Question:

Hmm…..Do you need a new best friend, Mr. Cooke? /daytripper ("Have Rod, Will Travel"

hey Trip we got a chalk stream in Maine here, I’ve never been up but for you old buddy, I’d make the trip. Flyfish

Response:

Hmm…..Do you need a new best friend, Mr. Cooke? /daytripper ("Have Rod, Will Travel" hey Trip we got a chalk stream in Maine here, I’ve never been up but for you old buddy, I’d make the trip. Flyfish

Just make sure that there is no climb involved, especially no climb with speed bumps liberally placed along the trail! Op

Response:

This is not the case where I fish, and obviously not the case for wild fish in loughs, where you fish. No – usually chalkstreams – Itchen, Test, Wylie and Avon. Not easy water.

My error. I would have thought the chalkstream fish were fairly "educated" as well. ( I have fished the Costa Beck a few times), but I didn

Question:

Looking for a site that talks about the basics of saltwater flyfishing for stripers (especially if it mentions the New Jersey coast). Am interested in trying it this summer and would like to learn the basics. Thanks!

Response:

Looking for a site that talks about the basics of saltwater flyfishing for stripers (especially if it mentions the New Jersey coast). Am interested in trying it this summer and would like to learn the basics. Thanks!

Hey Mark,         SoJersery Fly Fishers will hold some courses on this topic this year. I’ll see if I can find out more… I am gonna go to their meeting this Thursday… — Michael Era

Question:

Actually Smith and Wesson’s add is twice as large as Redington’s, and they didn’t make the list.

     No, but they DID get an "unbiased" article printed on the facing page, and gee whiz who’d of ever thunk it’s now a good idea to fish in grizzly bear country as long as you’re packing your trusty model 29?

Response:

Hi I am looking to buy an 8 weight rod and was looking at the Wayfarer. Anyone have this rod or know anything good or bad about it? many thanks michael

Response:

Check the 2002 Annual Gear Guide in the recent issue of Fly Fish America. According to their testing they cast straight and far.  In two tests they came in second and fifth with a lot of $500 plus rods behind it.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi I am looking to buy an 8 weight rod and was looking at the Wayfarer. Anyone have this rod or know anything good or bad about it? many thanks michael

Response:

Check the 2002 Annual Gear Guide in the recent issue of Fly Fish America. According to their testing they cast straight and far.  In two tests they came in second and fifth with a lot of $500 plus rods behind it.

   Which only indicates Redington ran the second and fifth most expensive advertisements in that shameless rag.

Response:

Actually Smith and Wesson’s add is twice as large as Redington’s, and they didn’t make the list.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Check the 2002 Annual Gear Guide in the recent issue of Fly Fish America. According to their testing they cast straight and far.  In two tests they came in second and fifth with a lot of $500 plus rods behind it.    Which only indicates Redington ran the second and fifth most expensive advertisements in that shameless rag.

Response:

I use reddington rods, I have a 5 and a 7 weight and love them, I am not compaing them to a  Orvis Trident my brother uses, but they are very good in my opinion. Cant beat the warranty either. Regards Biscuit

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Actually Smith and Wesson’s add is twice as large as Redington’s, and they didn’t make the list. Check the 2002 Annual Gear Guide in the recent issue of Fly Fish America. According to their testing they cast straight and far.  In two tests they came in second and fifth with a lot of $500 plus rods behind it.    Which only indicates Redington ran the second and fifth most expensive advertisements in that shameless rag.

