Fishing For Bass

Grilling Season

2011-05-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't about bass fishing, but you can use these rubs on grilled bass! It's summer and summer means grilling and smoking. Everything from bass to corn - beef to beets. Here are three of my favorite rubs. Easy to make, easy to use.

Carolina BBQ Rub

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup paprika

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well; use as a dry rub on

beef, chicken, lamb or pork.

Carolina

Cajun Blackening Spices

5 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground dried thyme

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix together and store in an air−tight container.

Cajun

Kansas City Rib Rub

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup paprika

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

3/4 tablespoon garlic powder

3/4 tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Don't use this rub with a hot pan. you don't want the brown sugar to burn.

These rubs will keep up to 6 months in airtight containers.

Happy Grilling

Largemouth Bass

2011-05-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

The Largemouth Bass

Make no mistake the Largemouth Bass is a predator, and as a predator it brings to the game a complex genetic skill set. Honed over generations of environmental conditioning the Bass is neither shy or timid. A solitary hunter or part of a loose school. The Largemouth Bass is always a hunter, always a predator. Disturb his domain and your fly will disappear almost as soon as it arrives. Sometimes never to be seen again.

When Bass fishing with a fly rod it is essential to remember that the Bass is not unlike us humans. It is always seeking food, shelter and comfort. Learning what these mean to a Largemouth Bass will take us a long way to catching this elusive hunter.

Food

When does a mouse top the dinner menu? When it is attached to the end of a fly line. As food goes the largemouth Bass is not that particular. They will attack and eat a variety of foods: insects, popcorn, minnows, amphibians, reptiles, worms, mammals etc. They generally prefer larger foods, but can be taken on smaller offerings as well. Even a size 14 dry fly.

Shelter and Habitat

The Largemouth Bass usually invades the shallows from their winter depths as spring arrives. The exact timing is determined by your location. When the weather warms up and ice-out begins you can expect the Bass to awaken from their winter solace.

Once the water warms up to 60 degrees a Largemouth Bass’s thoughts turn to spawning. After spawning, the female leaves the nest and thus begins the male’s job of guarding the nest until the eggs hatch and they turn into a school of tiny black fish. It is during this time that the male will savagely defend the nest. The male Bass will not eat until the little ones leave the nest.

During this time they do not eat, but the will defend and attack. It is now that a mouse pattern plopped down next to the nest will attract his attention and his lateral sense line will go into overdrive. A small mammal is no match for this ferocious predator. With lighting speed he will cover the distance to your mouse pattern. In an instant its gone and your fly line leader tightens to the breaking point.

As a predator once the nest is empty certain habits and cycles of the bass are predictable. As a hunter they do things with enough regularity for us to capitalize on them.

Not unlike us they: “hunt”, they “feed” and they “defend”. Knowing how they do these things will give us an edge on the fight.

The largemouth Bass makes it home in and around structure. Structure is any area that a Bass can take up a position of feeding and ambush superiority. Usually with a backdoor exit to deeper water to escape into. The best structure goes to the largest fish. Such as fallen trees, sunken logs, weed beds, lily pads, piers etc… These are our hunting grounds for the Largemouth Bass.

Early morning Bass fishing is a favorite time. Cooler water and more oxygen. It is now that Bass can be found cruising the shorelines for food. This is when I use a size 2 mouse. Mice often fall into the water from the shore so a mouse isn’t a big surprise for a Bass. Casting our mouse next to the shoreline or into the weeds/Lilly pads or a sunken/floating log will often elicit a hit.

Cast the mouse and let it sit for a moment. Bass will often take a few seconds and look at your treat. But sometime the mouse barely hit’s the water. A bass will take about a 1/10 of a second to determine if the meal is to his liking before he spits it out so you must be ready for a strike.

The afternoon brings out my streamers and wooly buggers in sizes 2 - 6. I fish these a little deeper and outside a weed bed edge with a slight hesitation retrieve. As if it is a wounded fish. A Dalhburg diver is a good fly for this. The Dalhburg will dive as it is retrieved and come back up to the surface as you let up on the retrieve. This action mimics the action of a wounded bait fish. It’s an action few bass can ignore. A little fly float will help this action as well.

The evening brings out the top water flies again. A black or natural mouse size 2, dragon flies size 4, general red and black poppers size 4 even a saltwater white pencil plug with a red tail size 2 can work. Also it is a good time for dry flies. Nothing can beat a 3 lb Bass hitting a size 12 Blue winged olive. Patterns don’t mater to the Bass. We are not matching the hatch. Just annoying a hungry fish. Toss it into edge a weed bed and let it sit. Twitch it and stop. Mimic a struggling wet insect. See what happens.

Check out what other Bass fishers are using in your area.

Fly Rods For Bass Fishing

This is an area of much confusion and misunderstanding. A good fly rod for Largemouth Bass fishing is a 8 ½ foot 6 weight medium to fast action rod. A good medium action rod will get your fly out to 20+ feet depending on your casting style and skill. Set it up with a 7 foot 2x - 4x leader with a matching 12 - 16 inch length of tippet.

Final thoughts

Knowing the habits of this fish will give you the edge in the contest. Deep/shallow, hot /cold, what kind of structure, passage to deep water, food, oxygen, water clarity, shoreline features. Knowing how Bass relate to these and many more environmental stimulants will make the hunter “par excellence” into the hunted. Good fishing.

Fishing and Friends

2011-04-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Here's to the end of a long writing recess.

I popped over to a new friends house the other night for dessert and a little home made vino. The wine was a smokey blend of red with a nice nutty finish. All in all a good dry red. The kind that makes you wish you were on a veranda overlooking the ice blue seas of the Bahamas. Dreaming of tomorrows catch.

Now if I could have finished it with some jazz (Bob Evens, Oscar Peterson....) and a Cuesta-Ray Dominican No. 3 Long Panatela I would have thought I died and went to heaven.

