OK Lucy splain to me one more time

[llg]

What is the purpose for the 3 way swivel on the fnf? Looks like 2 more knots to me.

[mhall]

It is and it's key to the set up. One is back to your reel allowing you to use 10 or even 12lb test. The other is to hold the bobber in a ''fixed'' position giving it some freedom of movement and the other is the tab or drop line to the jig allowing you to use flouro in a very light test of 4 to 8lb test as less visibility is paramount in this situation.

Doing it any other way would be.............Uncivilized......

[Drew1233]

It is and it's key to the set up. One is back to your reel allowing you to use 10 or even 12lb test. The other is to hold the bobber in a ''fixed'' position giving it some freedom of movement and the other is the tab or drop line to the jig allowing you to use flouro in a very light test of 4 to 8lb test as less visibility is paramount in this situation.

Doing it any other way would be.............Uncivilized......

So you connect the bobber straight to one of the swivels? And what type of jig do you use? I'm new to the fnf rig and really want to give it a try. Seems like everyone is successful with it

[mhall]

So you connect the bobber straight to one of the swivels? And what type of jig do you use? I'm new to the fnf rig and really want to give it a try. Seems like everyone is successful with it

Yes the Bobber is attached to one of the three ways on the 3 way swivel. A Google search will find you tons of FNF jig choices, many folks make their own, they are almost always hair and range from 1/64 oz to 1/8 oz however most guys prefer very small ones and the 1/16 is very popular. Punisher makes the best store bought ones in my opinion.

Remember you have to have a buggy whip FNF rod to do this effectively and 9 foot is really as short as you would want to go, 10 foot os very popular with alot of guys. Any good mid sized spinning reel with a GOOD DRAG is fine. You are throwing a fixed Bobber and 12 to 14 foot in leader thus the long rod.

I am no expert and quite frankly it bores me to almost tears as I am hyper and like to fish other stuff but I will do it and it will catch fish sometimes when other stuff won't. Some guys fish it exclusively when the water is at or below 50 degrees.

[Fishin is life]

Before anybody asks, a slip float wont work. The very small jigs wont pull the line through, and you wont be able to detect some bites. A lot of fish wont pull the bobber down, theyll hit it coming from underneath it and just tip the bobber over. Ive had one hit it falling and my bobber never stood up. Im about like mhall, it bores me but i will throw it on occasion

[bassmaster]

Remember you have to have a buggy whip FNF rod to do this effectively and 9 foot is really as short as you would want to go, 10 foot os very popular with alot of guys. Any good mid sized spinning reel with a GOOD DRAG is fine. You are throwing a fixed Bobber and 12 to 14 foot in leader thus the long rod.

Hey Gary (Floatman) what about that leader length......

No seriously, Gary knows as much about the FNF as anyone. And he makes some mean flys to! Gary says (and me) that a 7-8 foot leader does and will catch em most of the time. ONLY if the shallower presentation doesn't work, will I go to maybe 10. I think everyone (including me) gets caught up in the "normal" way to do it. I've learned alot of things from guys on here and believe me the old saying, don't knock it til you try it is appropiate here. Try the shorter leader first. I've taken buddies that hardly ever fish and can't even throw a spinning reel and rig it on a Zebco 33 and they would catch 'em as well as me (Ask Gary on this one, he met and talked one of those guys, "Bill Dance") LOL Gary, you remember him and how he caught them numerous times with me!
Later,
Tim

[Drew1233]

Thanks y'all! I wanna try it now. Do u just slowly bump it back or let it sit and bounce it? Thanks! Drew

[stripernut1]

Thanks y'all! I wanna try it now. Do u just slowly bump it back or let it sit and bounce it? Thanks! Drew

drew, this is a very slow, thorough method that targets suspended fish, the idea (and the very thing that makes the fnf so deadly) is to keep the fly in front of the fish(s) for as long as possible . the retrieve can vary from just letting the fly sit for a whole minute....jiggle it....let it sit for another minute. conversely some days they hammer it on the way back to the boat.
one word of advice if you want to really learn the FNF (or any other new technique for that matter), don't take any other rods, take ONLY the FNF setup, mhall said it....you can go batcrazy fishing the fly, which makes easy to lay down and get back in your comfort zone.

[floatman]

Hey Gary (Floatman) what about that leader length......

No seriously, Gary knows as much about the FNF as anyone. And he makes some mean flys to! Gary says (and me) that a 7-8 foot leader does and will catch em most of the time. ONLY if the shallower presentation doesn't work, will I go to maybe 10. I think everyone (including me) gets caught up in the "normal" way to do it. I've learned alot of things from guys on here and believe me the old saying, don't knock it til you try it is appropiate here. Try the shorter leader first. I've taken buddies that hardly ever fish and can't even throw a spinning reel and rig it on a Zebco 33 and they would catch 'em as well as me (Ask Gary on this one, he met and talked one of those guys, "Bill Dance") LOL Gary, you remember him and how he caught them numerous times with me!
Later,
Tim

I've been fishing the f&f since the med to late 90s mostly on Cumberland, first read about the f&f in Bassmaster, they told about how they worked and looked, I told a couple young men that went to school with my sons, the first ones they made were funny looking to say the least, they called me one day after they went to Cumberland and said we caught some fish on them f&f things LOL, and I asked if they would take me (please) and they did, and we really caught um, Bassmaster in a later issue had a pitcher of a Bullet bait co. Charlie Nuckols f&f we saw how funny ours looked, so my fly's looked some better these days, once we got the longer pols our leaders were 7 or 8 ft mainly so if they got hung we could get our fly back, that depth caught us a lot of fish, I have tried fishing deeper and know that they can be caught deeper, but I seem to go back to the 7 to 8 ft depth, a confidence thing guess, thanks Tim for the kind words, hope we get to go soon, oh say hey to "Bill Dance"LOL

Gary

[mhall]

I didn't mean to make it sound like you had to throw a leader that long only that at times you might need or want to. I kind of used one of the longest case scenario's to make a point I guess. The time I've done and had my most success has been about the ten foot mark.

Suspended bass will look straight ahead and ''UP'' to feed not as much down so I guess I was a little misleading there.

[llg]

I fish ponds more than lakes. I use a ultralight rod and 6 lb line. I use the pear float and Trout Magnet jigs, sometimes tipped with Berkley Crappie Nuggets, color does not seem to matter.

I don't use the swivel. Normally 2-3 ft depth is plenty to get action from big bluegill, crappie, bass and catfish.

I am uncivilized, but I enjoy it.

[mhall]

I fish ponds more than lakes. I use a ultralight rod and 6 lb line. I use the pear float and Trout Magnet jigs, sometimes tipped with Berkley Crappie Nuggets, color does not seem to matter.

I don't use the swivel. Normally 2-3 ft depth is plenty to get action from big bluegill, crappie, bass and catfish.

I am uncivilized, but I enjoy it.

LOL....