Response:

Question:

A summarized quote from an article in Audubon: "The federal government is proposing that Maine’s Atlantic salmon be protected under the Endangered Species Act. In 1999 less than 100 spawning females returned to the eight rivers targeted in the proposal and those were the Country’s best remaining runs of wild Atlantic salmon. Maine’s governor Angus King and a congressional delegation from Maine take issue with the claim that Maine salmon are a distinct subspecies. They feel that an ESA listing would harm the blueberry and salmon aquaculture industries." Even if the salmon don’t ultimately get ESA protection, maybe just the "threat" of it will improve the situation. In Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, just the consideration of putting some of our native trout species under the ESA, prompted the states’ to step up their efforts in restoring these populations, seemingly to try and curtail the ESA designation. Willi

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A summarized quote from an article in Audubon: "The federal government is proposing that Maine’s Atlantic salmon be protected under the Endangered Species Act. In 1999 less than 100 spawning females returned to the eight rivers targeted in the proposal and those were the Country’s best remaining runs of wild Atlantic salmon. Maine’s governor Angus King and a congressional delegation from Maine take issue with the claim that Maine salmon are a distinct subspecies. They feel that an ESA listing would harm the blueberry and salmon aquaculture industries." Even if the salmon don’t ultimately get ESA protection, maybe just the "threat" of it will improve the situation. In Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, just the consideration of putting some of our native trout species under the ESA, prompted the states’ to step up their efforts in restoring these populations, seemingly to try and curtail the ESA designation.

hope this isn’t considered raining on the esa parade, but i have yet to see any meaningful reforms due to the esa in the northwest.  the powers that be, inclusing those within NMFS, seem to be fighting harder and harder every year to maintain the status quo, except for those sport fisheries… those must be closed first because they have the most impact (add heavy dose of sarcasm to last sentence <G) we’re starting to get some inklings that things may be changing, but hell, chinook on the snake river have been listed for an awful long time to just be finally doing something. if it’s true that only 100 female atlantics were in 8 rivers, i’m amazed that they aren’t covered under the esa.  looks like maine’s salmon are on cruise control towards extinction. chris

Response:

I’ll conceived IMHO Here’s the facts I’m aware of. 1. Atlantic Salmon are not endangered as a species, Maine has no distinct species or subspecies of Salmon it’s just the run of the mill salmo salar 2. The runs have depleted over the past few years, despite the improvement to all the hydro projects to include downstream access – i.e.: no more cut bait from salmon returning to the sea. 3.  With the number of fish heading out due to stocking, and some limited natural reproduction,  it’s obvious to me the problem is NOT in the rivers of Maine but off the coast of Maine, this proposal will not get rid of the Russian and Japanese fishing fleets off our coast. (I do not claim this to be the entire problem, but when Canada quit netting salmon off their coast the runs improved). Overall fishing in the gulf of Maine is bad and getting worse. Giant factory ships under foreign flags sit there year round, I do not believe this has no impact. 4. Atlantic’s were placed on C&R 2 years ago to see if this helped, it takes 5 years for this to begin to show improvement or failure (for fish to return from the sea). 5. TU and Audubon who pushed for the C&R reg change have declared the program a failure, 3 years before any evidence pro or con can be produced 6. If ESA listing is approved on the rivers so designated agriculture and aquaculture will take a second seat. This could have an impact on Maine which has lagged the rest of the country in this age of economic growth. The Governor and the reps are just doing their jobs here. 7. The State of Maine has spent millions of dollars over the past 10+ years attempting to restore the salmon runs, it hasn’t worked. ESA listing doesn’t show much promise because the root cause of the depletion hasn’t been identified. Audubon needs to do some research before they attempt to impose a "solution". 8. The removal of the Edwards dam in Augusta may improve the virtually non-existent run in the Kennebec, despite the small numbers of fish in the Kennebec it’s not on Audubon’s list. The Kennebec once was home to the largest runs recorded in Maine and could be again given time to recover. These runs disappeared within years of Edwards construction. 9. ESA listing will more than likely cause these rivers to be closed to all angling regardless of the species targeted or so I’m told by the US F&W biologist locally. 10. Those numbers are not the same as what’s being touted here locally, I’ll see if I can find the website with the info. Also it’s TU and Audubon who are petitioning the Feds for the listing, it’s not a proposal from the Feds as far as I know (yet) We’d all love to have great runs of Atlantic’s, there is nothing finer than a 10lb salmon leaping out of the water on your fly, been there, done that. This proposal is premature and threatens the livelihood of some hardworking folks here in Maine. Audubon needs to back their claims with research, and they have yet to do that. Flyfish – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A summarized quote from an article in Audubon: "The federal government is proposing that Maine’s Atlantic salmon be protected under the Endangered Species Act. In 1999 less than 100 spawning females returned to the eight rivers targeted in the proposal and those were the Country’s best remaining runs of wild Atlantic salmon. Maine’s governor Angus King and a congressional delegation from Maine take issue with the claim that Maine salmon are a distinct subspecies. They feel that an ESA listing would harm the blueberry and salmon aquaculture industries." Even if the salmon don’t ultimately get ESA protection, maybe just the "threat" of it will improve the situation. In Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, just the consideration of putting some of our native trout species under the ESA, prompted the states’ to step up their efforts in restoring these populations, seemingly to try and curtail the ESA designation. Willi

