when you are fishing rags for steelhead how do the fish normally pick them up? is it like drifting bait or do they really slam it? I've only caught 1 fish on a rag, and the fish just about ripped the rod out of my hand! it was a 8-9lb brat. does anybody fish them for salmon?

I havent caught alot of fish on rags especially compared to others but my experience with rags with and without bait is that it is harder then normal hit.

I've had them slam 'em like no other bite I've experienced and I have had them take quick whacks at it but I've never had a super soft what the Hell was that bite.

I have been wondering the same thing!!Because of alot of you guys,I have done the opposite of the Zogs advice and put down my ltlcleos and have been working rags,worms and bait.My fish count has gone down but that is half the fun,LEARNING!

I don't think fish hit them any harder than normal drift gear. It may feel different because they are soft and fish hold them longer, unlike corkies, and the yarn sticks in their teeth They do work for Salmon. I hooked 2 Chinook on the Wilson river this December using rags.

On a normal drift they hit like a normal strike.But being boondocked or side drifted on the run they hammer it hard.I hardly ever lose a steelie while fishin a rag.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

Here's a side-bar to this thread.

Twice now, I've hooked fish on the *outside* of the face when using a rag. Once was in the nostril (ouch), and the other was under the chin.

I know what happened. The rag moved up the line on the cast. As soon as the rag hit the water and dropped in the slot I felt the classic "chew chew" of a fish chewing on the rag, not a "lining or flossing" kind of feel. I know from fishing the reds in AK what that feels like.

I set the hook hard. You can easily visualize the hook racing towards the rag and how easily it would be for one of those RAZOR SHARP VISIONS to stick on the outside of the fishes face, especially since the fish is minding it's own business and happily chewing on a Vision Rag.

Has this happened to you. I found it odd that it happened to me twice in one day while using rags.

I'm sure it was because of those vision hooks

Parker,Are you saying that rag's wonder from the hook area more than say a corkie or cheater????.
My rag's alway's stay nice and tight to my bead and hook area.Just wondering,I've never had that problem.The hook is alway's where it should be.
Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

All I'm saying is that I've un-intentionally snagged two fish on the outside of the face with a baited rag. Both times, I felt the usual "chew" one get's while fishing shrimp tails on rags. Beats me how the hook ended up in the nostril and chin.

I fish rags a ton and mine always stay in place.the reason they stay is that I thread mine instead of using tubing inerted through them..I use needles and just thread them on after a seaquin(sp).I will thread up a bunch and have them ready to fish or carry a needle with ya and its easy to do on the spot. This way keeps them more in place instead of sliding up and down a tube..TM

Parker-
Would you mind elaborating on that 'flossing or lining feel'? What's going on when you feel that?
diana

I hear ya, TM. These were made by The Kid, and they didn't have tubing in them. I didn't have a threader on me, so I kept threading my leader in one end and out the wing! I seem to recall it took me forever to thread these stupid rags!

I think I'll just did what you did and go on a spoon kick this spring. I suck at tossing hardware, and need a lot more practice. I'm not that big of a rag person any ways.

I have seen rags move up the line exactly like Parker describes. I have not snagged a fish because of it, but I make sure the rags is on the bead before I cast. I also thread my rags on with a needle like Timberman describes, and it still happens sometimes.

when fishing with eggs it might be like corkies where if you get a little egg on the line the corkie wont slide down the line all the way.
tyler

I have a question... What do you think of this? Color, size, etc? It's an inch long and the yarn is about .5" from each side. It's my first one.



Matt

[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: RipDatLip ]

Looks good!I like the color.. I personally dont use that long of a piece of backer rod myself and I like thin seaqiun(sp) so it keeps it closer to the hook..But yours sure looks fishy. TM

I hear ya Parker, throw a few spoons in yer pocket and fish.Sure would make it alot easier then packin a whole suitcase full of s!ht! seems like now when I go out fishin I have a tackle belt on and a backpack full of everything imaginable..time to scale down to a pocket full of hardware

[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Timber Man ]

i cant figure how to get the yarn through the backer rod. can anyone help
thanks
tyler

Where do you guys get the backer rod material? Do they come in just white, or different colors like orange/red pictured above? Looking forward to fishing rags for the first this spring for the Nates.

