Any fly fishermen around?

[Nathans_Dad]

I've been fly fishing for about three years now, usually trout on a small stream up in Oklahoma. The wife asked me yesterday what I wanted for Father's Day and I was thinking about a new fly rod.

Currently I have a 5 weight beginner rod (Redington Crosswater series) which is my main rod and a 6 wt which is my backup (cheap Bass Pro brand I got off Craigslist for $20).

I'm thinking about a 7.5 to 8 foot 3 weight rod. I've heard good things about TFO and their warehouse is about 20 minutes from my house so warranty stuff should be a snap. My friend had a 3 wt the last time we went fishing and he loves it.

Any thoughts?

[LWJ]

Yep. Do you cast long casts? Into the wind? Or like me (small stream trout guy) want precision casts at medium to short distance? Fly rod companies have been making pretty fast (unforgiving) rods for a while. I do have some fast graphite and fished it a week ago. My preference? SLOW, light rods. I want the rod to load up with minimal line out so that I can be in control in the 10-20 foot radius around me. While the long intro? I am very partial to fiberglass rods. I have a Steffen Brothers 2-3 wt (lovely, wispy and very light). I actually called them yesterday as I am obsessing on a heavier weight rod. I also have a Scott graphite 3 wt and a Scott graphite 4 wt that are really nice. I do prefer the fiberglass however. Glass can be cheap. EDIT: I just read the reviews on a glass rod at Cabelas and I don't think I would buy this rod. However, it would do you well to read the negative reviews so that you can understand what can go wrong! It seems, the Cabelas rods are build very stiff and perhaps over the standard of line weight? I want to hold / cast a rod or at least read a bunch of reviews before purchasing. Fly rod manufacturers produce more marketing B.S. than any industry I have seen. I did just fine two weeks ago with a garage sale graphite and a nasty old line. I was with some boy scouts and I didn't want to loan a nice rod out. PM me if you want to talk in person. I am NOT an expert, just an enthusiastic fan.

Larry

PS - I am also a tight wad. I like to buy the blanks and build my own. Check out Anglers Workshop or other such DIY shops on the web for ideas. Even though I am partial to fiberglass, a nice moderate action graphite rod is wonderful as well. Hence my two Scott rods.

[dyount]

I've got "a few" rods and fish small limestone trout creeks here in the NE.

I typically use a Grey's 8 1/2' 4wt and love it. As well, I broke it (do not put a 4 pc rod lazily taken down to 2 pc and placed in the trunk of my Targa). Called Greys North America and they replaced the broken piece no charge. As well, you can get a year over-run for not alot of beans.

Also, I'd look into a Sage for that matter. Make sure to look into the balance issues of your current reel as well. It makes a huge difference when you fish small creeks with alot of overhead cover as to if you can roll or Skagit cast. And yes, you can Skagit cast a very light rod with long leader and a dry fly

[Nathans_Dad]

Where my main fishing spot is is usually small streams, about 30 feet across or so and lots of roll casting due to dense vegetation and trees around. There are a very few spots where you can do a full cast but even then I'm not casting more than 15-20 yards. I'm looking to go with a bit shorter rod, maybe a 7.5 or 8 foot one. The trout are stocked, usually 14-20 inches.

I like Sage and my friend has a Sage rod that I like, however it's twice the cost of the TFO. I doubt I'm good enough to tell the difference at this stage!

[craigster59]

I have few rods. I have 2 Sage SP's, a 9' 4wt and a 7' 2wt. I also have a Cabela's 11' 4wt for Czech nymphing and 2 TFO's.

The TFO's are 2wt and 3wt, similar to the Sages. They cost about $500 less than the Sage and to me are on par in performance and lifetime warranty. They are both Lefty Kreh models. I also like Galvan reels to balance out the package. You can have a great setup for around $500 as opposed to $1000 if you went with Sage or Winston. The Fly Shop in Redding Calif has some great packages also.

[slakjaw]

I give pheasant feathers to my cousin who makes them into flys. Looks like a hell of a good time it's something on my list of stuff to learn before I check out.

[craigster59]

Here's a link to The Fly Shop.
https://catalog.theflyshop.com/index.php?cPath=23_56&osCsid=1r390mbldeac742h9plndj6l8bfs3k6d

[craigster59]

If you're fishing close quarters you might want to try Czech nymphing. Usually done with a longer rod, it's done with mostly roll, flip and backhand casting. Great results and easy. Here's a video with Guy Jeans, great dude and guides on the Kern and Golden Trout Wilderness.
KRFS Report #1 - Czech-Style Nymphing - March 2012 - YouTube

[porsche4life]

ND are you fishing the Blue River outside of tishomingo? We caught some nice trout there last spring on spinning reels.

If you ever want to make up limit down there try Berkeley trout worms on about a 24" leader. We limited out in under an hour.

[dyount]

Tenkara, simple fly fishing method from Japan, uses only a telescopic tenkara rod, tenkara line and tenkara fly: Index Just for fun , the Japanese method. Rod and fly and that's it.

