Question:

This may be a little off topic but there is a similar technique for salmon. You use a long rod and a single action reel. The reeling in a salmon with such a rig is awesome.  I was thinking of trying the same technique for bass.

Response:

Color makes no difference here as long as the jig (Fly part) is gray with a red head.  :)  We catch a lot of bass on them in the clear lakes here, but we don’t put a bobber on them…. just cast out, let it fall, watch for a line twitch and then set the hook.  If you don’t see a twitch in a few seconds, start reeling it in very slowly twitching the rod tip and pausing to let it fall from time to time. Bassman

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Looks too easy, doesn’t it.(?) I guess the hard part would be finding the fish, and determining the depth. Wonder how much difference color would make? — Visit Charles at: www.thebasspro.net My new Motto: "Too invested to quit" www.outdoorfrontiers.com www.midtennclassic.org From what I saw, I’ve been set up for the F-N-F for years, I just was doin’ it to catch crappie.  I was sure shocked to see what you guys had been talking about when I saw it in Bassmasters.  I guess I’ll have to give it a try this year and see if anything comes of it.  I know it works for crappie! Bassman Thanks Joe! I think the boat will be just fine… I’ll just have to get some different cool weather apparel, unless the weather hold out like this week has been! I should be set up for the f-n-f after Christmas! — Visit Charles at: www.thebasspro.net My new Motto: "Too invested to quit" www.outdoorfrontiers.com www.midtennclassic.org Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

Response:

Looks too easy, doesn’t it.(?) I guess the hard part would be finding the fish, and determining the depth. Wonder how much difference color would make? — Visit Charles at: www.thebasspro.net My new Motto: "Too invested to quit" www.outdoorfrontiers.com www.midtennclassic.org

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – From what I saw, I’ve been set up for the F-N-F for years, I just was doin’ it to catch crappie.  I was sure shocked to see what you guys had been talking about when I saw it in Bassmasters.  I guess I’ll have to give it a try this year and see if anything comes of it.  I know it works for crappie! Bassman Thanks Joe! I think the boat will be just fine… I’ll just have to get some different cool weather apparel, unless the weather hold out like this week has been! I should be set up for the f-n-f after Christmas! — Visit Charles at: www.thebasspro.net My new Motto: "Too invested to quit" www.outdoorfrontiers.com www.midtennclassic.org Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

Response:

Thats good Jerry,because the local guys in the article say the biggest fish are caught in January.Pack your bags! Maybe we need to schedule a mini classic,I know the BassPro is chompin at the bit! Son! here is the link TennesseeSportsmanMag.com

Response:

Thanks Joe! I think the boat will be just fine… I’ll just have to get some different cool weather apparel, unless the weather hold out like this week has been! I should be set up for the f-n-f after Christmas! — Visit Charles at: www.thebasspro.net My new Motto: "Too invested to quit" www.outdoorfrontiers.com www.midtennclassic.org

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

Response:

Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

I was curious about the float n fly setup.  I asked a while back about a rig that simulates fishing a live minnow, and somebody suggested this one. Well, I did an internet search and found this article. http://www.nesportsman.com/articles/article217.shtml I’m sure many of you have already read it, but I found it interesting.  My cousin Jeff is flying in for the holidays for a few days, and he mentioned that he would like to do some fishing while he is here.  I think I’ll do a canoe drift down the colorado, and have set up a rig like this to try. I’ll let you all know if we catch anything.  Probably the weekend after christmas. — Bob La Londe The Security Consultant http://www.diycomponents.com 849 S Ave C Yuma, Az 85364 (928)782-9765 ofc (928)782-7873 fax ROC 103044, C-12 ROC 103047, L-67

Response:

From what I saw, I’ve been set up for the F-N-F for years, I just was doin’ it to catch crappie.  I was sure shocked to see what you guys had been talking about when I saw it in Bassmasters.  I guess I’ll have to give it a try this year and see if anything comes of it.  I know it works for crappie! Bassman

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Thanks Joe! I think the boat will be just fine… I’ll just have to get some different cool weather apparel, unless the weather hold out like this week has been! I should be set up for the f-n-f after Christmas! — Visit Charles at: www.thebasspro.net My new Motto: "Too invested to quit" www.outdoorfrontiers.com www.midtennclassic.org Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

Response:

Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

Response:

Yeah, I just heard that I might be coming that way again in January. — Jerry Barton Be Kind To Your Children, They Get To Pick Your Nursing Home. www.jerrys-world.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Charles,the January issue of Tennessee Sportsman has a great article on Dale Hollow and the float n fly technique.(dont put that boat away yet) Son!

Response:

Question:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I would rate line control as the most difficult, especially when nymphing. When the fish are rising, you don’t have to be able to read water. There are other satellite skills worth mentioning: fly tying rodbuilding photography writing story telling teaching tree/plant/bird/animal identification map reading bullshitting/evasiveness sleuthing/gleaning info from other fishermen Any others?

ROFF survival skills are in need if one is not internet impaired. Flyfish

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish.

I agree that the reading of the water (& fish within) is the most challenging (and rewarding) aspect of fly angling, though I won’t necessarily concur that it is the most "difficult".  Reading the water is more or less an experience related thing, and you have to have experienced the occasion to be able to learn from it.  However, that being said, some people are more observant than others,  and will learn something about a specific thing from a singular exposure to the observation of whatever that thing might be.  The slower learners might have to observe the phenomena many times before fully understanding it.  Perhaps "difficult" should encompass the degree of pure ability of  eyesight  that is required to master the reading of the water & fish, as that is the key limiting factor of the human body & its application to flyfishing?  Keen sight and observation and a willingness to learn are the key elements in reading a water  (for me that water is a troutstream). Regards, Michael.

