|
Post by troutinturnie on Apr 28, 2018 8:55:50 GMT -6
Time is getting close! Starting to create/fill a Lockport fly box, as a first time catfisherman any suggestions help out. Not looking for anyones secret weapons but so far I got some Clousers tied in brown/white, black/black, black/orange, chart/white. Ive tied some of Lockport1850's Drum beaters in black. I have a selection of DDH Leeches in brown, olive, black, white. I tied a few Gonga Minnows (trout fly) in silver/white and gold/white to try and imitate goldeyes. If there is anything else I could try please let me know. Ill probably only get out there a couple times due to the drive so Id like to have all options covered.
Thanks again,
Kyle
|
|
|
Post by petroh on Apr 28, 2018 12:05:10 GMT -6
Sounds like you've got a nice selection of flies setup already to target the cats and drum! A suggestion I would give however is to make sure you keep an open mind about different species out there. Sometimes, especially during peak summer months the catfish won't cooperate or the drum have come and gone, and as you said it's quite a drive for you so you might have to target different species out there. From my experience there's been days where I went out to catch cat's and ended up figuring out there was an abundance of another species available and ended up having a very successful trip which would otherwise not been so. You could be looking at catching big northern's, massive carp or dozens of gold eye and it's good to have a selection of flies available for those types of days. Clouser's are fine for northern's, but for goldeye's I could suggest having some nymphs available which could also be used for carp. I've had success with prince nymph's in the past and they're fairly easy to tie. To add to that, it's nice to have strike indicator's on hand. I don't you them much anymore, but they have their applications if your trying to fish a specific depth of the water column without worrying about snagging up. Good luck this season!
|
|
|
Post by troutinturnie on Apr 28, 2018 13:13:59 GMT -6
Thanks for the advice, I have lots of pike flies tied up already too. What size nymphs would you recommend?
|
|
|
Post by petroh on Apr 28, 2018 13:32:30 GMT -6
For the Prince Nymph, I typically use a size 10, Mustad 3906B hook. With bigger hook's you tend to have a hard time getting a proper hook up for goldeye with their tiny mouths and fast strikes
|
|
|
Post by lockport1850 on Apr 29, 2018 7:45:23 GMT -6
You'll have fun. Lockport is "like a box of chocolates... you never know what you'll get". However, with the Drum Beater... if you've used a lot of lead, you'll be on the bottom getting a lot of snags. But, that's where the Drum and Carp are. For the Cats, they are more reliably caught in mid-depths so a somewhat less heavy fly, and using the count-down method helps get you to them. That being said, I've found that sometimes you don't know exactly the depth you're casting to, and if it is a heavy current area, it's even more difficult to control depth.
When I started to get the Drum, I created the Drum beater to be fast to tie, and cheap, since there are a few lost to snags on every outing. Also, I used the stronger hook since pretty much every fish caugh on it is capable of straightening out a lighter hook. Since that fly is creeping along the bottom, 10-15 lb Fluoro leader is suggested.
I think I'll try some lighter colored Drum Beaters this year, with only lead eyes and see how the Cats like that. I found the darker colors worked better for the Drum.
|
|
|
Post by troutinturnie on May 1, 2018 5:59:25 GMT -6
Thanks for the tips! I tied the Drum Beater with the small/medium yellow dumbell eyes from Cabelas. How long of a leader are you usually running out there?
|
|
|
Post by lockport1850 on May 1, 2018 7:19:36 GMT -6
A 3ft to 6ft leader is all you need. You just need enough leader length to cut flies off, and deal with broken-off hooks without continuously re-tying a new leader on. The fish being "leader shy" is no an issue in the Red River, so long leaders just make casting more difficult than necessary.
|
|
|
Post by kilgortrout on May 10, 2018 13:44:46 GMT -6
A lot of my fav flies are yellow or purple, might be something to try out. Cheers Ron
|
|