My "go to" is Grey's 4wt with an Ebay Orvis battenkil . I'd say I might have $250 in the whole set-up. Been using the same for 5yrs or so. I can Czech nymph with it with up to 3 flys on a drop but have an old Loomis 10/6 for that...

As well, a 10' bamboo I re-habbed that although horribly slow will "throw" line wicked far if needed.

[Nathans_Dad]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

ND are you fishing the Blue River outside of tishomingo? We caught some nice trout there last spring on spinning reels.

If you ever want to make up limit down there try Berkeley trout worms on about a 24" leader. We limited out in under an hour.

I've fished the Blue several times and you're right the fishing is good. They only stock trout from November to March though. In the other months we usually fish the Lower Mountain Fork river tailwater below Broken Bow lake in SE Oklahoma. I'm also trying to get out to the White and Norfork rivers in northern Arkansas, I hear they have excellent brown trout there. Lastly my cousin has a bay boat and likes to go down to the coast for redfish and I've heard a redfish on a fly rod is awesome! That's a whole other set up though.

[Nathans_Dad]

I'm thinking of leaning more towards a 4 wt than a 3. I'm concerned the 3 might limit me too much and since my 5 weight is my "beginner rod" the new 4 might become my new go to rod. I have an opportunity to do some fishing up in Montana and Colorado this summer and the 4 should be easier to cast for a distance if I need to.

[LWJ]

I am very interested in Tenkara. It fits how I fish.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Berkeley trout worms

You are joking

I've got to try these. Fly fishing is hardly a blood sport when I'm doing it. Unless you include that one back in 1974. I'm busting to get out there with these.

[dyount]

Well..... I'll let my Pcar bros in on an eastern secret. The fly is a cone head with rabbit zonker hide with a single hook by the cone, a second tied below using rod backer to string the two hooks. Weight the hell out of it, use copper wire to keep the two hooks tied to the rabbit skin.
Use whatever rod can actually fly the thing, let it sink and strip the line back in quick jerks.
It'll drive huge trout crazy ........... landed a 20+" brown in a creek no more than 30 yards wide the other night.
Honestly I'd rather fish for smaller trout using standard flies etc but every once in a while I go hunting for lunker trout

[jyl]

I used to do a lot of fly fishing on small brushy streams. Sometimes even a roll cast was a luxury. Often you had crawl under the brush, wriggle to the stream, feed the rod tip out over the water , shake out line and let it pull downstream until the rod was loaded, then flick it upstream as your "cast". My favorite rod was a Sage LL (medium action) 4 weight 9 foot. A long rod is actually better for that stuff. Keeps your big scary hands and arms farther from the fish's cone of vision. I miss fly fishing. It was my absolute passion for years. I still have my rods, reels, fly boxes, somewhere.

[steveo12345]

Originally Posted by dyount

Well..... I'll let my Pcar bros in on an eastern secret. The fly is a cone head with rabbit zonker hide with a single hook by the cone, a second tied below using rod backer to string the two hooks. Weight the hell out of it, use copper wire to keep the two hooks tied to the rabbit skin.
Use whatever rod can actually fly the thing, let it sink and strip the line back in quick jerks.
It'll drive huge trout crazy ........... landed a 20+" brown in a creek no more than 30 yards wide the other night.
Honestly I'd rather fish for smaller trout using standard flies etc but every once in a while I go hunting for lunker trout

I discovered this on Penns Creek this year. Big fish like big flies. Really big fish like really big flies!

[M.D. Holloway]

Yup, going in 2 weeks to the Ozarks with my Son to throw some wooly buggers! I have a #5, he has a #6. The type and size fish as well as the type of fisherman you are shall dictate the size and flex of the rod.

We don't tie any yet but we have caught bass, blue gill, perch and yes even catfish (but no trout yet) with our fly rods. Fun stuff...

[regency]

I grew up fly fishing in No. California, my Mom & Dad are still really into fly fishing, they are in Montana & Idaho every Summer. Whenever I go, I make a point to tell my Mom that "I gots my Pole", she says......"No! it's a ROD!

1973 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

Steve

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

You are joking



I've got to try these. Fly fishing is hardly a blood sport when I'm doing it. Unless you include that one back in 1974. I'm busting to get out there with these.

No kidding. We went to the blue river in OK and found a good spot across some good flow that looked to have a few holes for them. In under an hour we pulled in our limit of keepers, and tossed back probably that many again. So maybe 20-30 fish between the two of us. Everyone else in the area caught maybe two during that time.

I need to try them out here in AZ. We hooked the worms in the middle at their thickest point, with about 18-24" of monofilament leader. Then a swivel and just enough split shot to get them to bottom bounce. That river is rocky so we used braid to help with tangles.

I love going after trout with an ultralight spinning setup. A good trout puts up a more fun fight than this beast did.

Oh and ND. When it's too cold to trout fish, find a guide to take you "dead sticking" on lake Texoma. I caught this one in match of 13. Bloody cold day though.