Top Water Fly Fishing Urban Ditch for ANYTHING 

You should do a whole video of bloopers just so everyone won’t think you never get hung up. You are one of a kind, you show so much enthusiasm on the small as well as the larger ones. Keep on fishing and I’ll continue to watch

Try to use the 10-1o clock method for casting...stop higher in front of you till the line is stretched, and then lower the rod

Some advice: when fishing flies that sink (such as nymphs) use a "strike indicator" which is a fancy way of saying "bobber". There is a technique called "euro nymphing" that allows you to avoid the indicator but its harder and it you need slightly different equipment and lines. Also when casting in tight wooded areas like that learn to do little roll casts and "bow and arrow" casts to keep them out of the trees. I mostly fly fish little creeks and I almost never do traditional back casts. Using those two casts will help you keep your flies out of the trees. Also, use those hoppers you showed there. Fish love them.

All “last casts/one more cast” are null and void if you snag or miss a fish 😁

Hey man, I joined the Navy and recently got out of boot camp and I really missed home and fishing. I'm glad I'm from Cleveland and I'm glad I found your channel, your videos have been bringing back some amazing memories. Keep up the good content!

What a fun video! All of us who0 fly fish go throught what you did! It never completely stops! Hooking branches, bushes, trees, ears, backs, hats and so forth! You have a wonderful attitude!

Fly fishing will make a preacher cuss

Another fun one to watch. If that ditch was in Southern California there’d be 50 guys fishing it every day and every thing you caught would be on a stringer. It’d be fished-out in a month. Good that you don’t take that resource for granted because it’s not everywhere.

I finally caught a TOAD myself yesterday. A three pound largemouth from a borrow pit on a floating Rapala with a steady retrieve. Great day for fishing. Overcast. Warm and very light breeze. Cold front came thru last night. No fishing for a few days.

This is why I love this channel. Small creek fishing is the best! Keep it up boss!

Takes me back to learning to fly fish back at my home creek with a loaned rod from my uncle. Wearing out every hole in the creek and getting stuck on the power lines in the backyard. Those Betts trim gim poppers catch a lot of fish!

Just an FYI you should wait a little longer for your line to come back before you come forward, that snapping sound of the line isn't good, and can mess up your cast.

AMEN! It looked like some fish were bedding in that creek! I saw a mattress laying down against the bridge abutment!!!!!

That’s a boogle bug bullet! Probably the best bass top water fly company out there. Very good and durable flies!

Today I saw several fishermen using flyrods on the San Marcos river in Texas. I was thinking about trying fly fishing, but seeing how frustrating it is, maybe not. Lol. Thaks for the video, came at the correct time.

That was a really pretty little redbreast. The first one. I was amazed by that first spot you were fishing at. I think that's the first time I've ever seen bushes trimmed like that along the road and a little creek. Pretty fancy. Hope the fish appreciate the artistry. I admire you for sticking with it with the flu fishing. I tried it once. I tied up myself several trees , my dad, and the fence clear on the other side of the water. Then I threw the pole in the water and went and got my rod and reel out of the car adjacent ever gone back to fly fishing. No patience. Happy fishing.

Love to see the old places... I recognized it right away! A nice video for the OG subscribers but with a twist! 75k soon! Can't wait to see you get the Play Button! Keep doin what you're doin!!!

That's kool Creeky 👍the fly rods fun to fish with its different and great fun and a challenge on big fish 👍👍🍺

Inspirational... Thank you! Great video as always 👍

John bless you for letting people get pictures with you you make their day and that's what it's all about

Yes, those are poppers. And the original black fly appears to be a bead-headed woolly bugger- woolly buggers are your bread-and-butter, any-time wet flies. You can nymph with them, you can stream with them, you don't really have to know your local hatches to use them because they roughly imitate a variety of critters. As for the box you had, it looked to be primarily streamers: think of these as the fly version of convensional baits sinking baits, and thus need to be presented as baitfish, etc.

Fly rods can definitely be fun . A roll cast would have helped you in those tight spots ! Great video as always John... Thanks for the videos over the years and , rekindling my love of creek fishing.

Lol this video reminds me of when I started fly fishing! Lots of snags, knots, bad casts, only a few fish and lots of frustration. But I kept with it and absolutely love it. I feel like there’s a steep learning curve to get really good at fly fishing but if it’s for you and you get past the curve it’s so much fun and so rewarding to catch fish on a fly rod!

Someone sent you fly fishing equipment to mess you up. The kind of fishing you normally is amazing, but this fly fishing stuff is like a "look at me, I am fly fishing, I am taking up just as much room behind me and above me as I am in front of me". If you were fishing in the middle of the Hiwasee I could see it working out down from the powerhouse wading around or on a boat. Just a good way to get some tennis elbow and get some bursitis in your shoulders 😉. I am sure it's still fun to try. Keep snagging those fish. Still waiting for your state record Perch, chubb, shiner, and spotted bass. I keep imagining you throwing a fluke from the Ocoee River take out running it down to where it flattens out into into Parksville Lake in your using an anchor floating down systematically wearing out the big Bass. I bet some of those smaller perch, Chubbs, and shiners would work well as live bait downstream with those large and spotted bass. I hope you are still enjoying the channel. I am about ready to go check out the Conasauga on foot. You make it look great!

