Jim Elam

Second that. Much more reliable than the blood knot.

Thanks for the video, very helpful.

Perfection loop at the terminal connection is excellent, just hard for me to tie. Great knot for carp IMO

Your setup is sound. Others will have different preferences, but yours is sound and will work well. I used a handshake at fly to tapered or hand tied leader for years, and finally came to the conclusion that nail knots are not as difficult to tie as they seem, and I just like the smoother connection that they produce better that the loop to loop. I usually use 1-3 wt gear only, that may be why. It is not superior, but I like it better, so I use it. I used the blood knot for years at the leader to tippet, or to build leader, and I can tell you that it is inferior to the double surgeon's knot for the leader to tippet connection in terms of strength. DS is faster, easier, and less prone to failure. There is not a significant bend in the line at the knot. That is bunk. I use a fixed loop knot for streamers and presentations that depend on action. I even think it helps me get more takes night fishing streamers. May be all in my head, who knows... Cinch is a fine knot if tied properly because it is easy and not prone to operator error. Just remember that fine line requires a few more twists and extra care when tightening. IMO 14lbs test = 6-7, 6 lb test 7-8, 2 lb test 9-10 IMO. Smaller diameter line is more likely to slip in my opinion. Also heats up easily on tightening, so tighten slowly after moistening. I mostly midge these days, and I like the Davy knot or one of its variations for that. When properly executed, it is fast, easy, and secure as long as you cinch it down and pull it tight (and recheck from time to time). I've used that knot in Alaska on fish to 20 lbs without issues. I sometimes tie at the bend on H/D. Out west you can get away with foam in the body of your dry fly a little more often, and that works well with a tie in at the bend. I often use a Davy knot at the hook bend (fast and secure). Dropper midges usually do well like this as well. For heavier nymphs that might pull the stern of the dry fly down, I will tie on at the hook eye or simply abandon the dry in favor of an indicator fly. A size 12 bright indicator fly will act as a teaser and draw lots of looks, frequently allowing a trout to notice the nymph and induce a take ( very effective with the midge pupa imitations). I will also get the occasional take on an indicator fly itself. I usually tie these with foam and an elk or moose wing and a 12 lb Mason mono loop for a tie in point. This will catch the "wary wild western trout" as well as stockers in the local tailwaters equally well. If you don't midge, you need to try it. I would recommend the video "Bugs of the underworld" to get a handle on how you need to make the fly look in the water column, and the book " The flyfisher's playbook: A systematic approach to Nymph Fly Fishing" which will help you develop practical techniques to achieve great presentation. These two resources are efficient and well thought out. Neither is colored with the clever prose that so richly graced the pages of some of the classic books on the subject of presentation, but they are full of useful real world info that will help any fisherman who uses a fly rod. Good luck. You can actually rig a two fly setup like a drop shot if both are subsurface presentations. That works pretty well with dead drift or down and across swinging. I have never really felt like going to all the trouble to set up a high / low double rig like Watton would advocate. I am just too lazy and can usually catch plenty of fish who keeping things simple.

Thanks I will check it out

Where do you access turnback for wade fishing? Do you have to use a kayak or boat to fish it?

In the river, fish the deep holes with small jigs on or near bottom S L O W (tip with a night crawler and it will work better). Small means 1.5 to 2 inch max. Jig needs a little purple in the hair. I have never just hammered them in one spot. Fish hole to hole. Usually there are a few fish in each hole, most are small males but have caught them in the LS up to 5 lbs in March and April. I usually catch them on a 3 wt fly rod with intermediate clear sinking line and 8 lb floro tippet, but a spinning rig would work too. Just need to figure out how to keep a small jig close to the bottom in current with a spin rig. I hear that a jerk bait near the dam works if you have a boat, but I usually fish the river.

Fenwick 6'6" Light action 2 piece spinning rod is a fun and very good casting and fishing rig. Paired with a cheap Cardinal S 30 it balanced extremely well, and filled with 10-15 lb braid (or 6 lb mono). Retail for the rod $60, sale $40. Reel around $40. Sub your favorite reel - Cabelas occasionally sells a Pfleuger president for $40 and is far superior to the Cardinal, but both work well on the cheap. I have caught 6 inch green sunfish all the way up to 26 lb Northern on mine. It is an IM6 type blank, and I prefer light braid on that sort of rod to help hook sets a little. Would highly recommend the 10 lb braid with 6 lb floro leader joined with FG knot. I was having the same problem as Babler breaking lures off on the cast until I changed to this knot. Now it is a thing of the past. This is really a fun setup that will cast a mile.

Wow! Had no idea they were in TR. Down from Beaver tailwaters? That can't do anything but help the bass fishing I would think.

