Fly Fishing Only Regulations...?

[EstevanPoint]

Hi all,

Curious what some might know about fly only sections of river and what constitutes fly fishing...? For example, using a fly rod and fly line, but using a bead? Is that any different from using an egg fly pattern? And does the rod dictate the method, or does the lure at the end?

Anyone have insight or knowledge from Fisheries Officers on this point?

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Big Green Machine]

It’s laid out in the freshwater regs on page 14 if fishing in a freshwater section of a river. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/docs/1921/PW_regulations_guide.pdf

Is a bead made out of a textile, fur, feather or hair? I think most beads are plastic.

 

[UkeeDreamin]

Hmmm, that definition would seem to preclude all bead headed patterns as well: “... and to which no external weight or external attracting device is attached” as it goes on to discuss where/when weights or floats can be attached to the line, this seems specific to the fly itself. BC has some senseless regs - in freshwater you can’t use two hooks on a fly (say like a large streamer for salmon) or two flies on your line (ie “droppers”) but you can use two rods if by yourself in a boat ... in the salt you can’t have multiple lures on a single line, say like the folks do in Washington and Oregon with shrimp flies above their ling jigs or two droppers on their Hali rigs but there’s no limits on how many rods you can use! So essentially you could set up by yourself and put out a dozen rods but you’d be illegal if you put out one with two baits!

Would be nice to see a “common sense” review of the regs to modernize and simplify them! I know, common sense isn’t common!

Cheers!

Ukee

 

[EstevanPoint]

My thoughts exactly Ukee...

 

[quin]

Hmmm, that definition would seem to preclude all bead headed patterns as well: “... and to which no external weight or external attracting device is attached” as it goes on to discuss where/when weights or floats can be attached to the line, this seems specific to the fly itself. BC has some senseless regs - in freshwater you can’t use two hooks on a fly (say like a large streamer for salmon) or two flies on your line (ie “droppers”) but you can use two rods if by yourself in a boat ... in the salt you can’t have multiple lures on a single line, say like the folks do in Washington and Oregon with shrimp flies above their ling jigs or two droppers on their Hali rigs but there’s no limits on how many rods you can use! So essentially you could set up by yourself and put out a dozen rods but you’d be illegal if you put out one with two baits!

Would be nice to see a “common sense” review of the regs to modernize and simplify them! I know, common sense isn’t common!

Cheers!

Ukee

You can use two hooks on a fly in freshwater, just not in "fly only" waters. (or single hook waters) Tandem hooked flies just don't meet the definition of an artificial fly for the purpose of the regulations. Here's some of the flies available in Balfour. -- http://www.gillandgift.com/FLY catalogue.html
It's a popular method in the Kootenays.

 

[KCW]

Some waters are fly fishing or artificial fly only

 

[Wildvanisle]

Bead heads are not “external weight or external attracting device” as they are a part of the fly. The regs seem pretty straight forwards to me and if im being honest a lot of problems people seem to have with them are because they aren’t allowed to fish the way they want.

In fly only waters use a Fly rod, fly line and a fly w/ no weight added to the line (split shots) and no indicator or float. Seems pretty simple to me.

 

[quin]

Bead heads are not “external weight or external attracting device” as they are a part of the fly. The regs seem pretty straight forwards to me and if im being honest a lot of problems people seem to have with them are because they aren’t allowed to fish the way they want.

In fly only waters use a Fly rod, fly line and a fly w/ no weight added to the line (split shots) and no indicator or float. Seems pretty simple to me.

In "fly only" waters there is no requirement to use a fly rod or fly line, just a "fly" ,as defined in the regulations and weights or floats may be used. In "fly fishing only" waters there is a restriction on weights/floats but it's not required to use a fly rod/fly line.

 

[Dave H]

In "fly only" waters there is no requirement to use a fly rod or fly line, just a "fly" ,as defined in the regulations and weights or floats may be used. In "fly fishing only" waters there is a restriction on weights/floats but it's not required to use a fly rod/fly line.

Technically true but how else will you cast a fly then?

Not going to be very effective using spinning or bait-casting gear given you can't use weights or floats, aka bobbers, aka strike indicators etc. and flies don't weigh much.

In fly fishing only situations using a fly rod and casting a weighted fly line with the fly along for the ride seems the best way to adhere to the regulations, even if technically "not required", as you say.

And I say that as a guy who once caught a beauty trout on a fly cast to the edge of a weed-bed in Crown Lake, over 60 years ago, using my spinning outfit. Watched the trout turn, swim to the fly, open its mouth and eat it. I set the hook and was as stoked as an angler could be when I brought it to hand.

We ate it.




Take care.

 

[quin]

Once watched a young kid on the Big Qualicum, below the hatchery, back in the "Fly fishing" only days, using his spinning rod with a large yarn fly. He'd let the fly soak, and then trail it below him in the current, and basically "roll cast" it upstream using the weight of the soaked yarn and the drag of the current to "load" his spinning rod. Not easy, definitely not pretty, but he caught fish and played by the rules.

 

[quin]

Here's something that never really caught on, but I did see it in a store on Vancouver Island (Tyee Marine??) a long while ago (20+ yrs). - - http://skipsspinflyline.blogspot.com/p/what-is-spinfly-line-how-do-you-rig-and.html