BTW, I Have Something To Say About Fishing Equipment

 "Basically all a noodle rod is is a fly rod with a spinning handle" - Anonymous post on a steelhead forum.

The first time I saw one of these outfits was on the Stillwater River during the Fall salmon run.  It was at least 10 feet long and fairly soft after the middle of the rod and was loaded with, what looked like, 4X mono with some kind of nymph at the business end. It was, in my opinion, too long for a tiny (and CROWDED) stream like the Stillwater but I could see where the owner of one of these rods could walk right up to the Y Pool and, using the same logic (?) that guides the DFW(?), tie on a PT Nymph and start fishing. Current regs forbid that. One has to use conventional fly fishing gear (it says) to fish there along with tenkara fishers who do not use conventional gear.

Let's  muddy the waters a bit more.  Tightline angling is, for the most part, fishing with MONO. In some waters mono leaders cannot exceed certain lengths and many of the fly reels there are loaded to the max with mono and far outcast Tenkara guys.

The Flymph

We should make this simple.  The determining factor as far as legal fishing goes on C&R waters should be this:

1. Use ANY fishing equipment that you like but NO BAIT. You can use a spinning rod, a bobber and an artificial fly. That's what indicator flyfishers basically do.

2. Single, barbless hooks only

3. This makes the regs simple and enforcable!!

If you think I'm going overboard on this wait until you see my next suggestion.

Ken

Happy Thanksgiving  

 

A look At Classic Wets

 

"Flyfishing is the most fun you can have standing up" - Arnold Gingrich

Back in the first half of the LAST CENTURY your main choices for flies were limited to dry flies, wet flies and streamers.  Hardly any notice was given to nymphs and terrestrials and what passed for an insect imitation was basically a joke. Imagine a wet salmon fly with over 24 different feathers in it's constuction!!!

Not all was lost because some flies were created and then stood the test of time.  The fly above is my version of the Light Cahill, named after a Dan Cahill who worked for the Erie Railroad. Legend has it that a train wreck threatened a shipment of rainbow trout.  Cahill mustered a team of men together to transport the cans of trout overland to Callicoon Creek. Within 10 years that stream was known for it's rainbow fishing and Dan had a fly named after him.

I like using the fly above early on a "sulphur day" (a warm June day) and then switch over to a dry when the trout start working the surface in the early evening.

The Blue Dun is a 19th century creation that still is catching trout although it has gone through its own evolution. The purple body is my adaptation and it seems to work as well as the more famous olive body. (it's a BWP and not a BWO).

 I like these flies because they actually look like insects unlike todays beadheaded monstrosities!

Ken

" An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This has been a trying month for me due to a broken ankle.  My time has been used up by tying flies, writing a blog post or two, tying flies (again) and reading blog posts about my favorite rivers.  I've seen some questionable blog entries where an author tries to justify a personal position which isn't necessarily a bad thing but when a writer pens something that is totally wrong someone should take notice of it.

I found the following" Second, the Swift below Cady Lane is catch and release 100% of the time".  That statement is totally WRONG. All one has to do is read the DFW regulations to be set straight. 

It makes me wonder what else is out there!!

Ken

 

The Weighted Wet

 

"The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope". - John Buchan

Who says you can't add weight to a standard wet fly such as a soft hackle.  I've been added weight to soft hackles in the form of non toxic wire for years.  I like it because I feel that the trout are attracted to the "body" and not the metal "helmet" of a bead head.  I feel that the fly that I'm offering has to some how look "natural" and not like a piece of costume jewlery. My only concession to "glitter" is the red head such as the one on the fly pictured above. Sometimes I will only use a turn or two of wire on the fly. It adds just enough weight but it can be hardly noticable on a cold day with cold fingers. The red head marks the fly as "weighted".

Remember, try to leave the brookies, who are on their redds, alone. 

Don't wade on the gravel but confine your tip toeing to the weeds and leaf litter.  Brookies don't spawn on that stuff.

Good Luck!

Ken

The More Things Change..........

 "The difference between fly fishers and worm dunkers is the quality of their excuses". Anonymous

For decades and decades the hallmark of fly rod construction was seen in the beautiful, top of the line, bamboo rod. It was the rod that owners treasured and  would spend REAL money for. It was also a rod that, because of its material, was fragile.  The creators of these bamboo rods understood that and did something about it.  They offered an extra tip (tips usually break first) without additional cost. (actually the cost may have been buried in the base price but nobody seemed to care). The buyer went home with the insurance policy of an extra tip. Let's say he breaks the tip the next day.  He can still fish because he has a spare tip!

Today we have to ship the broken piece back, or the whole rod, and wait weeks or months for a replacement.  Let's do what the old timers did and sell us a rod with TWO tips. If we don't blink at a $900 price for a fly rod why not $1200 for a rod with the extra tip.  From what little poking around that I've done I've found two companies that do just that (Moonshine is one).

I've always thought that eruo rods cannot stand up to a traditional casting stroke and work best when the heavy fly is "flopped" into the water. That way the heavy fly is not flying through the atmosphere at 120 miles an hour ready to destroy any rod tip in it's path!!!

My Ankle

It's been 2.5 weeks in this cast with maybe another four weeks to go.  Thank God for fly tying BUT I want to go fishing!!

Ken

The C.K. Nymph

 

This nugget of a trout fly was conjured up by one Chuck Kraft way back in 1961. Back then the averge nymph fly had a bare minimum of materials built in ( this has 3) and was drab and natural looking.  I like it because it fits the way I fish bigger nymphs - short line and slow, picking pockets as I slowly move along the river.

Hook - standard traditional streamer hook size 10 to 12.

Weight - this is OPTIONAL. I mostly fish it with a drop shot which allows me to go from zero weight to HEAVY in a second or two.  Tie some with wire anyway if you want.

Tail - Most use mallard but I don't. I use grouse or pheasant  fluff to match the body.

Body - any fur will do but the buggier the better.

Hackle - whatever you use make sure it's the lowest grade that you have. Palmer it on and then clip it.

You can rib it with wire but it's not necessary.

If you have broken at least two Euro Nymph rods in the past two years in the act of casting then shelve those critters and use a long standard rod with a stouter tip.  That's what I do.  My casts are shorter with a wider loop and I'm still catching trout (well I was until I blew out my ankle).

Ken