Response:

I haven’t followed it in the last couple of weeks, but have the impression that ESA enactment is a done deal. Governor King’s complaint is that it’s bit premature: the Feds gave their blessing to a 5 year plan put into place by the State, and 2 years later came back with the Big Hammer. It’s a rather complex situation with no single factor bearing the brunt of the blame, but there’s little argument that the regions that are going to get hit the hardest economically are the same ones that only recently saw their unemployment levels dip below 10% for the first time in 10 or 15 years. Despite opinions to the contrary, the salmon have lots of support, whereas the unemployed have only the government to turn to. Governor King and the State are suing to get access to the data on which the Feds based their decision. Odd that he should have to do that in the face of what is purported to be overwhelming evidence that the ESA needed enacting. The Penobscot had water temps in excess of 70 in the Bangor area last season due to regionwide drought, but it won’t matter this year, the anglers get to take a by, for at least this year and for as long as some steadily employed people from another part of the country deem it. The whole thing still smells a little fishy to me. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – A summarized quote from an article in Audubon: "The federal government is proposing that Maine’s Atlantic salmon be protected under the Endangered Species Act. In 1999 less than 100 spawning females returned to the eight rivers targeted in the proposal and those were the Country’s best remaining runs of wild Atlantic salmon. Maine’s governor Angus King and a congressional delegation from Maine take issue with the claim that Maine salmon are a distinct subspecies. They feel that an ESA listing would harm the blueberry and salmon aquaculture industries." Even if the salmon don’t ultimately get ESA protection, maybe just the "threat" of it will improve the situation. In Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, just the consideration of putting some of our native trout species under the ESA, prompted the states’ to step up their efforts in restoring these populations, seemingly to try and curtail the ESA designation. Willi

Response:

6. If ESA listing is approved on the rivers so designated agriculture and aquaculture will take a second seat. This could have an impact on Maine which has lagged the rest of the country in this age of economic growth. The Governor and the reps are just doing their jobs here.

how much of an impact do you think the aquaculture industry is having on maine’s wild salmon?  are there large numbers of escapees?  aquaculture definetely puts me in a tough situation… on one hand the price of fish declines, which is good for wild fish (not economical to harvest them) but the commercial impact on fish remains to make the food the fish in pens eat.  plus the use of antibiotics and the possible spread of diseases from rearing in tight quarters are imo seriously bad things. seems you want no job losses from aquaculture, but don’t mind job losses among the commercial fishing fleet.  seems a strange position since both have negative effects, although one is obvious and the other will be forever argued by those pro-aquaculture folks. we’re facing much the same deal here in the northwest with probable job losses (never mind the loss of a $1 billion sportfishery from the loss of viable fisheries).  do you have any treaty tribes in maine, because as i read it, in the nw they will be the folks who have the final say due to the treaties superseding much of the state’s power. good luck finding a solution, i hope you can find one. chris

Response:

6. If ESA listing is approved on the rivers so designated agriculture and aquaculture will take a second seat. This could have an impact on Maine which has lagged the rest of the country in this age of economic growth. The Governor and the reps are just doing their jobs here.

