3wt

Did you see this? http://ozarkanglers.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22745 He's selling a 4wt echo w/ross reel. Might be worth a PM

And I currently fish a St. Croix (legend ultra) and used to be much more of a St. Croix advocate before TFO and Echo etc. were on the scene. St. Croix makes great stuff, but I think you get more for the money with some others.

I'd vote 4wt for trout most versatile all around if you plan on doing anything but tailwaters - and you already have a 6 wt. TFO Pro series 9' 4 pc. I can't vouch for Echo, but it's probably a very good choice, I have never laid hands on one. I think pretty highly of the better Cabelas reels, and you get a free line set up that way. By the way my brother fishes the setup w/ the TFO pro and the older Cabelas LSR reel and couldn't be happier. For bass I think most people go too heavy-in general people overkill I'd say. I'd hang with the 6 if you're shooting at smallmouth on streams. I have never cast anything over a 6, and haven't fished for largemouth on big water either. So I'm probably no help. Winston would probably blow the budget on the rod alone. But I have cast one also and would probably have to consider Wisnton or Scott as a Splurge rod someday.

If that's all true I get it. But comparing the reels I'm not sure it is true.

I almost drove off the road driving back exhausted once. Driving a few hours dead tired and in the dark is not the coolest.

I think retail on a Cimmaron C1(i think) has been over $150 for a long time. I own one and have absolutely loved it for a long time - in fact I'm kind of a full fledged hat-wearin Ross guy. I will say that the criticism of them being a little loose is valid. My brother has a cabelas LSR and the overall "feel" is nicer than my ross. Given the LSR does have plenty of criticism too (i.e. sticking drag). I'm pretty sure they don't make either any more anyway. As far as mahined aluminum disc drag reels of any real quality level, I don't know if there is really anything neare the $100 mark. I still don't really get the antimosity towards Allen. I know nothing about them, and I would really love to hear some actual negative criticism. If you don't trust their reels, why? I get distrust of unproven startups that might not be around to back up a product, but for the right price it's not much of a gamble. I respect somebody trying to make a quality product and selling it at a realistic price point. Like I said, I don't see much competition at this price point if they are near as nice as they look - I'm looking at the pictures right now and just don't see any machining problems.

I like the current much better too, but I can make it a day trip a lot easier than the current. And some variety is nice once in a while.

I totally believe that the cost of their reels more really reflects what goes into them. There is no way I could ever spend, oh, let's say over $200 for a reel (maybe I'm cheap) - And for me that would have to be a very special reel. So I guess there's something to be said about developing your own design, using your own know-how to get it drawn up and made, doing your own testing, and then selling it direct. The big companies pay big salaries and royalties for all of this stuff I guess, and then they still need to make a profit and create the impression of "high-endness." I think I'm willing to take a $90 gamble for my next reel.

I'm thinking about going and finding out for myself. There used to be a couple guys that were always down there and could chime in, but I haven't seen them post in a while. I guess it's a short enough drive for a gamble.

How have I never heard of these guys. Had to check out their site, and it looks to good to be true, and I have found nothing but good reviews in other forums. I'd love to heare some other testimonials. Coldspring - what's the deal with your reel?

Has anybody chased any trout on the Meremac lately? What's a wadeable water level? I'd really like to get a pre-float season trip in, but don't want to waste my time, which is limited right now. Thanks

And don't be afraid to talk to other fly fisherman on the stream and ask questions. Most out there are pretty friendly and like to teach a trick or two. Just try to focus on the guys that actually look like they know what they're doing - I've seen a great majority of fly rodders that I wouldn't really qualify as fit to teach anything. Now if you head to taneycomo take no advice from anybody - Montauk guys usually have a baseline of knowing how not to slap the living crap out of the water, but Taney is like amateur hour, probably because of popularity and fishing for fish taht you couldn't scare off if you kick 'em.

My best advice would be to leave the old standby at home. Force yourself to catch fish with the flyrod and eliminate the urge to run back to the truck, grab a wormslinger and heat for the holes. Montauk can be brutal to experiment with flyfishing. It can also be terrific, but my opinion is that tough days with a flyrod in hand force you to learn about fish, insects, water types etc. Forcing yourself to persevere is rewarding. I think you'll be pleased at the fly fishing only water. I'd start up at the spring and work down. I wouldn't plan on just parking in a spot for a couple hours. Fishing the type of stream you'll find in the fly area is an active process. Work the stream and experiment. I would also have some size 8 or 10 olive mohair leeches. Almost always good for several fish even when they're not "on."

There's a guy on craigslist in St. Louis that makes and sells furled leaders for somethign like $5 or $6. I'm sure He'd ship. Never tried them, but he's got a website and looks pretty legit.

Yeah, I would think that you get real benefit of furled leaders with dries, where delicacy, turnover and fly placement are real concerns - not to mention drag and mendability-and I think the compound tapers would actually start to show some benefit. I know turning over a big streamer is nice, but I think a tapered mono or flouro would be my choice there. But fishing streamers with my 3wt is a little chuck and duck anyway. And, yes furling is letting two oposite twists untist against eachother. But you can add a lot of complexity to how it tapers, but you have to build a jig and a drill and some weight and appearently some free time and quite a bit of patience.

