Fly Fishing BS thread

https://youtu.be/pSlPuU4hL-g

https://youtu.be/vFRbmQi-k0s

 

Jeeze ^

What do you guys use to clean and dress your fly lines?

 

Spent all day last Sunday fishing Laurel Hill here in western PA. It rained 80% of the day, so fishing wasnt the best but I did manage to catch a few rainbows.









Cheers

 

Some nice fat brook trout from a recent fly fishing trip up to Baxter State Park, Maine.

 

50 cent velcro rod holder if you got a lined topper

 

Got some days off of work in my new home for the summer. Been itching to get out and explore some new areas, and to catch some bull trout. A few hard days of fishing paid off when I figured out the rivers secrets...





Out of the four biggest Bulls of the trip, the largest was 31" and probably weighed ten pounds.

 

Nice! What state are you in?

 

Hit Turneffe Atoll in Belize, last week. Unfortunately, the day we got there was the only real good day, weather wise. Very difficult fishing. Did see, and cast to Permit. No catching. Did see, and cast to Tarpon. No catching. Did catch many Bonefish, though.

 

Question of the day

 

I second( or is that third by now?) this question.

 

Heres my question of the day -


First off, quick background/back story...

I purchased an Orvis Clearwater 9'5w outfit over the winter and love it. I gave my old lady the Cabela's brand set up I was using before. She hates it. I hated it. After switching to the Clearwater, it a night and day difference between the 2. Ive let her use my new outfit and she's much more comfortable casting it.

However, she does not fish very often, and when we do fish, she only fishes for a little while then gets bored. I should just be thankful she enjoys going on these fishing trips and like spending time outside, right?

Anywho, I think part of the problem is the rod/reel she's using. I think the other part of the problem was the waders she wore weren't very comfortable - she has since gotten a new, much more comfortable pair. But the problem with the rod/reel still lingers.

When we're fishing, I'll typically let her use my Orvis rod when shes interested in fishing, and she seems to do better with it. She seems to have fun with it. She can cast much better. All around, it seems like a much better fit for her.

Alright, all of that brings me to this....

I was looking for something similar to the Clearwater setup I have, for her. However, since she doesn't fish as much as I do (I typically fish 2-4 times a week, she fishes maybe 2-4 times a month) I was looking to spend a little less than I did on mine just because we are on a tight budget (were in the middle of purchasing out first home). Im looking for something that'll perform similar to mine.

Orvis has their "budget" outfit, the Encounter, for 160$ and is currently offering free shipping. Ive read the reviews and have done some research, and it seems like the perfect entry level set up for someone who fishes occasionally (like her). Only real issue I see is it doesnt carry their 25 year warranty.

Does anyone on here any real world experience with this combo? Any complaints? Comments? Ect?

Thanks a ton guys.

 

steveo- While I understand you're on a budget, .................... You already know that your wife likes the Clearwater rig you use. Seems the simplest solution is for you to pass that combo on to her, and then look for another rig for yourself. I've never used Orvis before. I do have an Orvis 12 wt reel for tarpon, but all my other rods are Sage, Winston, and Scott. With a couple homemade, by friends (Cabela blanks), thrown in. Save up. get something you're happy with. All the rods mentioned come with a Lifetime warranty.

 

Finally got around to editing a couple more photos. In these shots you can see the vastness of the Flats on Turneffe Atoll. Landing a fish on the Flats can be very difficult what with the coral, and rocks, and driftwood. Not to mention the incredible power of a Bonefish. The one pictured isn't very big but will still bend an 8wt. rod in half. We found a lot of Bones right on the edge of the reef.

 

Thanks for the advice Don. I ended up finding a used 9' 5w Encounter outfit for super cheap on a local forum and snagged it up just because. I havent had a chance to fish it yet but I did get to cast it in the front yard after work today. Feels good.

On a side note. I found the issue with the Cabelas 7'6" 3w I have. The line on it is complete junk. I put the reel off of my Orvis outfit on it to see what would happen. Overloading it with 5w line really woke it up. It loads better and casts much smoother than I could ever imagine. I ended up ordering new line for it and put it on an old Martin Model 63 I have.



I used this setup this weekend and loved it. I even landed this nice large mouth with it -

 

Man this thread is dead. Does everyone stop fly fishing in the summer?

Anyways. To update on the Orvis Encounter I purchased.... Love it. Cast very similar to my Orvis Clearwater. The old lady likes it, she can cast it not problem.

This past weekend I fished a tiny little brookie stream in NWPA. I fished it with my 7'6" 3w rod and 5w reel. It was a blast











Just a few of the dozen native brookies I caught.

I caught a nice holdover stocked brown in the same little brookie stream -

 

Beautiful!

I've done pretty good with my CW this year as well. No pics, sorry.

 

Sad to say , the water is just too hot for good fishing now. Fresh & salt has been very slow. The Fall will be on us soon & the action will be better than the spring. Thats just the way it goes where I live.

greenpants...mike

 

Yep, the rivers are hot. Anything I catch I would have to keep. I did make it out to the alpine lakes in snowy range to get the girlfriend casting. I have pics from that day so I will look at them and see if anything is worth posting.

 

In other news, I warrantied out one of my G. Loomis rods last week.

Around 6 years ago I broke the top off my 9 wt steelhead rod. I never got around to sending the thing in for repair/replacement.

I sent the rod out in the mail on a Saturday, they called me on the following Wednesday to tell me that my particular rod was not made anymore but could replace it with a comparable model. I told them the new model would be fine. The new rod was delivered by Friday the same week! G Loomis service is awesome!

Shimano ownes G Loomis now, so I'm not sure if that is the reason for good service or not.

The rod feels the same, but haven't tried it out in the river yet. It's a different color than the other. Kinda pale, flat green color. Actually kinda ugly, but that won't affect the way it fishes.

Prolly gonna shop for a new real for it. I hate shopping for reels.

 

Damn. Im still getting into small brookie water thats in the low 60*s mid day. The air temps here are in the upper 80*s/low 90*s during the day, but the nights have been dipping down in the low to mid 60*s.

Me and my buddy got in a solid afternoon/evening for brookie fishing yesterday. This was his first time fishing native brookies. After a few missed hook sets, he finally landed one.



And a few others from the day -