But as it turns out the closest I got to a state of bliss was when the conversation turned to fly fishing. I hadn't known that my friend was into fly fishing. I've known him for a year and you would think it would have come up. My conversation skills must be slipping. I thought that most of my talk was about my latest fishing adventure (the one that got away). I try to slip it in at least once a day.

After learning about our mutual love of fly fishing he took me to his basement to show me his collection of fly rods. A 2wt. and a 4wt. Were taken out of there case and handled with the love a father gives to a new born. I was pleased to see that we had matching fly rod cases. The proverbial PVC case that we all have. If you don't have one and need directions for one. I have the directions for building one on this blog. Search for PVC rod case.

After handing me the 2wt. He told me he had made it. I asked him about the blank and it was a 9'

G. Loomis IMX (fast action). One of my favorite rod building blanks. I then noticed it had a full wells grip. I love full wells handles and even on this 2 wt. It didn't seem to out of place. It had the typical 2 foot snake guides wrapped in black thread. 9 of them made a good balance of guides to rod length. They seemed to be proportionately spaced along the blank and sized correctly for the rod.

Now I'm not a big fan of 2wts rods. To small for me I wouldn't know what to do with it. Cast it or use it as a spear. But it occurred to me after looking at his rod that a good case could be made for single foot snake guides on a rod of this size diameter.

I've long thought that double foot guides create a flat spot along the blank profile. Put nine of then along the rod and there are going to be a lot of flat spots that don't bend with the rod flexure of the cast. Add to this extended thread wraps out past each foot end and you create a longer flat spot. My friend confirmed this when he said that his 2wt cast a little like a hinge. Almost imperceptible but there never the less.

I build all of my fly rods (4wt - 8wt) with single foot guides. With todays guide material and construction I don't see a problem. Use size “A” thread and properly mixed wrap epoxy. Along with good rod prep at the guide spacing and what could be the issue.

A fly rod is designed to have a flex profile along it casting axis. If we create large surface areas that don't flex along this profile then we create dampeners at these rod points. This changes the rods casting performance. Greatly compounded with a poorly alined spine. On a well designed rod blank, maybe and this is a big maybe, it wont be that big of a problem. But on an average blank design, and make no mistake most rod blanks sold today are made average and for the average caster. It could be a noticeable issue. Most of todays rods are sold in the average $150. price range. (and check their spine alinement).

I'm not talking about, wrapping power material around the mandrel, resin, fiber alignment, cure time, overlaps, underlaps, M.O.I, fiber density, resin matrix, kicks and cures, hot spots, oven time, or time to catalyze etc.....ad infinitum . I'm talking about what we as rod builders can do to make a better rod.

Tight line till next time. Drop me a line and lets talk about it.

Swimming for Life

2011-04-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Written by Sonny Quinn

When I was eighteen I went to the Olympics for my swimming ability. That was over two decades ago, but I never lost my love for the water and have since become a local swimming instructor. Here’s nothing I enjoy more than getting in the pool with my kids and showing them exactly how to perform a stroke or make a turn.

I needed mobile internet connection so I could keep track of their stats online, so I checked out www.wirelessinternet.net to see what kinds of mobile offers they had. Once I found one that worked for me I started taking my laptop to the pool and the kids love it.

I can login after practice and post their times from the day to their personalized accounts, giving them a graph of their progress over the weeks.

It seems to really help them set attainable goals and it definitely keeps me more organized. I love my job and being a coach and I’m so glad I’ve found a way to continue to have swimming be a part of my life.

Check out: www.wirelessinternet.net

Hatch Chart Albany Ny

2011-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here is the first half of my hatch chart for Albany - Ny

Pattern

Size

April

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Blue wing olive

14 – 24

Quill Gordan

12 – 14

Hendrickson

12 – 14

Beaverkill

12 – 14

Gray Fox

10 – 14

March Brown

10 – 14

Light Cahill

10 – 14

Ginger Quill

10 – 14

Sulphur Dun

16 – 18

Pale evening Dun

16 – 18

Light Cahill

16 – 18

Green Drake

8 – 12

Brown Drake

10 – 12

Mahogany Dun

10 – 12

Leadwing Coachman

10 – 12

Dun Variant

10 – 12

Tan Cadis

10 – 18

Dark Cadis

10 – 12

Trout fishing for me will start on the Hoosic river around April 15th this year. Water temp 45 - 55 degrees. As a rule water temp will be just about right around 2pm - 5pm. Its a stream that runs west out of Vermont into the Hudson. It is a river that has had its share of trouble. The tanneries all but destroyed its fish population. It is no longer stocked, but it does hold some wild rainbows and browns. What it lacks in fish is made up in the size of fish that are available.

Wide and slow and some fast, riffed water make for some good holding spots for some large fish. Early season above the village of Eagle Bridge puts out some good mayfly hatches. Tan, cream and white are the colors of the spring here. Wets are the preference. A lot of the stream side is unshaded so dries are an afternoon to evening technique. 9" min and 5 take limit, although in this river catch and release is the best way to go. As it is in most rivers.

One of the best trout fishing techniques I have found is asking owner permission before walking across a land owners property. Some of the best areas are behind some-ones home and common respect goes a long way for all fisher persons. Practicing this keeps the fishing open for all.

As for equipment, early spring brings out my 4wt, 7' leader, 4x/5x tippet and size 12 - 16 flies wet - 14 - 18 dry for the afternoon.

Cheap Fishing Gear

2011-03-12T05:16:00.000-08:00

Most of you will call me cheap. I like to spend my money on real fishing gear not trendy gadgets that I can make.

I'm not trying to look like an advertisement for some magazine. So when I needed a third hand this is what I came up with. Ten ($10) bucks for 3 instead of $12 for one!

Forget the vest and attach them to your fishing shirt, build a button lanyard, attach a fly box - and go fishing!

" The Deer Hunter" would be proud.

I used a simple snap-on kit and double sided Velcro tape. And here you go not pretty but you know my thoughts on that.