Roll casts are an easy and really cool way to fish in places like that.

A creek like that oh yeah there could be some monsters tucked up underneath the banks plenty good size bait fish

I love your love your excitement when catching small fish in small places. Reminds me of me as a kid. I agree with the roll cast tip and also suggest you fish with your tip down within a foot or two of the surface after casting.

I'm not a fly fisherman, but I have a funny fly fishing story. Fishing a farm pond as a kid for panfish and whatever (kinda like you do) with my brother and my Grandpa - grandpa was fly fishing. As he was trying to get his fly out there he reared back and hooked a chicken that had walked up behind him - and the mayhem was on. Grandpa was hotter than a firecracker mad and me and my brother were laughing our butts off!

That's so cool. Its awesome seeing try new stuff all the time. I love fly fishing. Can't wait to see the other fly Rod in action. 🤙😎

Enjoyed. Might want to try a roll cast in the tighter areas and in the wind.

Grab your favorite beverage and the kayak with a box of poppers. Relax and go after panfish. You'll eventually get the cast down, and accuracy with it. Plus a 6" bluegill feels like a 600lb tuna on a 3wt. 🤣

Never been coordinated enough to fly fish! Always love your enthusiasm!!

I've used a small hook with a berkley gulp 1 inch minnow with my fly rod. It's so light it casts pretty well on my 3/4 wt fly rod. I figured you would enjoy that shorter rod. Mine is 6.6 ft and I love it. 👊👍

Love your content I would love to see more fly fishing

Grew up using popping bugs on light cane poles fishing for redbreasts. The Crickhopper on my ultralight is just as much fun

Well. This inspired me to get a fly rod and try it in some creeks, keep up the good content!

It awesome how excited ya get with every fish you catch . Just keep practicing and you'll be as good with the fly rod as ya are with any of your others

I reckon it don't matter what kinda rig yer usin" or what cha got tied on the end of it as long as yer catchin fish...yer doin it right. God bless

Tree pounders seem to be invading all the water ways lol.. 🔥 video bro

Black gnat wet fly size 8 or 10 killer. It's easier to use a leader about the length of the rod. Also remember to stretch leader between your fingers or a soft piece of rubber or leather. You are on the right track.

Fly fishing takes more patience than spin and baitcasting. I think people like it for the fact that it's more challenging.

Watching this reminds me of a ¨ family saying ¨...¨ Trying so hard to have fun ¨ . I am confident that you know what you are doing and practice will get you want to be . Stay safe .

Man your making get the fly big bad. Awesome episode bro.

Fly fishing looks like more work than fun. I think I will stick with my spinning reels. Good video. 👍

That new hat looks good! LOL!

Great to see you expanding your fishing knowledge by fly fishing. Let's see if you can get some trout with it in the future!

I use the mini magnets on my 2wt...great job

You are right fly-fishing is so aggravating its fun. The best piece of advice i can give you is simply this, take a 1 day casting course and enjoy. You will learn everything you need to be a good caster. Their is so much and so many things that go wrong its so frustrating. I received a class as a birthday gift some 25 years ago and would never have gotten as good as I am today. Now that I've said that do not get into fly tying, its so expensive. You r better to just buy what you need and move on. Seriously DON'T GET UNTO FLY TYING, lol. Have fun and enjoy the learning curve 😉

I have an 8' 4wt., I would tie on these tiny flys and catch panfish for hours. I also caught a few nice trout, but I don't remember ever catching any bass bigger than my little finger. The line I used was floating, double taper, great for roll casting which comes in handy in tight spaces and for short backcasts.

I love trout magnets on the fly. In fact you should add a drop line and another magnet in a different color with a strike indicator. You can cast those magnets a lot further and more accurately with a fly rod too. Also, practice some rolling casts for those areas where space is limited. Use the current to get your line downstream and twitch it back with roll casts to mend the line where you want it. I fish creeks like this all the time and have few problems with casting using rolls and drifts.

We think so much the same when it comes to fishing it's scary.Just thought of throwing a Trout Magnet on my fly rod the other day and now you're doing it.Too weird.Btw you turned me onto Trout Magnets and their my new favorite Bluegill lures.

It is a woolybugger. Great immitation of a leech.

This is what makes c.f.a. great could be in the middle of nowhere or could be in the middle of town

Great job fly fishing, you handled it very well. Can't wait to get my CFA hoodie sweatshirt. It's starting to cool off here in Ky. Can't let the weather stop me. You've done again, made a great video. It's funny how all fishermen forget how to count after they say just one more cast?🙀

Hooooked Up!! Thanks for taking us this was fun I wanna learn how to fly fish for smallies

LOL.. you reminded me why my fly fishing adventures ended when I moved back to the mountains. :0) Loved this one.

