Kenny Klimes

DI
I can’t tell you what rod to buy because it depends on many variables. But I can give you advice.
1. What do you want the rod to do for you? Streamers, dry flies only, swinging small flies or maybe nymph fishing. Buy a rod that can handle different fishing requirements than your old rod.
2. What will a new rod do for you that maybe your old rod doesn’t. i.e. do you want a totally different rod?
3. Just because you have a 5 weight rod already doesn’t mean you can’t buy another 5 weight. A medium taper 9ft, 5 wt is different than a fast taper 9ft, 5wt. But with a 5 wt already you may want to have a 3 or 4 wt. But remember always fall back on the type of fishing that you want to do.
4. Do you want a different weight rod? But you must know why you do. i.e. what type of fishing can you do better with a different weight rod?
5. ALWAYS cast the rod you are thinking of buying to make sure you like it. DON’T go by advertisements or rod companies endorsements. Pick the rod that is right for you. Do you want long casts, accurate casts, or short accurate casts. Do you want a specific rod (nymphing rod) or all around rod?
6. Watch your budget. Just because a rod costs $700 doesn’t mean that it’s the best for you.
7. Do stick with a good company with a good warranty. A lifetime warranty is valuable – I have used them many times!
8. Good luck and I hope that others respond with their choices!!

• This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Kenny Klimes.

I have this RIO two toned indicator on my euro nymphing setup but NOT the slinky indicator. The slinky indicator is the “French” indicator system. I’m Czech you know. And you know how I feel about the “French”.

Seriously, for those that are trying Euro-nymphing, getting your sighter or indicator setup has been an experimentation for me. There are many ways to build your sighter. I’m on my fourth iteration. Euro-nymphing takes more “feel” than using an indicator. Check out the Euro nymphing info in the FATC Fly Shop Tips section of our web site.

Tim,
As we talked about during our recent phone conversation, not all hook companies are created equal. Well, we all know that some hooks are better than others and some hooks are made “cheaper” than others, but that’s not what I mean by being “created equal”. The lengths of the shanks are not all equal. In other words, a 2x or 3x shank isn’t the same length for each hook company. I guess there isn’t a set standard on shank lengths that I have found anywhere ( the same goes for gape size).
If you are a fly tier, I feel it’s important to find a good hook company and know their hooks, i.e. sizes, shapes and gauge of the wire used to make the hook. I guess what I’m saying it’s wise to stick with one company. I use barbless hooks and have converted to the Firehole Outdoor hooks. They are a new company (give our FATC a discount) and they are developing hooks of different sizes, lengths and gauges as they grow. Their hooks are very shape (important), they are barbless (important to me) and they have wide gapes (again, important to me).
Remember, you can always tie the fly the size you want on a longer hook by just tying it smaller on that longer hook.

Cardiac hill is fishing very good right now (4/2018). Hit it in the spring because the water gets warmer in the summer months and it becomes a little tougher to fish. See our trip reports for the latest details. BUT always check the water conditions on our web site to know if you should go or not. With summer rains it can be dangerous at times with high water and fast currents. I have two favorite spots to fish – walk upstream to the rocky shoal and bank (about a mile upstream) and work down to the entry point. Then work downstream to the 90 degree bend to the left.

Although it has passed, every winter J. Stockard Fly Fishing online has 15% off on all hooks. That’s when I buy mine. Usually Tiemco (barbless if I can get them) but I agree with Bill, a new company, Firesticks, has some pretty nice barbless, competition hooks for a great price. These are the hooks I use for Czech nymphing (because I am Czech you know!).

K

I have gone away from using furled leaders unless I’m going to fish a certain way. If I am going to throw only dry flies, soft hackles or streamers all day then I “could” use a furled leader. They are outstanding for casting due to their taper and no memory. You will have to use some type of “floatant” for fishing dry flies like otter butter or some type of waxy paste that can be purchased with it. The no memory makes it great for casting. The tippet ring attached to them make it easy to change out tippet in order to change out different size flies quickly. I don’t like them for nymphing. I’d rather use a 7 1/2′, 3x or 4x mono leader and add a tippet ring to that to extend to my fly. But I do have several furled leaders and think everyone should have a couple to use now and then. They cost a little more but can last you an entire season if you take care of them. I say if you have never used a furled leader to try it. Yes, Cutthroat leaders gives us a nice discount – use our code.

Here is an excerpt of a podcast with Landon Mayer on his Mayer’s Leech pattern:

What makes the Mini-Leech so special?
I asked Landon, aren’t most nymphs non-escaping? What makes the mini-leech special. Or rather, what makes a good non-escaping fly?

Landon said sure, lots of nymphs are non-escaping, but most big trout won’t grab a pheasant tail nearly as often as they’ll jump on a leech. Size matters.

He believes there are three elements that make a good non-escaping meal for large trout: movement, abundance and size.

The best non-escaping prey are large enough to grab the attention of big trout and entice them to eat.

They also have motion that trout key on, but it’s a motion without enough propulsion to dart away when attacked. Mayer’s Mini-Leech fits the bill perfectly. It’s 1.5 inches long, it pulses and undulates in the water, but trout don’t have to run it down. Leeches can’t swim away quickly to avoid an attack (they probably aren’t even aware of an incoming trout). Trout know this, and trout target leeches.

Landon told me his local rivers are full of leeches. They’re common and plentiful. And that’s important. The best non-escaping food forms are found in the river all year long. With such abundance, trout are used to seeing them and are on the lookout.