Thanks for the report

Try the zman fattyz it is a 5" version with sick action. Great on a 1/8 or 1/4 oz head with a traditional power hook or light wire. Can be cut to 4" or fished at full length, keeps the greenies off the line but the bass eat it up .

Wouldn't worry much about the meat hunters. They are already using live bait and will get theirs regardless. I take care of several who like to kill most of what they catch...pretty frustrating. Years ago, an old friend complained to me about the otters cleaning out the Piney river goggle eye and brownies. Let me assure you that the otters can make a dent, but the meatheads have a much larger impact. Nothing wrong with keeping a few crappie, BG, greenies, even occasional goggle eye and the rare deeply hooked small. But it takes a long time to grow good sallies, and I like to catch them too much to kill them!

I hate when I have days like that...

I agree. I think a little frost could create a bit of a trap for a guy who might already struggle because of physical ailments. The courtesy dock / rope idea works really well.

Too late...LOL!

That is good to know, because I felt like I did what I should do to get bit. Just didn't seem to be in the mood, and the fish that did bite were not slamming the baits. I probably spent way too much time on this spot. Lesson learned. Thanks for the advice.

Thats a good idea. With the wind at this particular spot it was tough to stay over the right spot, and really was trying to get something down in front of the fish quickly (i.e. 3/4 oz spoon). Later in the day I thought about presenting a Ned rig vertical with a heavier jig head, but did't try it. Is that what you mean? I have fished the Ned on 1/4 to 1/32 oz heads, but usually settle on 1/16 or 1/32.

Yes, I changed things up from std jigging spoon to various other offerings. I think the fish responding to the lures were probably gamefish based on their relative size on the graph, but hard to be sure. No luck on grub. Was using my Ned rod with 6lb floor so I don't think I was putting them off with the line. Maybe I need to buy a few of those Rapala ice jigs? LOL! Thanks for the tips.

Ned is tough to beat on a stream. The profile and action really make it a good small and larger fish presentation. If you fish it on a 1/32 oz head, you can really cover the water column well. I like topwater fishing like Al said, but also like to travel light and simple. One small ziplock with a few Ned heads and zeros, a little loc-tite glue, and a small plano pocket box with some pop-Rs, and I can fish everything in the river effectively. Combine it with the rod /reel / line setup I mentioned above (or substitute 6 lb maxima if you prefer), and you can pack light and focus more on fishing and less on gear. Flukes are great, but you can fish the zeros the same way and they work just as well and don't tear up. The elaztech flukes are pretty cool looking but I haven't fished them. Looking forward to trying them out this year. Agree that a fluke like bait weightless is killer, it is a great presentation.

Have 8 lb spider wire with 6 lb floro leader on a light spin rig and it works really well. Handles fish up to 5 lbs so far, hopefully we can test it out on larger this spring! Fenwick's 6'9" 2 pc river runner rod and a Pfleuger President 2500 size get along well with this set up. Just be careful when you fill the spool. Any tendency to overfill will be rewarded with line tangles.

Launched at 9 am, bluebird day with light westerly winds. Water Temp 43-45 clarity 10 ft + visibility. Started looking for shad and found them in 30-50 fow in mouths of creeks, lots stacked up in one particular area. Worked 2 hrs + deep jigging and just couldn't quite come up with the right formula to really get on them. A few misses and only 1 keeper K deep jigging, lots of lookers on the graph that would just not take. I am not very good at this vertical deep water game, any tips are appreciated... Broke down and started hitting the mixed rock banks with Ned rig, shot a few docks, tried some deep bluff and bluff end submerged timber throwing jerk, jig, even swim bait. Gorgeous day, only 4 fish total (3 keeper K, one short brownie). Pumpkin / orange with 1/16 or 1/32 oz head seemed to work best for me on the little rig. The bite was very light. Just got heavy. Probably would've caught more if we had stuck with the Ned exclusively. Was hoping to find LM chasing schooling shad, gambled and lost.