Simple to make!

Next time my folding stripping basket. Use it as a wading belt, unfold it, it turns into a stripping basket. Fold it back up and move to the next spot. Nothing to get in the way. Light weight, affordable and easy to make.

Obiter Dictum "The Minimalist Fly Fisher"

Fly Fishing and the Minimalist

2010-11-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

In 40 years of fly fishing I have finally come to conclusion that I don't need all the crap I attach to my self when I go fishing.

Lets face it, do I really need a 27 pocket vest when I'm on the water? I know it looks cool and exudes a certain air of expertise. (until I hook a monster tree, bush......!) You know you've caught a few yourself.

So I have been in the search of a way to cut down on what I call "Vest Clutter". I came across the product called a fishing lanyard, Nice Idea. So with an average price of $27 dollars for this Vest Clutter eliminator I decided to head on over to my local Michael's and buy some beards and such collect a few clips I happen to have tucked away in my 27 pocket vest ( that took 10 minutes) and make my own.

Nothing fancy mind you, but it only cost me $6.78 total and about 1/2 hour to put together.

It has 5 clips. So I have reduced 27 pockets to 5 lanyard clips.

Not one to leave well enough alone. Mostly because I had some left over parts from this project. I have taken the 5 clip lanyard one reduction further.

I call it the button lanyard.

Again, nothing fancy, but at a cost of about a $1.50 it works.

Lets see, spools of tippet, pliers, clippers, file, knot tier and if you have to complicate things room for more. It is the ultimate in absurdum reduction.

Hook it to a shirt button and you are set to go. I know your thinking I forgot about flies. Nope not so.
Take a look at my circa 1950's fly box. It is an over the shoulder 3 layer multi compartment fly box.

That's it a button lanyard and a fly box. Oh - don't forget to bring a net.

Obiter Dictum - "The Minimalist Fly Fisher"

Fishing News

2010-08-25T15:47:00.001-07:00

Fishing Catalogs and Bass fishing

2010-01-31T11:53:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year that we come out of our man caves, dust off our catalogs, open a window and breathe deeply. We catch a whiff of spring and awake from our primordial daze to complain that we awoke too soon. No hatch to proclaim. I'm still banging on my garbage cans to break them loose from the ice-encrusted ground. My battery is dead (again). What's there to eat?

Two months until opening day. Of course, I'll wait till May to go Bass fishing. So I get out my Bass flies again! Stare at them in amusement realizing that I have had far too many to use in any one season. Crack open a catalog, pour a cup of coffee, peruse the latest reasons my synaptic gaps are even firing this morning and try to decide what new patterns I need. (again)

Do you loose any brain cells staring at the same pictures over and over? I know I've lost skin cells on my fingers turning pages.

I enjoy and look forward to getting the next fishing catalog. When it arrives in the mail I take time right then to flip the pages, bend a few that interest me and plan my next reading attack.

Yesterday I received one of my favorite catalogs. This particular one I look forward to getting. It's a quality designed catalog, in other words, thought went into its production. I turned to the section “Warm water flies”, What the frick........are you kidding me, who wrote this? I want names, numbers, and e-mails and I want them now!!!!!

Quote: “Bass fishing isn't brain surgery, and you sure don't need to match the hatch.” yadda, yadda I stopped reading.

No, it's not brain surgery, but since when does trout fishing involve the cerebral brain activity necessary to plumb the depths of quantum mechanics. I guess Z0 and trout fishing are the new (G)ods. Please take me off your mailing list. I will buy my flies online. After all, I'm not taking apart some frontal lobe so I guess I can't understand the value of a $600.00+ fly rod. Written about by some polysyllabic marketing fanatic using the “Systematic Buzz Phrase Projector”. Let's see I (think) “there's a stretch” I'll use number 3,7 and 5 “Modified Versatile Performance” that'll open a few wallets, Bob.

It's this kind of subversive under-toning in catalog descriptions that says to every newcomer to the sport of fly fishing, let me see your Ph.D., you can't cast, better take my $300 an hour casting class or you're going to look like a newbie. Fun what's that? Take a kid fishing, omg. $150 equipment? When you are smarter and have studied the art of fly fishing, read every book and logged 1,000 of armchair casting then you will be ready my son. Wax on Wax off.

That's my rant and I'm sticking to it. Till next time see you on the Bass water.

Yes, I canceled my subscription to the catalog.

Fly Fishing

2009-12-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

Learn to fly fish with: "Fly fishing from scratch"

I don't usually out-right suggest a product but, This one hits the nail on the head in its outlook on trout fishing.

It points you in the right direction to get you out on the water with confidence.

So if you want to catch trout like this check out this ebook.

Learning how to fly fish can be one of the most rewarding things you'll ever decide to do.

However, finding all of the information you need (just to cast your first fly!) can be frustratingly time consuming and very expensive.

I've found an online guide which I can recommend called Fly Fishing From Scratch which provides a really easy-to-understand introduction.

Learn to decipher the fly rod

The author's aim is to bring people up to the skill level of an intermediate fly fisher.

Learn the parts of the fly

Check it out and get your copy today!

Fly Fishing From Scratch

Opening Day 4 months away

2009-12-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

Someone said to me the other day, only 4 more months to opening day. It is a day that I look forward to as long as it is 50 degrees and above. I barely manage to get out of my man cave until June. After all the average temp is about 34 - 44 degrees at the beginning of April in NY. I just can't bring myself out to ice fish.

Trout fishing for me will start on the Hoosic river around April 15th this year. Water temp 45 - 55 degrees. As a rule water temp will be just about right around 2 pm - 5 pm. It's a stream that runs west out of Vermont into the Hudson. It is a river that has had its share of trouble. The tanneries all but destroyed its fish population. It is no longer stocked, but it does hold some wild rainbows and browns. What it lacks in fish is made up in the size of fish that are available.

