tomorrow and tying update

I will be going fishing tomorrow, Right after school. 

Hopefully I can break my one fish a day streak! and catch more than one. 

Other than that, I have officially decided to stop tying flies for a while. At least until I use some of my backstock up. I mean some backstock is fine but holy shit, having three medium sized plano boxes packed with flies I will hardly ever use is kinda ridiculous. So I decided to stop tying flies until I use up some of the backstock to trees and fish. So I expect to not tie any flies for a few months. I am happy with this decision and have already put my tying crap away. Hopefully I will be able to refrain from tying. I think I can....I think I can.. lol. 

I will write tomorrow on how fishing went. Hopefully well but we'll see. 

good fishing, that is, if you aren't locked up in a cabin with snow around! ahh I love middle california, It never snows here! trout season all year long! Ha! 

Todays fishing trip

Well as I said I would be going fishing today. I did and didnt do all to great. 

I arrived later in the day at about 3:30pm and walked around the lake to find a few rising fish. I setup a indicator and Nymph. I had the 3wt with me and started working the water. Not really working it because the fish wanted the nymph to be barely moving if not at all, Which is boring as hell. 

So I got my patience up and missed a take or two and finally hooked up and brought one fish to hand on a pattern that I had just kinda thrown together the other day. As I landed the fish his head came just outta the water, and I released tension on the line and the hook fell outta the fishes mouth and the fish flipped and released himself! Nice! I didnt even have to get my fingers wet. 

It was somewhat gross though, As the fish had been hurt badly by something and half its tail was missing. You could see his tail bones clean and sticking out of his back. It was a disgusting site to say the least. 

No pictures today, I have not been taking the camera out with me lately. For no real reason other than I dont want extra weight and There havn't been any bug fish to take pictures of. 

Recent fishing

I have been out trout fishing over the weekend, on saturday and sunday. It has been pretty tough lately! 

I headed out on saturday optimistic about catching some fish but once I arrived Was surprised that they were not taking streamers or small soft hackles. I tried other things but nothing was the ticket, I was starting to scratch my head. I then met up with a buddy who regularly fishes there. I asked him what had been working and he said they were close in and would only take tiny stuff moving very slowly or not at all. 

So with that info I put on a Size 16 Ray charles( Not exactly tiny but hey who knows) under a Bobber (indicator). I walked on down the shore and immediately had a take. I set hook and landed the only dumb fish in the lake. That was the only fish I caught that day. The fish was small about 14". 

On sunday I went out again this time with a dry dropper set up. The dry a stimulator and the dropper a size 14 ray charles. I started walking around the lake to locate rising fish. Which I was seeing none of. And the only place they were rising was where some baitfishers were parked.( the baitfishers were not catching anything). 

Soo I waited around for the baitfishers to leave. Finally they left and me and my buddy richard took the spots. I hooked up with a fish almost immediately and brought it to hand. It was a nice fish with the exception of a sore right before its dorsal fin. my guess would be about 16". 

Then I missed a fish while i was "asleep at the fly". I was gazing at the scenery and then felt the strong tug of a fish pulling line. Yanked back into reality I tried to set the hook but missed the fish. Richard managed to land one fish as well. 

We then walked around the lake to find that someone had fed the fish and they were rising to pellets. We tried multiple dries and pheasant tails to mimic the pellets but they would not take anything. 

So recently we have been able to catch only one fish per day to avoid the dreaded skunk and that has been it. I might go out later today if all goes as planned. 

crappy weather

Well lately the weather around here in cali has been very crappy. 60+mph winds, and 6+ inches of rain since friday. I guess we did need the rain but holy crap this is a lot of rain!

Anyway, I did go fishing on friday, In the rain. It was difficult because they have not planted the lake in a while, and one of the new workers keeps feeding the fish every day! Maybe if they had just planted fish it would be ok if he kept feeding them but this is frickin ridiculous. All the fish in the lake are stuffed to the gills( pun intended) and they are not readily taking flies to much.  I still did alright though. I took the new TFO 3wt and caught 2 on black buggers and brown buggers. 

On thursday though I did much better. I had once again taken out the TFO 3wt. I caught 8 fish that day. seven of them were on a black copper john and 1 other was on a peacock woolly bugger.  I was fishing the black copper john with a bobber( strike indicator) and was catching fish literally 10ft from the shore and nice fish to!

