FlyFishinFool

I fished down at Bennett Spring Wed & Thur of this week (3/9-3/10). The water was running just a little above normal and just a little fast, but overall the water was pretty clear - not crystal clear like mid-summer, but you can still easily see the bottom in several feet of water. Wed morning it was a bluebird day, but it was overcast, breezy with an occassional spit of rain on Wed afternoon and all day on Thur. there were not many people fishing on Wed and even less on Thur - guess the weather chased them off. I caught over 30 fish on Wed and over 20 fish on Thur, so I had a good time fishing. I saw a couple of folks hit hot spots where they caught several fish over a short period of time, they were fishing one of the following: drifting a tri-color glo-ball, fishing a green copper-john, or stripping a brown wooley bugger. Personally I caught most of my fish dead-drifting a bead-head nymph. The faster current required using weighted flies and a longer than normal tippet in order to get it down near the bottom. Sorry for the late reply - hope this still is of some help.

Quillback, BassPro has an armored stream thermometer that I have used for years,encased in metal and it works just fine. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_22921____SearchResults Cabela's also offers a metal cased stream thermometer - theirs measures in Centegrade vs BassPro's Fahrenheit. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0011337310804a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Products&QueryText=thermometer&sort=all&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23

I know this post is a little late, but thought I would add my 2 cents... I have purchased several products from Justin at Allen Fly Fishing, and I know a few other folks who have also made purchases. Everyone has been pleased with the products and service received from Justin. I know someone who had an issue with a reel damaged in shipping, and Justin immediately resolved it by shipping a replacement reel in 2 days. Best recommendation I can give - I would buy from Justin again. http://www.allenflyfishing.com/ Disclaimer - I have no interest in Allen Fly Fishing and have not received any free/discounted products for my comments.

Re-Beginner, Normally you attach the leader to the fly-line, best way is with a loop-to-loop connection. You can tie a perfection loop in the thick end of the leader and most fly-lines have a welded loop. If your fly-line does not come with a welded loop, then you can attach a short leader butt to the fly-line; use some Amnesia shooting line or heavy mono (15# or 20#), attach it to the fly-line with a nail knot, and then about 3-4 inches out tie a perfection loop - this is the fly-line loop you will connect to the leader loop. If you are going to tie the tippet directly to the leader, a double or triple surgeons knot is one of the best. A lot of folks will tie another set of perfection loops, one in the thin end of the leader and one on the end of the tippet, and again do a loop-to-loop connection between the leader and tippet. Some furled leaders come with a loop on the butt end to connect to the fly-line, and a really small ring on the other end, so you can tie the tippet dierctly to the ring using any knot you like - e.g. you can use the same knot you like to use when you tie the tippet to your fly. Using the loop-to-loop or a furled leader with a tippet ring wilol eliminate cutting off a small part of your leader every time you need to tie on a new length of tippet - makes the leaders last a long time. Furled leaders can cost 1.5 - 2 times as much as a tapered knotless leader, but they last a really long time and they are exceptionally strong. I usually get at least a full season out of one furled leader, fishing up to 60 days a year. I would recommend a 6ft-7.5ft leader and the leaders should be a 5X-4lb or a 6X-3lb; for very clear/slow water where the fish are pretty easily spooked, sometimes you have to go to a 9ft leader in a 7X-2lb. The tippet should be no heavier than the leader - again, 4lb for faster water with some color, 3lb for normal, and 2lb for slow/clear water. Mono is the cheapest tippet, but more expensive flurocarbon can be better for nymphing since it sinks faster and the fish have more trouble seeing it under the water. Remember, do not use flurocarbon for dry flies - fluoro sinks! I usually use 3ft-4ft of tippet, depends on the depth of the water you are fishing, sometimes I use up to 6ft of tippet. Basic rule of thumb, fast water - use 50% more tippet than the depth of the water, slow water use the same length as the depth of the water. Here are a couple of links with more information: http://www.flymartonline.com/article215.html http://www.animatedknots.com/indexfishing.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com Hope this information helps.

