Any Fly Fishers Here?

[alaskanpiper]

that is doable for us, out of anchorage drive down. snow? bears?? weve fished the sockeye run

Both in varying degrees, but usually no bear activity until later. Water level is the key thing. Its a mile walk in so if the water is high enough its impossible. Of course if you have a boat, you’re good.

September bead season is much more productive and easier to access. Some people but nothing insane or preventative like it is during the red runs. There are also silvers (plenty good to eat) in the river that time of year. Not uncommon to catch some dinner by accident on a bead!

Rainbows are also plenty fishable during the red runs themselves.

Those times of year the bear activity is much higher. Not uncommon to run across them at all. I see them every year.

 

[shanez]

good lure guys do the best here in the carson tahoe ranges

I'm thinking of trying my luck at Pahranagat which is only about an hour or so north of Vegas.

 

[BarrelProof]

Fly fishing gear acquisition is also a slippery slope...... Beware.... ?

One I’ve slipped down several times. Picked up 600 hooks and a ton of materials today to add to the ton I already had. About to start tying here in a bit!

 

[BarrelProof]

It begins.

 

[Dan-o$]

Both in varying degrees, but usually no bear activity until later. Water level is the key thing. Its a mile walk in so if the water is high enough its impossible. Of course if you have a boat, you’re good.

September bead season is much more productive and easier to access. Some people but nothing insane or preventative like it is during the red runs. There are also silvers (plenty good to eat) in the river that time of year. Not uncommon to catch some dinner by accident on a bead!

Rainbows are also plenty fishable during the red runs themselves.

Those times of year the bear activity is much higher. Not uncommon to run across them at all. I see them every year.

alright then, thanks for that

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I will never understand the catch and release thing. Guys spending tens of thousands on boats and gear to just throw them back. I have a designated deep freeze full of milk jugs that I have cut the tops off of and frozen the fish inside of to eat throughout the year. If I was going to throw them back, why not just play golf? Golf would be a tad cheaper, but the clothes look better.

I mean, I will throw back bream and other trash fish that I don't like to eat, but not bass, crappie, or catfish. Never!

I ate my catches of brownies and rainbow.

 

[crawdad]

Just came back fly fishing the Chatooga cliffs in western NC with an army buddy. Had a lot of fun, smoked a few bowls of Granger and SWR in cobs.

 

[BarrelProof]

New rod/reel show “Out for delivery.”

 

[Dan-o$]

Both in varying degrees, but usually no bear activity until later. Water level is the key thing. Its a mile walk in so if the water is high enough its impossible. Of course if you have a boat, you’re good.

September bead season is much more productive and easier to access. Some people but nothing insane or preventative like it is during the red runs. There are also silvers (plenty good to eat) in the river that time of year. Not uncommon to catch some dinner by accident on a bead!

Rainbows are also plenty fishable during the red runs themselves.

Those times of year the bear activity is much higher. Not uncommon to run across them at all. I see them every year.

I don't know if you know of it but a sight called Ifish.com has all the info you could want about fly fishing in PNW or anything to do with that real estate you name it. I am G'villedrifter. I took my drift boat out lots fly fishing for steelhead. Ifish.com it's great

 

[alaskanpiper]

First day of the season on the water. A brisk and gusty 17 degrees. Battling ice-up eyelets every 10 casts but we got it done!

 

[BarrelProof]

Any of you guys build rods?

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Avid Fly fisherman here. I also tie Flies and it's a blast. There's immense satisfaction in grabbing the attention of a nice Rainbow, Brook, or Brown with something you've tied yourself. Hard to explain. Also, Fly fishing is not limited to Trout. Small and largemouth Bass, Pike, Streelhead, Kokanie, Ocean fish, Salmon etc. Basically if you can catch it with a spinning rod, you can also use a Flyrod.

My home waters are generally Trout species and I catch and release mostly.

My goal in life is to fly fish every single state in the nation.

It doesn't have to be expensive to Fly fish. For $250 bucks, you can get into quite a nice setup with everything you need except the clothes you decide to wear.

Sure you can spend north of a grand for just the rod from brands like Winston, Sage, Loomis, etc. and with the reel, line and all the crap one obtains for human comfort, it's easy to spend another 1-2 grand.

I liken it to automobiles: A $9,000 new car will get you everywhere a $109,000 car will. There are definitely some differences, but they both will get you to your goal.

Has anyone tried Tenkara? I also Tenkara Fly fish. It's the simplest and most intuitive form of fly fishing. A complete Tenkara setup can be anywhere from $50.00 to $300.00. I always have one in my car whenever I even anticipate being close to streams, rivers, or ponds.