Response:

Patience was a worthy addition, which would go hand in hand with memory – remembering past lessons learned and forgotten. …after that I would go into fly selection which is greatly tied to entomology and presentation..perhaps a dash of line control. ….but then I don’t know squat, I just like to fish…john

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

Patience. Steve

Response:

I would add . . . Accepting that the fish are doing what the fish are doing, and not what I would want them to be doing, AND then. . . using appropriate rig and technique accordingly. …

Exactly correct. If the fish are not taking dry flies I accept that and use the appropriate rig, a can of cold Budweiser and a spliff. The "technique" is called "listening to the river sing sweet songs". I am not, as our esteemed correspondent from Sweden would suggest, totally clueless about nymphing. I will confess to having done it, as recently as on the Muskegon and on the San Juan, to provide ROFFian references. But anymore, fishing is more important than catching fish, and I’ll stick to dries if it’s OK with ya’ll. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place

Line control, aka presentation. George Adams "All good fishermen stay young until they die, for fishing is the only dream of youth that doth not grow stale with age."                                                           —- J.W Muller

Response:

Casting

    Nope, you can teach a monkey how to cast a fly line. Line control

    That’s the winner. I can’t believe how many avid ff’ers just don’t get it. I fish with lots of guys who’ve mastered all the other skills mentioned, but they just don’t seem to comprehend "dead drift". Reading water

    Important, but most guys seem to learn how to read the water years before they can make a proper presentation. Wading without doing a "Reid"

    Anybody with normal bipedal skills should be able to wade well enough to catch fish, but on a heavily fished river, a better wader has more opportunities. Fly selection

   A close second. Willi is often called the "troutmaster" and I believe this is why. The guy always has the right pattern; sometimes I’ll wade over to see what he’s using and I’m usually amazed, when I’m wading back to my spot I say to myself "Why didn’t I think of that?"     Not as important as line control, however. Unless it’s a "moving pattern" (streamers, skittering caddis, et al) the fish won’t bite it if it’s dragging. Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place

    Got rid of beta version. Current wiff says I don’t fish enough.

Response:

A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ?

As a newbie to fly fishing who has recently completed his first full season, the skill that most eludes me is line control, particularly where multiple and conflicting currents are involved.  While it isn’t pretty, I can cast well enough—as Ken writes—to catch fish.  I am able to read water well enough to locate the most obvious lies, and fly selection is an area in which I am improving.  Line control, though?  Good God!  I was badly humbled on the Owens River a couple of weeks ago while casting little caddis dries to rising fish.  Enough said. While I can practice some of the other "skills" away from the water, I need to have my line laying across the current in a real river to really be able to understand everything that comes into play with controlling the line. As an aside that might be more appropriate for ROFFT, the next skill I want to start learning is tying my own flies.  I’m leaning towards an inexpensive vise and tool kit (Thompson A plus tools), picking up materials as I go.  If somebody wants to enlighten me as far as other options go, I’m more than willing to listen.  Many thanks. Cheers, Bill

Response:

A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes:

knowing when to check the hook point on yer yella humpy <g jeff and wolf should be pullin’ in any time now, on the road to snowbird… yabbba, dabbbba, dewwwwwwww . –waldo

Response:

A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection

    i have a funny feeling that the responses will be conditioned to a large extent by the kind of water one usually fishes.  for example, my first choice is "line control", both in and out of the water.  that selection is driven because, as you well know, one must be able to cast in very confined conditions above the water, and mend like a magician *on* the water, to catch good fish in the mountains of north carolina.  tangentially, one’s wading abilities (including agility, strength, and stamina) are very, very important on streams such as snowbird, hazel, and the nanty.  the two talents bisect at some point, since the ability to acquire a position from which a particular run or pocket can be accessed more easily than a point at which one merely steps off the bank may reduce the need for difficult mending chores.     finally, the least important for me is fly selection.  where i come from, if you read water (which has always, strangely, come easy for me) well, and can achieve a drag free float, it usually doesn’t make a damn bit of difference what is on the end of the tippet. yfitons wayno

Response:

Charlie Wilson writes:

<snip I totally agree.  I can’t cast worth a damn, but I can present a fly well in most situations.  I recently learned another way to "swing" a fly, and I wouldn’t have caught anything if I didn’t learn the technique. Missed you at HF.  Hope all is ok. Dave

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

Im my case, I think casting is the most difficult. I find that line control becomes easy when I am casting accurately and well.

Response:

I would add . . . Accepting that the fish are doing what the fish are doing, and not what I would want them to be doing, AND then. . . using appropriate rig and technique accordingly. Its existential. And common, I suspect, to folks addicted to surface strikes. Dave

Response:

<snip As an aside that might be more appropriate for ROFFT, the next skill I want to start learning is tying my own flies.  I’m leaning towards an inexpensive vise and tool kit (Thompson A plus tools), picking up materials as I go. If somebody wants to enlighten me as far as other options go, I’m more than willing to listen.  Many thanks. Cheers, Bill

You’re on the right track… The key is picking the flies you want to tie, and buying that material. Even more important is to actually learn some basic techniques: starting the thread, whip or half hitch finish, basic dubbing, and proportions.  You can get that from books, but it’s better to actually watch somebody.  Your local flyshop, TU or FFF chapter probably runs formal or informal classes during the winter.  Now is the time to check!

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish.

For myself, I’d vote line control.  I regularly fish "big" water that requires casting beyond the main channel into pockets.  In these scenarios the fly often is presented on near still water, while the line is drifting in rapid water.  I find it difficult to mend 20′ of line in a current without pulling the fly out of the still water.

Response:

 Have to agree with you.  I will hopefully fish till the day I get to old cast a fly and still not be able to know what is under the surface.  Tried reading books and it just doesn’t seem to be retained.  I think that it is probably only learned over time, or at the side of an experienced teacher.  The rest of the list is relatively easy to learn, especially the ‘Reid’ reference, turns out I only fell twice (this year) but did it with style.  :)        jim An hour on the river adds a day to your life. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

I’ve been Reiding the water for years.  It is indeed a difficult skill to master unless you are born to it (What?!  You think you just fall into like a lottery winner?). Seriously, I do agree that reading the water is up there, but it is second to fly selection.  Yeh, when the rain is holding the slate drakes on the surface and you could cast a chunk of charcoal out there and get a 26" fish, its easy.  When the sun is high, no wind, no hatch, but you see the fish rolling deep and trying to figure them out is definately a knack. — Frank Reid Reverse email to reply

Response:

Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish.