Bobber down...

I use a big darning needle to thread mine..

Don't wait for nates to use rags they work an brats too!!!!

Tyler, to get the yarn through the backer rod, take a big sewing needle and run it all the way through. You now have a hole in your backer rod. Through this hole, pass some fishing line, and then make a loop with the fishing line, and pass it back through the hole. You should now have a loop of fishing line on one side of the backer rod. Put your yarn (both colors) through the loop and pull the loop (with the yarn in it) through the backer rod. Trim the yarn. The needle is only used to make the hole.

bob the big one has a nice spread on how to make rags in his tips section of his home page, its all laid out nice and clean,go there for help making the rags
ray

Parker,Timber man,
That is the biggest thing I remember again about drift fishing.I now have ten times the gear,Hooks,yarn,corkies,swivels scisors,bait,pencil lead,surgical tubing,rags,beads,pink worms,And have not caught a fish in 4 outings!

I am reel close to going back to spoons,swivels,hooks and smelly jelly!

HBP ... the take can be anything from a subtle twitch to a grab that almost rips the rod out of your hand. Biggest plus is the yarn that catches in the teeth and doesn't allow the fish to drop as easily which often gives you a slighter advantage in hooking up.

Timber's right, don't wait fotr nates. Allt hose brats I had posted in December before my surgery .. nearly all came on rags.

RipDatLip ... I'd personally go with a slightly shorter piece of foam and make sure you have the yarn at the mid-point of the foam ... closer to the hook should up the odds of the yarn getting tangled in fish's teeth. Also, loose the round bead. It allows the hook to often roll back up and hook the rag itself. Flat star beads or similar that are easily found at craft stores seem to alleviate this tendancy. Other than that, looks good!

It's not the best pic but the flat bead above the hook will keep your hook from rolling and sticking in your rag..

The nice thing about rags is you can make them any color or length you want.I shorten my backer rod up if just fishing them with scent.If using bait I will keep them around 1" long..TM

[ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: Timber Man ]

Hey TM ... same beads we use with ours. Good call!

Tyler

As for running yarn through your backer rod I took a great big paper clip (you could use stout wire) and bent it in a V shape. I then stick it through the backer-slide the yarn through the "V" , push the two ends together and then pull it back through the same hole. Works way fast than threading a piece of line with a needle. I converted all my buddies to the same way! Much more efficient for me ;-).

I always pre-tie a bunch of them and just put them in a llittle plano box for use on the river later!

Todd

Bob, et al.

What happens if you don't use the bead? Just curious to know what the bead get's you - does it keep the rag from scrunching down on to the hook, or something else?

I think I was using a small cheater as a bead during the time I whacked those two fish.

Alot of guys use just a small bead and yes, the foam gets scrunched over the hook. I always use a sequin behind the foam to keep it from doing that like TM. I think the star bead shown up above would be fine though--personally I bought enough sequins for .59 that I will never have to test the theory.

I think a small cheater would work though--like I said, sequins are waaaaaaaaay cheap!

yep, the beads or whatever you opt to use keep the foam from getting ripped over the hook shank ... it does happen

'lil corkies or cheaters will work ... what we call Corey's Special (actually derived from ReiterRat's special ) ismade that way.

I've used sequins before and they are just fine in their use, but a pain in the butt to work with when you don't have fingernails, so I prefer the star beads ... you get a 100 or so for 79 cents ... just as cheap as the sequins and I like the translucent color as well

What I like about the star bead besides that they look good Is that they have a small indent that keeps the hook straight..Problem with a cheater is that the rag starts to get away from the hook and will let the hook roll and hook into the rag same with a corkie..I have tried both and seems to me to get hooked in the rag alot..but then again I never tried a dap of glue either HMMMM!! might be onto something there pretied with a dab of glue and a glow corkie or cheater!! Wouldnt have a bait loop then but maybe a strip of prawn! maybe even dyed prawn! TM

[ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: Timber Man ]