old f--ts with flyrods

[rgfixit]

Struggled a bit with my 10’ 6 wt this morning. Haven’t tossed a fly with it in a while. A whole different a rhythm than most of my other rods. Conditions weren’t too favorable either. Water was pretty riled from all the rain we’ve had. Anyway, I got skunked on the fly rod.found some fish jigging though.

Think tomorrow’s rod is going to be a TFO Axiom 9’ 5 wt that I built  in 2012. It’s a nice rod. A bit on the stiff side. But I usually put a 6 wt line on it to compensate.

The journey continues.

[trapper2000]

your  leader  should  roll not tangle  on your strike indc.  my sugestion is cast somewhere you can have  someone  video you and  watch your self  after  you'll see your weak spots and  you'll  fix them  ....this  works shooting  bow  and  golfing too

[rgfixit]

Ain’t nobody gonna video my golf swing. Not ever!

[trapper2000]

 

[62 & Done]

going to give it a go tomorrow. It's against my better judgment going on a Sunday, but maybe the clouds will keep a few in the backyards tending the BBQ

[oatkasut]

fished with the 3 wt. bamboo rod equipped with the 3WT. battenkill reel today for a couple of hours.Despite low and slow  water  managed to get 4 brownies with small griffith's gnat. The combo sure works nice,light as a feather. Got a hit on a 22 trico, which I tired  for fun. Not many rising fish nor bugs in the air; also lacking fishermen which I loved! The heron seemed frustrated too. Got hits on a sulfur and caddis size 16. Should have gone smaller . right now using 6X tippet on an 8 ft. leader. Nice day to be out but too sunny for me.

[rgfixit]

No luck on the fly rod this morning. By the time I got done mowing the fish were deep. Got a couple crappie and a pike on jigs. That fly rod will stay in the car for a bit.

[Bartman44]

Keep the fly rod reports coming, enjoying the reads.

[rgfixit]

Will do. The adventure continues.

[62 & Done]

Will do. The adventure continues.

   Yes it does   Try try as I may, I can't catch a break with this damned wind. Did my usual this morning chasing wally for the first couple hrs. By the time I headed for the gills, here it comes again. I made my best attempt but as you said rg, they went deep and the wind was too much. So I went to the jigs and got a bucket of fish then went to a small, sheltered bay where I wouldn't expect to catch much but got some practice with my swing (if that's what you call it). I think I learned to concentrate on the wrist instead of swinging like I'm playing badminton. Actually managed to send out a few decent looking casts.
  Here's the best part:  After securing my limit of gills, I felt like playing with them a bit and experimenting with different stuff. I caught as many as 20 gills on a piece of rubber band 1 1/2" long stabbed onto a jig. Talk about cheap bait! Now I'm going to stock an assortment of weights and colors of rubber bands.

   Thinking about a 9' rod in place of my 7'  Am I rushing it or should I develop some skills first with what I have. I noticed the Fly Shack has a fairly nice rod (Their own brand) for a buck and a half.  Got busy on the lake today.

[oatkasut]

Go for the 9 ft. rod.  It will allow you to cast easier and get longer casting  distances then with the shorter rod.  As your casting  technique improves you will see the improvement in addition.   You can also try a roll cast  which you can add to your arsenal when in tight places. Good luck and just keep at it!

[rgfixit]

9’ is pretty much a standard. They’ll most likely let you test cast it  and maybe even help you out a bit.

And ….there is no wrist in fly casting. Watch some Joan Wolff casting videos.
https://vimeo.com/70577574

[62 & Done]

I stand corrected    Poor choice of words rg, I guess I knew that , just said it wrong  I watched that little lady. she certainly makes it all look so graceful and simple.

[rgfixit]

It is….sometimes. We all get too quick. Especially on the back cast. That’s the real key is feeling the rod load with the weight of the line….then forward.

You have to remember she was a world champion distance caster. We’ll  never get there. Mostly just go have fun and don’t think about it too much.

[ECobb91]

Ended up hitting a local stream with my dad for a few hours this morning. Didn’t land any on flies and was a very tough/odd bite. Saw a few fish rise after a small hatch but couldn’t get any interest on dries. Switched to a nymph, then double nymph, then dry dropper, and finishes with a small size 8 streamer. Had two hits on the dry dropper and a couple roll on the streamer.

We switched to our spinning rods and caught a couple trout each. Lost one that was pushing 16-18 in the same run that i threw the streamer for about a half hour in.

Just wasn’t our day to use flies but It was still fun to get out and chase some trout w