Well enough to catch _some_ fish, anyway.  There will always be other fish in difficult locations, and you could spend a lifetime refining your casting skills to the point where you can make the perfect presentation to every fish in the stream. Likewise, tying on a Wooly Worm and just letting it drift in the current will almost always catch _some_ fish, but a more refined approach will usually get more fish.  Again, you could spend a lifetime trying to improve your skills. This, I think, really goes to the heart of what makes fishing interesting.  Almost anybody can succeed at it to some degree, but you can always improve.  If you could ever really _master_ it, it wouldn’t be any fun anymore.  The game of Tic-Tac-Toe is amusing for children, but after a while they realize that there is only a small number of possible strategies, and then the game isn’t any fun to play anymore.  Chess has finitely many possible strategies as well, but it the number is so large and the game so complex that probably no human will ever completely master the game. Kevin

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

"Reading the water"-skill is something that comes with spending a lot of time fishing and as such should be ranked high. Apart from that I would add correct presentation of different flies. Seeing that you may be a master dry fly fisherman and know absolutely nothing about nymphing, I would say that learning to present a fly correctly in any streamside situation takes a lot of different knowledge and experience. — Tight lines! / Roger Daytime engineer Lifetime flyfisherman If you feel like it, visit http://home.bip.net/angler/ for info on flyfishing in Sweden

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish.

Agreed, although I certainly would rank myself as "proficient". I’d rank "Line control" as number two. — TL, Tim

Response:

A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

I would rate line control as the most difficult, especially when nymphing. When the fish are rising, you don’t have to be able to read water. There are other satellite skills worth mentioning: fly tying rodbuilding photography writing story telling teaching tree/plant/bird/animal identification map reading bullshitting/evasiveness sleuthing/gleaning info from other fishermen Any others?

Response:

  A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the   skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to   achieve proficiency ?     A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes:     Casting   Line control   Reading water   Wading without doing a "Reid"   Fly selection   Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place     Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult   to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the   easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well   enough to fish.   I think what we define as proficient in casting is very different. I think that casting is an integral part of presentation which IMO is the most difficult and complex of any of the skills. Willi

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I vote for setting the hook / striking (not listed). My success rate would skyrocket if I hooked 1/2 the fish that "take" or rise. Seems I’m either too slow or too fast most of the time. Jim Ray

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish. — Ken Fortenberry

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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A discussion in another thread got me to thinking. Which of the skills involved in angling with a fly requires the most effort to achieve proficiency ? A (incomplete, feel free to add your own) list of skills includes: Casting Line control Reading water Wading without doing a "Reid" Fly selection Convincing SWMBO to let you go fishing in the first place Of all these "skills" I believe reading water is the most difficult to become proficient at. And casting, I would rate casting as the easiest. Give me 20 minutes and I can teach someone to cast well enough to fish.

Well, the two with the ";-)" aren’t really FFing skills per se (probably indicated by the ";-)" ) and wading isn’t a universal requirement of FFing, even taking it as a "skill" of FFing – however, if one wades, do so safely is important.  I’d agree that "reading water" (or "fishing in the right place at the right time," or whatever one wishes to call it) is the most difficult because it is the only one over which the angler has only limited control in the time one fishes, and no control over the "water" itself (well, other than on private water, and even then, the control is not complete).  With casting, the angler has the control, and "casting well enough to fish," if defined as getting a fly in the general area one wishes, isn’t that difficult, esp. with shorter casts. I would add to the list three more skills, with first being perhaps the most important skill: learning how to fight and release a fish, even if you rarely release.  It, like casting, is very easy to learn, yet is probably the most-neglected skill for most anglers.  If angling is a sport, learn to be sporting first and foremost – this relates, IMO, to my third addition, below. The second is presentation – "casting well enough to fish," again, if defined as getting a fly to the general area desired, is not all there is to FFing, and an "ugly" cast with a delicate presentation is often more effective than a "textbook" (aerial/distance portion) cast that finishes by landing like a cinder block on a logging chain tossed from a truck.  Granted, that is a bit extreme as a "perfect" cast should present fairly well, but the point remains that "casting" involves a number of "steps" that 20 minutes of instruction won’t teach completely for all situations. The third "skill" (admittedly stretching "skill" a bit, but…) being that of the ability to select appropriate tackle: heavy enough for the quarry while remaining enjoyable – no 3-wt. trout setups after salmon, etc., appropriate to the angler in terms of need, budget, experience, skill, etc. – going into debt for a 1000.00-plus USD setup will not make you a better angler, and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise has more problems than fishing – you CAN catch many species on any number of 100.00USD or less setups, be they new "X-Mart Specials," Cabela’s "kits," tag sale/flea market finds, etc.  OTOH, if the only thing that limits your purchasing ability is an outfitter’s inventory and your skill and experience is such that you wish to take advantage of the diminishing returns of "better" tackle, then getting whatever you wish is completely understandable, and, appropriate to the quarry and location – under-lined, under-backed Martin "X-Mart" specials are inappropriate when bonefishing, etc. TC, R

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Question:

I was going to just wait for 35 peeps to join, but enrollment is slow, and we all need time to fly, so I say on Thursday it’s the end, and Friday morning I’ll post the final list of who’s in. Sound good?

Sounds great.  Where the heck is RW, Bruiser, Louie, Willi, Bob, Charlie and a few others to name a few????  C’mon boys.

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Bouncer writes: Sounds great.  Where the heck is RW, Bruiser, Louie, Willi, Bob, Charlie and a few others to name a few????  C’mon boys.

