Agreed Craig, I tried the ultra bite spray on a fly and even the piper started chewing on an Anchovy Bomb!!!  Good stuff on the burley basket but not the fly and I too will be tweed hatted and puristic .

If am after a feed and not getting anything on fly I will put out a bait, but in my case I am either baitfishing or fly-fishing I don't mix the two. I would fish bait maybe twice a year...

Clark

Smudge, I have tried flies dipped in fish oil! It actually seemed to reduce my catch rate. Also all the little nippers start chewing on the fly when it is soaked in oil. This stops the fly sinking down to where the big fish are or makes the fly look like a little bit of food in another fishes mouth.

I have outfished the terrible teenagers occasionally thanks to an unscented fly's ability to avoid small fish. They'll still nip at it but if the hooks big and the fly is big they won't get hooked. Consequently you don't waste time landing and releasing undersize fish, your fly stays in the water longer, and you catch more fish.

But even a big fly that stinks will have the little guys chewing on it. So don't add scent to any flies.

Fly fishing is a visual strike thing. Fish see the fly, strike, and spit. You've got to hook them before they spit. That's half the fun. Adding scent changes the whole system.

You mean you HAVEN'T tried a chunk of pilchard?

Not even once???????

Blue, were you using the Berkley gulps with the secret scent?? Shocking things really.

I have noted that I could cast those things on a fly rod but the purist in me   won't let me do it. The boy does evil things with those plastics. But it's mostly about the stink. He even fishes them like a bait. Figure if I use those I may as well use a chunk of pilchard. I'm actually going to put my tweed cap on soon, march to parliament and ask Aunty Helen to have them banned. 

I wonder what will happen when the glo-buggers start rolling their glo-bugs in berkley juice down on the Tongariro. With a stink that smells like old socks it might be a bit hard to prosecute..

Damn but they look great!

Vig

OK, here's my 1st attempt. Added some more legs and better eyes and I'm happier with it. Lacking movement though and tied on a Gamy 4/0 SL12s so it's fairly big.

I was a bit worried the leather would float but it seems to sink ok. Casting this thing will be interesting.