Wide and slow and some fast, riffled water make for some good holding spots for some large fish. Early season above the village of Eagle Bridge puts out some good mayfly hatches. Tan, cream, and white are the colors of the spring here. Wets are the preference. A lot of the stream side is unshaded so dries are an afternoon to evening technique. 9" min and 5 take limit, although in this river catch and release is the best way to go. As it is in most rivers.

One of the best trout fishing techniques I have found is asking owner permission before walking across a land owners property. Some of the best areas are behind some-ones home and common respect goes a long way for all fisherpersons. Practicing this keeps the fishing open for all.

As for equipment, early spring brings out my 4wt, 7' leader, 4x tippet and size 12 - 16 flies.

Davy Cadis Sz 14

Hairs Ear Sz 14 - 16

Hairs Ear Bead Sz 12 - 16

Gold Rib Haired 14 - 16 one of the best when you just don't know what to use!

March Brown nymph

Streamers:

Matuka Sz 12 -14

Zonker Sz 12 - 14

Muddler Minnow Sz 12 - 14

Peacock Woolly Bugger Sz 12 -14 the best of the best get black, brown and red

Wets:

Olive Woolly Worm

Drys:

Adams

Light Cahill

Dark Cahill

Black Midge

Blue-winged olive good in early spring late afternoon when sipping is in progress.

Ant

Daves Hopper

You don't need a vest full of flies just some of your favorite nymph patterns will do. A few wets and a couple of streamer patterns and you're off.

I fish up and across on a dead drift. Let the fly drift to the bottom and strip in the loose line to keep up with the fly. If your fishing a streamer let it go downstream and strip it back up to you. Vary your retrieve. Keep a tight line between your fingers and the line as a trout can inhale and spit out a fly in about a 10th of a second. You might never know a strike occurred if you can't feel it. Credit: Our thanks to Frank Amato Publications for the use of this material from Oregon River Maps & Fishing Guide. Most of your casts will be in the 20 - 25-foot range. If you've read any of my posts you know I believe this is the active casting and catching range of most trout fishing. Hatch chart for Battenkill, VT. Hoosic River is about 1 week ahead: Hatch Chart Just the tip of the ice burg so to speak.

So there, a little taste of spring here in NY. I have to end now and go and look at my fly rods and get to tying a few flies. This always happens to me this time of year.

Care of fishing rods and line

2009-11-23T16:54:00.001-08:00

When I die I hope my partner doesn't sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.

(not my quote) but a lot of truth to it I think

Well, the summer is over, it's winter. Rather obvious I think.

It's time to put away the fishing gear. I don't ice fish. So it is a waiting game for me. Its time to arrange, rearrange, put away and get out again. It's a ritual played over time and time again throughout the colder climates.

So here are a few tips to get your gear through the season of non-use.

I fish my equipment hard so I don't clean it like I should at the end of a fishing trip. I'm looking for the next time I can get out. And a little bit of lazy too.

Guide care - Run a a pice of silk through each guide, any rough spots will show up as a snag. Clean guides with a mild cleaner, nothing abrasive. If the snag is bad a replacement will have to be made. Check out the many sites on line for the how to.

Rod care - Same process, take a piece of silk and run it over the rod between the guides. Any rough spots again will show up as a snag. Clean the rod with a mild cleaner. Nothing abrasive. Dish detergent and warm water will clean off old fish slime and scales. Some advice says you can use a furniture cleaner to give the rod a polish. I don't do this because most furniture polishes contain wax and nothing sticks to wax. So if you have to make a guide repair replacing a guide, any wax that is on the rod will inhibit the thread epoxy from sticking to the rod and fish eye. If this happens you will have to replace the guide again and thoroughly clean the rod. Again nothing sticks to wax! Not even epoxy period!

Fly Line - The same process can be used on fly line. strip out the fly line. Run it through a piece of silk, any snags, replace the line. Sorry, the line will only get worse. Snags on the line tend to pick up slime off the water and transfer it to your guides and reel spool. Your line should be cleaned with a cleaner between fishing trips.

Cork Handle - Inspect the handle for any loose cork. If there is a loose spot that comes out of the handle do not glue it back with wood glue, epoxy or any glue that is harder then the cork. Glues that are specifically designed to be used with cork can be found on-line. Any other glue will produce a spot on the handle that is harder then the surrounding cork. That spot will loose its supple feel under hand. Clean the handle with a mild detergent and softly clean the cork being careful not to soak the cork. Let dry. A mild 220 sandpaper will take out deeper marks. Use a light touch only.

Reel Seat - Clean the reel seat with a mild detergent. Rinse with clean water. Dry off. Make sure the threads are clean and the locking rings work smoothly. Again no wax of any kind.

That's about the basics of rod care. So I'm off to take my own advice. Right after I cast one more time.

Check out this link on beginning fly fishing you won't be disappointed. Fly Fishing

New to fly fishing

2009-11-20T20:59:00.000-08:00

Beginning Fly Fishing Learn the basics with this video.

As the saying goes tie one on. In this case, I mean a fly. What is it about fly fishing that is such a mystery? Maybe a “misery”.

If I told you it is as simple as, get a 6wt fly rod, a 5/6 fly reel, 6wt forward floating line, 7' 4x leader, 2' 4x tippet. Put these items together to make a fishing system. You know backing on the reel, line attached to the backing, leader attached to the line, tippet attached to the leader.

Put the reel on the fly rod and bring the line through the guides. Hold out the tippet and 4x tippet and put a size “10 – 14 fly” on it. Pick a fly! Blue-winged olive good for most of the northeast around spring and through the early summer. I've used them into Sept.

The Blue Winged Olive Sparkle Dun imitates emerging mayflies just prior to the full dun stage. At this time, the mayflies are extremely vulnerable and fish will feed specifically at this stage of the hatch. Fly fishers who fish Sparkle Duns find great success and will catch fish others won't by matching this specific stage of the hatch.

