after limits have been reached in comps everyone knows about taking off the booby but i think there is a grey area here reguarding what you can use in place of your standard 2 eyed version . a single eyed version or giant suspender buzzer ??? i have even read in a mag recently that rob sosbe the english national champ carried on with his 2 eyed version because it sunk eventually without being taken down by a line .

if the rules say take of boobies when on to C&R then that's what you have to do,if i was in a boat with someone who didn't i would ask them to take it of,if they refused i would report them.

jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

i think thats straightforward enough jim , but what i'm driving at is possibly a single foam eyed pattern whether it be in lure form or other dressing maybe not being called a booby

The correct wording should be all bouyount flies be removed. it has been taken advantage of a few times ie the instance with Mr Sosbe not him in particular but the whole team using ear plugs. also i believe the Scots team using floss eyes soaked in permafloat! but i suppose by the very nature competition anglers are very intuitive and will always endever to try to get round rules!

Iceman, you may well have read the above quotation, but I very much doubt its credibility. Rob is a highly experienced and well-respected competition angler and unless he was permitted within the wording of the rules, to continue fishing with boobies, I'm convinced he would have taken it off and find it pretty bizzare and actually quite insulting that the English National Champions integrity should be questioned, especially in the press.

Apachie,

The correct wording should be all bouyount flies be removed.......

Does that include drys ?

Yes I believe innovative thinking to be correct terminology.

The buoyant fly issue is a very hard one to judge and its the match officials responsibility to clearly outline what is legal and what is not from the outset. If rules are rigid and written/described correctly, there are no ways around them, however where there is room for reasoned interpretation then you can bet your bottom dollar that some of the innovative guys will find a way.

We as competitive anglers all have a clear understanding of a Booby but bouyant fly..........well for now thats a totally different matter.

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http://www.speyghillie.co.uk/

nothing insulting there the actual article was rob sosbes own article worded by him .i think his actual words were a booby that sunk slowly by its own accord and was agreed by his boat partner .i only used that as an example as i do think there is a massive grey area here
charlie

would this not mean heavily dressed muddlers, the mainstay of loch style fishing in a big wave for years, would then be dis-allowed once on catch and release? They float like mad when ginked up and I prefer to fish these when fishing lures on the surface.

I too was surprised by Robs admision in the mag but I spoke to someone well in the know and he said that as long as it sinks, no matter how slowly, then it can be fished.

I think the whole C&R with boobies question is down to fishing them static, or almost as you cant realisticly fish static loch style. I dont like them fished static personally and when I have fished them on a slow figure of eight I have never had a fish deeply hooked that couldn't have been returned. I dont think the majority of competition anglers, and certainly none of the ones I've fished with, try to get round the rules. I think it is fishing within the rules as close to the edge as possible. That may be splitting hairs but it can be read both ways.

Wullie

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If its' no tied at hame, its no hametied

www.sunburstinternational.com

As I understand it, the rules of the International were that no floating flies were to be used on sunk lines. As Rob was using a midge tip (counts as a sinking line) he switched to a fly which sunk albeit with eyes - whether they were made of foam or whatever, that would be legal within those rules - I don't think boobies were called out specifically.

Curiously, the rules of the Airflo specifically ban boobies, but you can use other floating flies (muddlers, dries, suspenders, foam back things, etc) so long as they are on an all floating line.

Personally I think it is a load of *******s - fish are no more deeply hooked on boobies than anything else, unless you leger with them like the regulars at Farmoor

You just have to read the rules carefully and stick to them.

Charlie

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Sonik Sports Team Pitsford Pirates

Thanks for clearing that up Charliea, I didn't think that Rob would fish outwith the rules. In my personal opinion, it would have been easier for the match officials to simply enforce removal of Booby's after a limit was reached. Flies with eyes that sink - well, thats not a booby. It was more likely a pattern with floss eyes, maybe one of the ACA's gremlin... It appears that Robs choice of wording could have been slightly better.

At least all the anglers involved would have heard the very same rules at the pre-match brief, therefore no advantage.

Like Hametied stated good competition anglers don't bend the rules but do try to sail a bit close to the wind at times. I like to call it innovative thinking; its up to those who administer the rules, to clearly write/state exactly what they mean and stand by their decisions, therefore leaving NO grey areas - well that my opinion for what its worth.

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http://www.speyghillie.co.uk/

The 'boobys-off' rule has led to the development of a variety of innovative 'non-booby' styles. If the rules are not explicit and you have a pattern that you intend to fish, the best thing is to show it to the match official/referee before you go out and get a decision on whether it's legal or not.

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Tight Lines, Troutbum