Fly Fishing BS thread

damn that sux

 

Congrats on the new truck. nice fish!

 

Which river is that?

 

Got an old buddy/acquaintance of mine that caught 2 massive 30"+ steelheads in bay area CA area.
Won't tell me where but was really nice to see. Very difficult catching steelhead around here.

 

The ol' miss!

 

Putah creek?

 

From what I understood its between SF and Big sur.
So many creeks though. I'm thinking san lorenzo or big sur creek.

 

Finally, after all these years, picked up a 9wt outfit to chase Stripers here in Maine during the summer months when I don't fish for Brook Trout and LL Salmon. Found some great deals on eBay. Echo Boost Salt 9' 9WT, Ross Animas 9/10 loaded with Rio Cold Water Striper (350g 30' shooting head) and a few flies. Looking forward to it!

 

EDIT: I actually bought the 9Wt ion XL. Nvm. Thought I got the same one you have.

I got it last year in may and I FINALLY bought a reel for it.
My goal with it was to fish surf pearch off the shore in Santa Cruz Ca.
I'll post picture of the reel I bought off craigslist. Unfortunately, 8 weight line. It's a little light on that rod.

 

I have 2 ION XL's in 7wt that I use for Coho/Silver salmon in Alaska. They are canons. I like them so much I went with the Salt Boost (for the corrosion resistant components).

 

Damn I called and I remember them telling me ion XL is corrosion resistant. It was the type of graphite (what the rod is made of ) that is different.
I got a weight 9 and I’m kinda regretting it. I feel 8 would have been better all around. Heres the reel I got today on craigslist. Unfortunately it’s an 8 weight line. Looks brand new. I’ll either get an 8wt rod or 9 wt line. We’ll see. Sounds like you enjoy the XL so will prob keep it.

Side note. I used to fly cast competitively with Steve Rajeff in 2008’s in San Francisco . Founder of echo rods. Small world.

Picture is size comparison of my little behemoth reel lol

 

I believe the Ion XL is Saltwater rated. I just wanted a fully dedicated rod setup for the salt. From what I read, the Boost Salt is a faster rod, has the non glare finish and has slightly upgraded components. Can't go wrong with either in my opinion.
I assembled the Boost and it is definitely stiffer/faster than my Ions. I'm ok with that since I'll be checking those big & heavy Striper flies.

 

Howdy. Still very new to fly fishing. Long time angler though . I'm finding that a lot of places in the north country I fish the banks are steep, the brush is right to the shore line and the rivers are wide with lots of volume in sections.

We target both robust smallies and salmon in these areas . Would I be in the right mind set to start considering a switch rod for the extra reach out ?

 

Sounds like an appropriate choice but I’d make sure you have a solid skill set with the “traditional” gear before u complicate things lol

And remember fish don’t care how pretty ur cast is, presentation is everything

 

Fortunately I have local water that has a manageable gph with low obstructions in front to practice . And there are a few local clubs that off clinics that I'd probably invest in. Thanks for the feedback !

 

Roll Cast works wonders in those situations.

 

We are from the same neck of the woods. Haha that's pretty much all I use around here

 

If you're fishing really wide rivers, I've always been about trying to get closer than to cast farther. Of course there are times when you just can't get there from here and you need a long cast, but those situations aren't the norm and wouldn't be worth buying new gear for. Just my opinion.

 

And there are spey casts you can do with a single handed rod as well. I think I've self taught myself some of these over the years. Wouldn't even know what they are called though. I just use them for the given situation.

 

Everyone else from the other 47 states won't appreciate that haha.