I don’t have the time right now, Paul.  Gotta keep the Cannuck happy next week-end, and then Jo and I will be at the East Outlet the next two weeks (Fri – Sun).  I’ll be practicing to tie a new fly, so I’ll get in on the next one. Dave

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Make mine a "Poronui Special". Clark

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Tim, I suggested earlier that you make a web page containing up to date info. You could put it in connection to your web site. The reason being that it’s easy to miss out on a post which might contain essential information about the swap. Not saying that you should stop posting the info, only saying that a web page can be a nice backup. 21 flies finished, heading for 38   =)). — Tight lines! / Roger Ohlund Daytime engineer Lifetime flyfisherman For info on flyfishing in northern Sweden visit http://home.bip.net/angler/

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet. Flyswapees tried it!) Wolfgang Joe F Rocktrout(aka Bouncer)—— Mountain Midge head Frank Church Clark Reid Lou Teletski Hans Van der stroom—Ritz D — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com

Response:

On the other hand, I’ll do a flash back PT.  I need the practice and the inspiration to tie.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m in with a solid TBD fly. I was going to just wait for 35 peeps to join, but enrollment is slow, and we all need time to fly, so I say on Thursday it’s the end, and Friday morning I’ll post the final list of who’s in. Sound good? — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com When is the deadline for signing up, i.e. when will we know the excate number of flues to make ? Im guessing its something like  #flies = #swappers + 4 Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet. Flyswapees you tried it!) Wolfgang Joe F Rocktrout(aka Bouncer)—— Mountain Midge with bead head Frank Church Clark Reid Lou Teletski Hans Van der stroom—Ritz D — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com — Svend  1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy       Phone: (+1) 650 933 3618  Mountain View  California 94043  USA

Response:

I’m in with a solid TBD fly.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I was going to just wait for 35 peeps to join, but enrollment is slow, and we all need time to fly, so I say on Thursday it’s the end, and Friday morning I’ll post the final list of who’s in. Sound good? — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com When is the deadline for signing up, i.e. when will we know the excate number of flues to make ? Im guessing its something like  #flies = #swappers + 4 Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet. Flyswapees tried it!) Wolfgang Joe F Rocktrout(aka Bouncer)—— Mountain Midge bead head Frank Church Clark Reid Lou Teletski Hans Van der stroom—Ritz D — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com — Svend  1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy       Phone: (+1) 650 933 3618  Mountain View  California 94043  USA

Response:

I was going to just wait for 35 peeps to join, but enrollment is slow, and we all need time to fly, so I say on Thursday it’s the end, and Friday morning I’ll post the final list of who’s in. Sound good? — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – When is the deadline for signing up, i.e. when will we know the excate number of flues to make ? Im guessing its something like  #flies = #swappers + 4 Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet. Flyswapees tried it!) Wolfgang Joe F Rocktrout(aka Bouncer)—— Mountain Midge bead head Frank Church Clark Reid Lou Teletski Hans Van der stroom—Ritz D — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com — Svend  1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy       Phone: (+1) 650 933 3618  Mountain View  California 94043  USA

Response:

snip

p.s.  Much to my surprise, no one has yet committed to that most indispensable of all nymphs, the plain vanilla GRHE.  I guess that’s me then. Wolfgang

Response:

Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet……

Not a math major myself, but by my count we stand at fifteen or so tyers….three extra bugs per participant puts the grand total at 18 copies per.  I can do that by 11-11. Run this gig any way you like, but if you want more participants I suspect that a more liberal time limit might be the ticket.      :) Wolfgang

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Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet.

What a coincidence. Just strolled in after some time off, and a flyswap (is a nymph a fly? <g) kicks off. Great, I could do with some tying excercise. I’m in, don’t know what pattern yet. Herman

Response:

When is the deadline for signing up, i.e. when will we know the excate number of flues to make ? Im guessing its something like  #flies = #swappers + 4 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet. Flyswapees it!) Wolfgang Joe F Rocktrout(aka Bouncer)—— Mountain Midge head Frank Church Clark Reid Lou Teletski Hans Van der stroom—Ritz D — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com

– Svend  1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy       Phone: (+1) 650 933 3618  Mountain View  California 94043  USA

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Hey Guys, Again, flies due november 11th. Tie one for every tyer, including yourself. One for Dave and da’ kids and if willing, 2 extra’s to make clave prizes . Sound good. Any questions just send me a note. Here’s the updated list of who’s in and what they are tying. Not even close to 30 peeps yet. Flyswapees it!) Wolfgang Joe F Rocktrout(aka Bouncer)—— Mountain Midge head Frank Church Clark Reid Lou Teletski Hans Van der stroom—Ritz D — Tim Apple www.flyfishingaddict.com

Response:

Question:

Great post!  Sounds like a great trip… Flying in the mountains sounds too cool to this "flat-lander".   Shoot, all we worry about hitting around here are big antennas.   Someday… What a shame about the "party-campers".   Speaking as someone who has both inflicted that treatment on others (in my younger days, many moons ago), and as someone who has had it inflicted on him (in more recent years), I can sympathize with your plight. And I guarantee you that your departure probably caused great agony!  :) An aside:  After one particularly awful night a few years ago, spent camping next to people who partied loudly ALL night long, we discovered the PERFECT revenge: My then-4-year-old son’s "Big Wheel" tricycle! The sound of that plastic wheel scraping over the gravel-covered ashpalt road was the most annoying sound you can imagine — and we let him ride up and down continually in front of their tents — starting at 6:30 AM! "Revenge is a dish best served cold…" — Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Warrior N33431

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Finally, my turn for some vacation time.  First one since 1997.  Planned to depart Aug 4 for a bit of fishing in Idaho… didn’t get away until Sunday the 6th.   North from SLC to Hailey Idaho (Sun Valley) for fuel. Nice service, took courtesy car into town and got a fishing license, back in the air in 1:15.  First destination was Graham USFS strip (U45) – looked beautiful in the "Fly Idaho" book.  There was apparently a fire in there either last year or the year before.  Nothing now but snags on barren hillsides, not even a tree for shade to pitch a tent under. Passed it by, landed at Warm Springs (0U1).  There is a nice camping area provided by Idaho State Aeronautics (paid for with aeronautics funds, supposedly reserved for pilots).  Bad news – all three areas were taken up by some people who had driven in there for free camping, complete with loud party, boom box, dogs (nice little ones like a rottweiler and a chow which were aggressive and not leashed).  We ended up camping on the other side of the strip in a not so nice place.  Got up early and departed (Monday) – hope the hangovers got full effect of the take-off     :–)     Someday, I want to go back there and hike to the hot springs (about

