Fly rods

[mainerova]

The good the bad the Ugly

I have some thoughts....

How long to newer graphite rods take to wear out?---


I have a 4wt mid flex G loomis that makes a 5wt orvis superfine full flex look like an oak?Whad up wid dat?

Superfine def has more beef and rod behind it but you need to find the ass bone, does'nt always happen.

BTW the 4wt is a llbean Double L 9", made by G Loomis.

Also have a 3wt tip flex that acts like it should, plus more more $160 reel included! It does everything except cast longer than the 4wt!


I want to learn more on rods and the way they work!

PS best rod I ve casted in the Z-Axis.....tip heavy but lays it down smooth far an in close!\




tight lines

Mark

Asshole deap in a river

 

[MUSKYMAN]

robs are like people they all have personality.

the trick is in adjusting your casting stroke to allow you to do many things with the same rod.

if a rod feels slow load it with less head outside the tip top. if you need that rod to fish better inclose and its slow, underline it.

comparing one rod to another is kinda a waste of time unless you have a single defined purpose that you are gearing up for. once you get outside that single purpose you have to understand that specialization is how the companies sell you more equipment.

 

[emmodg]

What Thom said.

Many times people have that "go-to" rod. They'll fish a rod as their favorite and their cast will naturally "adapt" to that rod's flex. I fished, and still do somewhat, cane almost exclusively. After a few years with cane everything feels A LOT different than when you remembered it! That's a bit of an exaggerated example but it proves the theory I think. Have you been fishing one rod a lot lately? One "kind" of flex perhaps?

Z-Axis? Damn nice rod. I wish I liked Sage more... I've fallen in love with the Helios but my Scott S4 is my mistress! (Fuckin' thing is a CANNON!)

 

[Mike_Rupp]

I have to wonder about your rod selection. Having a 5 weight, slow action and a 4 weight, med action seems backwards. I started out with a 9' 5 weight fast action, which is the default go to fly rod out here. It is really perfect for the big wide rivers, where longer casts are normal. When I fished on some of the smaller mountain streams; however, short casts are the game, and the 5 weight seemed to be dead for a 15' cast. That's why I bought a Orvis Superfine 4 weight. The slow action is much better for close in.

As far as the high end graphite stuff, it really boils down to preference. They are all well made. After spending some time at a 2 day casting seminar with a few of the best instructors out here, I've come to realize that the rod doesn't matter a hill of beans. It's just like a golf club. It's 99% caster / 1% fly rod.

 

[emmodg]

Without a doubt it's 99% caster! I cast with Lefty Kreh at the Virginia Fly Fishing Show/Fair one year and the man could cast ANYTHING and put the fly anywhere!

 

[MUSKYMAN]

little bragging

I got to row memorial day weekend for my 11 year old daughter. she was destroying the big bull blue gils and crappie as they were in spawning.

they were pushed back into the wood spawning so you needed to cast to within about 4" of the wood to get them to strike. until the wind really started wipping she was really putting some nice pin point casts right where they needed to be.

 

[emmodg]

Man, I don't know what it is but many kids can throw DARTS when it comes to casting!

Your daughter has really gotta head-start as a caster: A) She's a girl, (obviously), and women can cast! B) She's starting young and already good! It's just not fair!

 

[Leslie]

I started out w/ a lower-end Orvis 9' 6wt. I got to where I wanted something lighter on trout waters, got a Loomis Streamdance 9' 4wt, it's currently my favorite rod. However, there are a few mountain streams where the 9' was killin' me, so I've picked up another Orvis, a 7' 4wt, for creeks. (Oh, and, my son turned 14 this past Saturday.... he was having the same issues w/ his 9' 6wt, so I got him an Orvis 7'9" 5wt, we'll see how he does w/ it.)

However, I've started fishing a lot more smallies, and I was just finding more and more that my 6wt didn't have enough oomph to throw poppers and streamers into the wind far enough for where I fish. My fishing cohorts use 9' 8wts, so I've just gotten an 8wt myself, but it's a tad shorter, a 8'8" Loomis. I liked my other Loomis so much, I thought I'd give this one a try, too. I also picked up a Winston 9' 8wt, so my son would have a rod w/ more backbone, too.

My buddy who I fish w/, he makes his own bamboo rods. I really see them as works of art, and eventually I'll have to have him make me one, but after hearing the stories of our outher buddy having his bamboo get hula-hooped when a smallie grabbed it instead of a rainbow, well..... as pretty as they are, I would just feel guilty fishin' w/ a good cane rod.

