Float and Fly Fishing
There has been a lot of talk and publicity lately about fishing the "Float 'n' Fly" tactic on our valley and foothill reservoirs during the cold weather and water months. Cal Bass Union members Ryan Williams and Chuck Ragan are leaders in using this method and introducing it to Northern California fly fishermen. Ryan pioneered it on Lake Oroville and Clear Lake, while Chuck introduced it on Lake Englebright and Bullards Bar Reservoir.
Although "Float 'n' Fly" fishing includes the word "fly," it is traditionally a conventional angling technique that originated in the American South to target spotted bass during winter. Tournament bass anglers in Northern California later adapted it to fish for spotted bass in reservoirs like Lake Oroville, Lake Shasta, and Bullards Bar. In conventional fishing, it's a technical method of fishing, requiring precision in balancing floats with jig head weights and more.
The beauty of using a fly rod for Float 'n' Fly fishing is that it’s EASY, especially during the winter and early spring months when our valley and foothill reservoirs fish well and other methods don’t— especially high water years when rain and snowfall can blow out most rivers. I won’t dodge the most common response I hear from many anglers and clients when I mention Float 'n' Fly: “BOBBER FISHING FOR BASS?! I WOULD RATHER KISS MY SISTER!”
Yes, it's essentially bobber fishing for bass—I get it if that doesn’t appeal to some people. That said, over the years, using indicators in still water has become extremely effective on lakes throughout the West for trout and on the trophy waters of Pyramid Lake. It’s widely accepted that when water temperatures drop, fishing under an indicator is crucial on many trout lakes. So why not for bass?
I’ve convinced many clients with winter and spring steelhead or trout trips to give it a try when the rivers are blown out, and no one has ever been disappointed! While it may not be as thrilling as topwater fishing or chasing big stripers, it can be world-class fishing when nothing else is working. Plus, it can be challenging, requiring precise casts in many situations—enough to test even the best anglers.
What’s appealing is that the foothill and valley reservoirs are unfamiliar to most fly anglers, so they’re often skeptical about catching fish there. Hanging a balanced minnow in 20 to 80 feet of water and having a bass rise from the depths to eat can be a hard sell to fly fishermen. But once it happens a few times, it’s pretty exciting.
The lakes are also incredibly scenic and often isolated. Many days in winter, there are only a handful of boats on the water, and with such large reservoirs, boats are spread out—you might not even see another boat all day. There are waterfalls pouring into the lakes, and fishing near current from incoming streams is common.
The fish fight like a ton of bricks. Spotted bass fight like smallmouth bass, and a 1-2 lb. spot will easily bend a 6-weight rod. The world-record spotted bass, which live in these foothill reservoirs, can reach double digits, and fish in the 8-9 lb. range have been reported caught on fly rods.
This isn’t just bobber-watching—it’s not a cast-and-wait type of fishing. In many situations, the most affective way to fish is run drifts in moving water or current steams, cast to structure along the bank, time drops along rocks, and pin casts along very specific structure. The more time we spend with fly rods on these fisheries, the more techniques we learn for catching fish.
There are a few different ways to rig up for this type of fishing. Most common “nymph setups” that trout anglers use around California will work. Nine to ten-foot 5-7 wt. rods with nymph-taper fly lines are ideal. As for the rig itself, there are a few options. The best floats are designed by Jaydactor Floats carried HERE. Simple jig flies like the list below work great and are in stock all year.
Croston’s Euro Jig Silver Fish
There’s a diagram below showing one of the simplest ways to rig for Float 'n' Fly fishing, along with a video where Ryan Williams demonstrates his setup in detail. But feel free to experiment and find what works best in your fishery.
Any lake with spotted bass offers a great opportunity to try Float 'n' Fly fishing. With rivers blown out in the next month or so, now is a perfect time to give it a go. Pontoon boats, float tubes, jon boats, or bass boats all work—or you can book a day with Chuck, Ryan, or myself to get out on the water and learn the method