Question:

         I am just starting to learn how to fly fish.  I am currently using my friends equipment.  As I was looking around for my own equipment,  I quickly realized it is not very cheap.  If any one has any older equipment sitting around collecting dust,  I would appreciate it if you would either sell it to me very cheap or give me it to me please. I would be more than happy to pay for all shipping costs.  Please E-mail for my address. Thank you  Scott    

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        I am just starting to learn how to fly fish.  I am currently using my friends equipment.  As I was looking around for my own equipment,  I quickly realized it is not very cheap.  If any one has any older equipment sitting around collecting dust,  I would appreciate it if you would either sell it to me very cheap or give me it to me please. I would be more than happy to pay for all shipping costs.  Please E-mail for my address. Thank you Scott    

Wait till the clave is over.  There are likely going to be a number of multi-piece rods (formerly two piece) that will be on the market – real cheap. Cheers Visit The Streamer Page at http://members.home.net/pcharles/streamers/index.html

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         I am just starting to learn how to fly fish.  I am currently using my friends equipment.  As I was looking around for my own equipment,  I quickly realized it is not very cheap.  If any one has any older equipment sitting around collecting dust,  I would appreciate it if you would either sell it to me very cheap or give me it to me please. I would be more than happy to pay for all shipping costs.  Please E-mail for my address.

Get a Cabela’s catalog. If you can’t afford their stuff you need to find another hobby, — visit my web site: http://home.earthlink.net/~royalwulff/ something bogus to avoid spam)

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Get a Cabela’s catalog. If you can’t afford their stuff you need to find another hobby,

Good advice.  You would do that by going to http://www.cabelas.com  You should be able to get started for less than $100, and it’s not bad stuff.  You might try e-bay too.  I’m sure there’s used stuff out there, but it’s hard to find. — Levi "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

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Good advice.  You would do that by going to http://www.cabelas.com  You should be able to get started for less than $100, and it’s not bad stuff.  You might try e-bay too.  I’m sure there’s used stuff out there, but it’s hard to find.

Hard to find?  Nah, there are 272 fly rods for sale on ebay right now.  This one’s about to end, $13.50. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320507767 Regards, Jeff

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         I am just starting to learn how to fly fish.  I am currently using my friends equipment.  As I was looking around for my own equipment,  I quickly realized it is not very cheap.  If any one has any older equipment sitting around collecting dust,  I would appreciate it if you would either sell it to me very cheap or give me it to me please. I would be more than happy to pay for all shipping costs.  Please E-mail for my address.

I started out with a Martin outfit from Wal-Mart a few years ago.  It wasn’t the best, but for just starting out for something like $35.00 you get a 3 piece rod, a reel with backing, and fly line.  You have to buy some leaders and your flies to start, but what the hell for under 50 bucks you can be fly fishing.  Every couple of years I up date and get a new rod and reel set up…come to think about I feel I’m due again  Problem is It seems to keep getting more and more expensive… I just seen a nice 4 weight split bamboo rod at the shop selling for $500 and the reel was around $250….I don’t think the wife will go for this set up though.  I guess I’ll dream for just a little long for now…. anyone have the winning numbers for tonight’s lottery ahead of time? –Randy

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Question:

Anyone who has had experience with the Dagger Venture 17, Dagger Passage, or Grumman 17′ Falcon double ender canoes, I would be greatly interested in function, reliability, and overall strengths of each.

Response:

  I have owned a Venture 17 for about a year and a half and have been very satisfied with it.  We use it mainly for canoe camping, fishing and general relaxation rather than whitewater(we have other boats for that).   It paddles easily and can carries a large load.     I think I paddled a Passage while shopping for a canoe.  If it is the boat I am thinking of, (fairly long and made of some new light weight material) I didn’t like it.  The hull flexed enough that it seemed to absorb a lot of the power from each paddle stroke.  It also did not turn easily.  On the plus side it is light for its length, which makes getting it from the car to the water easier.         My first boat was a Grumman and I would not recommend an aluminum boat in this day and age with all of the other boats to choose from. I see that someone has posted a message about the drawbacks of aluminum.  You shoul look at it.    

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Looking to buy a canoe. What do I need to keep in mind? Who are some manufacturers? How much? Thanks.

I’m shopping also. I think you will get better help if you say a bit more about who you are and how you expect you expect to use the canoe.  The people who post here seem to vary widely — there are lots of whitewater folks, but not all.  Just be yourself. Then go get a Bell.  The lighter the better.  

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Although Marathon boats are indeed well made, reasonably priced and are durable, they are not well-suited for moving water with rocks; aluminum has a rather pronounced ‘rock grabbing’ property in that it does not glance off of obstructions, but instead tends to form around them and hold on. Hence, I figure Aluminum boats are ’specialty boats’, better suited for lake use. Grummans are not specialty canoes.  They are low cost, durable, general purpose canoes that used to be the workhorses of Canada’s north. They are noisy, always too cold or hot, ugly, tough, not affected by weather or UV, practical.

Well, in the sense that they are not highly-engineered, high tech material, computer designed to be the best at a narrow range of useages specialty boats, I agree. But they are definately not competitive as ‘all purpose’ boats for the reason you gave: they aren’t that good for running rivers. They were Canada’s workhorses because Aircraft aluminum was the first best option to wood strips or canvas: both of which were too fragile for the everyday user. When Grumman opened the door to general purpose canoeing, they offered durability, low maintenance and low cost. But now, all those things are in ABS boats, with less hull memory, less noise, and better hull shape. I would offer that ‘flatwater tripping canoes’ and your kevlar Clipper are specialty boats also; highly designed for a special purpose. I think an OT Kennebec or Discovery, MR Explorer (OK, its pricey), BH OCA or a host of other ABS boats are better suited for general purpose than a Grumman. Don’t get me wrong: if I had a camp in the boonies with a lake at the door, I’d probably want a Grumman with a motormount tied up at the dock, for the ambiance if nothing else. But to keep in my backyard, in town, to toss on the car for weekend river trips, to take on various lakes, for the occasional ocean paddle, to have as my all-purpose haul around boat…I don’t think its best suited for that. But YMMV, especially as I know your own tripping experience qualifies your opinions as being ‘well informed’. riverman

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I’ve been to the Swift  factory store, and saw their full line of canoes, swift canoes are truly beautiful. Give them a first look. their great to deal with. Looking to buy a canoe. What do I need to keep in mind? Who are some manufacturers? How much? Thanks. — Val Girolamo Design Engineer ASMAT Precision Mold Builders A Foster Group Company P: (716) 247-3556 xt. 217 F: (716) 247-7892

– Perry Chamberlain Liv’n on de Edge n de Desert Everyone has someone in their family who is crazy, if you don’t know who it is, its you!

