motroutbum

COrtland line is were good when they frist came out all those years ago. The thing is that their technology hasnt changed in like 50 years. They came out with the lazer line in the 555 and that was a huge flop. It is probably the worst line that I have ever cast.

Those fish might also be dead due to the low O2 levels.

It all depends on what you want out of a wading jacket. The Soft shells are exactly what the name employs. SOFT. Dont expect it to be waterproof casue you will get soaked. If it were me, I would fork over the $$$ and get a gore tex jacket. They will be well worth the price and probably last you the rest of your life. The Simms Classic Guide jacket is an excellent one. As well as the G3 Guide Jacket. THe orvis jacket is ok (its not official gore tex, but it is orvis' brand) The Patagonia jacket is also an excellent buy. The Simms DL soft shell is an amazing under fleece Double Layer Jacket for layering. It will make you sweat in any of the conditions we encounter around here.

I have a pair, and the only reason i am still using them is because i dont have the money to buy another pair right now and they were free. I would NOT recommend them. go with simms.

With Simms, you are not just paying for the name. Their waders are by far the best in the industry. They are made in the USA, they have a lifetime warranty on the seams and manufacturer's defects. THe L2s are goretex so the material is alot better quality and will last longer. the goretex is also a more durable material. Their customer service is also very good.

yeah i was there. Brian Kimmel was on my own team. I ended up 43rd over all. I was sitting in the top 20 after the first day. I had two of the toughest venues on the first day, the lakes. I came out with two 6th places because i didnt blank. the second day of competition started off well as I had the Big T first and the Upper Poudre second. The thompson was gonna be tough becasue the comp water fished nothing like the practice water. in practice i pulled out 32 fish in 2.5 hours. the comp water yielded 4 fish in 3 hours on my beat. session 4.....the upper poudre had been giving alot of people troubleand each prior sesssion had been giving people some blanks. my flight however everyone caught atleast one fish and mine just happened to be the smallest. so i got 14 place points and that pretty much took me out of the running. I dropped 2 fish which would have kept me in the top. The last day of competition I fished the lower poudre section. I caught 5 (2 didnt measure) and dropped 3. Those 3 would have put me in the top 15. my team finished 7th overall out of 14. Im ready for the next set of trials to start. YOU cant lose fish in these competitions. and you cant blank either. I didnt blank(catching 0 fish.) So I am proud to say that I caught on each venue.

I did go to NC for practice. I ended up 8th, but won my first session. I had a really really bad beat my second beat and I blanked. My third beat I picked up 2 fish for a 3rd place. ive been to every one except the michigan one because it was the following week from cody and I didnt have the funds to go.

It is really tough to learn through reading a description. It would be best to set up a time and I can teach you how to do it. The flies that you use are completely different for most other rivers that just fishing the tailwaters. You will rarely sight fish to fish. Its almost a waste of time unless you can catch the fish. YOu only have 3 hours to fish your beat. I dont know if you know or have looked this far into the rules yet, but you cant use a bead head over 5/32". you can not use coneheads, or beadchain/dumbell eyes. You may not tie off the bend of the hook above nor the eye of the hook above. Saying this, you have to tie your multi-fly rigs, you have to tie off the tag of your tippet to tippet knot. Your flies have to be 50 cm apart hanging from eye to eye. the flies can be as heavy as you want and you can use as many beads on a fly as you want, but all the weight on the fly (lead underbody and all except one bead) have to be covered. This eliminates copper johns and brassies.(the exposed copper wire is considered weight.) This is where Polish Nymphing comes in to play just like I had mentioned in some posts a few months ago. Fishing without an indicator is not as hard as it seems. and once you become comfortable without using one, you wont go back to it. To start getting used to it, you can use a dry fly as an indicator. and you are able to use up to 3 flies at a time. when casting 3 flies, you cant really cast a tight loop. you have to force yourself to cast a very wide loop. and when nymphing with multiple flies, I would recommend getting the Rio Nymph line. it has a bright orange tip and helps you when high sticking. also when nymphing with multiple flies, you dont cast them. its more of a lob. YOu should be fishing in the high percentage areas: you should be fishing fast water. dont waste time on pools. Learn how to fish pocket water. You only have 3 hours to fish your beat and you have to catch a fish. Blanking is UNACCEPTABLE in competitions. YOur whole attitude on fishing will change. If you dont catch fish you lose. FOr lakes: since we dont have any high country lakes here it will be EXTREMELY and I mean EXTREMELY difficult, to learn how to catch trout in lakes. They arent like bass or pike or perch or walleye's. You cant just go to a lake and throw a bugger. you have to learn how to fish BIG midges size 10-16, damsel nymphs, caddis, and callibaetis. They only way to get used to the comp stuff is to start practicing and setting up the situations you will face in competitions. I dont know if you have school or not, but the best way to get a feel for it is to go and watch a comp. Contact me if you want to fish and learn about competitive fly fishing.

