Flying C... the heavyweight champion from Mepps is the one spinner that can easily work its way down into deep holes and drop-offs where big salmon and steelhead hang out. Not even racing currents can stop the Flying C from dropping deep and staying there. In fact, the Flying C is the deepest running spinner Mepps has ever offered.
A fisherman only has to cast the Flying C once to know why this lure had to have "flying" in its name. Its weight and sleek aerodynamic design allows tremendous casting distances. The Flying C's bright tubular body sleeve, available in hot chartreuse or hot salmon egg orange, becomes a natural scent pocket when stuffed with salmon eggs.
The Flying C comes in three heavyweight sizes. . . 3/8 oz., 5/8 oz, and 7/8 oz. Blades are either polished brass or genuine silver plate. Hooks are razor sharp VMC trebles. Single salmon hook models are also available.
While the Flying C has been hooking fish for European fishermen for more than 50 years, fishermen in the United States are just beginning to discover its merits. Marc Wisniewski, owner of Angling Adventures, is a salmon fishing fanatic. He was "hooked" on his first cast.
"I must admit at first I was a bit puzzled by the lure's strange design," Marc told us, "but it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the Flying C's action and castability. All three sizes carry most of their weight in the front end of the colorful sleeve concealing the Flying C's heavy body. This compact design makes casting a breeze, and casting into a breeze a cinch!"
Every steelheader knows that the deep holes in a river are where the big steelies hang out. Strong currents whisk light lures downstream before they can get down to where the fish are. Not so with the Flying C.
"The most productive method to fish a river hole," Marc advises, "is to quarter-cast into it. Choose the lightest Flying C possible that will stay near the bottom while moving slowly downstream. Make your casts upstream at about ten o'clock and let the lure sink to the desired depth. A quick snap of the rod tip will start the blade spinning. Keep tension on the line or reel slowly until the lure reaches two o'clock."
Great Lakes shore casters know how important casting distance is. Extra long casts are needed to reach deep water salmon and trout. Long casts mean long retrieves, and the more time your lure spends in the water the better your odds are at catching a fish. Two-hundred foot casts are easy with the Flying C."
Deep water adjacent to break walls has always posed problems for Great Lakes shore anglers. It's been tough to keep lures down 15 to 20 feet to catch bottom-hugging salmon. The 7/8 oz. Flying C solved this problem. Count the Flying C down and begin your retrieve as the lure nears the bottom. The weight and balance of the Flying C will keep this spinner at the depth you've selected for 90 percent of the retrieve.
"Trout and salmon also love the baitfish action of the tube tail," Marc concludes, "I've found that a lift-and-drop technique works well when baitfish are present. The tube tail causes the lure to glide n' swim while free falling. The gold blade and orange tail is deadly when brown trout are around. The silver blade with chartreuse tail is hot for fall chinook."
But salmon and steelhead aren't the only fish that will attack a Flying C. A 3/8 ounce chartreuse Flying C can be very effective for river smallmouth.
Trophy northern pike will devour a Flying C fished along the edge of weed-beds, lake inlets drop-offs where schools of baitfish hang out. If it doesn't run too deep for the area you're fishing, try a 7/8 ounce Flying C using a jerky retrieve. To a pike this looks for all the world like a wounded minnow.
Try the orange model at dawn and dusk and chartreuse when the sun is shining.