:how much of an impact do you think the aquaculture industry is having on maine’s wild salmon?  are there large numbers of escapees?  aquaculture definetely puts me in a tough situation… on one hand the price of fish declines, which is good for wild fish (not economical to harvest them) but the commercial impact on fish remains to make the food the fish in pens eat.  plus the use of antibiotics and the possible spread of diseases from rearing in tight quarters are imo seriously bad things.: The Maine and the New Brunswick salmon aquaculture industry are one in the same.  All of the salmon stocks in New Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy (with the exception of the Saint John River’s) are on the verge of extirpation.  The causitive link with aquaculture is suspected, because the stock declines commenced with the explosion of the industry in the early ’80’s.  The pathway(s) are not certain, but disease, genetic pollution and the concentration of predator theories cannot be dismissed.  The spread of the deadly Infectious Salmon Anemia (of European origin and imported in live fish to North America?) from cage escapees to wild salmon in one NB river has been demonstrated.  It has also been demonstrated that wild resident fish species, such as herring and harbour pollock are carriers of the disease. That said, a lot of the Down East salmon rivers of Maine are a long way from the aquaculture industry, and the pathway of its effect on them is hard to visualize.  The recovery of the eastern seaboard striped bass populations cannot be good for salmon, nor can exploding sea bird and seal populations.   At least one expert at Acadia University contends that it is foreign fishing fleets, which indiscriminatly fish for all species that are available, are the real culprits. JB :seems you want no job losses from aquaculture, but don’t mind job losses among the commercial fishing fleet.  seems a strange position since both have negative effects, although one is obvious and the other will be forever argued by those pro-aquaculture folks. we’re facing much the same deal here in the northwest with probable job losses (never mind the loss of a $1 billion sportfishery from the loss of viable fisheries).  do you have any treaty tribes in maine, because as i read it, in the nw they will be the folks who have the final say due to the treaties superseding much of the state’s power. good luck finding a solution, i hope you can find one. chris:

Response:

Question:

Egads.  A brown truck just pulled into the driveway…… Shit…… just some Orvis bedroom slippers and pjs I ordered……. Louie

it. Still interested? — Mr. G.   ‘all’s fair with fur or feather’ http://www.gink.com http://www.rodbuilding.com http://www.xink.com 509-243-4100 or 5500

Question:

Hi everybody, I am an Italian brand new member of AOPA USA with an FAA PPL license. I am actually planning a flying journey in the Western states with a friend of mine. I will take off from Los Angeles on next July 1st and the goal is to fly northbound through Central and Northern California, Oregon, Washington State, Seattle, up to Vancouver and back to LAX. The trip will last no more than 16 days, and it

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –     If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke This is possible though there is evidence the reverse is true: mortality is higher if the fish are forced to struggle violently without respite. Consider an analogy; you ask two people to a mile. One is asked to do it in one run as fast as they can go – the other must also run fast but can slow their pace or rest for a short period every quarter of a mile. Which runner has the greater probability of dying from the run? A simlar siutation was found with chinook slamon where high mortality was found where the fish were caught on commercial trolling tackle (no pun intended) – the fish struggled violently for a brief period before being tagged and released. Mortality approached 50%. Fish caught using conventional sport tackle have proven to have much lower mortality. It was surmized that the cause was the intense exertion of the commercial caught fish caused high levels of lactic acid and higher mortality while the sport caught fish a lower level of lactic acid in the blood. I also wonder why it has to be assumed flyfishers will use lighter leaders etc. They shouldn’t. Ralph H

