So much for giving my little weekly report now. Let's go to the marina tomorrow and see if we can't find some crappie hiding underneath.
This is what we’d do when we had a bluegill/crappie fry growing up. My friend had one of those big drum scalers that you crank and we’d toss them in there then dredge and release into the hot oil. Pretty damn easy.
It’s not perfect, but if you’re doing dinner family style it frees up a ton of time. Biggest thing I remember growing up was you just couldn’t overload it. But the one we used also seemed ancient at the time, and I’m sure they’ve gotten much more efficient in the past 20+ years.
The main goal this morning was to try and find and get a DNR temperature probe we help them with. I was eventually able to find it after the river had been changed by Helene. All of the rocks that had been on top of it were gone and sand had built up around it. Took the rod with me hoping to find a couple wild trout. I may have hooked one, but instead they must have just helicopter stocked a day or two ago because I found a ton of stockers.
threw big double hook streamers on a 10wt with sinking line. All of these hit while stripping streamers but we had a few misses and some chasing a figure 8 closer to the raft
Hiked up into the SC wilderness hoping to find wild browns. Found a few and some rainbows, but nothing of the size I was hoping for. Same area I helped shock last year that found 80 browns in 100 yards with 10 over 14".
I threw some mahogany duns and bwos with an 8’6” 4 wt Orvis Recon that was not mine. The rod just seemed to fit me right and had enough backbone when needed but really made the 14-16 inch fish seem bigger. I was able to punch 18-20s into a breeze right into the pockets on the far bank. Anyone have suggestions of any rods that are comparable before I start cruising around the interwebs with a credit card?
If it felt right to you, just go with it. They make good rods with a good warranty. For that price range, I've got an Echo Trout that I like. TFOs are also well liked with a good warranty.
I will second the TFO recommendation. I have a 4wt TFO Blue Ribbon and it’s a joy to fish. Think I paid around $250 for it 5 years ago. I've taken it on rivers as large as the snake and very small spring creeks. It can punch through the wind. I've gotten to the point where I care more about the fly line than the rod. If the line is right, you can fish just about any rod.
I spent $4 on 20 lead heads tonight Spoiler Looking for one I like better on these Itty Bit Slab Hunters. Used the Bobby Garland Mo Glow head 1/48, but the plastic tears easily to me and doesn't stay up on the keeper. Super glue helped some.
Been some tough fishing with these winds and hurricanes. I’m about to start hosting some friendly tournaments on weekend. 20 dollar buy in. Alternating rules such as biggest fish, most total inches, most spots. Got a lot of positive feedback so far. Should be fun.
a couple of the guides I’ve used lately are all about TFO. Seems like a great balance between affordability/performance/warranty. I have a 5wt sage that’s about a month into the repair process at this point. I of course broke it like a dumb ass taking it apart.
I have the echo trout x in a 9’-5wt and think it’s incredible for the price (got it for 15% off plus a free SA infinity line off eBay) my 4wt is a sage trout LL in 8’6” that I was able to get at a very, very steep discount. Only sage rod I like. Would not recommend sage just on warranty/repair alone. was able to play with a 4wt scott g series in Yellowstone and, woah baby that thing was the best rod I’ve ever thrown. If I trout fished more than once in a blue moon, I’d find a used one or sell a kidney for one of these
I have a Scott Radian 5wt 590-4 that I plan on using for the next 15 years. Casting it feels like sex Radian was discontinued 3-4 years ago and Centric took its place. I guess if we are opening our kimonos, here's my list. TFO 490-4 Blue Ribbon Scott 590-4 Radian Orvis 586-4 Recon Winston 690-4 BiiiX Winston 790-4 Air Salt Winston 896-4 Air Salt Sage 990-4 Salt R8
That's a helluva deal with the free line. I recently saw a video with Kelly gallop saying he pretty much only used the echo trout this summer.
then I scooped up a lamson remix on Sierra trading post for like $99. Feel pretty good on my value with that setup
When I got my Echo Trout (9' 4wt) I cast it next to my dad's Radian. They felt very similar in lawn casting. Was good enough for me.
First time getting back to this stream that I helped survey since Helene hit. Didn't find any of the bigger browns but had a great day. And Helene impacts of log build up and a before after Before and after pic
Thanks for the responses and recommendations. Just didn’t want to pigeonhole the shopping. The recon is probably the leader but I gotta look into the TFOs. What fly line would you guys put on there? I’ve got Rio Gold on my 5wt that I can’t complain about. Love my Lamson Liquid reel. Edit: Kinda want to hassle some bluegills with a 4wt when I can’t make it to trout waters.
I think the Rio Gold would be fine. I know a lot of people have soured on Rio recently though. I use the high end AirFlo lines, mainly because that's what my local fly shop carries. I think a lot of people are high on Scientific Angler Amplitudes now. I would recommend sticking with a higher end fly line as in my opinion they really make a difference for typically casting. If you were doing real small streams it wouldn't be as important.