The Blue-winged Olive is a great emerging pattern. Use it in the spring and early summer. Try out sizes 12s - 14s - 16s

Now go to a river, lake, stream what ever you want to call it and cast it and fish. Don't let some expert scare you into hiding in your garage or basement thinking it takes some other expert to tell you how to fly fish. I know “what are all the experts on the river going to think”.

I got news for you. $1,500+ in fly fishing gear does not a fly fisherman make. Most of them don't cast any better than you or me. Oh, they'll tell you they can put a size 22 fly on a dime at 60 feet into a gale force wind in the pouring rain at dusk. So what! let me ask you this? Can you cast accurately to 20 to 25 feet? Can you do it 90% of the time? Then you can cast a fly rod.

Most trout are caught are within that range. Don't believe me, look it up. Also, think about this. A trout can take and spit out your fly in a 1/10 of a second. Can anyone detect that at 60' away across moving water that is rising up and down and dragging your line along with it? I know you mend your line and fish on glass. Me to.

So there you have it. Just enjoy the sport of fly fishing. Put that rod together and loose a fly in a tree. Get out there and fish.

Fly fishing can take a life time of learning. Along the way stop and enjoy it. Who cares if it was a trout that took your fly or a bush. Tie another fly on and continue the day.

If you want to get the best out of fly fishing take a child fishing and catch their enthusiasm. They will teach you how to catch a tree and not mind.

Let the professional lessons come later. We all need them. Casting is about proper rhythm and muscle memory and a lot of other esoteric mysterious secret handshake stuff. But you can wait a little while.

Check out Fly fishing for Bass in the spring. See post Largemouth Bass. This is where you get to fish big flies that make a lot of noise. Bass fishing with a fly rod is a great way to practice your casting. In the spring when the bass are hungry a little bit of noise on the landing just gets their attention.

Oh, don't forget the Knot-Tier: Knot Tier

There's my rant and I'm sticking to it.

Tight line till next time

Fly Rod Blanks

2009-11-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

Here's to the end of a long writing recess.

Now if I could have finished it with some jazz (Bob Evens, Oscar Peterson....) and a Cuesta-Ray Dominican No. 3 Long Panatela I would have thought I died and went to heaven.

After learning about our mutual love of fly fishing he took me to his basement to show me his collection of fly rods. A 2wt. and a 4wt. were taken out of there case and handled with the love a father gives to a new born. I was pleased to see that we had matching fly rod cases. The proverbial PVC case that we all have. If you don't have one and need directions for one. I have the directions for building one on this blog. Search for PVC rod case.

After handing me the 2wt. He told me he had made it. I asked him about the blank and it was a 9' G. Loomis IMX (fast action). One of my favorite rod building blanks. I then noticed it had a full wells grip. I love full wells handles and even on this 2 wt. It didn't seem to out of place. It had the typical 2-foot snake guides wrapped in black thread. 9 of them made a good balance of guides to rod length. They seemed to be proportionately spaced along the blank and sized correctly for the rod.

Now I'm not a big fan of 2wts rods. Too small for me I wouldn't know what to do with it. Cast it or use it as a spear. But it occurred to me after looking at his rod that a good case could be made for single foot snake guides on a rod of this size diameter.

I build all of my fly rods (4wt - 8wt) with single foot guides. With today's guide material and construction, I don't see a problem. Use size “A” thread and properly mixed wrap epoxy. Along with good rod prep at the guide spacing and what could be the issue.

A fly rod is designed to have a flex profile along it casting axis. If we create large surface areas that don't flex along this profile then we create dampeners at these rod points. This changes the rods casting performance. Greatly compounded with a poorly alined spine.

On a well-designed rod blank, maybe and this is a big maybe, it won't be that big of a problem. But on an average blank design, and make no mistake most rod blanks sold today are made average and for the average caster. It could be a noticeable issue. Most of today's rods are sold in the average $150. price range. (and check their spine alinement).

I'm not talking about, wrapping power material around the mandrel, resin, fiber alignment, cure time, overlaps, underlaps, M.O.I, fiber density, resin matrix, kicks and cures, hot spots, oven time, or time to catalyze etc.....ad Infinitum. I'm talking about what we as rod builders can do to make a better rod.

Tight line till next time. Drop me a line and let us talk about it.

Making PVC Boat Racks

2009-09-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

I wish I could take credit for this rack design, but alas it belongs to someone else but I'm not sure who.

Need a kayak rack to work on your kayak? Here's a great design that you can make to any height you need.

I came across a very simple design for kayak, canoe etc.. racks. A friend of mine built them and they work perfectly.

Here're a few pictures of them. You can see how easy it is to build them. So I don't think detailed instructions are necessary.

I will give a list of parts needed for building one (1). I think the cost is around $20, cheaper if you have some PVC lying around.

Material list for one rack (1)

1 - 8" x 1/4" bolt and nut and 2 washers

2 - 3/8" machine screws and 2 washers

5 - 1 1/2" end caps

1 - 1 1/2" T-connector

2 - 90 degree elbows- 1 1/2"

2 - 45 degree elbows- 1 1/2"

1 - 4" 1 1/2" PVC pipe

5 - 2 foot - 1 1/2" PVC pipe

2 - 12" - 1 1/2" PVC pipe

1- 5 foot length of 2" nylon webbing

1 - can of PVC glue

1 - 8" x 12" 150 grit sand paper

1 - pair of rubber or latex gloves

Thank you!

How to Build A Stripping Basket

2009-08-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a great site if you want or need a stripping basket. For less then $20. you can build a stripping basket in less then 30 mins.

I built mine for $7.00 and it works perfectly. Keeps my line organized when I'm fishing surf or big rivers.

If you make a smaller one say 12'' x 8" x 6" you could use it for tight covered, small rivers to keep your line out of the bushes.

Check it out!

Stripping Basket

Why do we fish

2009-08-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

Fishing for me can be problematic in that I'm an old school fisher(man). When I go fishing I want to fish.

I just arrived back from LBI short for 6.5 hrs to get there and 9 hrs to get back and a flurry of activity in between.

