3wt

For the price ($160 in Cabelas if I remember right) there are FAR superior reels...and I don't think a sealed water proof drag is anything special or different than most disc drags. My suggestions: Ross Cimmaron Large Arbor ~$160 Ross Cimmaron ~$140 Cabelas LSR ~$130 right now on sale - my brother just bought one, and I am very impressed Orvis Battenkill Bar Stock is somewhere in the same price neighborhood

A friend of mine has a rod that was custom built by an experienced builer. I noticed the other day that the top line guide is slightly out of line with the others. I have seen this before on other rods, and have always assumed it is a defect. Is there any reason to offset the alignment on purpose? If this is a defect can it be fixed easily?

I finally got around to getting the new RIO Grand line set up on my Legend Ultra 3wt. It really is a great line. I had been using SA GPX and expected not to notice much difference, but suffice it to say, Rio has my business for leader, tippet and now line. It loads beautifully on my rod and feels a little heavier than the GPX. It really has a smooth feel. The tip floats high so far, and the integrated loop is great for letting the line/leader connection pass through the guides. The only items left for me are longevity and suppleness in cold weather, but I won't know how those factor until a little later.

Okay, so after a frustrating day of fishing Saturday (due to my own rusty casting/sleep deprivation) I have decided to go on a tying rampage before my next trip at the end of the month. I started this excersice last night, but realized that I have gotten into a pretty deep rut with the flies I use, and would like to expand my horizons. So what would be in your ultimate current river fly box? I'll start the list off: #10 weighted olive Mohair Leech #14ish red San Juan worm <= #20 Trico Spinner #16 Elk Hair Caddis/olive body I'm interested in any other flies that produce. I've heard good things about wet hackles...

He currently has been "borrowing" my 5wt. Sage discovery (?) series that I bought a dozen years ago, and he would like to step down a line wt. My tendancy is to go with the lightest line for the job. I would rather sacrifice ease in roll casting a weighed streamer for a delicate dry fly presentation. Also from my experience on the Current and other small medium streams, I can roll out the big flies just fine with my 3 wt. at the distances required. I would lean towards the 8'6", but that's only based on my feeling towards having as light and delicate of a rod as possible. I don't like having too much rod when you need to get in tight somewhere. Have either of you cast the TFO Pro series? How dose the series one stack up to it? My dad and other brother both have the seris one 4wt, and for the price you can't beat 'em...so is it worth the extra $50 to step up a model?

Here's the situation. My younger brother is graduating from college and my family has decided to buy him a new flyfishing outfit as a gift. I have been charged with picking it out for him. Now, I know basically what he wants, and have a pretty good idea of what he likes (since I taught him how to cast, and he's been using the same rod I learned on). So here's the ground rules: Rod will be used for trout, generally for the current river or similar streams. 4 wt. 8-9' graphite moderate fast - fastish I would like to find something that will delicately handle down to trico size dries (down to 24 or so), and still be able to chuck a Mohair around with some authority. Oh and i would like the rod to stay under $200. So my initial thoughts are TFO Pro series. I like what Cabelas offers as packages. Any other thougths? Cabelas, St. Croix models (I own a legend ultra but don't know too much about their lower models) And just to head off the inevitable...I know that he will have to cast the setup and decide what he likes, and he will get to, but I would just like to get an idea of what to look at.

Good to see everything was meant to be light-hearted...I thought i was witnessing a lynch mob going after the forum leader. I myself have never used a guide. I prefer to figure things out for myself in most aspects of life, and consider fly fishing to go hand-in-hand with that philosophy - in fact, most serious fly fisherman that I know learned the art from just going out there alone for a while, armed with pointers from friends and books, and figured it out. But that's tough to do for folks that can only get out to the stream a handful of times a year. When I started fly fishing in, I could only get out ~2 times per summer for a few days at a time. I would always bring my old spincast with me just to catch a few fish, because I sure wasn't slaying 'em with my flyrod. I luckily spent my college years at Rolla, in the heart of MO trout land, and could hit the water a lot more often and learned how to catch fish. So...I can see using a guide to get a good start on a new river. Not everybody can shoot down to the stream after work for a couple of hours. Also, I would hope that a good guide would be able to quickly assess a client's ability and needs; whether they need only to be pointed in the right direction or if they need their hand held. If you look closely at the pictures on Sam's sight, you may get an idea of his magical mystery fly...that is unless Sam's going to unveil the secret any time soon.

I was told at the store that it is G. Loomis for the higher end rods. lbt- You almost always have to deal directly with manufacturers for warranty. No manufacturer CAN help you with this. The warranty is between the manufacturer and the person who registers the warranty. Sorry about your bad experience, and I'm sure a local fly shop would have said the same thing, but at least helped you out with how to contact the right people.

Sorry if this brings back too dead of a topic, but: I agree with almost everything said with a few exceptions: 1.) Ross doesn't make any junk as far as I can see 2.) What demise of the Cimarron? Still made is both normal and large arbors. I own a Cimarron and it's been nothing but fantastic. I like the idea of large arbor just to avoid tight loops when possible. Also, I love disc drag technology, quiet, smooth, probably unecessary for trout and it's just cool. Does it really add that much weight? I went up to to the cabelas here in St. Louis, and had a chance to check out the Cabelas SLA. That's a pretty nifty reel. Talk about finding ways to loose mass, and it seems pretty strong. Anybody else have thoughts? I hear it's "reel of the year" in one of the magazines