The issue about lactic acid is muddy.  I think it was a fellow named Black in 1955 who was among the first to report that increases in blood lactates were observed after playing fish to exhaustion.  Some other fish researchers (e.g., Wydoski in "Relation of Hooking Mortality and Subleathal hooking Stress to Quality Fishery Management" noted the same increases in blood lactates, but it is not clear that these contribute to increased mortality. It is clear that these lactates result in increased blood acidosis and this contributes to an imbalance of body fluids that under some conditions may contribute to mortality.  Wood, Turner, and Graham (1983) "Why do fish die after severe exercise" (in J. Fish Biology 22) conducted experiments with — I think it was cutthroat trout — and observed increased acidosis after severe exercise, but they concluded that  this was an "unlikely" cause of mortality.  They suggest that other metabolic processes may be the cause of death, but these remain to be discovered.  Conditions such as water temperature are also significant factors as are species differences.  The work done on trout does not necessarily apply to bass or vice versa since different species definitely show different vulnerabilities to mortality. Anyway, without getting lost in the details, it seems the important point is: why fish die is not as simple to explain as we would like it to be and we all have lots of myths and lore about it that may or may not be supported by fish science, which itself has lots of contradictory research about any one topic. JR

Response:

Greetings: I am one of a rare breed that avidly fishes flies and spinners. In my opinion, which, by the way, is generally wrong: More than anything, depends on how the fish was hooked, which depends on how the lure was fished. A spinning rig tends to keep the line tight, and the hooks, as a result, are in the outer mouth. Same with a fly rig, if it is being fished properly. However, I see a lot of fly fishermen using wet flies with no strike indicator. Hence, the fish will swallow the fly. I don’t know if it’s a penis thing, or what, that keeps seemingly reasonable people from using a strike indicator. I use a yarn indicator, and hook fish I could never detect by watching the line alone. Live bait fisherman who don’t plan on keeping their catch should be shot at sunrise. Same for those who do plan on keeping their catch, but for a different reason. No, wait, that would be 2 reasons. 1) Drowning innocent bait, 2) Not releasing their catch. Needless to say (which is why I’m saying it), if you want to eat fish, go to the local grocery and buy it, instead of eating a wild treasure. Unless you’re camping in the wild. Man, I am in way over my head, which is a really bad thing if you are wading. I’m stopping now. MDC "I plan to live forever… so far, so good."

    If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke

Response:

More than anything, depends on how the fish was hooked,

The most important variable in the mortality rate of C&R fish is water temp. The warmer the water, the more likely the fish goes belly up after being caught and released. Of course, the original question said assume all variables the same except fly or lure. — Ken Fortenberry

Response:

(snipped) <<Man, I am in way over my head, which is a really bad thing if you are wading. I’m stopping now. Oh, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy.  I am roasting my marshmallows from here, the flames are so big.  Stand by, MDC.  I’ll give you a hint ——- asbestos! Dave LaCourse

Response:

To original Poster If you spin fish and you really like fishing, you will LOVE fly fishing. You will catch more fish, make more money, be more attractive to women and your car will always start. Dave Snedeker

Dave, sound like  you’ve been playing country- western records backwards again. Big Al

Response:

If you want to pluck the low-lying fruit of flaming self-deprecating humor, be my guest. Yawn… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – (snipped) <<Man, I am in way over my head, which is a really bad thing if you are wading. I’m stopping now. Oh, Lordy, Lordy, Lordy.  I am roasting my marshmallows from here, the flames are so big.  Stand by, MDC.  I’ll give you a hint ——- asbestos! Dave LaCourse

Response:

If you spin fish and you really like fishing, you will LOVE fly fishing. You will catch more fish, make more money, be more attractive to women and your car will always start. Dave Snedeker

It’s true, now that I fly fish, my car always starts. m&m – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –

Response:

To original Poster A person could argue this forever. Best answer? Try both yourself. See what you learn. I spin fished in the ’50s. The trebles tear the shit out of trout, mostly kill them. People spin fish because its easy and mindless. When its bitter cold its hard to argue against it. But the fact is that if a monkey could be taught to cast the dam thing he’d catch about as much as a human spin fisher. No offence ment, but its a proven fact thats been surpressed by the government since 1949. Spinning is the more effective technique if you need to throw a baitfish imitation way the hell out in the surf. Thats about it. Spinning is inferior to the fly rod for delivering anything other than a baitfish initation or a gob or worms or a dead chunk of something, at long distances. Problem is that fish eat a lot more than baitfish. If you spin fish and you really like fishing, you will LOVE fly fishing. You will catch more fish, make more money, be more attractive to women and your car will always start. Dave Snedeker

