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Autumn On The EB
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Steelie And Shad Bamboo And A Better Flymph
"I have an idiosyncrasy when it comes to fly lines. I almost always fish my 4 weight bamboo rods with a weight forward 5 line and my 5 weights with a DT5. That's because I usually use the 4 weights on small mountain streams where the casts are short. A weight forward line has more weight out front and loads the rod better at short ranges. As I said, it's an idiosyncrasy. The older you get, the more of those you'll have." John Gierach
Nope, I couldn't resist. I've got a mess of bamboo rods ranging from a 6ft 2/3 weight, up to a couple of 8ft 5wts and a few in between but what I really wanted was big boy rod to make long casts in heavy water for big fish. The catch was that it HAD to be bamboo.
Now, vintage bamboo rods are becoming slightly scarce in certain sizes, namely your 4 and 5 weights but 6, 7 and 8's are fairly common because nobody wants them. Well, I do!!! So I checked out Rick Taupier's great website, swiftriverflyfishing@earthlink.net, found a few candidates and settled on a Heddon Model 20, 9 ft, 3pc, 2tips for 6/7 weight lines. It's a beautiful browntone in excellent condition. It's heavier than a 9ft graphite BUT it is a dream to cast. In fact, it wants to cast itself!!!
This is my second rod from Rick. The first was a Swift River Sierra, 7.5ft for a 4 weight (made by Rick). This rod has been with me on the Swift since 2015. It's a perfect dry fly rod.
If you want to get into bamboo then check out his site. New classic models are always arriving. He also has a line of very nice glass rods and like the bamboo they are reasonably priced.
Tweaking The Flymph I've always liked this fly, an emerger for sure but a fly that didn't know if it was a soft hackle of more of a traditional wet fly. I took the liberty of changing the body on this fly
Instead of a thin body and then partridge hackle the body got beefed up, (dubbing) the hackle was moved back a 1/3 of the hook shank and then the fly was given a head instead of just a knot. This improved the profile of the fly (at least I think so). Remember, an emerging mayfly, with the exception of the Quill Gordon and a few others, is still basically a nymph until it breaks through the surface tension of the water and flies away.
this form of flymph just gives us another option.
Ken
11 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Rick is a true craftsman! While I like my graphite Winstons for most fishing I do take my 6' Orvis and 7' Heddon bamboos out for a spin once the hatches start up. Fun to use!
Like your Flymph. Nice and buggy like a hatching insect.
I like that fly Ken... Sort of reminds me of a picket pin or other similar soft hackles/flymphs. I'm envisioning that catching trout after trout on the millers - they love olive emergers there :)
Congrats on your new toy Told you before I have a bamboo for streamers shad flies and small mouse patterns its a 5 6 7 weight line I reworked it from a yard sale find. I will send you a couple of killer shad flies for your new addition. Tincup
I've done the yard sale thing too. Found a 9ft 6wt cane rod which I straightened out and cleaned up and then sold. Wish I still had it. Where do you fish for shad on the north shore?
Hi Ken- took a look at Rick's web site yesterday since I don't have a bamboo rod I will try and get up there to see what he has.
I need to get some new waders because the ones I have are starting to show their age just like me !I bought them in 2005 at a place that used to be in the old Shawmut Bank building in Boston I believe it was called Firefly or something like that. They don't owe me anything at this point.
Since I fish some challenging rivers (Westfield, Connecticut river Pittsburg,NH)I need a good pair of waders. Suggestions ? Thanks
Merrimack river a big run a area below the 495 double decker bridge in north andover also in the Haverhill area called Rock village. The rock village area fishes best on outgoing tides that area is tide dependent. They show up the end of april, most years. lots of herring and striped bass to keeper size. Stripers herring after mother day. If high water its difficult with fly rod but on low water you can even use floating lines
I get my waders from Sierra Trading Post online. I get lightweight breathable stocking foot waders for under $80 at that place. They last pretty well seeing that I'm in my waders 200+ trips a year.
tincup,
Thanks for the tip. I once caught a shad down by the jetty!
