Crippled Caddis

Steve wrote: <There is a lot of bull*&^% around rods on the net, brands, types etc. The only way to sort it out is cast them for yourselves,> We'll likely never agree on actions or materials but you nailed every point with that statement!;o)

< It's sad to see a guy walking up a bank with legal size smallies.> Ain't dat de' truf!;o(

Terry wrote: <The differences in TODAY'S graphite rods and those made in the 70s is pretty vast, regardles of price. However, just as "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" if only a few of these fibers are damaged, it can be detrimental to the rod in a short period of time> FWIW I still fish the 2nd rod I ever built in the '70s, an 8', 5 wt. Fenwick 'HMG' which, IIRC, was a 2nd generation graphite which probably is a glass/graphite composite. It has numerous nicks and contusions but it has not failed. Were it a later, high-modulus graphite I'm certain it would have long since been a part of history. I'm starting to suspect that we are going to start seeing more glass/graphite composites as manufacturers start to get serious about addressing failure rates in order to lower warrantee obligations and maintain their reputation for quality.

Patrick wrote: <I just had a client a few weeks ago that had a TFO, cheapie,rod break while fighting a big fish; good graphite rods aren't supposed to do that.> As Dally pointed out in a post above a lot of manufacturers have backed off a bit from the super high modulus rods. That has helped reduce the rate of failure and good design goes a long way toward making rods more durable as well. But the fact remains that it is the nature of the material that is the root of the problem. Carbon fiber is a wonderful engineering material but like all materials it too has limitations. In simple terms graphite keeps getting stiffer as more load is put on it until it reaches it's inherent limit at which point it fails catastrophically. That natural failure mode is exacerbated by any weak point in the material such as use induced stress risers such as hook nicks or impact contusions, thin layups, resin embrittlement or starvation or just poor design or execution. Obviously most of the failure inducing problems can be controlled by good design and closely monitored quality control in the manufacturing process. Just as obvious is that the less expensive the rod the less care had to go into its' creation in order to make it profitable. Try taking a look at some of the better fiberglass rods being built today both by name-brand rodmakers and custom builders. Almost any action can be had from the boutique builders at a price comparable to a good graphite stick and fiberglass does not suffer from the same limitation as graphite. While it has it's own limits catastrophic failure is not inherent to the material itself. The 'toughness factor' of fiberglass makes it the best choice in such instances as chuck-n-duck casting of heavily weighted flies and brush-bucking hikes into remote 'bluelines' on a topo map where a cane or graphite would be in serious jeopardy. If nothing else a good fiberglass rod as a back-up on that once-in-a-lifetime trip makes a lot of sense. And some of us hide-bound old farts just like the way it casts.;o) CC

Kicknbass wrote: <The locations that I regularly fish seam to have a little better size fish than say 10 years ago.> Or perhaps you are a better fisherman than you were 10 years ago. Yeah---that's the ticket! Like wine and violins you're getting better as you age.;o)

creek wader wrote: <This is an old discussion but, I thought I'd throw my two cents worth in. I fish many smaller steams that aren't on the map. All of these are overlooked, because from a bridge they look like just another a small creek.> SHHH!( Between you and 'Watcher' I'm not gonna have any secrets left.;o) Discovering fishing bonanzas should be like finding Gold---everyone should hafta make their own 'strike'. As you well know finding your 'strike' must be earned by a lot of prospecting, digging for information and taking samples. But 'bluelining' is its' own reward for those who suffer from the malady.

Griffster wrote: <My biggest was about 19 too..I guess around 3lbs it was a fat one too. I don't keep records either.> Like you and Gavin I don't keep records. Nor do I carry a tape measure onstream. From reading this and the other thread I now know I've caught and released some fish that were a lot better than I thought they were at the time. But not recently.( The stream I live on isn't what it was before the canoe rental/campground a quarter mile upriver came into being. Within a year or two several big brownies who were 'old buddies' no longer came out to play with me. I mourn their loss like that of a favorite old hunting dog that has gone to the 'fields in the sky'. CC

Zach wrote: <but if you have any nicks in your rod from falling, a big clouser hitting your rod and knicking the epoxy on your fly rod youll break it so maybe check out a 10wt> Changing rod weights isn't gonna do it! It is the nature of the material. Ultra-high modulus of elasticity comes at a price. For pure toughness nothing beats fiberglass and many who pursue big fish still use it for that reason alone. It is particulary suited to casting heavy, bulky flies such as deerhair bassbugs and for casting and retrieval of full sinking lines. Many are 'discovering' that it's still a viable material for highly satisfactory rods that comes with the bonus of durability as well as pleasant casting. Watch for another major player in the flyrod wars to soon announce a new line of fiberglass flyrods.