I introduced my son to fishing when he was a child and it caught on. He still fishes. I just wanted to walk in the creek. That said, we were camping one spring in the national park and a couple of guys from North Carolina were fishing with their closed reels from what became Walmart using Palmer ties they had made. They caught their limit and gave it to us to eat. There were two other guys who looked like they just stepped out of an L.L. Bean catalogue that couldn't catch a thing. That taught me that it wasn't the gear, but the skill.

 

[trouttimes]

Any of you guys build rods?

I build cane rods from time to time. Started restoring cane 30 years ago.

 

[BarrelProof]

I build cane rods from time to time. Started restoring cane 30 years ago.

View attachment 74771

Nice! Any advice? I’m considering making my first fly rod soon...

 

[trouttimes]

Nice! Any advice? I’m considering making my first fly rod soon...

Go slow. Quality wraps take time. Make the grip fatter than you think you like. You can always take it down after you fish it a bit but it's a pain to remove a grip you have sanded too small.
If you. Are going to try and make a cane, find an experienced maker to guide you. It takes far more time and skill than you might think.

 

[BarrelProof]

Go slow. Quality wraps take time. Make the grip fatter than you think you like. You can always take it down after you fish it a bit but it's a pain to remove a grip you have sanded too small.
If you. Are going to try and make a cane, find an experienced maker to guide you. It takes far more time and skill than you might think.

I’m going to use a Winn half-Wells that I like to hopefully avoid any future modifications.

I’m going to avoid canes for a while. I’d like to eventually try to make a few, but I don’t want to start with them. I’ve made a few other rods, just never a fly rod before.

Have you ever worked with the carbon/graphite blanks? If so, any suggestions? I’m planning to build a 9’ 3wt for dries.

What’s your take on thread size? Any suggestions for guides? Like everything else, it seems like there are piles of them available, and to the uninitiated, can seem a bit overwhelming... I’m considering starting out with a cheaper blank just to get the hang of a fly rod vs. other types; but then I get to thinking that if I’m gonna build one, I might as well build one I like.

 

[trouttimes]

I’m going to use a Winn half-Wells that I like to hopefully avoid any future modifications.

I’m going to avoid canes for a while. I’d like to eventually try to make a few, but I don’t want to start with them. I’ve made a few other rods, just never a fly rod before.

Have you ever worked with the carbon/graphite blanks? If so, any suggestions? I’m planning to build a 9’ 3wt for dries.

What’s your take on thread size? Any suggestions for guides? Like everything else, it seems like there are piles of them available, and to the uninitiated, can seem a bit overwhelming... I’m considering starting out with a cheaper blank just to get the hang of a fly rod vs. other types; but then I get to thinking that if I’m gonna build one, I might as well build one I like.

Sound like you are on the right track. I like silk but I have used synthetic with good results. With graphite, be sure to be aware of the spine. I have bought from several sources and haven't found much differences. Same is true with the exception of the first guide. Make that a quality guide with and insert. It allows the line to feed smoother. Remember, the more guide/wraps, the stiffer the rod becomes. What seems like a noodle will stiffen as you add guides. Longer wraps will stiffen the rod more than short wraps. I often wrap a blank and cast it a while before I coat the wraps in case I need to change something. After you coat the wraps, you are somewhat locked in. You can take them off and redo after you coat them but it is not easy.

 

[BarrelProof]

Sound like you are on the right track. I like silk but I have used synthetic with good results. With graphite, be sure to be aware of the spine. I have bought from several sources and haven't found much differences. Same is true with the exception of the first guide. Make that a quality guide with and insert. It allows the line to feed smoother. Remember, the more guide/wraps, the stiffer the rod becomes. What seems like a noodle will stiffen as you add guides. Longer wraps will stiffen the rod more than short wraps. I often wrap a blank and cast it a while before I coat the wraps in case I need to change something. After you coat the wraps, you are somewhat locked in. You can take them off and redo after you coat them but it is not easy.

Good idea. Those same concepts ring true with other rods, so I’ll make sure to pay attention to them. I have this little device that, once I’ve found/marked the spine, mounts into a reel seat and casts a laser beam down the rod to align all of the guides appropriately.

Do you buy into manufacturer’s recommended guide spacing for each of the blanks they sell, or have you found good reason to deviate?

 

[trouttimes]

Good idea. Those same concepts ring true with other rods, so I’ll make sure to pay attention to them. I have this little device that, once I’ve found/marked the spine, mounts into a reel seat and casts a laser beam down the rod to align all of the guides appropriately.

Do you buy into manufacturer’s recommended guide spacing for each of the blanks they sell, or have you found good reason to deviate?

Usually the guide spacing follows the tried and true formula that has been developed thru the years. Also remember that you can add intermediate wraps to stiffen the rod if needed. They are not just for looks. That is why I wrap, cast and evaluate before I do my final coatings of the wraps.

 

[trouttimes]

There is great satisfaction in catching fish with a rod you made and flies you tied if you are a nerd like me.