Now that the weekend's over, my money's on olive bunny leech, size 4. Talk about a good way to stir up a hornet's nest. Just tell people you've caught 20+ fish on a mystery fly. I hope your client did well. Maybe next time just don't post a report until you're ready to disclose how you caught 'em...keep these jokers from launching an all out assault on probalby about a mile or river space just to spite you. And, come on guys. Is this worth being jerks about? Sam has given more than his fair share of trade secrets in the past. He has personally responded to my emails and disclosed what's hatching on the river before I've taken trips, even telling me how to tie up flies to match. Mike

I am also not a casting expert, but I have had this problem myself, and I have taught at least 3 other people to cast and have given them this advice to help them with the same problem. First make sure your line is behind you before you begin (as stated above)...be patient with this step and make sure it gets fully behind you before beginning forward motion (just like waiting for your backcast to straighten before you forecast) Then when you end your cast, make sure you end ABRUPTLY. This helps transfer the energy from your cast to the line efficiently. If the line loses energy it will not turn over the leader. This allows me to roll cast a 3 wt. line with a size 10 weighted wooly bugger effectively (not the easiest thing to do with a 3 wt, but I manage). Good luck.

I'd be all for eliminating tournaments from parks completely. They completely ruin the weekend unless you're competing. In my opinion (this is where I become a really snooty fly fisherman)trout fishing is getting too popular for all the wrong reasons. I would stand for eliminating all bait fishing in the parks, further limiting the daily limit and expanding the C&R areas. The overall effect would be more resident fish that aren't purely put and take, and less ridiculous crowding. But, I know my idea of trout fishing isn't the same as everybody else's so I'll just fight the crowds and fish more outside of the parks.

I'm with you Al. I wouldn't go to Yellowstone and expect it to be like Mardi Gras. The parks are mainly set aside for enjoying nature, not partying to the point of ruining the experience for everybody else involved.

Lowering the number is the answer. It's flat out no fun to float when it's so jammed with morons that you can't get a paddle in the water...that's really no exaggeration. I think we can regulate what goes on, and that we also can regulate fisheries for the purpose of being good for fisherman. I only wish the idiots wouldn't ruin my ability to bring decent beer for sandbar campouts (all my favorites are only in bottles).

Love the putty, but when it's really cold you have to warm the stuff up to get it to mold...still much better than shot. I hear good things about soft hackles, usually fishing them with more of a wet fly swing than just drifting. I haven't tried it much, but again sam could shed some light, on his fishing reports he's talked about soft hackles being effective. I usually try to start with mohair leaches, and when I have caught a few fish to satisfy the "don't get skunked" desire, I start trying other things, like various caddis flies, trying to find rising fish during a hatch. The nice thing is that many tactics work on the current, but if you really have a tough time getting anything to work you can always tie on a leach or wooly and have some fun.

Now you're speaking my language. I would expect the wooly bugger to be a big hit. Almost always good action on mohairs down there. I would always have a variety of elkhair caddis on the current, I go with size 16...I don't think the larger stuff does as well...my own opinion. I'm really not that sure about dry hatches. I usually catch part of the trico hatches during the summer, but it's likely too early for that. Maybe BWO's...Sam Potter could help. His site is www.tightline.biz and he's the mod for this section of the forum (also the supreme guru and ultimate authority on the upper current as far as I am concerned) But with high water I would expect to stay deep. I would also expect various caddis pupa/larva to be rolling around under the surface this time of year.

First of all, you're probably crazy to go for openning weekend...I've never gone, have no interest. Judging by the normal summertime traffic since '99, there will be more people then you can stand. Now I agree with the mohairs, and heavy woolies. But, if the water is murky (which can happen after a big rain for a few days) experience says that spin fishing with white maribou jigs can kill (which is suprising, since I first figured game-off during these conditions). You can probalby adapt this theory to some heavy light colored streamers. That all being said - my guess is for openning day you should be able to throw anything at the hungry hordes and get your limit faster than you can tie on a new fly. Good luck with the crowds.

I have a C&F. I like it, but it's not perfect. Yes, they will hold down to #24's (probably smaller) tightly. The tough part is getting them in and out of the foam slits. I hear that the nubby tack stlye works pretty good for largish flies

I say traditional vest. The big down side is that they can get a little warm, and wear on my back. My friend has a flytedeck chest pack, which he loves. Perfect for minimalists. http://www.flytedeck.com/store.php/disp/sys

hold your rod with your strong hand, reel with the other hand. switching rod hands is absurd...ever. i mean, do what works for you, but there is a right way for some things. by all means, don't teach anybody to juggle their rod in the middle of landing a fish. ask a short stop why he doesn't catch and throw with the same hand.

Thanks for the heads up on the other thread. I think I'm leaning towards the Rio Grand WF3. I don't mind the price tag, as I generally get several years out of a line, and it's almost as important as the rod itself (at least I start seeing diminishing returns of an expensive rode matched to a crappy line). I'll post a follow up when I buy it and actually get a chance to hit a stream.

I think it's about time for a new line. My rod is a 7'9" 3wt St. Croix Legend Ultra. I currently use scientific anglers GPX WF. I've been pretty happy with it, but am looking for some suggestions. I've heard good things about Teeny and Rio lines. I usually fish the current river and use methods ranging from tiny #24 tricos to weighted #10 Mohair Leeches.

I think only the normal reservation fee. You can only avoid it if you just show up and something happens to be available (good luck)

I wouldn't shoot anything at our national symbol unless you want to spend some time in jail, or have specific authority to sedate it. Hopefully the World Bird Sanctuary people will be able to help.

I would try the online system. As online reservations go, they kind of suck (but I think they upgraded last fall). But, I've had good luck, and you don't have to worry about business hours or dealing with less than helpful people. Don't get too down on Montauk. It's very much worth your time for a winter trip. I think I led you astray with the open on Thursday comment, so sorry about that.