Since I'm not a night fisher I'll have to leave that in Leonard's capable hands but I do suspect it would work great.

[quote name='WebFreeman' I've a couple soft hackles that turned out ok using what looks like an Indian Saddle Patch (see pic)> Looks good! You should be able to tie some nice S-H with that if it has the sizes you need, I like hackle length of @ 2 hook gaps on S-Hs. <One think I noticed was hook size had a lot to do w/ my quality. I put just a random big hook in the vice to practice a few hackles on and they turned out nice, but once I put the 12s and 16s back in the vice, not so good. Whenever I'm out of practice on a pattern or trying to develop a new one I will often practice on oversized hooks until I get myself co-ordinated. Try it----tie a size you're comfortable with until you get it perfected to your satisfaction. Then step down a size or two and repeat. It may take a while to get comfortable with the smallest sizes but in the meantime you'll be building up a stock of larger S-Hs that the Smallies and brim will just love! Immediately before sitting down to check mail I finished a Magnum WB for Smallies. Tied on a #2, 2XL model perfect hook it's @ 4" OAL. I used a grizzly hackle from the extreme rear of a saddle patch that is all web that is 2-2 1/2 hook gapes in flue length and then wound in between the grizzly a super-soft, olive schlappen hackle that's over 3 hook gapes in flue length. It's a messy looking thing until it's in the water, then the soft, over-long hackle combined with the marabou, ostrich and Krystal flash tailing comes to life. The fish like it much better than I do.It's hardly the sort of fly you'd present to another fisherman or tyer for admiration but the fish are really the only judges worthy of consideration.

Terry wrote: <"Anonymous" stream name, huh? Think I could name that tune in 3 notes?> The description of the run below the bridge was written with you in mind. I figured you would recognize it instantly. The resource is too delicate to attract crowds. I've never killed a bass from it so I'm not abusing it but were it to become popular it could be history in a couple of seasons. Somehow it just seemed appropriate to start the Smallmouth season on April Fools Day. ;o)

The Rabbi wrote: <They come in mass to the edge of the lake> Dang! And I always thought of mass as a Catholic rite!

[quote name='flyfishBDS'Hey CC the Red Tag I think is way older than the Red butt or Arse LOl> Exactly what I was pointing out! People change a detail here and a color there and declare a breakthrough. As noted: [ Little new under the flytying sun.] <Originally it was a wet too, the difference is the Red Tag has a tail of red the red butt a tag (wrapped thread).> Gee, golly and gosh! Really?;o) <If you get any questions on these patterns drop by.> If I ever get over that way again I'll take you up on that!

When the fishing muse whispers "Now" in your ear then you'd best listen! She whispered insistantly this morning so having a few hours before the motorcycle roadracing I want to see on Speedvision comes on I gathered a few flies from the tying bench, piled into the rolling tackle box others refer to as a Ford van and went to a nearby stream that will remain anonymous. Along the way the Dogwoods, Redbuds and Wild Irises in full bloom proclaimed that it might prove a good choice to listen to the muse today. Indeed it was! I don't think I got over 100 yds. below the bridge before the score stood at 4 Smallmouth that savaged the non-descript offering of brown chenille, brown and olive marabou and beadchain eyes that very loosely suggests a crawfish. By that time I'd only been there a half hour and I decided that wanting more was pushing my luck so I started back upstream. Now you must understand something about this site---immediately below the bridge there is a deep slot against an outside bend that carries a heavy current. It has a couple of small eddies with tree roots in them that offers perfect holding water for a big fish to ambush anything coming down the chute. But it's just as obvious to others as it is to me so it gets hammered heavily. Now it would equally as obviously be an insult to the muse that told me today was the day to pass up such a place so the marabou and chenille creation was deposited into the eddies several times. Because the intervening heavy current grabs the line immediately you couldn't sink a bowling ball on the end of your line in those little eddies but the fish will often co-operate to the extent of following the fly downstream in its headlong rush and take it on the turn. Not today----but I did see a shadow behind the fly a few times. Stripping it vigorously triggered no response so I tried a short, slow draw. About the third draw a resistance was felt---almost like a leaf had lodged on the hook. A gentle lift proved it was no leaf and the battle lines were drawn. If I'd lost that fish I would have guilelessly insisted it was a 3 pounder. But when I was finally able to put the tape on him he barely reached the 14" mark. The earlier fish had ran between 11" and 12 1/2" so no 'big'uns' came to hand today. Fortunately the fish hadn't been notified that they weren't monsters so they behaved as if they were. Doncha just love smallies?