But Thom, you can appreciate this, that buddy of mine and my 7-yr-old hit it off, they're also good buddies that like to rib at each other... we went down to his house for a cookout shortly after he moved in, and beside his house is a pond filled w/ bluegill... so, here was my daughter (6 at the time), poppin' bluegill left and right in that pond, w/ one of his bamboo rods, just havin' a great ol' time, while the rest of us were roastin' hotdogs and makin' smores.....

 

[MUSKYMAN]

But Thom, you can appreciate this, that buddy of mine and my 7-yr-old hit it off, they're also good buddies that like to rib at each other... we went down to his house for a cookout shortly after he moved in, and beside his house is a pond filled w/ bluegill... so, here was my daughter (6 at the time), poppin' bluegill left and right in that pond, w/ one of his bamboo rods, just havin' a great ol' time, while the rest of us were roastin' hotdogs and makin' smores.....

LOL...thats where it all starts

watching my daughter was such a fun relaxing time on the water it makes guiding someone that much more fun.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Well, as long as we're name dropping, the guy I took a class from is Al Buhr: http://www.amazon.com/Two-Handed-Fl...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243911423&sr=8-1. It is truly humbling to take a class from a guy like that.

 

[stolenheron]

I learned how to cast from Rick Ruoff, The Orvis Sporting Life and Jose Wejebe, host of the Spanish Fly.

Rick Ruoff is a family friend and my father and him have done several fly fishing trips to Christmas Island. So I've worked with him in Florida and in Wyoming. Jose Wejebe, I was introduced to at a fishing show in south florida and have worked with him at several fishing shows.

Rick is probably the best caster I've ever seen and really helped me out when I was just learning to throw a fly.

A guide named Corey (dont remember his last name) from Duranglers fishing shop in Durango, CO. was the best guide I've had fly fishing. He really helped me out alot when I was a little kid the first 2 times I fly fished the San Juan river in New mexico

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Here's a pic of Al Buhr casting at a recent spey clave. Before you think this cast is all trickery, this cast is designed to aerialize a bunch of line with minimal backcast space. Imagine that you have foliage about 4 feet behind you, and you need to cast about 60 feet in front of you.

 

[stolenheron]

Here's a pic of Al Buhr casting at a recent spey clave. Before you think this cast is all trickery, this cast is designed to aerialize a bunch of line with minimal backcast space. Imagine that you have foliage about 4 feet behind you, and you need to cast about 60 feet in front of you.

thats frickin awesome.

 

[mainerova]

Its great what people will create in the name of fish!

I found this vid on roll casting, I have been try it but so far no luck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2k26G_RR8w

Also, I have been making some furled leaders this year and so far they seem to be best on faster rods. They seem to lay out but then crash to the water with med or full flex rods. I have tried 6/0 and 8/0 thread. Any thoughts?

 

[emmodg]

Whatever that was supposed to be looked like a GREAT way to put fish down.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

Whatever that was supposed to be looked like a GREAT way to put fish down.

the first zig zag sheet was kinda crazy but the last water haul to a shoot was pretty smooth...thats something I use all the time for musky and pike because you have to strip in alot of line to see if you have a fish working behind the fly at boat side.

 

[flyfisher11]

FWIW my "go to rod" is my all time favorite Scott PowRply G series 7'7" three wt three piece. I F'in love this rod! I mostly fish small mountain streams and this thing just fits. I had tons of rods and still have a few in the collection, but the G series Scotts are my favorites. Nice slow action with a strong backbone.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

Mike

you just illustrated something I have thought for a long time , people like slower rods.

its not sexy to sell a rod as slower action but yet people fish more often closer in then the range the rod they are using is designed for because the industry started racing to faster and faster action rods.

I find myself overlining rods alot to slow them down, my favorite small mouth rod is 7 weight that I overline with a 8 line to let the action slow down to where it can throw wind resistant flies easier. yet even at a 7 weight it has landed hundreds of 20" smallmouths without ever the need for more backbone.(yes hundreds we have the worlds best smallmouth fishery near by)

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Whatever that was supposed to be looked like a GREAT way to put fish down.

I'm not sure what the reasoning behind that cast is, but a simple snake roll cast is a good cast to use when you want to take the line at the dangle (river right) and bring it back straight ahead of you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz90oVZV45c&videos=UWXiSlLAj_Q&playnext=3&playnext_from=TL

 

[emmodg]

I agree Mike!

That "mess" before the last haul was needless.

I've seen that video before of the girl. That IS the way to do it.