Just The Tip
I’LL BET YOU THAT JUST ABOUT EVERY ONE OF US HAS DONE IT… HEARD THE “SNAP-CRACKLE-POP” OF A FLY ROD ECHO UPSTREAM AS YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS SHATTER BEFORE YOU, CRUSHING YOUR SOUL ALONG WITH ANY HOPES OF A FISH-FILLED DAY ON THE WATER.
It sucks.
The good news is that fly rods can be repaired. The bad news…. It often takes weeks to get your mended stick back from the shop. At no fault of the repair shops, they do amazing work as fast as they can, and take an amazing amount of pride in their craft. However, it’s hard to compete with the present world of immediate feedback and the “I want it now” mentality.
Orvis took this into consideration and developed a new, streamlined system that would allow for quicker turnaround times for repairs. With the H3’s new ferrule design and consistency of the build process, Orvis is able to replace the broken section (with the exception of the butt section) of your Helios 3, leaving you, the angler, with nothing more than a few days of down time that you can use to refill your fly boxes, or fish some of your other rods.
Let’s say…. Oh I dunno… you smack your H3’s tip on a tree limb while attempting a hookset on a big angry fish you’ve been chasing all summer. You. Are. Pissed. Not only did you miss your Unicorn, but you also broke your rod. Your fishing is done for the day, and the thought of being without it for up to six weeks is looming in the back of your expletive-riddled mind. You’ll have to go home and stuff the shattered shards of your once lively wand of majesty back into its rod tube and spend your hard-earned coin to ship it cross country, which only buries the dagger deeper, penetrating your once-optimistic spirit. Oh, the sorrow.
Hark! What’s that? I can get a tip section mailed to my doorstep in just a couple days? Take my money!
Read More »Choose Fly Color Based on the Flat You’re Fishing
I’ve always thought in the broad scope of things that trout fishing calls for more complex decision making over saltwater fly fishing in terms of what goes into choosing the fly patterns we fish. I think a lot of that comes from the simple fact that conditions can change on an hourly basis on our trout streams and also that there’s hundreds of species of aquatic insects found on many of the trout waters we fly fish. However, the more I fly fish in the saltwater, the more I’ve come to understand how inaccurate this past notion of mine is. In many cases, fly pattern choice is just as important in saltwater fishing as it is in freshwater fishing. And If you want to maximize your success fly fishing in saltwater, you need to pay close attention to your surroundings and the ecosystem your fishing, just like you do on your trout water.
Read More »Don’t Touch That Drag
By Louis Cahill
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of getting spooled by a big fish.
Deep inside we all kind of want to have that problem, but when it happens you may feel some unexpected panic. I remember a time on the Dean River when I hooked a hot steelhead in heavy current. The fish ate my fly as soon as it began to swing and made a big run downstream. Before I knew it I was looking at the arbor of my reel through a few scant wraps of backing.
When you find yourself in this situation, it’s easy to screw it up. Your first instinct, really every instinct, tells you to stop that fish. To grab the spool or tighten the drag. That’s really about the worst thing you can do. It usually ends in a straightened hook or broken line. Sometimes even broken backing and a missing fly line.
What most anglers don’t realize is, when you’re getting spooled, your drag is already increased. The resistance of the water against all of that line puts a lot of extra pressure on the fish. If you have set a reasonable drag pressure on your reel, it is now being compounded by the weight of the water on the line. The effect is barely noticeable with just your fly line out, but when you are deep into your backing, it’s huge.
So what can you do when you’re getting spooled?
Read More »Sunday Classic / 3 Ways to Make Your Wiggle Minnow Fish Better
The foam wiggle minnow has been a mainstay streamer for me for trout and other predatory game fish for several years now. When you combine its realistic swimming action and the significant water it pushes during the retrieve, its one of the best streamers I know of for calling in fish from great distances to eat. Plain and simple, the wiggle minnow will catch fish just about anywhere you visit in both fresh or salt, regardless of the water conditions you may find yourself fly fishing. Furthermore, it also fishes well on all types of fly lines (floating, intermediate, sinking) and on a wide range of rod weights. This can prove to be very valuable if you find yourself on the water with limited gear options. The last few years, I’ve been experimenting with modifications to my wiggle minnows in the effort to improve their fishability.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / One Life One River
Water, work, cancer, and a thriving will to live, on the water.
Becca Klein’s story is truly an inspiration. You’d never guess, meeting Becca, that she has survived two cancer diagnoses. You wouldn’t guess that anything could slow her down or dampen her irrepressible spirit. Maybe that’s the key because while many see cancer as a death sentence, in Becca’s case it’s been more of a sentence to live.
It was through cancer that she discovered fly fishing, and through fly fishing a love of a river, the love of her life, and a career in conservation. If this story doesn’t warm your heart, you need to see a doctor.
