"I also think of the spring, that season when the earth begins to forgive itself, in the words of Allan Gurganus. It will be here soon." - Monte Burke
Maybe we've gone too far on the lightweight thing, especially in winter. A 10ft 3wt can be a pleasure on a balmy day in May but a pain when ice coats the rod, guides and line. You may want something that is sturdier and with more backbone. Try a heavier rod. You fish a long 3wt? Try moving up to a 5wt or even a 6. Think about it. Most of our fly offerings during the winter tend to be BIGGER and HEAVIER and will be cast much easier with a heavier outfit. And what happens when size 22 winter caddis begin to emerge? Lengthen your leader out to 6x or 7x. I guided a young beginner a few years ago who used a 6wt to deliver a size 30 dry and subdue a good brown. Decades ago a 4wt was considered ultralight and a 6wt was a standard dry fly rod and we still caught fish with tiny flies. And don't think your going to throw your shoulder out with a 6wt!!!
Another thing to consider would be a FIBERGLASS rod of 5 or 6 wt. Fiberglass, being heavier, can take a beating in the winter. In fact, back in the day when fiberglass ruled the market the only rods that broke were because of car doors and trunk hoods. Casting??? I can't think of any.
So....If you love sending your smashed graphite rod back to the factory for repair or replacement then ignore all of the above.
Swift Update Again
The salmon are still there and have settled down to hitting size 18 to 24 nymphs (beadheaded pheasant tails and such) fished deep under an indicator. These fish don't appear to be chasing streamers and want offerings bouncing off the snouts. The rainbows are an "on again, off again" thing most likely due to the otters who have made their appearance. Some days it's double digit catches and other days ZERO.
Ken
8 comments:
Ken,
I love my fiberglass rod (Redington) and I'm seeing more fiberglass on the rivers.
TR
Ken,
Have any lake trout been reported or seen by you that have come over the dam along with the salmon?
With regard to salmon, I think you have posted they will be gone in a year or so. What do you figure happens to them? I would love to connect with one of them at some point before they are gone.
Regards, Sam
How about a 34-ounce Louisville Slugger? Pitchers and catchers report in less than a week!
Cheers,
Dave
Sam,
I believe that Dan Trella spoke of some lakers being caught in the last 2 months although I have not seen any myself. The salmon will be around at least through the Spring. The last time they entered the Swift was back in 2011-12. They were pretty much gone by Summer. I think there's much more food in the Swift than there was 8-10 years ago (brookies). We shall see.
Dave,
It's a great time of year!!
Ken
Ken,
Have you taken a close look at those 10' 3 weights?
Look at the butt section on rods like the Orvis Helios 3, Hardy Zephrus and Thomas and Thomas Contact rods. Notice that the butt section screams 5 or 6 weight. And the taper is that of a 5 or 6 weight for the bottom 7 feet.
The only thing that is 3 weight about them is the tip is softer than the usual super ultra fast 5 or 6 weight $900 rods that are so popular today.
And how about those videos from Hardy and Orvis, showing you can bend the tip all the way down to the butt of these nano resin rods before they break in factory tests. Seems like they are encouraging rod abuse.
Furthermore, have you noticed that these "3 weights" actually throw 5 and 6 weight lines for indicator fishing.
And just like the rod manufacturers no longer have any consideration for what the true weight of a rod is, the line manufacturers are even worse. Like all the lines that are 1 or more weight sizes above their AFTMA ratings. eg.)The Scientific Anglers Andro line is "Overweighted by 1.5 sizes to assist in turning over heavy rigs".
I doubt I am telling you anything you don't already know. But some of your blog readers may be thinking those with 10'3 weights really have a 3 weight rod in high water.
Hope to see you on the river. I'll be the only one there with my 9' 5 or 6 weight.
- Charlie
Charlie,
Good points but I think you are making my point.
1. It's the tips that break on those three weights so how cares about the butts. It's a design problem.
2. As I've said for YEARS there's not a lot of difference between a 4 or 5 weight or
a 3 and 5 weight for that matter. It's based on the amount of line you have BEYOND the rod tip. Now, rod tips on some of these long nymph rods are just too fragile and don't stand up if reports are to believed. That's a design problem!!!
3. A lot of long nymph rod owners don't even use fly line but use mono and still break rods. Yes, I agree that line weights are screwed up BUT who cares. I've been over lining for years.
4. Keep that 6 weight. Prediction: we will all go back to that in time.
Ken
IMO those tip breakages on rods are due to hitting the tip with a shot or beadhead because of not using an oval casting motion. Add in an extreme bend in the rods when landing a fish with a typical short handled net and bingo...something has to give! Do I use long rods, you bet. Have I broken them, not yet! One of my best fishing rods is a 10' 5wt older Euro Rod. Dry fly to tight lining it does it all.
Anonymous 11:43,
I agree about the breaks caused by beadheads and wrote about that on this blog last December. I called it "death by beadhead". Also covered candy canning your rod into an extreme bend. This post dealt with ice buildup problems and how to avoid them.
Ken
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