Guys

I'm interested in your input.

When is fly fishing not fly fishing? What makes fly fishing fly fishing? Is it the terminal object? the rod? the reel? the line? all of these together?

Would a heavy tube fly on the end of a spinning line (attached to a spinning rod/reel) be fly fishing or spinning? Why?

I have fished both methods, but would like to believe that a fish 'should' be more attracted to a fly than something like a flying-C spinner.

Looking at catch reports, it appears more fish fall to spinners than flies - why? Is it this because a higher number of people fish spinners? are spinners more effective? If they are - why? If the numbers only show this because more people spin than fly fish and this is what's skewing the numbers, why do more people fish spinners than flies if flies are actually more effective?

Would really appreciate discussion on this.

SAB

I prefer to use a fly rod but salmon, it seems, prefer spinners at times.... so I sometimes do both at the same time ....

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With what results?

I have hooked, and sadly lost, a few salmon and sea trout. I tend to blame the Big Mouth Double hooks I used at the time. Others have reported some success using them, though, and I have had a few trout on them. I should say that I have not used them extensively, and not at all this season, as I have been intent of late on other experiments.

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Related - other experiments?

This, fished on a fly rod, has taken a couple of salmon in a few hours fishing .....





while these more conventional lures have taken quite a few sea trout .....





and a couple of North American steelhead, like this 15 pounder (not by me unfortunately) .....

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Thy fly is a visual attracter so the fish must see it before it decides to grab it or not. In certain water conditions we know that it can be difficult to see the fly.
Also it is hard to fish a fly down deep especialy on a river say upstream. The fly also gives off very little vibration.

A spinner is very visual in a lot of conditions, giving off a lot of movement and light. Furthermore it gives off a lot of vibrations that attract fish from a fair distance.
I have seen pike shoot right across a river to grab a spinner. A spinner can be made to work really well in deep water.
I fish a lot for perch on lures and have caught a lot more on the spinner than the fly, though I would prefer to catch them on the fly.
Also the spinner is better in windy conditions.

Erm, initial response, why does it matter? Its all fishing If its a rules, issues, the its just a question of complying with whatever the rules are. As someone who does all types of fishing I really can't be bothered with worrying about definitions, particularly when some people use them to try and imply that one type of fishing is somehow morally superior to another. I just use whatever methods I enjoy and what I think will work best in a given situation.

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i dont know if anyone has said this but please note that spinners make alot more vibration in the was than flys, this will help spinners be more effective especially in brown water

Can flies not be tied (or set up) in such a way that they vibrate?