At least you're trying, get to a pond and practice practice practice. You've got this.

Here's a fly casting tip.Insted of trying to snam your line onto the water try to shoot it out.Hopefully this will help you cast better

That ditch looks like the very first place John fished a Nikko bait...the stonefly.

I used to go out in the middle of a large pond or lake on my little jon boat and partice with my fly rod out in the middle of the pond away from tree branches and all the bank snags!! U should try doing that with your kayak!!👍👍👍

JD ... that small box of larger flies are for saltwater to throw on your 8 wgt. .... it would really hard to throw any off those on that 3 wgt fiberglass rod even with a heavier leader so don’t be discouraged ... I believe I sent you a box of small flies also ....one other thing ... when u cast that fiberglass 3wgt slow your casting stroke down and make sure you do a distinct stop on your forward cast ... you can’t horse those fiberglass rods like you can a graphite rod ... let the rod do the work for you ...

there's definitely an art to fly fishing! you make I look easy

If you dont catch a fish, try to tie a fluo pink slow sinking nimph, you will catch fish 😉 they are real fish magnets , even if its not a "real fly"

This is cool man. Well done!

Fish from the middle east outward from left to right,and back, GOD BLESS!!!

not really a fly fisherman but few few things ive learned about casting them is its not really about whipping the rod to cast out the line its more about the timing, your moving energy from the tip of your rod down the line to your fly, so you need to wait for the line to straighten out on your back cast then cast it forward some side hand casting might help with the trees where you were fishing aswell also the first lure you had was a wooly bugger unless i am mistaken

Liking the fly content just a helpful tip look into strip sets and keeping the rod tip down for warm water species the strip set is the way to go

A tenkara rod would be good in those tight spots.

Top water on the fly, = good times

Those camerafish will get you everytime! LOL!

Great video I miss fly fishing I got to do it a little bit and my cousin showed me how to tie bugs and great scripture

Learn a simple roll cast and you’ll be golden on those small creeks. Tie on Chernobyl ant with a bluegill bully trailing behind it and you’ll catch a ton of fish. Tight lines.

I would have switched back quick. Lol I'm already in the trees all the time. Haha

A good idea for casting heavy cover like that is a roll cast

Take the end of foam cork run a 2/0 bass hook thru it super glue ! , fox squirrel tail punch in a few rubber bands in side of cork , homemade flyrod popr with hook that will hold a good one,

I drive by there at least once a week.

I think that top water popper you were using is called a sneaky Pete.

Awesome video bro. Awesome scripture

If I were you I’d try orange prince nymphs or maby a muddy buddy fly those work great!

Olive Green Wooly Bugger...its a winner.

I don’t know if you know that there is this creek on Dayton Blvd behind ace and I caught a one pound green sunfish and it was just fun to catch little fish

Fly rod is what you give your relative if you know they love fishing and wanna make them suffer 😂😂😂

Love the tree fishing but give it up John lmbo

Another awesome video dude! Never know what's in ditches like that!

Cool to see you using a fly rod just a little tip and I'm sure you already know if it's an open enough area you can cast downstream until you get enough line out and then pitch upstream to your spot and you'll spook less fish

Spinning reels work just as good as a 'fly fishing reel'.

Another tip, fish with a shorter leaders say 5 foot. I bet those drivers on the road did some double takes.

Take those popping bugs with you next time you go smallmouth fishing. They are deadly sometimes. Do it before water gets cold. Some of the places I've seen you fish are perfect for flyfishing with poppers or that first fly you tried looked like a black wolly bugger.

Definitely a change of pace nice job on the fly rod. I run down to the bridge after work today caught a 3lb spot there was a 5lb plus followed it all way to the bank caught couple more smaller ones

John, buy ya fly fishing Spiders, fish love them. But they aren't the most durable lures.

Great video 👍 I have subscribed to your channel !!

I see that you are getting alot of advice in the comments. So I hesitate to say anything. I put in hundreds of hours each year fly fishing, been fishing this way for 44 years now and I hold several world records. The stuff you read in the how to books are generic catch all statements......but in specific situations go with what works. An example is in tight brush you can greatly shorten the leader to 4'-5'. Say a 1' 20 or 30lb butt section, an 18" 16lb mid section and a 18" tippet section weight of your choice. Adjust lengths of sections as needed. You need the heavier butt and mid sections to turn the fly over. The shorter leader will give you more control on fly placement which equals less snags and lost flies. Hope this helps.....practice does make perfect, or closer to it lol

My power too you brother ! I have never tried it but I will give it a shoot

My dad is a fly fisherman. Part of the hobby is tying your own flies.

Learn the loop cast

Now that's my kind of fishing

I enjoy watching folks fly fish but to me just to much work , give me a spincast or even a cane pole and I'm happy.

take that thing to the hiwassee or conasaga and wade . that would be fun i think.not get hung up so much. that would be a fun video to watch yoo

i'm liking that hat

Nice fishing video Have a good day everyone