My partner and I went charter fishing for Blue fish on a beautiful evening fishing trip. Barneget Bay Light House on our starboard and a setting sun on our port. Sea Gulls overhead beckoning us out to sea. And 3 fisherman forward and aft whose baggage of alcohol outnumbered their fishing gear 10 to 1.

If you need to bring an extra large hefty trash bag to collect your consumables there might be a problem.

Fishing for me takes a certain amount of concentration that need not be interrupted by periods of the nectarean chumming the water with techno colour yawns. Drinking to the point of reducing billions of neurons to two that can't fire across a micron sized gap without getting lost. And if you can't find your bait because your sitting on it - stay home.

Other then that it was a great night of Blue fishing. Small snappers 1 - 5 lbs were the evenings fare, but fun never the less.

What brings me back to reality was the father that brought his two children 8 or 9 years old out to fish for the first time.

What seemed to me to be Moby Dick relived in the faces of these two children when they hooked into a 2lb fish, awe and delight at the methods and madness of fishing.

Unsteady feet, chins that barely reached the rail, casting and reeling as fast as they could with bait smeared fingers. Fishing at its best parent and child.

I recently went fishing with some friends and their 2 young daughters. As I watched their daughter 7 catch and release fish I realized that the battle cry of every fisher(m/w) should be:

"Take a child fishing"

If only to watch them speedily dial the phone and hear them exclaim to grandpa "I kissed a fish".

Tight-lines till next times.

Flies for Bass fishing

2009-07-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

A sampling of my Bass flies.

I guess I have succumb to my own form of poly-something. My partner always says you bought what.....more flies? I say you can't have enough flies or fishing rods.

I just acquired a new 8wt 9 foot fly rod. A Cabela's Traditional II fast action rod. I took it for a spin a few days ago and I have to say for the price it is a excellent fly rod. An all around well made fly rod.

As you can see I plan a little salt water fishing with it.

Traditional II is their med priced $100. range rod. Although it can be had for lot less when they are on sale. Around $40.00+ I was surprised when it came with a rod bag and a rod tube which is not mentioned in their ads.

I liked it so much I picked up a 4wt 7.5 foot as well. Nice action, good loop control. Another all around good fly rod.

Just some of favorite Bass flies. Most of these were bought from The Angler's Dream Fly Shop

I have no affiliation with them in any way. So I can tell you that I think they are the best flies for the money on the market.

Their customer service is second to none and I have no problem recommending them.

I also buy flies from The Big Fly Company. They also have excellent products and excellent customer service.

Well that's all for now.

Tight lines and check out these two companies products.

Okuma Fly Box 155-16 wrs

The Polysyllabic Fly Rod

2009-07-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

I fish with a fly rod. In simpler time a fly rod could be described with one or two syllable words. Words that defined and dignified the function of a fly rod. What you could expect from the fly rod.

Now every time I read a fly fishing catalogs description of a fly rod I need a dictionary.

(Ship high in transit) what happened. I know, we’re of a group of sophisticated consumers and we certainly know what and how to interpret:

“Proprietary Multi-Modulus Performance”

in terms of our fishing needs. Don’t we?

What ever it means!

I propose a 3-word phrase “polysyllabic density function” based on the “Systematic Buzz Phrase Projector” (a concept devised by Phillip Broughton)

But let me be clear, I don’t denounce the commodification and the corporatization of explanatorily creative phraseology. After all, I think it is symptomatic of the present consumerist-opportunistic climate, which arguably succumbs to its own form of anti-reductionism.

But I will denounce a fly rod defined with “Robust Efficient Presentation” what ever that means.

So with that said, any 3-word phrase used to describe a fly rods properties that have more then 8 syllables I look at with suspicion. (4 words 15+ syllables and I pass out)

“Unmatched Technological Performance”

11 syllables “Suspect”……………………..?

Although, it seems absurd there is an element of truth to this rant. A perusal of any of the top fly rod manufacturers brochures will reveal a string of catch phrases that would give even a PH. D a headache.

Tight Lines till next time.

Largemouth Bass

2009-07-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Attack and kill, that's what a bass does. That what a bass lives for. Make no mistake the bass is a predator "Par Excellence".

Their body design from their fins to their scales are designed for the hunt, ambush and kill. A bass usually stalks it prey from a short distance. And will close the distance for the kill with speed and accuracy matched only by the best hunters.

This stalking of their prey can start long before they can see it. Most experts agree that bass have a very acute sense of hearing. Sound travels faster through water then air. Bass use this acoustic efficiency to locate their prey.

They have two modes of hearing. They have an inner ear not unlike ours which allows them to interpret sounds in the range of 200 - 800 cycles per sec. And a lateral line sense organ which allows them to pick-up low frequency sound in the 15 - 200 cycle range. With this organ they can detect speed, direction to, direction of movement and size.

It is this duel hearing ability that allows the bass to hunt even in muddy or murky water. They use this hearing to sense food as well as enemies.

Sight is a well developed sense in most predators. Bass see binocularly (one on each side of their head) and have good close and mid range vision. They also have good color vision and shape recognition abilities.

After reviewing the bass's hearing abilities it is no wonder that top water bass fishing with a fly rod is such an exciting way to fish for largemouth bass.

Is it any wonder why we throw out mice, dragon flies, poppers etc... to this collection of fins and jaws.

Whats a reel drag

2009-06-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

A lost fish

When a big fish starts taking line off your reel, speed stripping it out to the islands and you can't turn its head what do you do?

I hope you didn't say tighten the drag. If you did you are apt to loose a big fish. Instead of adjusting the drag knob or hard palming the reel, you should use the inherent built in flex moment designed into your rod for just this moment.

And if the fish keeps taking line out you better loosen up the drag, here's why.

As line leaves the reel the diameter of the line on the reel decreases. If we think of the diameter of the line as a lever you can see that it will take more effort to take out line as the diameter of the line on the reel decreases.

