I think of fly rods the same way Bill Belechick thinks of position players. Can you play guard AND center? Can you play tight end AND be a long snapper or whatever. Versatility!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've got a closet full of rods but I haven't bought a graphite rod since 2008 because everything that I have works plus I spend too much $$ on bamboo which is great to own and just admire. It's fun to fish with it too!
Ok, the stocking trucks are rolling and have hit area ponds and lakes (stocking lakes keeps the bait boys off the rivers, somewhat) and the Swift River. There will be some easy fishing at the Swift until the trout earn their graduate degrees in about a week.
The other rivers look like this for 3/22:
Millers - 675 cfs, current flow 1060 cfs yearly average
Ware - 187 cfs 360 cfs yearly average
WB Westfield 134 cfs 299 cfs yearly average
EB Westfield 344 cfs 464 cfs yearly average
Swift 52 cfs doesn't matter!
My prediction - things will get a bit worse in the next week as the snow begins to melt and the rivers begin to rise AND get colder (snow melt chills down a river). That may even keep the stocking trucks off the bigger freestones for a week or two which is not a bad thing. In the meantime tie some big, heavy stoneflies such as the one pictured above. Also tie all of the weighted buggers that you want. Remember, March is still very early to hit the freestones. I remember OPENING DAY years ago on the third Saturday in APRIL when the rivers were cold and flooded. Such is New England. And remember, heavy snows in the winter are no predictor of late spring or summer flows. I've seen rivers almost dry up after very snowy winters!!!
Where's The Rust?
I've been fishing the surf in a warm climate (someone has to do it) for a week now and carrying on an experiment that started a few years ago, namely, testing the corrosive resistance of freshwater metals in a saltwater environment. Now, I have traditional saltwater fly fishing gear but I've been using streamers tied on 3XL freshwater hooks and I've been catching fish. These streamers have been used in the salt for 2 years and show no metal rot!! They are still sharp and hard. Secondly, I'm using a very inexpensive fly reel (Cabela's Wind River reel) made from machined aluminum which resists corrosion. It's the second year for this reel and there's no rust and everything works fine. All I do is a freshwater rinse after fishing. BTW, this setup is a 6wt with a full sinking line with an 8 1/2 foot rod. I've been catching blues in the 16 to 18 inch range and it reminds me of catching schoolies with this rig on the North Shore. Lots of fun. Word has it that bigger fish are on the way so the 8wt will come into play.
Book Now
Don't wait too long. I have a calendar that is booking up quickly but since I guide 7 days a week plus offer 3 and 6 hour trips I can always find a spot for you. Plus I guide on more rivers than anyone around. Contact me!!!!!
Ken
15 comments:
Hi Ken,
Nothing like fishing for blues, and those small "tailor blues" are a blast on a 6-weight.
But I hate rigging wire leaders for blues. To avoid this, I tie small streamers on circle hooks with the barbs pinched and knot them to short lengths of heavy 40# mono or fluoro. (Probably not possible to build a popper on a circle hook.)
The idea is that the circle hooks usually lodge in the front corner of a bluefish's mouth, making it harder for him to chomp the leader, and the heavy shock tippet provides protection from his sharp gills and the bony ridge on his back.
This approach seems to work OK for smaller blues, but when the big ones show up, I still go with wire.
Enjoy!
Ken I like your experiment. I've pondered that, RE hooks... Am I just buying these fancy hooks for more $$ for a fly that's going to be eaten to death in a couple outings (hopefully), or are they really needed? Keep us posted on how this experiment goes. Admittedly, if I was fishing a 3/0 Herring or something, I'd use a salt hook because it works... but for smaller stuff... Ill keep an eye on your "testing".
I will say, that I've done great with modest reels in salt - my go to 8 being a Cabelas (made by lamson) which has been bomb proof. My 10 is an Albright I got on sale maybe 12-15 years ago which has been pounded and done fine.
That fresh water rinse seems to be the ticket!
I'm not going to stress over hooks so much anymore either...
ken...
is there a jetty off from Sabastian Inlet..???
ive fished in new- Smyrna ... but never Sabastian
John,
I took my grandson (age 7) stripper fishing last summer with bait BUT used circle hooks. Every schoolie was hooked in the lip and released with no harm. It should be the law!!!
Will,
There was this guy on the Cape years ago who fished for big bass with flies tied on 4/0 freshwater plastic worm hooks because he liked the big gap. Nickel plated hooks stand up well to the salt, are inexpensive and if broken off by a big bass or blue will eventually rust away. Not so much with stainless.
I met this guy on Plum Island 10 years ago who had a saltwater reel that ran north of $500 bucks. One month into it he noticed that ALL the hardware (screws, etc) were rusting. He sent it back!!!!
Ken
Anonymous 10:26,
There are two jetties at Sebastian inlet but forget fly fishing there. Too many spin/bait fishermen there. I've been working the surf, my favorite place, south of the southern jetty and will work the Indian River in a day or so.