Jeff, I agree with buroak's reply - take the 2 day fly fishing class at Bennett Spring from Jim Rogers. In one short weekend you will learn all the basic gear, knots, flies, how to read trout water, how to cast and appropriate fly fishing courtesy. Additionally you get a decent entry level fly rod & reel with fly line, you practice casting with it, and learn from Jim Rogers, a Master Fly Fishing Instructor. Finally you go catch trout in the Bennett Spring stream. I agree Terry's response is a good list, but to get a broad jump-start if you are unfamiliar with fly fishing, you could do a whole lot worse that take the Bennett class. I have had 2 family members take the class and they were both catching trout the next time I took them to Bennett Spring. As mentioned - you can get waders in 2X, 3X even 4X; the only issue is that they often get taller as they get biggger. If you are more husky than tall, check out the right size in leg length and then look at the same size in a "stout" - adds extra inches to the waist without adding to the leg length. Good luck!

While you are finding the right wading boot, consider choosing a Vibram sole over a standard felt sole also. Where you currently fish may allow felt soles, but more and more places are beginning to ban felt soles. The Alaska DNR has banned all felt soles in the SouthEast region of Alaska effective 1/1/2011, and felt sole bans are under consideration in a couple of New England states. You may think that does not impact you if you do not travel that far to fish, but the felt sole bans are increasing in the lower 48 states. I would not be surprised to see a total ban on felt soles in my lifetime. So if you plan on your new wading boots lasting quite a few years, you should seriously consider Vibram soles (with or without studs).

The Cabela's Prestige reels do have a smooth drag, but there are two big issues with the Prestige line of reels; they are really heavy and they have a really limited warranty! I looked at a Prestige Plus 5/6 reel a couple of days ago with a friend and it weighs 6.1oz., this is heavier than my Orvis Battenkill Mid-arbor III 5/6/7 reel at 5.6oz., and a lot heavier than the Orvis Large Arbor 5/6/7 at 4.4 oz.! Now I realize that the Prestige reels are much cheaper than the Orvis reels; but you can get a Ross Flystart large-arbor reel ($55) for almost the same price as the Prestige ($50), and the Ross weighs only 5.0oz in a 4/5/6 weight; and the Ross comes with a lifetime warranty, while acording to the Cabela's Fly Shop guy the Prestige reel is only warranted for 90 days. Lighter weight, lifetime warranty and only $5 more - my friend bought the Ross reel!

I think it has actually impacted both my budget AND my truck - every time I drive anywhere in that general direction my truck just seems to veer off course and right toward Feather-Craft. Amazing!

Hi y'all - I live in the St. Louis area and fly fish anyplace I can for trout or smallmouth. I also like to occasionally hit farm ponds and small lakes to fly fish for bass. I started fly fishing many years ago, and I have fished from Florida to Alaska; but I am still amazed at all the knowledge out there that I have never heard. I learn something new about this sport almost every day, and often from fly fishing forums. I hope to get information about some new (and old) places to go fly fishing, and learn some more new ideas about fly fishing.

As far as I know it is just the St. Croix Triumph fly rods. The Cabela's catalog only shows the 5wt and 6wt rods on clearance, but the store may have other sizes - you may want to call to find out.

FYI - Albright has many fly rods on sale for some pretty good prices. http://www.albrightflyfish.com/fly-rods.html

A friend of mine decided to start fly fishing and to keep the startup costs down he bought a St. Croix Triumph rod on clearance sale from Cabela's for $50. He went to the St. Louis Cabela's and bought the 8'6" 2pc 5wt and we tried it out this afternoon in the backyard. I was surprised at how well the rod felt and cast for an entry level fly rod. St. Croix calls the Triumph a "Moderate Fast" rod, and it feels a little softer than the 8'6" 5wt TFO rod (Medium -Fast flex) we compared it with. I was impressed enough with the performance of his rod that I ordered an 8'6" 5wt 4pc for $50 to teach a family member who is a beginner wanting to learn. I think the slightly slower action works well for someone brand new to fly fishing. Regardless, the St. Croix Triumph is a very nice rod in function & finish, and at the current clearance price it is an absolute steal! The Triumph would be a nice rod to stick in your vehicle just in case an opportunity to fish pops up!