We are using a shorter lever to accomplish the same amount of work so the drag is effectively increased as the line lets out.

If you think its a minor thing read on!

Bare with me for a moment.

X = (r1/r2) x D

X = effective drag

r1 = starting radius inches

r2 = ending radius inches

D = drag setting in LBS

Assuming you set your drag at the correct level (about 1/4 to 1/3 of your line lb test).

Example:

My 8 weight fly reel is measured at 3.75 inches which gives me a radius of 1.875 inches (3.75/2).

Spooling my reel with 200 yards of Dacron backing and 8 weight/weight forward floating line gives me a radius of about 1.75 inches +/- loose.

If I'm fishing 1x leader/tippet I'm fishing at about 12 lb test. 1/4 of 12 = 3 lbs of drag setting.

I know we don't usually measure it with a scale, but if you hold the tippet between your thumb and pinkie and pull the line out and tighten the drag until the line just slips with a tight grip of you pinkie and thumb it is about 3 lbs of drag. (OK)

So starting with a drag of 3lbs and 12 lb test line here's where we go:

With a starting radius of 1.75 inches and a large fish, whatever fish you like. Me I like Stripped Bass. He hits my popper and of he goes.

He strips out line and my line radius goes to 1.5 inches with no drag adjustment lever or hand. My 3 lb drag is now:

x=(r1/r2)xD (1.75/1.5)/3 = 3.5 lbs effective drag.

He's still taking out line now I'm at 1.00 inch radius

(1.75/1.00) x 3 = 5.25 lbs

He's a monster and striping out line until you have to put water on you reel. IGFA here we come.
(1.75/.5) x 3 = 10.5 lb effective drag

Just shy of the line lb rating. Think it can't happen? My Dacron backing starts at about 1 inch diameter. 90 feet of fly line gone.

If I'm like most saltwater fly fishers I haven't thought about drag and have set it to about what I think is tight enough. (tight) I know you don't do that.

I think this is the reason large arbor fly reels have become so popular. You can't pack line on to hilt and it makes it easier to reel in line very fast.

So (1.75/1.00) X 6lb drag = 10.5 lbs effective drag.

(1.75/.4375) X 3 lbs = 12 lbs effective drag (snap)

and if your fish strips out line the horizon (1.75/.25) X 6 = 42 lbs of effective drag.

Even at optimal drag of 3 lbs (1.75/.25) X 3 = 21 lbs

Your fish is long gone along with your $3.00 fly and your proud catch of the day.

So you see tightening the drag can be a reel drag if you loose a fish because of it. Take this post with a grain of salt. Do math and fishing go together? I don't know ever wonder why it takes such skill to catch a large lb fish on light tackle? Just a thought.

Fish weight without a scale

2009-06-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

I came across an interesting method of determining your catches weight without a scale. And it seems close enough for most bragging rights when a scale isn't in your tackle box. It works with most cylindrical fish such as Bass. But it is not useful for flat fish such as a flounder.

The girth squared method:

Need: A cloth tape measure that you can wrap around the fish.

weight = (length x girth^2)/k

Length is length of fish

Girth is the girth of the largest cross section of the fish

K is the constant 800 for "normal" shaped fish (bass, trout, etc)

K is 900 for fish like (pike, Gar, etc)

Example:

You catch a Bass 15 inches long and a girth of 16 inches. You can estimate its weight by the formula:

Weight = (15 x 16^2)/800 = (15x256)/800 = 3840/800 = 4.8 pounds.

Not bad for our 6wt fly rod.

Use it, take it with a grain of salt.

How to choose a Fly Rod

2009-06-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

With an industry full of space age terms and space age claims how do you choose the right fly rod for your fishing needs? One that will provide a lifetime of pleasure and performance, but wont cost you a second mortgage.

Todays entry level graphite fly rods in the $100 - $200 range are as good as premium rods of just a generation ago. Like everything else advances in manufacturing and technology have provided the fishing rod manufacturer with new tools and techniques to produce a quality fly rod.

Lets face it most casting is done in streams of about 20’ - 30’ in the spring and less as the season gets along. Fly fishing expert Tom Morgan said, “ During the last forty years most trout have been taken from 20’ to 40’ and I expect the next 50 years will be the same.” Some fly fishing guides go as far as to advocate learning to cast and catch fish at 10’ to 15’.

So with this in mind long casts are not always necessary. Although a good presentation is.

If you are a beginner there are a bewildering number of terms relating to fly rods. Lets take a look at the ones that we will need to get us fly fishing.

Fly Rod Actions

Our choice of rod material will be graphite.

Fast - Tip flex: The top 1/3 of the fly rod flexes under line load. This rod loads very fast and requires quick timing and reflexes.

Medium - Mid flex: The upper ½ of the rod flexes under load. This action is slower and allows a more relaxed casting style. It is a good flex action for the beginner fly fisher. It is a more forgiving and less frustrating rod action to cast when starting out.

Slow - Full flex: This rod flexes from tip to butt. This action produces a slow recovery rate and a slow line speed. In my opinion this action doesn’t produce the power required for a hard hook set.

For our money a Mid flex graphite rod would be a good choice in terms of casting stroke, hook setting power and all around fishing performance.

Remember a good quality entry level rod can be purchased for $100 - $200 and we can assured that we are getting a decent fishing rod with many years of use. One we didn’t have to 2nd mortgage our house or use the kids college fund to purchase.

Remember a good rod needs to come with a good warranty. So when you catch a car door it won’t hurt as much.

line weight and rod length and reels

When we have decided on our type of fly rod we need to decide on our line weight and length of rod. If you are going to fish small streams 15’ across a shorter rod might be in order. But an average 8 ½ foot is about right for most of our fishing needs as length goes. As I think most of our fishing is in the 20 foot to 40 foot range casting range a 8 ½ foot rod gives us good leverage and casting power.