Response:

    If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke

Probably true if it weren’t that spin fishermen use treble hooks.                                                                John Popp

Response:

    If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke

This is possible though there is evidence the reverse is true: mortality is higher if the fish are forced to struggle violently without respite. Consider an analogy; you ask two people to a mile. One is asked to do it in one run as fast as they can go – the other must also run fast but can slow their pace or rest for a short period every quarter of a mile. Which runner has the greater probability of dying from the run? A simlar siutation was found with chinook slamon where high mortality was found where the fish were caught on commercial trolling tackle (no pun intended) – the fish struggled violently for a brief period before being tagged and released. Mortality approached 50%. Fish caught using conventional sport tackle have proven to have much lower mortality. It was surmized that the cause was the intense exertion of the commercial caught fish caused high levels of lactic acid and higher mortality while the sport caught fish a lower level of lactic acid in the blood. I also wonder why it has to be assumed flyfishers will use lighter leaders etc. They shouldn’t. Ralph H

Response:

<< If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke Is this a troll?  Maybe not.  Lee Wulff says a minute/pound.  There is no reason the fly fisherman should take *that* much longer than the spin fisherman.  You neglect to say what kind of "lure" the spin guy is using.  If it’s bait of any kind, it could be a deep-down-the-gullet hook-up, in which case the fish probably won’t live.  If it is a treble hook  and more than one of the hooks sets up, there could be more damage (prepare for incoming flames!).  I’ll go with the fly rod and a fly doing the less damage. Dave LaCourse

Response:

Maybe you can clarify a couple of points before an informed answer can be given.  Hook size (the larger the hook the greater the potential problems for the fish).  Hook type (treble hooks under some conditions seem to cause more problems than non-treble hooks, although some studies show this is not always the case), barbed or barbless (again, some studies show barbed hooks have no more mortality than barbless, but other studies show the reverse), and place of hooking (deeper hooks cause more problems of after-release mortality).  Also, although there is some data to indicate that playing fish longer contributes to increased mortality, there is other work that does not support the assumption that fighting fish longer causes more mortality. There are data to show that keeping fish out of the water longer than 30 seconds adds to the stress of fighting and does contribute to increased mortality.  I don’t think it is as simple as gear type.

    If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke

Response:

ff tend to use small barbless hooks, size 14, 16, 18, 22, 24, most fish are hooked in the jaw. Deep hooking with large hooks (often treble hoods) can damage internal organs as can rough handling. A large trout yanked out of the water can suffer damage due to lack of support from the water. Using proper catch and release methods a tired fish can be revived. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –     If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke

Response:

    If a flyfisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) , and a spin fisherman ( who is a good sportsman ) both released a trout under the same conditions . Which trout would have a better chance of surviving ? I say it would be the one released by the spin fisherman , because the fly fisherman would probably be using lighter leader , and would have to fight the fish longer and harder . Al Strucke

Response:

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – here’s the story.  about a month ago a friend of mine and i got our california fishing licenses.  we have gone out several times with not much luck.  we live in reno nevada and have easy access to the truckee river, lake tahoe area, bridgeport area, and the lake davis area. most of our efforts have been concentrated on the truckee river and various other streams close by.  i have not caught anything yet and my friend has only caught one trout.  i have an experienced friend who says that flyfishing is "something you have to pay your dues with".  is that the general consensus?  what do you suggest if nothing seems to be working (like in my case)?  fish new areas?  delve into entomology?  read books? pay for a guide?  i feel like i can do this i just need to build some momentum up (and going in the right direction would help). my current setup is a 7′-6" bamboo 5/6 weight rod; 100 yards of 10 lb. backing; "courtland" shooting head line (floating); "scientific angler" leader.  i have been using and had strikes on wooly worms, wooly buggers, helgramites.  i have been using and not having luck with nymphs, cahills, grasshoppers, and various dry flies. there is nothing more frustrating than to be wading in the middle of a hole with fish rising all around me and not being able to catch one. this has actually happened twice. if anyone would be kind enough to help, my friend and i would greatly appreciate it.  thank you in advance.

