I've been using the Tim Flagler videos. They are great. That's just a chenille on the pheasant tail. All I have right now is the Orvis starter kit, so not a lot of choices on wire etc. I went ahead and purchased some more materials but they haven't been delivered yet. Tying these little things is way more rewarding than I thought it would be. I'm gonna be ridiculously excited when I actually catch a fish on a fly I've tied.
They'll still catch fish, so good luck. I was fortunate to inherit a bunch of materials, but even then I've bought a bunch. If you get to tying dries and want polypropylene cord (for parachute posts, indicators, foam flies, etc), let me know. I've got a more than 2 lifetimes supply that I can send you some of.
So I fish exclusively with vintage equipment. Been cranking some Johnson Century reels lately. Big fan.
Skiddly billdozer where/who/what would you suggest as a starting place for fly tying and all other fly basics? Articles, sites, videos, etc.
The video lessons at Orvis are A+, both for starting fly fishing and tying. https://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/ Also Mad River Outfitters is very good, they have a getting started series: https://www.youtube.com/user/powerrangers89 Rio also has some good videos, but not as extensive: https://www.rioproducts.com/learn/videos Those are where I would start, then branch out from there. The others I listed in the above post are good branching spots for fly tying. And if anyone wants them, I have a bunch of mobi and epub files of various books.
I'm brand new to fly tying so billdozer will almost certainly know more. https://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/fly-tying-videos The 1 minute videos give you the basics on techniques, and the individual fly tying videos give you a pretty good step by step on how to tie. I have the cheaper Orvis fly tying kit: https://www.orvis.com/encounter-fly-tying-kit/2BT20000.html and I bought some extra materials from https://www.flyshack.com/
Does anyone have a depth finder in their kayak? Don’t need one, but with bull red season approaching I figured deep holes would be cool to find
My dad and I floated the Watauga today. Only caught 6-8 each, and mostly small, but did get a few nice ones and had a few others briefly on. Had to use 6x.
These dog days of summer need to wrap it up so I can stop fooling myself into thinking I'll actually get up at 5am and go instead of rolling over and sleeping.
I did this into June and July, but August heat has been too much for me. That said, got the new boat/mower repaired and running smoothly. All upgrades from here, but ready to get out on some big lakes this fall.
I've been getting up a 4-430 to make the drive into NC to get on the rivers at first light. So I know those feels.
Ngl out of all the fishing channels I watch he’s arguably my favorite. Dude is old school and catches as many or more big fish than these kids using thousands in gear, setup, etc. I also love the fact that he smokes Pall Mall 100’s and Mama Sue is most likely physically abusive.
If mama sue knew how much crappie he throws back I don't think ol Richard Gene would be with us any more.
The trout bite has been turning off early with this heat, not that I've been catching any this summer, so I've been getting up at like 4 or 4:30 on many weeeknds. Have to get everything loaded into the boat, get bait, etc before you can even launch.
I told my buddy to get me the Pen Battle III 5000 combo because it was available at a store in NOLA and wasn't here but he just got me the reel. So now I need a rod to pair for it. This is for mangrove snapper and things of that size. Any recs? I'm thinking anything rated for 40-60 and medium heavy. 7 feet.
It all depends. If you are new to fly fishing, a guide would really help you get an understanding of what to do, how to approach the water, etc. Float trips are good for covering water that you can't wade. I do float trips with my dad, who can't do any walking fishing anymore. I've never done a wading guide trip, and doubt I will since I'm fairly experienced and figuring out the water is part of it. If I was new, I think it would be good though. Probably ask them to fish a little bit to watch how they approach a section of water. Keep in mind, you'll be looking at $400-600 all told after tip though. It also matters what water is around you. Out west on the big rivers floating is the way to go.
Team it's too damn hot to get up that early. 15+ years ago I'd happily go fish all day in August, but I'm soft now. Not to.mention the red tide Fishing isn't great this time of year. Can do good with redfish soaking cut bait, but not that fun iyam Can't wait until temps cool down into the 60s at night. Fall is my favorite time to fish besides spring tarpon
i actually haven’t gone up to the hatchery yet, hopefully it’s open again in the fall. after labor day ill start fishing that way more.
What size river are you planning on fishing? If it's not a tight casting area, I'd go with a 9 ft 4 weight around here, assuming mostly trout. Also, what budget are you looking for all told, rod, reel and line?
I had been planning to go the gorge above the hatchery, guess that isn't happening anytime soon. Sounds like it will be a while.
if you’re looking to learn i think a wade trip is more beneficial. you’re likely to spend more time wading at first, so learning from a guide while wading will give you a good head start. a lot of the southern appalachian guides will take you to private water too. my first trip was DRO private water.
Im going to spend time fishing everything from Johnson City down through Boone. I’ll fish all size rivers and creeks. No budget. I just honestly don’t know where to even begin, I used to fly fish with shit from the 80’s I have fly fished since but with other peoples setup.
I'd go with a 9 ft 4 weight or 9 ft 5 weight. For simplicity, you can get sets or mix and match rods and reels. I'll list some set options. https://www.sageflyfish.com/product/freshwater/foundation-outfit - ~$575, this would be the nicer set https://tforods.com/nxt-black-label/ - ~$220 https://echoflyfishing.com/project/echo-traverse-kit/ https://www.orvis.com/clearwater-fly-rod/25SP-Family.html - $376 https://www.redington.com/fly-fishing-combos Other good, less expensive rods by themselves are Redington Classic Trout and Fenwick Aetos, both are less than $200. If you are looking for nicer rods, I can give some options there too. The quality of the reel isn't very important for trout fishing, so I would say the quality of the line is most important, then the rod, then the reel.
Thank you, sir. I greatly appreciate this. Don’t make it weird when I pop up out of the woods one day and join you on the river
No problem, I can make room. The problem you may run into is availability of things. As with everything else in the Covid world, fly equipment has been hit with supply issues.
I’ve got a month or so before I’ll be able to fish like I want to. I’m trying to find it now in the hopes I’ll have it in a month or so. Thanks again
This is really what I need to do. I’ve been looking on the secondary market to pick up up something to practice with in the backyard creek/pond.
I appreciate it. I know one of the guides suggested doing a private wading trip and that’s where I’m beginning to lean. One thing that I didn’t realize is that all of the guides there are catch and release so I’m hoping to use the guide to teach me the basics, then spend the rest of the trip on my own with the hope of harvesting one. Trying to arrange it so that Doug and I will be in Blue Ridge around the same time and we can do a guided trip together.