If they work great, But this instruction is not for creating furled leaders. These are twisted, not furled. Furling requires two twisted strands oppositely of eachother and allowing them to retwitst against eachother. Sounds tough to understand, but it's like how ropes are made. The two opposing twists resist eachother and prevent unravelling. This is why ropes don't unwind and why furled leaders are durable. I'm not sure these twisted leaders would achieve the same, and they provide a very limited taper option. But if they work for ya great, but they seem like they'd be pretty basic in form and function.

What is fishable on the Montauk guage? By fishable I mean reasonably clear water (can still see the bottom and see fish), and safe wading. How high before it's "blown out," what's "normal" etc. Maybe we could pin this info up on the river guage thread so we can stop rehashing all the time. I'm hoping to hop down and celebrate not watching football on Sunday, but I won't bother if it's not really worth going. Thanks in advance.

Yeah, Brian's probably right on here. If you only cast at fish you see you are missing the best spots. I rarely ever see a fish before I catch it on the Current. I will also tell you that at Montauk there are a lot more resident fish than most give credit for. The thing is pure sight fisherman won't ever bother unless they see a swarm. I love sight fishing as much as the next guy, but my best days of fishing were spent carefully coaxing fish out of spots that were tough to cast to - the kind where you get one or two tries to get a suspected fish to see your fly before they get wise. I'm also a mediocre nympher looking to get better. My best luck so far is basically using dry + nymph rigs. You get less bored using a dry as your indicator and it requires a bit more technique. I'll have to look into czech nymphing though.

Sell away Brian. If somebody can sell it for a lower price they should. If it shutters a local shop, then the local shops will have to change the way the do business OR if they can't compete they should fail... it sounds callous but without failures our system fails and we all suffer. What we don't need is inflation right now and this turf nonsense would certainly inflate prices. It won't eliminate local shops, but will eventually cause a change that lowers prices and allows them to compete. I only wish I needed the 5wt for my Sage...

X

Gold sounds about right for that rod from what I understand. I have the same rod from around 1995 when they were the Discovery series. I think they're a bit faster now, but it shouldn't need a heavy line to load it. You'll be happy with Rio. They cover all of my line leader and tippet needs.

Get something with RIO on the lable and you won't be sorry. WF is good for just about anything. The taper style (gold vs. grand) really depends on your rod. Grand is like the SA GPX in that it's really 1/2 weight heavier than standard. This matches well to fast action rods. If you have a mid-flex or more traditional style rod, then the gold or trout might do well. So, what rod are you putting this on? BTW I fish a Rio grand 3wt pale green WF on my St. Croix legend ultra 3wt and love it. It's head and shoulders over SA GPX. OH, and if you're in the St. louis area Cabelas was selling some Rio Gold, Grand, Trout and some nymphing lines for ~$40 a week or so ago. You might try to jump on those deals

When hatches are at a minimum, it gets tough in the winter. I haven't had much luck in C&R season. But, this is all very dependant on what the weather is like etc. There are times in fall when the hatches can be even better than summer. Same for early spring. I would say don't go expecting to get a lot of dry fly action in, but be prepared w/ olive or tan elk hair caddises, some PMD's, maybe some blue winged olives in about an 18 or smaller - cold weather can be good for the beatis mayflies, keep your griffiths gnats around because you can run into more midge hatches in cooler weather. I'd expect hatches at wierder times, like noon or 3 vs. the more normal early or late hours. I don't know if you can time a trip around dry fly fishing, but C&R season is usually great regardless.

Personally, I think hand tied is pretty silly at this point. Taperd mono leaders are generally terrific, especially for learning. Do your best to not destry the butt section of them and you'll be good for a while. They're a bit pricey I guess, but you get better at getting life out of them as you learn. I really can't imagine trying to avoid big messes with fully knotted leaders. Those knots seem like great snag points to start a great big snarled mess. Try to learn to tie on tippet, when I was starting I threw out perfectly good $4.00 a pop leaders due to loss of fine enough tip. In fact, cut off about 18" of a new leader and tie on tippet first thing. Also buy Rio and you won't be dissapointed. If you really want to try a handmade version look into making furled leaders. Looks like everybody that uses them loves them. I haven't tried yet, but it's my next project. Looks like you'll need to build a jig and buy some mono or tying thread, and then learn.

Stocking foot. Much more comfortable, you can choose boots that you actually like and have the kind of support you need for your feet, and the overall effect will feel lighter once you have everything on. Downsides are a little higher wader+boot cost, they take longer to put on, and you don't want to walk around in the stockings until you get the boots on. At your price range I'd look at Cabelas brand stuff. I'm not impressed with bass pro's white river line. If you like using waders, I wouldn't waste money on several cheap pairs. Buy a cheaper pair for now, upgrade to Simms for your next set. Much higher quality, comfort and guaranteed for life. You can spend a lot of money at $90 bucks every couple years, or spend $300-400 (really cheaper if you wait for a closeout) once.