Tin Bombarda "float"

[Bucho]

Not sure if this fits here... I wrote that I took that guided fly fishing trip to samsöe the other day. The guide is a fly fanantic, obsessed with large searun brown trout or seatrout as we call them in europe. Last time I checked, he was using semi-sinking lines and a very fast retrieve where everybody else recommends floating lines as the baltic beaches are shallow and snaggy. Meanwile however he uses a #4 sinking shooting head over shallow kelp and strips like a maniac to avoid snags. The only thing more irritating than his tackle choice is his catch rate....

Long story short, if you fish for browns in large bodies of water and want to use a fly on a spin rod than a deep and fast retrieve is the way to go unless the water is very, very cold. We use a lot of bombarda floats over here, but mainly the floating or slow-sinking tipe. After the samsö trip, I did some testing with lead, tin etc. and the 1oz cavity tin olive, gliding on a wire, combined with a chain sviwel to prevent tangles worked best. The swivel needs to be tied firmly into the leader but can be dis-assembled with a snap. Couple of small browns had been teasing me lately, striking my tins without sticking, but this morning I used the speed-bombarda with a streamer and got them good.

 

[hookup]

Looks like a modified version of a carolina rig.

 

[Bucho]

Basically it is, but if you cast full force with a 7-9`leader and a 2/3 oz heavy bullet weight in open water, it will frequently tangle. I`ve tried. We´re speaking of covering a lot of water here.

 

[Fatman]

Very nice

 

[Jig Man]

nice fish... and an interesting setup. What water depth are you fishing?

 

[Bucho]

Foul bottom (shipwreck debris etc. ) with depths of 4 to 12`. Most of the anglers among the yard workers avoid it because of the many snags.

 

[AtticaFish]

Very cool rig. Makes me wonder how something like that would perform on perch or walleye over here. Did you say your leader is 7 feet to 9 feet longer out past your weight?? I can see why that would get twisted and fouled up occasionally while casting. It would be a nice simple trolling setup out of my kayak, but still think i would need to shorten the leader length just to be able to land fish...... or i would need a net with a reeeeeeally long handle.

Beautiful fish also.

 

[Bucho]

That´s the leader length we have made good experience with on a fly rod or a slow sinking bombarda with a slow retrieve. It is easy to cast and handle with an equally long rod if you stand in the water and can lay it on the surface. On a kayak it should of course be trimmed to rodlength or less. I haven´t tried shorter leaders yet but Im sure the fish don`t mind it on a fast retrieve. Sinking fly lines have much shorter leaders, too, and some trout spin anglers don´t use any at all.

I am also thinking foam flies for relaxed kayak trolling. On the yak I only use rigs that can be snapped in quickly, hence I haven`t got much bombarda experience - so far!

 

[Hawnjigs]

Is that type of sinker able to contact bottom and not get snagged? Would a jig on light spinning gear be an option? Seems like the jig head design and weight could be adjusted for best retrieve depth and speed?

 

[Pup]

I love brown trout and that's an interesting rigging.

 

[Bucho]

HJ, the sinker is not meant to be used in frequent bottom contact. For that, I guess nothing beats a true bottom bouncer that uses a wire needle to keep the weight high up away from the cracks.

Small jigs have their limitations when it comes to range, speed and depth. On Samsö I had migrating trout hitting jigs up to 3x on a single cast without even opening their mouths, while a small, fast & deep running fly was simply taken. More than that, its usually quite windy over here by the sea and fishing from a pier frequently asks for solid, no-nonsense spin tackle with casting weights around 1/2 to 1 oz.

Its a different concept that allows to completely seperate the limitations of lure size&weight from the needs of presentation.

 

[Hawnjigs]

OK, I understand. For the inland species I've been targeting, slowest possible without snagging seems to be a best retrieve option making lightest possible upward plane heads functional. Also since 5'3" rods serve all my present applications, long leaders and heavy weights presentations would require at least a considerable rod length tweak.

Long casts here are usually unnecessary, in fact I had to move from my stand yesterday when heavy slab long casters kept snagging my line throwing as far as they could onto my side of an inlet canal fast current pool from the opposite bank. Reminds me of those that park a vehicle over a line divider into an adjacent stall.

Actually, at a spot like this your heavier weight fly trailer method might be advantageous to get under the upper swift current flow into deeper holding areas. But, JiggerJohn & I both ENJOY the minimal gear we use and as long as we get some, no need for cumbersome upsize. At under 5', his favored rods are even shorter than mine.

 

[hookup]

At under 5', his favored rods are even shorter than mine.

Charlie Brewer would be proud!

edit. I have a very short St Croix 6' premier that busted the tip & I turned into a SLIDER rod. Chopped the handle & fixed the guides. Not sure of the exact size, but will measure if interested. Will do any mods to customize as a winter project, Free for the asking if I can get it to you without dinging my wallet.