Response:

on the keyboard and ended up with: I think you will get better help if you say a bit more about who you are and how you expect you expect to use the canoe.  The people who post here seem to vary widely — there are lots of whitewater folks, but not all.  Just be yourself.

Well Harry, for the touring folks, there also is "Rec.Boats.Paddle.Touring", although a bunch of the touring people have hung around ever since the original RBP received its two subgroups (RBP.WhiteWater is the second one). Then go get a Bell.  The lighter the better.  

<puzzled look Wilko — Eindhoven            The Netherlands            Europe             "Look Mum: No Sense!"      

Question:

This summer I’m interested in fishing the flats in SW Florida (Ft Meyers area and south in to the Everglades).  Does anyone have recommendations for good guides?  Thanks

Response:

If they are booked up they will find you a guide in the area. — <*))))< Paul Phillips Director of Operations Fintastic Fish Mounts http://www.fintastic.com/ – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This summer I’m interested in fishing the flats in SW Florida (Ft Meyers area and south in to the Everglades).  Does anyone have recommendations for good guides?  Thanks

Response:

Check with Capt. Andrew Bostick 941-394-3010 Tell him Capt. Tommy Robinson sent you http://www.floridaredfish.com – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This summer I’m interested in fishing the flats in SW Florida (Ft Meyers area and south in to the Everglades).  Does anyone have recommendations for good guides?  Thanks

Response:

Try Capt. Chris Asaro. He has a site at <http://www.sightfish.net/ . – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – This summer I’m interested in fishing the flats in SW Florida (Ft Meyers area and south in to the Everglades).  Does anyone have recommendations for good guides?  Thanks

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Question:

How is Crane Prairie fishing these days. I plan to be there on the 25th of June. Any dry fly action? I have never fished it and was wondering if it is necessary to have a boat as I am not bringing along any flotation devices but am told I can rent a boat from the small store there. — David and B.J. Weitl Poulsbo, Washington http://www.nwfishing.com/dweitl

Response:

How is Crane Prairie fishing these days.

As usual for this time of year, one day is excellent, next is dead.   Folks over the past two weeks have been doing decent (Rock Creek Campground area). Any dry fly action?

Some.  Usually damsels in the surface film are best, but a few mayflies should be present.  Dredging leeches (brandy-wine color) usually produces the most. … was wondering if it is necessary to have a boat …

Fishing from the bank is extremely limited, if at all.  You can rent boats at the resort.  At least the crowd I fish with tend to be in the Rock Creek / Quinn Channel areas, which are farthest from the Resort, so if you go with a rental, ask questions about the Deschutes Channel or make sure you have enough gas to make it across the reservior. Thomas Gilg

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Question:

Hikers need to understand something. Hiking boots are not made to walk in concrete. The soles are usually to soft. The concrete eats them up. If you plan to do some street hiking, go with a Timberland boot or somehing like that. If you really want a ‘hiking boot’, go with the Sundowners, Newbriers, or Skywalks. That way, WHEN you wear down the soles, you can get them resoled. Hal Why is misuse of a product the responsibility of the manufacturer? : My Vasque Hiker II’s lasted for 11 years and my Montagna’s for ten.  I : thought I’d never wear any other brand.  But the new styles seem to be : narrower and I’ve now switched to Raichle for fit.  I’d use caution : with the lightweight (leather/fabric) styles.  I bought a pair of : Vasque Clarion hiking shoes and destroyed them in six months on the : streets.

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Anyone have Vasque boots.  How are they made are they durable?  Thanks.

Vasque (at least a couple of years ago) had a policy that if the leather uppers start to come appart before the sole is completely worn, they would repair or replace the boots at no charge. I bought a pair of discontinued all leather Vasque boots at a rock bottom sale price of $75 several years ago.  When the sole began to seperate from one boot a few years later, I took them back to the store to get them repaired. (at the time I was unaware of the policy, loved the boots, and was willing pay to have the boots repaired).  The store sent the boots back to Vasque and a few weeks later the store called and said that Vasque was willing to give me a $130 credit (the original retail price of the boots) towards another pair.  I took them up on the offer and picked up a pair of $190 New Briers. My current roommate had the same experience with the same type of Vasque boots (I think they were "Libertys") and he used his credit to purchase Sundowners.

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I waterproofed the leather on my Sundowners (which have been fantastic) just in case, but remember that even if the boot is waterproof, you can still get wet feet from water/snow coming in the top of the boot.  Don’t forget gaiters if you’re hiking in snow or in cold rain!  :)

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Newbriers, or Skywalks. That way, WHEN you wear down the soles, you can get them resoled.

My mileage varried!  On my 4 pairs of Skywalks, Sundowners and Newbriers the soles all came off before I had a chance to wear them down!  Luckily they stood behind their product and replaced them.  I have since grown tired of that game and got a pair of Raichles with a real stitched sole. Good Luck,                 Whitney

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Re: Vasque boots Over rocks, through streams, over snow, over dirt, over anything, my Vasque Sundowners have been _fantastic_.  I go up to people trying them on in stores and tell these total strangers that my boots have saved my life on winter hikes (since I have never gotten wet feet while wearing these boots, even on eight hour hikes through wet snow,etc.)  I have never gotten a blister, never slipped off a wet rock, never had any reason except to recommend these boots!!!  I say thumbs up!  Buy ‘em!