Send me a PM with any questions you have. I could help you quite a bit since I have a lot of experience with the Adult US Fly fishing team and BTW I am heading to nationals on the 26th. top 10 finish and Im on the team.

Leonard right after you caught that fish, you said that you caught an 8 pounder. I dont know where you get 12 pounds from that. 10 lbs at the greatest and I sure dont know how you feel like you can add a couple more inches here and a couple there. Yes I'll agree that it was a nice fish. But I dont agree on your estimations.

My advice to you would to use a freakin net. If you use a decent net you wont damage the fish. Its thinking like that that kills the most fish. just net him and let him go and you wont have the problem of them fighting themselves to death.

just like he invented the Pine squirrel or pine squirrel sculpin? There I did it. I'm "that guy". On a place like taneycomo, there arent any secrets as which flies to use and when. And as far as going to say that you should hide it from your competitors is a load of crap. Coming from guiding on the Juan, there are no secrets there. You have your choice of midges, midges, midges with a side of midge. yeah there are a bunch of different midge patterns, but almost Every guide especially my buddies Chris, Chris, Jeremy, Wiley, and Dave at Abes and Dusty at Rise n Fly, were all about sharing if they were catching and I or any other guide were'nt. The same goes the other way, if I was catching, I was more than happy to share as we drifted by eachother. Its not to say oh so and so is a way better guide. As far as being from a different fly shop and another guide, it is all about the clients. They want to catch fish. So we as guides want eachother to do well so we all shared info. If people want to be selfish on taney, thats fine. they can be egotistical and keep info. But if I were guiding on taney now, you bet your butt I would share what I was catching my fish on. If my clients were doing awesome, and you werent, wouldnt you like to know what I was using to catch fish on so your clients would catch fish. Ill get off my soap box now, but give me a break. Secret flies are a load of crap.

Phil if you get a chance to fish Lily Lake again, please do. Im pretty sure that its one of the venues for the National Championships in october. Any thing you could do would be a great help, even some pictures so I can get an idea of what to expect. pictures of the Big T and Poudre would help also. they are the 2 rivers we are fishing. 2 sections on the poudre and one on the big T. I never got to fish those rivers up there so I need all the info i can get from you or anyone, as far as fly patterns for the fall only. Ill be there the first week in october.

That river is aka the South Platte. can be tough fishing. you should drive up and fish at the deckers bridge, or plan a day trip and drive up to estes and fish the Big T or the Poudre. There are many waters to wet a fly around there.

thats fine with me. the sooner the better.

im in with a noble chernobyl

Yep!!!! I'll be there. It was good to meet you today duckydoty and Terry. Cant wait to get some afterhours fishing in, and then take a break at the Backcountry Hillbilly Gentlemans club to see Michael's slow strip in action

hey greg----im back in town now. I spent the day today in michael's shop. let me know when you want to get together so I can help you out

well im used to the tourists, all the gaper texicans. the town was over run with them when i left.

So, Im back. Let me tell you that I already hate not waking up and seeing Animas Mountain out my window, the La Platas on my drive to work, and being able to walk down the street and be in the middle of a blitzing hatch. Instead I get to deal with, road rage because springfield drivers suck, 90 degree heat oh and 80% humidity (instead of 0-20%), and being able to walk down the street in a blitzing people hatch. Boy do I already miss Durango. It is good to be home in the Ozarks, ah Taney here I come. If anyone is planning on heading down in the next couple days let me know cause I'd love to get down there and fish. I have no hard cash to pay for gas, but I can pay you in flies.

they are great rods. and yes they are compareable to the TiCR

well it should cool off by then. I have some areas lined up for you especially in the high country that will not be as hot as in town. If you want to avoid the hotness, the forget the San Juan. Your wife will be miserable

I cant wait to be fishin buddies again michael, but not in a brokeback kind of way....hahaha. Greg the chances of you having good weather when you get here are nearly 100%. You may encounter an afternoon thinderstorm, but its nothing to get your panties in a wad about. Durango averages 300+ days a year of sunshine and bluebird skies.

Ill be back next saturday. so any time after that will be great.

Its a good thing that I guide out of Durango huh? Greg, when I get back we should get together and I can talk one on one with you if you want, Ive pretty much this area dialed in so any help that you need I can most likely provide.