Response to Hockey Dad: I posted almost the exact same question regarding fishing waders on this blog on November 21, 2019 and received several positive responses. You should check out the comments section from that date. I'm told that Patagonia has the best product but they're super expensive. What I opted to do was stick with my "Cabela's Brand" and I purchased some "Flex Seal Rubber Sealant" and sprayed 2 applications on the inside seams of the waders. So far, it has worked well for me, though the real test will come when I begin to fish more frequently during warmer weather. Best of luck, Tom From Boston
Hi Ken- thanks for the info on Sierra Trading. That's a great price for sure !
Unknown ( Tom from Boston) - I'll check that post as you've suggested. So far I've gone out online to Bass Pro and Cabela's ( same thing now I guess ) also Patagonia. I'm a little skittish about buying them online so I think I'll take a ride to Bass Pro and make sure of my size.
11 comments:
Rick is a true craftsman! While I like my graphite Winstons for most fishing I do take my 6' Orvis and 7' Heddon bamboos out for a spin once the hatches start up. Fun to use!
Like your Flymph. Nice and buggy like a hatching insect.
I like that fly Ken... Sort of reminds me of a picket pin or other similar soft hackles/flymphs. I'm envisioning that catching trout after trout on the millers - they love olive emergers there :)
Anonymous 7:16
There's something about bamboo. The great Ernie Schwiebert called it the "Alchemy of Bamboo".
Will,
You love that picket pin as well you should!!!
Ken
Congrats on your new toy Told you before I have a bamboo for streamers shad flies and small mouse patterns its a 5 6 7 weight line I reworked it from a yard sale find. I will send you a couple of killer shad flies for your new addition. Tincup
tincup,
I've done the yard sale thing too. Found a 9ft 6wt cane rod which I straightened out and cleaned up and then sold. Wish I still had it. Where do you fish for shad on the north shore?
Ken
Hi Ken- took a look at Rick's web site yesterday since I don't have a bamboo rod I will
try and get up there to see what he has.
I need to get some new waders because the ones I have are starting to show their age just like me !I bought them in 2005 at a place that used to be in the old Shawmut Bank building in Boston I believe it was called Firefly or something like that. They don't owe me anything at this point.
Since I fish some challenging rivers (Westfield, Connecticut river Pittsburg,NH)I need a good pair of waders. Suggestions ? Thanks
Hockey
Merrimack river a big run a area below the 495 double decker bridge in north andover also in the Haverhill area called Rock village. The rock village area fishes best on outgoing tides that area is tide dependent. They show up the end of april, most years. lots of herring and striped bass to keeper size. Stripers herring after mother day. If high water its difficult with fly rod but on low water you can even use floating lines
Hockey,
I get my waders from Sierra Trading Post online. I get lightweight breathable stocking foot waders for under $80 at that place. They last pretty well seeing that I'm in my waders 200+ trips a year.
tincup,
Thanks for the tip. I once caught a shad down by the jetty!
Ken
Response to Hockey Dad:
I posted almost the exact same question regarding fishing waders on this blog on November 21, 2019 and received several positive responses. You should check out the comments section from that date. I'm told that Patagonia has the best product but they're super expensive. What I opted to do was stick with my "Cabela's Brand" and I purchased some "Flex Seal Rubber Sealant" and sprayed 2 applications on the inside seams of the waders. So far, it has worked well for me, though the real test will come when I begin to fish more frequently during warmer weather.
Best of luck,
Tom From Boston
Tom From Boston,
Glad that you mentioned Flex Seal. I first wrote about that stuff on 4/20/16. It's amazing!
Ken
Hi Ken- thanks for the info on Sierra Trading. That's a great price for sure !
Unknown ( Tom from Boston) - I'll check that post as you've suggested. So far I've gone out online to Bass Pro and Cabela's ( same thing now I guess ) also Patagonia. I'm a little skittish about buying them online so I think I'll take a ride to Bass Pro and make sure of my size.
Hockey
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