Steve wrote: <Switch out the gold tag with a small tuft of red wool/poly/hackle and you get the red tag.> From whence you're only one step away from a Red Arse. Little new under the flytying sun.;o) <Most of the stuff we can access here is that nasty strung stuff, only suitable for twisting into a rope, prone to breakages, skinny herls> Yup----sucks like a Hoover on steroids.;o(

<Does anyone have suggestions on a type of glue, etc. that will keep the dubbing from coming off the hook when in use? I would like to prevent my scuds from tearing up so fast.> Several possibilities depending very much on how you tie the pattern and the material used. Thick 'superglue' applied to the thread and a touch-dubbing technique if you're using a very short-fibered, spiky dubbing might help. I would go so far as to use that method with the addition of a tightly twisted dubbing loop. In addition you might consider using something like 6 to 8X tippet to rib it closely to prevent or delay shredding. Or you could just thank the fishing Gods that you're catching enough fish to wear out your flies.;o)

Dry Run is an incredible resource and allowing fishing by the kids was one of the more enlightened things the state has done in the area of fisheries. I took great joy in watching the boys (small AND not-so-small!) partaking of the resource. I brought Mark along specifically so he could see Dry Run being enjoyed as it should be since he has a son that just turned 6 years old yesterday. Hunter can already cast well enough (after all,Daddy IS a flyfishing guide!) to be able to enjoy it so I anticipate soon being able to see him fishing there too. As Terry said, if you must borrow a kid from a neighbor to share the experience with. You'll both profit thereby.

Good points JD. I believe in the 'spikey' look, but on small patterns it's hard to get it right. My best luck has been with 'touch-dubbing' one leg of an 8/0 dubbing loop with a dubbing that has a lot of short, spikey guard hair and then spinning it to keep it from shredding after a few fish. I make my own 'short & spikey' and right now one of the best is available. The back hair from a half-grown gray squirrel is jes' right and there's no shortage of road-kills if you don't want to collect your own. I take off the back hair with a set of clippers and then blend to suit with rabbit, sparkle yarn or----? I much prefer it to Hare's Ear. CC

Thanks Gavin!

Would someone please take pity on a non 'shroomer' and let us in on the jargon? What the *&^%$# are blacks (grays) and half-frees? I have a goldmine of mushrooms on my old hill but the only ones I know are the Morels, giant puffballs (heaven!), and corals.

<Thought about using my daughters glue stick, but haven't yet.> Use it! Works great. If you wear a beard or mustache some relative has probably given you a 'beard care set' for Xmas that you have hidden on a shelf somewhere. Break it out and get the 'mustache wax' out and use it on your thread. As Terry pointed out you should only roll it on the thread in one direction; otherwise you'll be unrolling it each time you switch directions. I'm a big fan of dubbing loops! Once you start using them possibilities open up that you never thought about before. You asked if the thread showed----depends on whether you want it to or not. Sometimes you do because it can change visual perception of the color of the dubbing. Get adventuresome; use copper, silver or gold wire or tinsel, even Krystalflash, for the loop. You can create all sorts of visual effects that way! Let your imagination have free rein. It is even possible to create dryfly 'hackle' using a dubbing loop and the stiff, hollow hair of Deer, Caribou or Elk in a dubbing loop in place of gamecock hackle. Half the fun of flytying is experimentation. Flytying is at heart an artistic pursuit that requires loosing the imagination to get the most out of. Cut loose and try 'weird stuff'. Sure---you'll create a lot of horrors that you wouldn't want the public to see, but every once in a while it will prove to be exactly what the fish have been waiting on. And for goodness sake don't condemn a new concept out of hand---present it to the experts, the fish, for their opinion! It has been long noted by fishermen that often a fly doesn't truly come into it's own and start to produce until it has became bedraggled and ragged. Why not just tie it that way up front? There are no wrong ways to tie flies except in the eyes of the fish. CC

