Kenny Klimes

Interesting! These fly recipes are also on that other website. Ah, it’s called wwwFlyfishersatTheCrossing.org

Nathan,

Did you get your information yet? If not, please write us again at [email protected] and we will send you info asap!

Mike,

Unfortunately, I will be fishing in Colorado with Landon Mayer at this time but I am pretty sure that several of our fly fishers will be going. Your home still a resting place for the FATC? As we get closer I’ll let you know who in our fellowship will be going to the Sow Bug.  Thanks for keeping us informed – maybe a visit earlier than March. You be home?

MoMo

I’ll talk to the Sensei, I have his personal number, and have him look into this problem – but it will cost you.

Sorry, been gone. But I’m back now in civilization.  Reference the question above:

Always have your drag set before you start fishing. Don’t fish with no drag and tighten it up when you get a fish on – this is a great way to lose a big fish.  You would be amazed on how much drag you can have even set with 5x or 6x tippet.  I’ll set my drag by pulling it out and making sure I have a “smooth” but firm drag (with some good resistance). If you try to add your drag while fighting you could be asking for disaster.  To get the drag correct you can use weights or a lb metering device – and who has one of those?  Remember 5x – 6x has a breaking strength of around 2-4 lbs depending on the brand. Many reels in the $150 – $250 price range will give you a max drag of say 6 lbs at full strength.

So set your drag so it takes a little bit of strong pull to get your line out – keep a smooth retrieve, head shakes tire the fish not his running, 45 degree bend in your rod so it acts as your shock absorber, once line on the reel don’t touch your reel only to reel in your fish, keep one hand holding the grip and DON’T use the other hand to touch or hold the rod (asking for a broken rod).  Watch the Landon Mayer video – Mastering the Short Game.

Great question Glenn and I get asked this question a lot.  The article is a very good one with some great tips so here are some short bullet points to think about and remember when bringing in your fish.

1.  Keep your line tight when bringing in a fish – many guys lose fish right here. Rod at a 45 degree angle is good – don’t let the rod tip go straight up.  When the rod tip is straight up you have the least amount of lb pressure applied to the fish. So the fish won’t tire out as quickly which means a longer fight and ups the odds of losing the fish.  No head shakes from the fish then he won’t tire as fast.

2. If it’s a smaller fish then there is no reason to get the line on your reel except to practice it.  But, that day you get the big fish is not the day to practice getting your line on the reel.  Too many guys putz more with trying to get their line on the reel instead of fighting the fish.  Fight the fish first!!!  Use your trigger finger to lock the line tight against your grip during the fight and IF your rod is at a good 45 degree position with pressure on the fish THEN reel line fast to get it on the reel.  If the fish runs towards you STOP reeling and start stripping to get the rod back at 45 degrees. If the fish runs away from you then you will have to release some of the line through your trigger finger until the fish stops it’s run. NEVER stop fighting the fish to put line on the reel.

3. Once your fly line is on the reel now you can use the drag from the reel that you paid more money for. Buying a quality reel, with quality drag will be your friend the day the Big Boy hits your fly.

4. So in a nutshell, fight the fish first, practice getting your line on the reel (but small fish may not be necessary – but practice), pressure on the fish at all times – 45 degree rod angle will do this.

5. Before you buy a new shiny reel talk to me – I can give you some suggestions with some good deals.

Tight Lines

P.S. Why are you listening to Sid????

Glenn

Good advise from Bob. I suspect your knots. It can be difficult to pull your knot tight when adding tippet rings. I use my bodkin (needle) from my fly tying bench to hold my tippet ring when I tighten my knot. Make sure you use your saliva or even chap-stick works good to make sure the knot slides tight.  Simple knot would be best – clinch knot or double Davy knot.

But I’ll bet it’s your knot.  Also I now buy 3x – 7 1/2 foot leader, add tippet ring  and add my tippet to the ring. It will have to be a pretty big fish to break off above the tippet.

Steve

yes, you can make your own indicators with o-rings, of different sizes if you’d like. I even have some o-rings that you can have. The problem is how you attach these to your leader. When you “loop” them around the yarn to attach you get the same problem as with thing-a-ma-bobbers without the “jam stop” post. If you are attaching them at a point on your leader where the diameter is small/thin then there is a tendency for them to be hard to adjust up and down because the indicator o-ring and tippet become too tight to move.