Yep I totally get it, just didn’t think about it. I’m used to fishing saltwater where the fish population isn’t nearly as limited.
Jake Scott This is the best advice. If most of your experience is with older (glass?) Rods, you're going to want to try a few of the new ones out. Don't buy without test casting. 5 wt is a good place to start in terms of ease of learning and forgiveness. Much less (3wt) can punish beginner form, much more (6-7wt) and you'll get tired of casting. Post up if you have more questions.
Is there such thing as fishing joggers. Basically looking for UV lightweight pants to wear that have a narrow opening at the ankles
My thighs are getting burnt even with sunscreen so figured a pair of pants would be good for long sessions
They should. They have a dwr finish and do a nice job repelling water. Getting mud off from hiking/camping trips hasn’t been a problem, either. I often wear them under my waders as well.
Great advice. Picked up a 5wt Douglas Sky G in Montana last week and it's incredible, tossed both dries and heavier nymph rigs with ease. Shoots line like a pistol. My two cents. Get the best 5wt rod you can afford that matches your cast. Then buy good line. The reel is a line holder anything under 6wt so save money there. I've got a 8.5 foot Hardy Shadow 4wt for dry flies, 5wt older Orvis Recon and Foundation, and my 6wt is the new Recon II I won at fly fishing club. All on Lamson reels and I have a Orvis Mid-Arbor for my extra 5wt reel. Like Rio Gold lines and the MPX which is a 5.5 weight line. Our guide in Montana had St. Croix 8.5 foot rods with Echo reels, loved it bc it reminded me of my Hardy. Go to a fly shop and cast them all.
I used my dad's Recon this last weekend. It didn't seem anything special. My main rod is a 4 wt Echo Trout. When I throw that, it feels similar to his Scott Radian, which is really nice. He's got an Orvis Superfine and a bamboo rod I'd like to use at some point. I'd be afraid of breaking the bamboo rod.
Worth every penny. Between the Sky and my new Tibor 8 weight reel, I'm set for a long while. Gonna have a yard sale on ebay which will include the Foundation. Gonna keep the Recon for the warranty and use it as an extra rod for friends and to guide Healing Waters. Had a vet catch an 18'' striper on it two summers ago. I'm betting the new Clearwater is better as the technology keeps improving the good rods in the good/better/best offerings. The newer Recon II is noticeably slower action. Shoal bass on the Flint in September, Turks for bonefish in November, and a fall full of chasing trout. Love Scott rods, do you use your nymph rigs on the 4 weight Echo Trout on the Chattooga? Does it work well with split shot?
I have no problems tossing a heavily weighted #6 or 8 Pat's Rubber Legs with a dropper on it. Used it on the Madison when wading too with no issues. Picked up a 6 wt Redington Classic Trout that I used for float trips out there.
The Sky also handled a sculpin streamer very well with the MPX line so likely makes my 6 wt eligible for ebay.
Star of the show tonight. Missed last week, and archery deer season's coming up fast. Probably one of the last times I'll get out this year.
Was surprised by how fast the Madison flowed while pretty low. Like fishing multiple rivers in one. Everything we caught was sub-surface. No dries bc the smoke cover had kept the radiant heat lower and hadn't warmed up the grasshoppers or bank hatches enough to take flight. Caught a few whitefish, a great 18'' brown that fought like hell, and a smaller 12'' rainbow that jumped a few times. All off the bottom nymph. Caught a whitefish on the Flathead outside Glacier on a semi-submerged midge dry as part of a double fly set up with hopper up top.
When I was there we only did nymphs too even though the salmonflies were still around. The guides had just developed a euro nymph/tightline method that was a killer for us. We were catching 50-60 per boat.
As I've mentioned before, I fish lots of vintage equipment. Just got this little guy purchased and on the way.
Went out to Tomahawk in Hartsel, CO. First time using flies I tied myself. Only caught a few but this is the first one that took my hand tied zebra midge. Felt great catching something on a fly I made myself. Spoiler View attachment 133073
Congrats. It's tough to go back to using bought flies. The only time I do is on float trips where I don't have the fly the guide wants to use.
Echo fan here. have a 4wt CarbonXL and throw a lot of nymph rigs. i've thrown some decent sized streamers and poppers with it for bass as well.
Went to the dream stream today. Nothing big but caught this guy on the same zebra midge I tied. Also caught some on drys which was a first for me. Fucking amazing. I see why people love it so much.
Back to the Davidson. 475 was completely closed. There were a ton of trees down and the small brush had been pushed over like a crop circle. This would be before/after shot of an area And today
i just dropped way too much $ on a shimano trevala rod with a shimano tekota 800 reel. i’m now equipped for snapper fishing.
Here’s a bunch of pics of the fish I caught today. Some were keepers, others weren’t. Also threw in a video of birds bombing onto bait balls and fish jumping out of the water. Bull reds and jacks were everywhere this weekend. Oh and a random pigfish, which I’ve previously never caught before.
Broke the new rod in this Sunday. Probably caught 30 reds. Handful around 20-22 inch rest where rats.
Read "broke the new rod this Sunday" and boy did I instantly start to feel bad for you. Whew when I figured it out. Hell yeah.
these folks in Nashville and Indy have a some awesome looking creeks and rivers through town. seems like every creek holds smallmouth and other bass species.
Went to a brook trout stream I've been to previously that was in the tropical storm impacted section of NC. The stream had completely changed. Most holding areas were scoured away. No sign of any trout and a guy I talked with there who fishes that area often had the same experience. Most of them were probably either swept off or killed by the flash floods. Still got some good pictures though.
I loved the Sky G so much I got it in 6 and 4. Paired it with a Loop OptiDry and Sage Spectrum respectively. Pure joy.
Bought a 7 foot medium heavy ugly stick today to go with the Pen Battle 5000 reel for mangrove snapper.
8 years ago i fished the dream stream. my second time ever fly fishing the next weekend i got skunked at cheeseman canyon.
A few this morning before going to work. Have to work in the evening some tonight. Thought I'd take advantage of the free time. Need to replenish my freezer for another fry this fall. Caught a dozen or so crappie and more than that small, junk hybrids. One 12" largemouth as well in about 2.5 hrs.