Response:

Anyone have Vasque boots.  How are they made are they durable?  Thanks.

I have had my Vasque Sundowners for three years now.  Great boots.  Sturdy one piece upper construction.  Solid yet flexible sole. They break in IMHO quickly.  They are my winter boots (NYC), hiking, and allaround  walking shoes from Oct-April.  I have gone flyfishing with them-a few hours in waist deep H2O- came homw cleaned them and waxed them a week later– they came back with great flexibility.  I just spent a week out west, Zion, Bryce, GC. One hike was in Bryce-900 feet down and up during a 3 hour hike, on some quite steep trails.  Never had a blister, actually since I bought them.  I can’t say enough about them. I will definitely buy a new pair, if they are still made when I need to do such- in about six years, after having been resoled a few times. That reminds me, I have to clean them again and get the red Utah dirt off of them. Hope this sways your decision. Brian CHarles — Brian Charles

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        I just bought a new pair of sundownsers also.  I got them for pretty cheap ($160 on sale).  They fit the best out of all the boots I tried.  I would recommend them also, just make sure to try on several brands and pick the ones that fit the best. (Look at http://io.datasys.swri.edu/PATC/startout.html for boot fitting info.)         Does anyone use snoseal on their sundowners?  Or do you trust the gortex? Josh — —  Senior M.E. Student & Computer Aided Engineering          – —      Laboratory Partner                                      – —  Engineering School – The hardest four years or the        – —                       easiest six years of your life.      –

Response:

        Does anyone use snoseal on their sundowners?  Or do you trust the gortex?

I didn’t have time to seal them before I left on their first trip (I know, I know, I just didn’t *make* the time…), but they were quite waterproof nonetheless.  The leather did suffer quite a bit, however, from scuffing — I was in canyon country, very rocky.  Sealing them later has helped the scuffing, I think.  And I’m sure it has increased the waterproof-ness of the boots — but as I said, I never had any problems in the first place. Still, I think it would be irresponsible not to seal them.

Response:

Their cheaper models are for light hiking. Their midrange models are for heavy hiking/light backpacking. And their high end are for heavy backpacking. If you used the ‘cheap model’ for heavy use, I’m not at all surprised. If you told your sales person that you needed them for heavy use, he should have recommended a better pair. I work at an outdoor shop that sells Vasque and I know that any knowledgable salesperson should know the uses for the different levels of boots. Hal

: I hate to disagree with all the others, but I’ve had two pairs of Vasque : boots and neither lasted worth beans.  One was a cheap model and it wore : out VERY quickly (two months hard use).  I ascribed this to the cost of : the model — since I’d also heard Vasques were good — and bought an

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –         I just bought a new pair of sundownsers also.  I got them for pretty cheap ($160 on sale).  They fit the best out of all the boots I tried.  I would recommend them also, just make sure to try on several brands and pick the ones that fit the best. (Look at http://io.datasys.swri.edu/PATC/startout.html for boot fitting info.)         Does anyone use snoseal on their sundowners?  Or do you trust the gortex? Josh — —  Senior M.E. Student & Computer Aided Engineering          – —      Laboratory Partner                                      – —  Engineering School – The hardest four years or the        – —                       easiest six years of your life.      –

I use Nikwax cleaner/conditioner and then apply a layer of Nikwax aqueous wax. The bottle says apply 2 or 3 layers for best results but one protects the leather well and provides for an easy clean up and retreat. The only time my feet have gotten wet in my Sundowners (4 years, great shape) is when the water is deeper than the boots are tall. Great boots! — Thanx for your interest. Tom "The thinner the air gets, the clearer my head gets."

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I like the Vasque boots I’ve owned better than any others.  My only negative observation:  in Scotland in December, walking on cold and very slippery beach stones in the western islands, I tended to slip more often than my friends, who wore boots with harder soles.  My Vasques now are the lightweight type with canvas plus leather uppers and fairly spongy soles, and the soles are now fairly smooth (I’ll need a new pair soon).  I found that in Scotland the cold made the soles a bit stiff and because they were smooth they were also slick. That’s not a complaint with Vasque boots, though!         Una Smith —         Una Smith               Department of Biology – OML                                 Yale University

Response:

Anyone have Vasque boots.  How are they made are they durable?  Thanks.

I like them quite a bit.  They tend to run wide, which fits my feet.  My younger son has similar feet and he’s gone through a couple of pairs of Vasques over the years.  Mine have worn quite well.

Response:

My Sundowners have never let me down.

Response:

I wear my Vasque in the same Utah scree fields and don’t have much of a problem.  (All leather) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anyone have Vasque boots. Yes, lots of people do–otherwise they wouldn’t be in business How are they made I don’t know how they are made. Presumably there’s some sort of factory like set up… are they durable?   Yes, if you never hike in rocks while wearing them.  I was going to get a pair of their $180ish (I can’t remember the name) boots but everyone I talked to who also hikes reccomended against them.  In the scree fields of the Utah mountains (where I walk most of the time), Vasque got a definite thumbs down. your milage may vary, mike.

Response:

My Vasque Hiker II’s lasted for 11 years and my Montagna’s for ten.  I thought I’d never wear any other brand.  But the new styles seem to be narrower and I’ve now switched to Raichle for fit.  I’d use caution with the lightweight (leather/fabric) styles.  I bought a pair of Vasque Clarion hiking shoes and destroyed them in six months on the streets.

Response:

I hate to disagree with all the others, but I’ve had two pairs of Vasque boots and neither lasted worth beans.  One was a cheap model and it wore out VERY quickly (two months hard use).  I ascribed this to the cost of the model — since I’d also heard Vasques were good — and bought an expensive pair (all leather) at a local shop.  These lasted a bit longer, but I’ve certainly had MUCH better durability with other brands. The Vasques were, I must admit, totally hip and extremely comfortable though. — "Die young late in life!!!"                           http://www.unm.edu/~pflo

Response:

        You say your boots `wore out’. What wore out, the leather         portion or the sole? If it was the leather I’m surprised; mine         have lasted many years and I wear them every day. If it was the         sole that wore down, why don’t you have them resoled? I know         the last time I had mine done (by Morin Boots, Evergreen CO.         fyi) I was able to choose between a Vasque sole or soles from         other big name manufactures. I decided to stay with Vasque         because the softer material seems to grip very well.                 Scott   Marquette Electronics    8200 West Tower Avenue    Milwaukee, WI 53223             As anyone here will tell you: I speak for myself.        

