Slip/Float/Fly/Waxie Set-up

[Slip Sinker]

Here’s a little set-up I want to share that has been causing some excitement for me with the shallow gill lately. It’s a set-up that is not new and was learned when I was just a young lad from two fishermen I loved very much… my Dad and Uncle Clare. They used to put flies tipped with worms behind everything… my favorite was under the float.

I was tossing the slip float into a bunch of fish the other day and I was flatly being rejected with a crawler bit or waxie. With my polarized glasses in the calm water I witnessed it right before my eyes. A few gills would approach and kiss the split shot… that was it!. Then I remembered the fly and bait trick.

Once installed and dropped into the water the split/shot drops first and quickly while the fly and waxie bit descends like a parachute… drives the gills crazy!. The fly and bait bit is in motion while the split shot is still and motionless is the best feature. Its been so successful ive left it setup on my slip/float rig for the past week.

with the waxie bit the fly is in more of suspension while the crawler bit sinks the combination more quickly... the suspended fly/gulp waxie was more enticing then the quickly settling crawler bit/fly in the long run but both baits caught fish. another argument for to carry that jar of waxies in your tackle box.

since it is mainly in suspension around the split shot pay careful attention to the bobber for the slightest movement to prevent swallowed hook. Pinch the barbs before hand for easy removal.

note: barb was not pinched in this photo

[Slip Sinker]

Using the slip/float/fly/waxie method fishing for blue gill, occasionally ya hook up with a nice sized pred. here I tag a nice LMB with an excellent battle towing the kayak around a bit enjoying the fight… what a great memory… im glad I caught it on chip… I'm sharing

 

[Allen Morgan]

Dang, Slip.  I didn't know you have a Youtube Channel.

If you're fishing that close under trees, you need some Greenie Weenies!  And maybe some Drowned Ants.

[Slip Sinker]

...yeah about 40' from the tree line just a quick flip in... in about 2' FOW

green weenies and drowned ant... your pattern?

[Allen Morgan]

The Drowned Ant is one of mine.  Basically a slightly modified Peacock and Starling Soft Hackle.  Instead of a single, uniform body of peacock herl, I do two "segments", with some thread wraps in-between to separate Abdomen from Thorax.  There's a collar of Starling, which represents legs, and a small black tungsten bead to represent the head.  Gills love them.

The Greenie Weenie is one of "those" patterns (think of the word for an illegitimate son), that uppity, purist, fly fishers refuse to use, but are quick to tie, and catch fish left and right.  It resembles an Inch-worm, those small bright-green things that come out of trees.  Deadly when fished under a tree.

[Slip Sinker]

...View, Comment, Like and Subscribe...Lol!

 

Jim Gronaw… “Fishin’ With Jim Gronaw” started one months ago looked fun...also check out “Black Warrior Lures” Damon Toney… i have been storing clips now for a couple years but just used them basically for inserting into comments... i was surprised to see my Elite 4 HDI Ice Setup Tutorial get close to 15K views.

 

Sometimes I take clips while out in the boat… so I quickly put a few vids together.

 

I got some good video ideas for ice season as well as next year’s open water seasons.

 

Got some great fish response with some ties using the yarn and silicon legs/tails tipped with waxies. The gills this season tore up the feathers really quick. I swear they chew up the flies while battling them to the boat. Couple dozen flies in no time.

[Slip Sinker]

...during the summer 2018 season I ran out of flies and started producing my own for this application.

 

 

[Kelly Peterson]

I’ve got a box of flies that never gets used. Need to try this in 2019. Is there a time of year it works better or worse?

Does one need to be engaged with this setup or can you use it as a second pole option?

[Slip Sinker]

Kelly past few years I bring a 3-5 count rod bundle with me on nearly every open water trip… minimally I will always bring a slip/float set-up in the combination. I discontinued bringing a drop shot setup with at some point early last year. Just was not keeping up with the numbers.

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The slip/float will sometimes out produce the long-cast jig method during these situations for me:

1. The times during the open water season (more times than not) the water surface becomes so dirty with weed clippings or algae long casting becomes futile or impossible.

2. Very early in the season when the panfish are running the bank extremely shallow during pre-spawn

3. Cold water periods after and before hard water season when the fish metabolism has slowed considerably.

4. …and of course during the spawn

… even during a long-cast micro jig bite I’ll launch a slip/float/fly/waxie into the shallows or along structure to test an area.

Basically during the open water season at some point during the trip I’ll hook up using the slip/float method.

[Allen Morgan]

Many times during the summer, I'll fish with a small weighted float and a micro-jig.  I do this mainly because the lake I fish most has very few deep holes; most of the lake is only 5' deep, and weeds everywhere.

If I'm fishing a deep hole, it's usually with live minnows, and I'll have two rods set up and fishing at the same time.  My 7' spinning rod is set with a slip-float, fishing the bait about 10' down.  My little 4 1/2' UL spinning rod is vertical fishing a minnow on dropshot on my left side.  I keep my left hand on the UL rod, to feel the tap, and watch the float for my other rod.  Sometimes I have to move quick.  I've had a double, once.  The gets interesting...

[Slip Sinker]

...i always get in trouble when multi-lining...lol!

do you do better on the 5-0' flats or the deeper holes?

[Allen Morgan]

Honestly, I'm not sure.  If I'm drifting the flats, I'm fishing for LMBs, Gills, Crappie, Yellow Perch, basically whatever that bites.  I can usually have fun with the LMBs when I'm doing that.  If I'm fishing the holes, I'm usually targeting Crappies.  I've only done that a few times.  The first time was outstanding; landing about a dozen Crappies that were 9" or better.  However, I didn't have anything to keep them on.  No basket, stringer, or a cooler.  Since then, I've tried replicating that pattern, but no luck on the Crappies.  A few Gills and/or LMBs, though.

[Kelly Peterson]

I have one lake that produces 8-10”+ gills on a regular basis plus crappie, walleye, northern pike and largemouth bass. But it’s a bog lake, as in cranberry are raised nearby and the water comes from this lake plus it has many floating bogs lining its banks. Because of this the bottom it littered with timber as well as the shoreline. It will eat up jigs virtually on every cast. So we always fish it with slip bobbers and leeches.

Am thinking this is a place to try this method? How deep to you set the float say if the bottom is 6 feet do you set it for 5’? We usually try to fish the leeches about foot above bottom.