Dano wrote: <You may be paying more for the lifetime warranty than what the rod is worth in the first place. I would tend to think that the manufacturers build in a price when they warrant them for life.> The truth may not 'set you free' but it's still the truth and Dano speaks truth. If you think that 'FREE LIFETIME WARRANTY' is FREE get in touch with me immediately for the real estate deal of a lifetime on a bridge in NY City! Everyone has given good advice in greater or lesser degrees, but the greatest truth you've recieved to date is to ignore the price (if that's practical!;o)) and get out and cast rods until you find one you simply can't put down. One that seems to anticipate what you want to do and delivers without requiring conscious effort on your part. One that whispers sweet nothings in your ear and makes you re-experience puppy love. Pay the price and begin a lengthy love affair. If you don't find that rod immediately---DON'T PANIC! It's out there and you just have to find it. The worst thing you can do is surrender the search and just buy something 'to get it over with'. CC

[quote name='taxidermist' <Ok, what species did these STOCKED RAINBOWS REPLACE?> We don't really know do we? But we can make the educated guess that it was the same native species that swim in nearby waters. As I carefully noted <While we have a LOT of trout fishing we have no natives at all.> It is in any case an accomplished fact at this time that we should deal with in one of two ways: Eradicate the non-native species and restock with our best guess or utilze the existing resource. In this particular instance my own choice would be to propagate the McCloud strain Rainbows which border on extinction in their own natal waters. While the native species of the Ozark highlands suffer ever greater pressures and stresses from all sides they are not yet in the dire straits of the McCloud Rainbows. So the logical choice IN MY OPINION would be to husband the species in the greatest danger even if it isn't native. <We must always remember when humans get invovled with nature and stock NON-NATIVE species something must die, nothing can coexisit. Its natures design.> Please believe me when I tell you that we are on the same page. I do not condone replacing native species with exotics. In virtually every instance in which Man has presumed to gainsay God in that respect the consequences have proven an utter disaster. Instance after instance could be cited to back up that statement but the evidence is so overwhelmingly in favor of it and so universally known that it would be superflous indeed to do so. So in the case of the Crane Creek stock of the McCloud strain of Rainbow it seems the best course is to take the opportunity to husband the existing resource to the best of our abilities while safeguarding the nearby watersheds that yet support the species native to the region. <So why is the MO DNR not propagating and stocking? Like releasing horses into the wild basiclly they are feral like hogs and cats feral of sorts.> I fight a constant battle with feral cats, dumped out by 'city folks' who think they are performing a kindness by releasing unwanted cats in a rural area rather than taking responsibility for allowing them to happen in the first place. They wind up on my property where they take a terrible toll on the native small game species. Game that I have exerted great effort to encourage by planting crops to sustain them and building brushpiles to harbor them. And I have a great problem condoning people who let 'Fluffy' run free. They think it 'cute' when 'Fluffy' presents them with a kill, but I know that for every trophy that 'Fluffy' shares tens or hundreds of other creatures are killed without the knowledge of his proud owner. I don't bother the Bobcats, Coyotes or Foxes that are the native predators of small game, they preceded me and have superior rights, but a feral housecat is subject to elimination any time I can get a sight picture. If that is playing God then I must plead Mea Culpa. <I agree I ain't helping no snake, tick, chigger, or skeeter, matter for fact I killed a large cottonmouth on White River yesterday, close to four feet in length!!! The first I have seen on the White above Buffalo City, it was in the water and moving very well. So I am sure it was not an accident that it was there. So you too play God at times. In fact we all make daily decisions more properly belonging to a power higher than ourselves. Man is a presumptious animal.