Response:

Anyone have Vasque boots.  How are they made are they durable?  Thanks.

I love my Vasques – have used them for 4 years now – first in Nepal and now at home in Vermont.  Mine are the Gore-tex sided.  They were recommended by the outfitting shop over all the others they stocked and I have never been disappointed.  I have a friend who has the more expensive all-leather Vasques and he is equally satisfied.  One thing – I have always worn my boots with Thorlo Trekking-weight socks.  This may be key.

Response:

I believe Vasque all-leather Gore-tex boots are issue for National Park Rangers.  I don’t wear them because they don’t fit me comfortably.   That’s the most important aspect of any boot.  I wear a comparable Asolo which is very comfortable for me.  When you buy boots, make very sure they fit properly.  Fit varies according to manufacturer.

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: Anyone have Vasque boots.  How are they made are they durable?  Thanks.         I bought my first pair of Vasque boots in 1990.  Since then I have put them through quite a bit of wear and tear and they still remain in good shape.  Since I bought those boots so many years ago, my feet have grown AND Vasque has redesigned their boots, so I thought it was time to get a new pair.  About a year ago I bought a pair of Vasque Clarion Impacts for $105. I love them!  My little brother still wears my first pair of Vasque Clarions.         In all, I hear that Vasque makes good boots, and I totally agree!  I have also heard good things about the Vasque Sundowners and the Gore-tex Clarion Impact. -David B. Buckingham dbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbd bdbdb  UofL, Speed Scientific School                                         TIP#1836                             David Bryan Buckingham                              (502)397-5496 (pager)  Triangle Fraternity                                         HSC Lab Consultant dbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbd bdbdb

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Anyone have Vasque boots.  How are they made are they durable?  Thanks.

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Anyone have Vasque boots.

Yes, lots of people do–otherwise they wouldn’t be in business How are they made

I don’t know how they are made. Presumably there’s some sort of factory like set up… are they durable?  

Yes, if you never hike in rocks while wearing them.  I was going to get a pair of their $180ish (I can’t remember the name) boots but everyone I talked to who also hikes reccomended against them.  In the scree fields of the Utah mountains (where I walk most of the time), Vasque got a definite thumbs down. your milage may vary, mike.

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I am considering the purchase of Gortex waders (simms guide model) and I was wondering what people’s experience has been regarding the durability of these waders as compared with neoprene.  I have heard that they are very subject to developing leaks,  I am very tough on equipment and would crawl over glass and through barb wire to get to fish.  I am most interested in what your actual experince has been with these products and not what somebody said. Thanks for input, T. Frank

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I am considering the purchase of Gortex waders (simms guide model) and I was wondering what people’s experience has been regarding the durability of these waders as compared with neoprene.  I have heard that they are very subject to developing leaks,  I am very tough on equipment and would crawl over glass and through barb wire to get to fish.  I am most interested in what your actual experince has been with these products and not what somebody said. Thanks for input, T. Frank

Although I don’t have any, the reason I don’t is my friends who do all had leaks. Some soon, some later, but all have had leaks so far. One friend has returned his waders 3 times, but they were an earlier model of a popular but unmentioned muanufacturer. (their service in exchanging them has been quite good.) The Simms guide model looks and fits great in extended sizes, but I have resisted the temptation so far. Don’t know anyone who has them yet. For now I’m sticking to nylon or supplex and neoprene. Kevin Williams

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I am considering the purchase of Gortex waders (simms guide model) and I was wondering what people’s experience has been regarding the durability of these waders as compared with neoprene. I have heard that they are very subject to developing leaks,  I am very tough on equipment and would crawl over glass and through barb wire to get to fish.  I am most interested in what your actual experince has been with these products and not what somebody said.

I’ve got a pair of Simms Gortex with about 150 hours on them with no problems but I’m real easy on equipment.  OTOH, I developed a leak in a pair neoprenes in the first 10 hours of use. John Johnson Atlanta, GA

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I have been using the Simms Gor-Tex for about 1 year. They are the most comfortable wader I’ve worn. If you walk thru briars, barbed wire, etc. you are going to get leaks. Mine have been of the pinhole variety and are easily patched on the inside. I think they are not as durable as neoprene but the are certainly a lot more comfortable. GL. Jack.

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I am considering the purchase of Gortex waders (simms guide model) and I was wondering what people’s experience has been regarding the durability of these waders as compared with neoprene. I have heard that they are very subject to developing leaks,  I am very tough on equipment and would crawl over glass and through barb wire to get to fish.  I am most interested in what your actual experince has been with these products and not what somebody said. Thanks for input, T. Frank

Hi I’m on my second season guiding with a pair of Simms Gortex.  They are the best investment I’ve ever made in the direction of my personal comfort.  Even in 100 degree heat I’m as comfortable as if I were wearing a pair of jeans. Regarding leaks:  The fine Goretex lining is subject pin hole leeks caused by nettles, thistles, etc.  The type of pointy objects that that will slip between the fibers on the outside protecting fabric and puncture the inner membrane.  The outside fabric is really quite tough so glass and barbed wire are less of a problem than the real fine pointed things I just mentioned. When I got my waders I bought a repair kit.  It’s real easy to use even on the stream if need be but the pin hole leeks are not like a leek in a regular wader.  They just kind of seep.  When I notice a wet spot on my jeans when I remove the waders at the end of the day I wait until I get home to fix them.  At home I reverse the waders and fill the reversed leg with water from a hose and mark the leek with a felt tip pen, empty the waders and hang them up to dry.  About an hour later I put on the goop and 20 minutes after that the patch and the waders are ready to go.  I consider this a very small price to pay for the incredible comfort I get as a result.  No more sweat soaked poly long handles for me, thank you. Tight Lines Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT (96 catalog)

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