CHECK OUT THIS GREAT STORY FROM DUNN MAGAZINE.
“ONE LIFE ONE RIVER”
Read More »Orvis Mirage LT Fly Reel: Video
Orvis has a great new light weight trout reel that’s made in America.
Orvis introduced it’s Mirage fly reel a couple of years ago and it’s proven to be a workhorse. Their goal of producing a quality, made in America reel was certainly achieved but the Mirage was certainly aimed at the big game market. This year they are offering the Mirage LT with a focus on trout fishing.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR ALL THE DETAILS ON THE ORVIS MIRAGE LT FLY REEL.
Read More »Take the Time to Research Your Boat Ramps
It’s really easy to get excited about a last minute trip when your buddy calls and says the fish are biting and then not take the time to research the logistics of where you’re going to be fishing. Much of the time things work out in the end when we’re doing what we love but every now and then, no matter how hard you try to make things right, you’re bound to get screwed. That was the case for us during our final day of our recent musky trip with our good friend Charlie Murphy in West Virginia. Due to poor water conditions, we had to go with a Plan B and change our fishing location the final day of our trip. Charlie had taken an friends word that we could launch our boat at the designated spot with no problem. Unfortunately, his acquaintance thought we were launching a drift boat, not a john boat, and that turned out to be and impossible task, without the aid of a cheap pvc roller and a 20 foot section of rope. Now, I’m known for being able to back up a truck and trailer with the best of them and until this day, I was batting a 1000%. So much for my perfect batting average of backing up, because this midget boat ramp put it to me. I tried like hell, but it just wouldn’t fit.
Read More »Simms’ Women’s G3 Guide Waders: Review
By: Alice Tesar
Simms’ Women’s G3 Guide Waders are a change worth making.
I’m a skeptic for change. I’ve worn my leaky waders for 2 years now because I like the fit and the weight of them. 2 years of settling for cold, wet legs after standing for hours with (dry) clients in the river. I’d patched and re-sealed my waders numerous times but it only held for so long. When I researched my options I’d find myself frustrated that there were limited choices for women’s GORE‐TEX® waders and I wasn’t going to spend $500 on a pair of men’s waders that didn’t fit me. That’s changed now.
No longer my fellow anglers will you sneak a peak of me changing into dry pants before hopping into the truck on a brisk fall day. The Simms Women’s G3 Guide Wader is 3- layer GORE‐TEX® Pro Shell in the upper body and 4-layer GORE‐TEX® Pro Shell from the butt through the legs. GORE‐TEX® Pro Shell offers durability, breathability, and a fit that allows me to focus on my clients and their catches instead of slopping around in wet wool socks and a garbage bag.
I’m 5’9” and wear a size 9 1/2 shoe, I wear medium weight socks with my waders and I fit a medium in this Simms Wader. I also run cold (even on clear, summer days I’m wearing my down jacket ’til noon), fitting a heavier layer or two under the waders is not a problem. With the scalloped top opening I don’t feel like all my extra top layers are strangling me.
I spend plenty of time on the river with my 1-year-old son in a backpack, the low profile wading belt and loops don’t catch on the backpack or my fishing pack, which I wear reversed. The suspender straps are 1.5” wide and are not overly padded but rather comfortable even with all the extra weight and additional pack straps.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Organizing Your Bonefish Fly Box Makes For A Better Day Of Fishing
OPTION PARALYSIS EATS UP VALUABLE FISHING TIME.
I’ve found myself, more than once, staring into my fly box as if I’d wandered to the refrigerator in the middle of the night, with no idea why I was there. That’s fine, unless you’re surrounded by feeding bonefish and your guide is wailing in tongues. Even if your not under pressure to make a quick fly choice, having your flies organized in a logical fashion will help you choose the right fly for the conditions and that means catching more fish. Here are some tips on how I organize my bonefish box and how I use that organization to make better fly choices.
Keep It Simple
Bonefishing is not generally a match-the-hatch situation. Bonefish are highly opportunistic and presentation usually trumps pattern. I know guys that carry a thousand flies on the flats boat. They might fish three of them in a day. I keep it to one box. I probably cram a hundred flies into it but that one box has everything I need.
Making Smart Choices
When paring down your fly selection it’s important to understand
Saturday Shoutout / Alignment
Join Eric Jackson on his search for alignment in British Columbia.
What does it take for you to be completely aligned? For Eric Jackson, and a few others, it’s steelhead and snowboarding. In this beautiful short film Eric and his crew, including my good buddy Curtis Ciszek, spend a winter in B.C. doing some amazing snowboarding and catching some big Skeena river chromers. Even if you don’t snowboard or steelhead, you’ll enjoy this great film.
FIND, “ALIGNMENT”
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