# Chumming for Fly Fishing



## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Fly Fishing Tip #64*​ 

*Chumming for the Fly Fisherman*​ 
In my first book, The Book of Fishing Secrets, SW Edition, there were 6 separate tips on chumming. While some of them would work for fly fishing, Fly Fishermen deserve a tip or two specific to fly fishing. Of course these tips will work for other types of tackle.

When chum is mentioned, the first thought for most fishermen is ground Menhaden or Menhaden oil. I’ve used hundreds of pounds of Menhaden and I’ll likely use more but I am here to tell you that there are other chums that will appeal to a larger number of fish species. Likely, Menhaden chum will catch more Mackerel and Kingfish though.

Crushed crab, shrimp and a few mollusks like Scallops, Oysters and Clams are attractive to more shallow water fish and are generally readily available right where you fish. I usually obtain crabs and Oysters off the nearest Oyster bar or rock pile then crush them where I deploy the chum. It doesn’t get any fresher.

Chum made out of crustaceans and mollusks doesn’t leave much of an oily slick so you can’t tell where the chum line is going. I add a little cooking oil to the crushed critters. I doubt if the oil attracts fish but it lets me know where the scent is going.

I try to avoid chumming where the current is strongest. Instead, I chum behind a bar but on the edge of the current. There are at least two compelling reasons for doing this. Fish that come out of the current and into the flat water behind the bar are easier to see so sight casting is an option. If this spot has a clean sandy bottom, so much the better. It is often hard to see fish in the current. Fishing for fish that are out of the main current is far easier because you don’t have to fight the drag of the current on your fly line. 

I’ve intentionally left out the most important aspect of chumming for fly fishing, saving it for last. I don’t chum right at the boat. I want my chum about forty feet from the boat or where I plan to fish from. (Sometimes I get out of the boat to cast.) Forty feet is a comfortable casting distance and is usually far enough from the fish to where there is little danger of spooking them. Fish that move all the way up to the source of the scent will mill around, hunting the source of the scent, often giving you a chance for multiple casts. If the source of the scent was right at the boat, fish would come that far then spook.
This ain’t Rocket Science.


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

good info!!!! thx


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