Ken
I am totally with you on the saltwater hook and gear thing Ken. I fished one of those old cast (Hardy or British Reel) Battenkills for a the better part of the 90's 3 or 4 days every week from May through October chasing south shore stripers. It finally wore out -literally wore out in about year 8..I sprayed the outside with a coating of T-9 Boeshield at the beginning of each season and rinsed it sporadically with fresh water. I most often used the old Eagle Claw 254's...they weren't stainless but had some sort of finish on them. The bronze finish on most hooks is more than enough but you can't often find them with the size and gap and wire strength you might want for some saltwater bait imitations...Gartside used to tie many of his most famous saltwater flys on bronzed trout or bass hooks when the size was appropriate-he fished the salt as hard or harder than most during the 90's and said that the bronzed Mustads were just fine so long as you didn't put them away wet.
BobT,
I don't know if know Rodney Flagg, one of the last of the old commercial tiers from years ago. He said that he would go after stripers with an old Medalist reel that he just rinsed off. It lasted for years. We go for overkill now and pay for stuff that just isn't needed.
Always appreciate your comments!
Ken
I've been going into his shop whenever I am in the area...for a long time. I think the old time Medalists were extremely underrated. I've been purchasing a few of them on Ebay here and there (one has a saltwater line on it and another will have a short Skagit line intended for single handed spey). My grandfather and dad used Medalists all the time for stripers and there are a million pics of Ted Williams using them for bonefish-a quick rinse--Maybe--I don't recall any maintenance they ever did..they kept them in the trunk of the car from spring to fall. I have a couple newer trout reels(way overkill but I do appreciate fine craftmanship especially if USA made). I mostly use my old Hardy's-lightweight, princess, marquis...some I have had for 30 years. Simple and reliable. I don't consider myself a gearhead but I do accumulate some reels and rods that you cannot find anymore just to get a chance with them. Some I keep some I trade back for something else. When it comes down to what I use day in and day out...an old Winston, a couple Scotts a T&T and a Loomis all more than 10-12 years old some approaching 30-35(T&T Special Dry fly 1984); a Ross R1(the one with the flower cutout circa 1989) an LRH Lightweight a princess and a Marquis. No plans on switching out any of my primary gear unless necessary.
Ken, Love the opening quote. For decades I’ve fished bamboo but since an auto accident and spine injury I’ve gone back to graphite for 6wts. on up because of the light weight. I’m fortunate to have two first generation Fenwick HMG graphite rods that I purchased in 1975 and 1976, both 8’6”, a 6wt and a 7wt. They cost $126 apiece. Also two Scott graphite Rods from 1978 and 1979, a 9’ 6wt and a 9’6” 8 wt. I test drive new rods every year and honestly can’t find anything that would qualify as a big improvement over any of the four rods mentioned above. Yes they’ve gotten somewhat faster in the action, but is that an improvement? Not to me. I fish double taper 5wt lines on the 6 wt Fenwick and rediscovered that I had met my true love in 1975. Regards, Phil Foster
BobT and Phil Foster,
Really glad that you guys have commented on this topic. BobT - those old reels are very functional, no unneeded bells and whistles and were built to last as you;ve proven.
Phil - Don't lose those rods! And between you and BobT there's not a nymph rod mentioned!!!!!
Ken
ok I will bite. if you fish the salt day in day out tide after tide chasing stripers as you all chase trout have you need all the protection you can get. If you have time to clean flys etc. I guess your ok But if I am looking for 4 hours of sleep, I will spend the extra on hooks and maybe reels just to get back on the water at 3am leaving my house at 2 am. And never and never will I want to break off from a hook failure. Been there done that. Ken we can discuss this in the near future on my boat. Reels ok but flys hooks go with the best. I just don't have time to wash off a fly.
Bob (tincup)
We can do that and I'll bring evidence. My nickel plated hooks are a bit discolored but not rusty. I haven't even rinsed them this trip!
Ken
If the hooks are nickel-plated I can totally see it. I would not believe it if you were using the ordinary bronze freshwater hooks, since those things rust out within hours in the salt, and overnight in freshwater if you don't dry them out (I've ruined whole boxes of flies by not drying them out after a dunk in the river). I've lost enough fish to hook failure in the salt even when using stainless steel hooks, so I go with the good stuff. The number of flies I need to cover the range of bait in the salt is pretty small when compared to trout fishing, so it isn't too costly to tie them all with the best hooks and materials. I love tying flies so I carry way more than I need in both salt and fresh, but I bet I fish more patterns during the sulfur hatch than I fish in the salt all season.
Jim Bender must be laughing his butt off!!
The only time I am concerned with a hook is if the wire diameter is too small for the gap of the hook to hold its shape-there are even some trout hooks (fine wire scud hooks or long shank fine wire dry fly hooks) that are problematic in this regard. Once I am on 1/0 and above I will often be using a saltwater hook but even then...for stripers even big ones the 1/0 bronzed hooks will do fine anything above that wire strength(not rust) becomes the biggest concern- at that point the hook has to have a decent sized gap and wire strength(diameter) to hold its shape. For what it is worth, the only hook I ever broke was a midge hook...maybe that is more of a testament to the fact that I don't catch enough fish lol. I have straightened a couple out on Tuna but not since I learned how to land them more efficiently. Present company excluded, most guys can't tie a strong enough knot to cause any rusty hook to break first.
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