All good advice. IMO, if fishing is the highest priority you would be better off doing something closer to home. Lot of really good trout fishing and lots less $$$ close to home, and you can have a great time with a group. If the priority is the location, scenery, and a new adventure, MT/WY or CO all have great fishing opportunities. Each has its own learning curve and potential issues. Not unlike the local fisheries, which all have their own quirks. JE

Yes. Good spot for yakking and bass fishing in the summer. Rock quarry is a blast at times. JE

Trips I have taken: 1) Boundary waters - not what you are looking for IMO. Not a great FF trip, really fun with conventional gear though. Get ready for bugs in the summer. 2) Tongue river in MT - Nice thing about MT is that you can determine a destination in a particular area and there are usually several areas to fish. I can spend a few days on the tongue catching cutthroat before I get the itch to travel. Lots of access, lots of nearly camping, and the added benefit of no grizzly bear (so they say). Great FF river about the size of roaring river in most places. 3) YNP - Cache creek and other creeks in the Lamar river drainage, near Cooke City, MT. One can hire a guide for day trips, or multi-day horse packing or back packing trips well off the beaten path in Yellowstone, and you will never see another fisherman. Over 90% of folks never leave the pavement at YNP. These are phenomenal trips if one is looking for the entire experience of FF in a gorgeous ecosystem. The downside is the grizzly factor. Usually not a big deal with the horse trips and a guide, but if you decide to hike in on your own you need to be bear aware and experienced to avoid trouble. You will literally fish to cutthroat that have never seen a fly, over and over again. Waters are small like Crane creek or RR. Rarely deeper than 3 ft, cutts up to 16 inches, bring your 1 weight. Summer is my favorite (mid -July to Sept). 4) Cody WY area - Lots of great fishing variety within 1-2 hrs of Cody. North and South fork of Shoshone, lower Shoshone, Bighorn, Clark's fork of the Yellowstone, Alkali creek, Newton and West Newton Reservoirs, and others. Most of this area is low mountain arid or desert terrain, beautiful in its own way. Lots of outfitters if desired, certainly not needed. There are plenty of access areas that are public with little fishing pressure. Clark MT and the Clark's fork canyon are nearby, and this area is rugged and beautiful. Great hiking and fairly steep gradient flows of the Clarks fork river flow through the canyon. It is great summertime pocket water fishing, no guide needed for the fishing. It is home to some grizzlies. I would recommend making lots of noise both in and out, and perhaps a large caliber handgun or bear spray, depending on your philosophy with this subject. Encounters are not common, but they occur. Lots of rattlesnakes, too. 5) Cordova AK in September (early). Yes it is costly, but the salmon fishing is incredible on the fly (Coho) on the Eyak river, and on the Copper river delta. Can wade fish this larger river. Guide optional. Grizzlies are bigger there, but are usually locked in on fish and are actually afraid of people there because they get shot at. That is not the case in MT and WY. Nearly got spooled on a 9 weight the first cast on the Eyak by a fiesty 18 lb + coho back in mid- 2000's. By the end of the trip I was chucking and ducking with weighted egg sucking leaches on a 6 weight and landing 15+ lbs chrome coho's in under 3 minutes. I had to learn how to fight big fish on a fly rig. Could do that trip for about $2500 - $3000 for a week per person back then, not sure about now. That is travel, lodging, car rental, no guide. Add $2500 and up per person for guided trips to AK. It is a cool place. Warning, if you miss the Salmon run, you may be fishing in a river with little or no life in it. It is all or nothing sometimes in AK, but when you hit "all", it is like dying and waking up in FF heaven. If interested in AK you guys should talk to Bill Babler and Phil Lilly, who have been known to frequent the northland and even guide in that region. 6) The Current river or eleven point river right here in MO. Tons of lower cost options, and having done several on each, would have to say the eleven point is a great combo of trout fishing and SMB fishing that is FF friendly, fairly remote and beautiful. It is a great September-November destination if you like to stay away from crowds and not break the bank. Avoid in summer. 7) The upper Northfork of the white is gorgeous, has a decent gradient, and is generally similar to small and moderate sized western rivers. River of Life (on the net) would be a good place to stay, and they can connect you with a guide if desired. It is pretty good fishing, very scenic, and can be very productive if you are with someone who knows the river well. Also a nice float river in the spring and fall. Avoid in summer. I have done all of these trips at least once, most of them multiple times. There are, of course, several others but you asked for places people have actually experienced. IMO, for the time and money spent, I would float and camp on the Eleven point or drive to MT/WY and spend a week hitting different rivers. If considering the latter, make sure you go after July 15 (later some years). Snow melt runoff can spoil fishing in wet years until the end of July, and most years have high water till at least July 10. Good luck. Jim

Went about 3pm to 530. Water temp at the outlet 58 F water on main lake 44F. 3 other guys there. 2 were using finesse rigs and catching bass regularly. I started out with a swim bait, then a 10" worm, then a 6" worm. Snagged and broke off a few baits, finally went to the Ned and started catching bass. Largest was 15 " LM, 5 total, 2 missed strikes. Nothing to write home about, but fun. Happened to meet Don from Winkiedoodles while I was fooling around with the power rigs. Got a chance to discuss the website and the Ned rig with him. Nice guy, would highly recommend checking out his videos and subscribing to his channel. Jim