting a fly . Is river slime ok but leaving a fly in my bag of cheetos for a few hour not? I think I'll stick with using river slime and eat the cheetos.

I've tried scenting flies and basically got the same results without scent, but that was in Alaska where fish bite more often that here. I'll throw in my 2 cents here. "Don't worry what the other guy is using as long as its legal. At least the person is out enjoying him/her self." My other sport, climbing, is fraught with others worring IF you did a particular climb in "style" or not. Lets just go out and have a good time and don't worry about this and that. Smell the evergreens, listen to the water, look for a bird that you might not have seen in a while or in my case(I'm partially deaf) listen for a song that your ears haven't heard but now you can 'cause the new hearing aids work well enough.
By the way if any of you run into a guy that doesn't respond to you if he violates some basic etiquette on the rivers its probably me, I really can not hear very good. So yell a little louder or walk up to me slowly and explain to me nicely so I can learn. I was told this at the Flysmith that there are etiquette rules. I did not know. I've always avoided crowds and fished elsewhere.
Sisu, its what America needs :CLOWN

I am all for scenting flies for winter steelheading. There are only three scents I will use as over the years these have provided the best results. Granted these are a little more expensive than stuff you buy at Ted's and a bottle never seems to last very long but hey, its for the fish! My top three are:

1)Lagavulin
2)Glen Morangie Portwood Finish
3)McCallan's 25 Year

Application instructions --
1) Open Flask
2) Take a good pull
3) Look at the fly
4) Pass the flask to your buddy
(repeat often as needed)

Anything else and in my opinion, you have crossed the line outof flyfishing.