Try to pick a fly that most closely matches the size of the insects that you see on the surface.  The next most important thing is to keep one hand on your line line at all times.  The fact that you are getting strikes means that your fly selection is not that bad.   A problem I used to have is I would mend and leave to much line out.   When I got a strike, I could not pull the line taught quickly enough to set the hook.  If you are not able to pull your line taught by raising your rod tip to 45 deg above horizontal, plus a single pull with your line hand, then you have to much line out. Brian Brian

Response:

here’s the story.  about a month ago a friend of mine and i got our california fishing licenses.  we have gone out several times with not much luck.  we live in reno nevada and have easy access to the truckee river, lake tahoe area, bridgeport area, and the lake davis area. most of our efforts have been concentrated on the truckee river and various other streams close by.  i have not caught anything yet and my friend has only caught one trout.  i have an experienced friend who says that flyfishing is "something you have to pay your dues with".  is that the general consensus?  what do you suggest if nothing seems to be working (like in my case)?  fish new areas?  delve into entomology?  read books? pay for a guide?  i feel like i can do this i just need to build some momentum up (and going in the right direction would help). my current setup is a 7′-6" bamboo 5/6 weight rod; 100 yards of 10 lb. backing; "courtland" shooting head line (floating); "scientific angler" leader.  i have been using and had strikes on wooly worms, wooly buggers, helgramites.  i have been using and not having luck with nymphs, cahills, grasshoppers, and various dry flies. there is nothing more frustrating than to be wading in the middle of a hole with fish rising all around me and not being able to catch one. this has actually happened twice. if anyone would be kind enough to help, my friend and i would greatly appreciate it.  thank you in advance.

Response:

Question:

Hi Group It seems like everytime I leave for a while my email gets messed up.  If any of you have tried to contact me in the last week, please do so again. — Tight Lines Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT (97 catalog)

Response:

Hi Al — welcome home In light of some of the posts recently i have to start this with THIS IS A JOKE… but maybe nobody wanted to talk to you!!!!  ;) jg

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Question:

I’m heading for Bridgeport Monday. My first visit to the area last year wasn’t very productive due to incredible runoff (and a snowstorm). I would appreciate any advice on how the fishing is and what spots are producing. I’m kinda partial to stillwater FFing in my Poke Boat. TIA   —       There’s a fine line between fishing and standing       on the shore looking like an idiot.                                    Steven  Wright

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: I’m heading for Bridgeport Monday. My first visit to the area last year : wasn’t very productive due to incredible runoff (and a snowstorm). : I would appreciate any advice on how the fishing is and what spots are : producing. I’m kinda partial to stillwater FFing in my Poke Boat. : TIA   : — :                                                                 :       There’s a fine line between fishing and standing :       on the shore looking like an idiot. :                                    Steven  Wright try www.flyfishing-online.com for the latest reports on the eastern sierra’s. sounds like it is major runoff time up there. jlc

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : I’m heading for Bridgeport Monday. My first visit to the area last year : wasn’t very productive due to incredible runoff (and a snowstorm). : I would appreciate any advice on how the fishing is and what spots are : producing. I’m kinda partial to stillwater FFing in my Poke Boat. : TIA : — : :       There’s a fine line between fishing and standing :       on the shore looking like an idiot. :                                    Steven  Wright try www.flyfishing-online.com for the latest reports on the eastern sierra’s. sounds like it is major runoff time up there. jlcJust returned from Bridgeport Sunday. Was there for a week and

fishing is very slow. Too much water and a full moon. Try the Resevoir for bid fish. Talk to Rick at Ken’s Sporting Goods.

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