LORD OF THE FLY RODS COLLEGE OF PORCUPINE QUILL KNOWLEDGE

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

     Now that some of you have discovered the most sensitive fishing floats known to man let me share my 48 year experience fishing with porcupine quills to help you get the most out of your quill in the least amount of time. first make sure you use tight o-rings to hold the line tight to the quill, for my leader I use 10 pound test flouracarbon line, fish are not susposed to see it anyway so it dosent matter how thich it is, I also use a number eight wire hook because when you hang up and you will ,you can pull straight on the line and bend the hook to get untangled, then just bend the hook back to shape and keep on fishing.

   Next make sure the quill is balanced, use enought split shot to make the quill stand up straight in the water and only about half the quill is above water. Another school of thought is a little less weight so the bait will fall slower in the water column for a more natural presentation, this also slows down the quill going vertical as fast so it could slow down your response time. If the quill is laying on it's side on top of the water you bait and shot is either on the bottom or it is laying on top of an underwater structure, just wiggle your line  off the structure  and stand the quill up or it's on the bottom and it will never stand up. To adjust your depth just slide the quill up or down the line  to add or decrease  your fishing depth, this also makes your quill a cheap depth finder.

   Now the quill dosent have to go under to tell you a fish is licking your bait, watch the top of the tip wiggle in the water and you know you have a fish playing with you.I use a fly rod so with a slight 6 inch tug with my hand  on the line I can feel any resistance and then I can set the hook when I lift the rod ,which  some of you would call a set strike,if no resistance is felt I leave things where they are and wait for the next fish.

      Finally I keep  my quills , o-rings,hooks, hooks and leader in a small plano box so everything iswithin easy reach for times that hooks and shot need to be replaced, and if a tree eats a quill I have a spare ready to replace it but make sure you try to retrive your lost quillbefore you move on to the next good spot.  Remember if you are using a fly rod  with a quill and a cricket or live bait your distance you will be able to cast will decrease and you will have to sneak up on the fish, and if you get proficent with this tecnique, it's  a wax on wax off type of thing, when you go back to casting a fly you will be a blackbelt  with a flyrod .  Good Luck , let me know how it works for you       LOFR     pronounced     "   Loafer"

[chris kowaleski]

Thank you for writing this. I also recommend painting some type of striped paint job on the tip of the quill so you can see if your float is going under slowly or whatever.

So do you cast this set up just like you would if casting a fly??

[JBplusThuy]

Great info, LOFR! I have the same question that Chris does: how, exactly, do you cast this rig? Roll cast? Regular overhead cast? Also, what weight line and what weight rod are you fishing this?

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

 Ok, I use an 8 and a half foot graphite rod , number 5 weight, it comes in handy when you hook into a 14 lb catfish that wants to destroy your gear, as for casting, you definately loose distance vs casting a fly but you can still get a good 35 ft cast which is enough when you are in thick cover. there wont be any false casting because you will fling the cricket right off the hook, you casts will be more gental than usual , you swing your line behind you and load you rod with a single cast, after while you will be able to do this overhanded, underhanded, and backhanded and hit your target area , weither  it be beside a stump or under tree limbs close to the water, you will be surprised how far you can cast under a dock with a horizional cast. Like I said once you learn these skills  and go back to a regular fly 75 -80 ft casts   are a piece of cake, and to pull fish in from that distance is a thrill, I'm hooked to the feeling of a fish on one end of the line and my hand on the other end, thats why I use a fly rod.This is the closest thing I know to loading the boat this side of using a net on them.    The quill in this photo is 8 and quarter inches long, I'm holding the leader between the fish and the quill for the photo, so how big is this fish? LOFR

[Greg McWilliams]

HOW FAR can YOU CAST UNDER a DOCK?????

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

 

 Ok , I should have said pier, a walkway that extends out over the water, or a platform that extends over the water ,If the walkway is at least 3 feet above the water line with a horizional cast we can place a bug or quill 4 or 5 feet under the structure in the shade.     LOFR