Fly fishing vs Spin fishing

[Ryan.Winegar]

Larry, I have recently been getting into fly fishing. I live in Hawaii right now and its a great way to catch bonefish. But I am having a real problem. Some times when out on the water I will just sit there and I can't decide what style of fishing to do, fly or spin. I usually pick up the spinning rod if things get slow. I understand that for certain fish like trout fly fishing is a better option. I really like fly fishing but sometimes feel like I am crossing over to the dark side of fishing. I almost feel bad for giving up my spinning rod. Do you have a favorite method? How do you decide which method you want to use?

[dahlberg]

Dark side?
I look at them first as tools, like screwdrivers and wrenches.
When I get an urge to flyfish it's usually for surface biters and using surface flies! Favorite is when I've got trees to shoot under and roots to pot shot.
For fishing deeper water or when just searching a flyrod is usually a poor option.
You got two arms right?...
best,
L

[Questor]

I like to use fly tackle whenever the fish are in the shallows and it otherwise makes sense to use a fly rod. When the water is deeper I prefer spinning. Bonefish make great flyrod targets because the flies are light and don't plop into the water like a jig or similarly heavy lure will.

I think it's important to have fly, spinning, bait casting, and trolling gear and to use it all for the enjoyment it brings.

This week I did a bit of trout fishing. They were biting at about 25 feet in the lake I fished, so a jig and slip bobber made a lot of sense. At the stream, they were taking dry flies. I wouldn't have caught anything if I'd used the fly rod at the lake and the spinning rod at the shallow fast moving stream.

[Henry Schmidt]

Ive forgotten all about my baitactsers since I picked up my first fly rod this year!