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metau

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Posts posted by metau

  13. Posted · Report reply

    After hitting the lake today I may bring 10 spools!!! Getting the hang of it though.

     

     

    Wear a long sleeve shirt and tuck the butt of the rod into the cuff. Keeps you from breaking your wrist and will help slow you down. On your casts, wait until you feel the feel the rod load under the back/front cast, before moving the other direction. I would even say wait until the line falls flat, just so you can feel the whole load. Casting is much simpler than it seems.

     

    At the line weights we are talking about, the reel is primarily a place to keep the line stored while traveling. There is no need to spend big bucks on nice drags and large arbors. Even the simplest of drags can handle the class of fish you will be targeting with that set up. If you get a reel with no drag, then learn how to palm. Having a reel for the 5wt that you can get a spare spool for will be great, so you can switch between the floating and sinking lines easily (though you can reach quite deep without a sinking line. but it is harder to stay down that deep). Orvis Battenkill's are hard to beat for the price, and you can get a reel and a spare spool for less than $160. But Ross, Lamson and Sage also make great entry-level reels. I've not owned a Reddington in decades, so I will reserve my comments on that brand, but did pick up a TFO reel as part of a kit, and it is also not too shabby of a reel.

     

    I am not sure what your fly collection is looking like, but there are fairly consistent patterns that work year after year in the same bodies of water, depending on air and water temps. Call local shops ahead of time, let them know when you will be on the water, and ask what typically works that time of year. Buy in bulk or tie your own before you leave, then stop in to thank them and get latest conditions, plus pick up a half dozen flies as a thank you. Before you leave, buy some very fine netting (mosquito netting or small green fish nets-think goldfish as a kid), 2 wooden 3/8" thick rods 10-12" long, and make yourself a little seine net that you can roll up and tuck out of the way, but can drop down into the water and see what is floating through. Pull the net up, take out your fly box, and match what you see in the net.

     

    Be aware of which bodies of water you fish require barbless hooks. Watch your back casts, keep the sun off your neck, trust your poloraized glasses, and tight lines.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Go with standard tipping practices. A bit more if they are providing lunch. I will say that the clients I remember from when I guided were the ones I had the best conversations with, shooting the chit like we were age old friends, and not the ones that tipped the most.

     

    If I was going to fish a river for 4 days, I would do day #2 guided, if that is what I could afford. Get into the swing of things and learning the water on day one, then pay attention to everything the guide feels like teaching on day two, then apply those to days three and four.

     

    Also, if you do go guided, many times they will have access to private waters, and a cheaper walk/wade trip will put you on smaller fish that rarely ever see a fly. Just a thought.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Could do a whole month just in YNP. If you are going to be in southern/central Wyoming, then I would hit the North Platte and the Big Laramie. In Colorado, I would fish the South Platte at Cheeseman Canyon and between Spinney Mountain/Eleven Mile reservoirs. If the timing is right I would recommend the caddis hatch on the Arkansas, or the stonefly hatch on the Gunnison. Both are spectacles to behold. Otherwise the Green, Blue, Fryingpan and upper Colorado would be my recommendations. The tailwaters of the Taylor River hold the biggest trout you will ever lay eyes on, but as it is the most technical fishery I have ever fished, I cannot recommend it to a novice flyfisherman. Of course, once all is said and done, you need to fish the San Juan in NM, as it is on the path home.

     

    Gear wise, you could fish the whole trip with a 5wt, though the big browns in some of those rivers would warrant a 6wt line (also helpful for shooting through the wind). I have fished every single one of those waters with a 4wt, some even with a 3wt. If I was doing a trip like this, I would likely take a 9' 5wt, with three spools for the reel, two 5wt and one 6wt, and then a 7'6" 3wt setup for any small creeks I stop to have lunch or camp near. All line would be WF floating, except the second 5wt would be WF sinking/sinktip. Don't forget the gammut of leaders, tippet, strike indicators and weights. Enjoy the trip, sounds like a blast.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Well, after tons of thought, research and emails on various forums with owners of each, I ended up buying the 884 this morning from Doug at CamerlandNY. As always, customer service was top notch. Once it gets out here, I will get it out in the field and do a review on it. Lay also try to get a Meopta S2, Leica APO and Swaro ATX/STX out there too and do a full write up. Thank you to everyone who responded or PM's about this.

    • Like 2

  21. Posted · Report reply

    I shoot the 125gr Montec's as well, have for over a decade now. I always sharpen out of the package, and while I have not taken many animals in that time frame, my longest tracking job was 60 yards on a Javelina. Have missed a few shots and dug them out of dirt/rocks and a few trees/logs and have always been able to resharpen them and put back into my quiver. Will also say that when hunting, I will resharpen them throughout the hunt, just to make sure they always have the sharpest edge possible.

     

    Have been contemplating switching things up this year and going to a single-bevel broadhead for more weight and EFOC.

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