Line weight is somewhat determined by the fish we will be fishing for. But a good all-around weight forward floating 6wt is a good choice and one that you won’t go wrong with on most streams. A weight forward floating line will load our rod quickly and is good for flies from dries to terrestrials and into a moderate wind on our medium action rod.

For a balanced system we ill need a 6wt fly reel for our rod. A good reel can be bought for $50+ after all its basic use is to hold the line. You as the fisher person do 99% of the work. Get a disk drag reel. Any good fly fishing book or store clerk can show you how to put backing and your line on your reel.

This rod will meet 90% of stream fishing needs.

Leaders for fly fishing

So we have decided on a 8 ½ 6wt medium action fly rod and a 6wt disk drag reel. With our 6wt line we are best suited to fish hook sizes 1/0 to 12s and with the correct leader we can push this to 16s and 18s

A good all purpose 9 foot knotless taper leader is our choice. The spring trout fishing here in the North East is a good time to use Blue-winged-olives in sizes 12 to 16 so a 4x leader is our choice. To this we can add a 12 inch 4x tippet and we are set. But remember we can fudge our numbers and use a 3x to 5x tippet to extend our fly sizes with no harm done.

How to fudge and rearrange our gear to suit our fishing is the essence of fly fishing. It is what will take us to the next level.

Review of setup

So to review we have created a balanced fly fishing system of:

8 ½ foot 6wt medium action graphite fly rod

6wt disk drag reel

9 foot knotless tapered 4x leader

4x tippet for hook size 10 - 14

This is our basic balanced system for trout fishing in most of the streams we will encounter. We can cast 20 feet to 40 feet with it. Fish fly size 10 - 14 with our tippet. And have a great day of fishing with it.

With this outfit we can change-up our tippet and line type and extend our fishing range to meet our fishing needs. The essence of fly fishing is to be as changeable as the streams we fish.

Put your outfit together, tie a piece of yarn to the tippet and practice casting. There are more books and videos on the market about fly fishing then there are fish in all the streams. Any good book will get you started casting and reading the stream. Take a lesson from a casting instructor. But get out there and fish.

Warranty

As with any purchase a lifetime warranty is a must. Never purchase a fly rod without one. I have caught 2 car doors with mine. Lets not forget the ever elusive ceiling fan. With a good warranty you can get your rod fixed with little or no cost to you.

Next time flies. Sometimes they catch more fisherman then fish.

Bass Fishing Pictures

2009-06-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

These are from our last trip out. Not the biggest fish in the lake. But a good day anyway.

Don't I look happy. About a 2 pounder on a 6wt fly rod 8' leader with a 4x tippet fishing a #2 natural mouse pattern.

This is my partner with bait. She caught that on a #2 popper almost as big as the fish. We caught a bunch of these sized bass that day. Some bigger, some smaller. I know how much smaller can you get.

This is such a great spot to fish here in the Norteast. If only it didn't snow and we could fish 12 months of the year. I know you can, but we don't ice fish. Never have and never will.

What's a good fly rod for Largemouth Bass?

2009-06-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

What is about a fly rod that can bring out the fat wallet? Some fly rods are better suited to catching fishermen then catching fish.

As axioms go here’s an often quoted one for you. “Buy the best fly rod you can afford“. But I say “The best is the enemy of the good“. Also, a fly rods function is not the slave of its cost.

What does this minor diatribe mean? A fly rod is a fishing rod the last time I checked and its purpose is to be used as such. Get out there and fish with it.

I have a good fly rod. Not an expensive one. There is a difference. How did I end up with a good fly rod that didn't cost me the price of a small island in the Caribbean? (can you guess where I want to go fishing?)

I did my research. I wanted a fly rod to go Largemouth Bass fishing. I live in the Northeast and I know that here in the NE Largemouth Bass get about 5-7 pounds and the ones I was most likely and hoping to catch would be around 5 pounds. I also want to go trout fishing in medium streams. This was my basic plan for my fly rod.

I would be fishing big fly poppers with lots of hair and feathers on size 2 hooks. Bass like big meals and this is my first choice. I know that a 6 weight fly line is best suited for hook sizes 1/0 to 12 and that with attaching a tippet to the leader I could extend this to 16s.

So a 6wt fly rod with a matched 6 wt fly line was the choice. Search the market and you can find fly leaders for just about any fish around. Again Bass are my target fish. So I use a 7-foot mono knotless taper leader. Here’s is where I get a little nuts about fishing so bare with me.

I like to match what I call a fishes genetic makeup to my fishing style. With my fly rod, I can fish almost any pound test leader I want. But I consider a 6lb test leader a perfect match to the Largemouth Bass’ fighting instincts. They can hit hard, jump and dive to Davies’s locker. I think a 6lb test leader gives the Bass a fighting chance to swim away. I get to put my skills to the test and the Bass’s genetic escape skills give it a chance to beat me. I think 6lbs is about right for the fight. And is the most useful pound test when horsing them in isn’t an option. Also I don’t tire out the fish to the point of exhaustion. So I can release a healthy fish.

So back to fly rods. Our setup is a 6wt rod, 6wt fly line and a 7 foot 3x leader. I know 3x is rated for 8lb test (most of the time) but considering wetted knot strength I can kick 2lbs out the door.

I also know 3x leader according to my rules of divide by 3 for hook and leader is a 8, 10 and 12 size hook. But considering I’m Bass fishing I think it’s OK. If you want too you can attach a 0x (12lb test) to the leader like a bite tippet and then the weak point is the knot between the leader and bite tippet. This gets the hook to tippet, OK, Don't think about leader hinge, roll out, blah, blah, blah at the knot. And besides, we’re Bass fishing.

I know I didn't mention anything about the latest and greatest rod material. Modulus, strain, strength to weight ratios, matrix or composite or bending moments, stress fractures or material fatigue or blah, blah, blah........all important to some degree. But get a graphite medium to fast action fly rod and fish. You can get a materials engineering degree for your next fly rod.

Get out there and fish.

Good fishing!