Maybe tomorrow if the wind and rain is not to bad, I will try to go fishing.  Am I crazy??............Probably! 

Until this rain clears and I have been stuck inside, I have been tying flies and organizing my fly gear. 

tippet

I also tried out some new tippet material while I was out with the new rod. I bought some cortland precision in 3x 4x and 6x. I tried the 4and6X and am pleased with both, The 6x especially. I landed a 3.5-4lb bow' on it with the three weight and was happy that it absorbed the head shakes and everything. 

It ties nicely and is overall a nice tippet, Not the best and you wouldn't expect it to be for the low price, but it does its job and does it well. If your in a pinch or on a budget I recommend buying it. 

tight lines.

New Toy

I ordered an 8'6" 3 weight as a birthday present to myself a while ago. It is a TFO Professional series. I have fished it once so far. 

First impressions:

My first impression when I received the rod was that it was very nice looking, I like the matte black finish a lot and the gold tipping on the guide wraps. The cork is high quality like it should be and feels good in my hand. The reel seat is woven graphite, matte finish;and is pleasing to the eye. It is a 4-piece, My first one, all I have ever owned and liked were 2's. Yet this 4 piece I liked. It packs down very small and definately would pack along easily if I were to ever want to take it on a flight or something. 

First Fishing Impressions: 

I took it out to my local lake to do some rainbow trout fishing. The best way to christen the new rod is with a trout right?? I think so. Anyways I lined up the rod and peeled some line from the reel. I started making my first casts and my very first thought was noticing how easily it was loading at 15-20feet. Shit I thought to myself, as I was starting to think it was much slower than that of what I was hoping for. (That is why you cast before you buy). I started trying to get used to the stroke of the rod, But shortly I was casting 50+ ft with ease. This rod has some great backbone that comes into play when casting longer distances!

I now moved to a different spot at the lake and there were some trout rising. I thought it was a perfect time to test how the rod would react with light tippets and small flies in a delicacy situation. I was using 6X and a size 14 Hares ear soft hackle. I started casting and the rod was laying down the fly very very gently. I was pleased. I missed a fish after a minute, Then I hooked up! sweet. The fish was a nice size and started to run and peel some line off the reel. The rod handled the head shakes with the light tippet perfectly. I was surprised how light the tip was yet how nicely the backbone came into play when it was time to stop a run. I caught 6 more fish using that technique. 

I then decided it was time to see how the rod would throw a size 6 bead head woolly bugger, Itied one on and started double hauling. Before I knew it I was casting 50+ feet with that big woolly bugger, It surprised me once again. I caught about 6-7 fish strippin' a woolly and then decided it was time to head home and call it a day. 

Overall rating 1-10: 8.5 

I would recommend the rod to anyone, its a nice stick for the cash, and a great one in its price range. 

tight lines

fun morning

Went out the other day and had a great time catching bows with my 3wt on 7x!

The fish were very finicky and I could only take them on small soft hackles.

I caught one fish that was about 22-23 inches and fat, I guesstimated it at about 3.5-4lbs.
He gave up a great fight, and gave so many head shakes that I wonder how I landed him. Also he gave me 3 good drag pulling runs.
Here is a Pic of that fish:

Lost and Found

This happened to me last week.
I went to the local lake and was enjoying good fishing, when I went to change a tippet, I left the front pouch of my chest pack open so I could grab a fly to put on. I then dropped a piece of tippet and leaned forward to grab it when my fly boxes in the front pouch fell out. I got down and picked them up, muttering some choice words, and put them back in my chest pack. getting back up on the stump, I tied on my tippet and fly and went back to fishing. I caught a few more fish and called it a day.

Later that night, I was home and setting up my fly gear for the next day...When I realized I had 3 fly boxes in the front pouch when I got to the lake and I now had 2 in the front pouch! Shit, I thought to myself as I realized that when those boxes fell out of my chest pack, one had fallen in the bushes and in my wanting to get back to fishing I had forgotten to pick the one up that was in the bushes!

There was still some people at the lake when I got there, And I started to think that one of them probably moved into my spot because I was catching fish and probably found and kept my box.

This box had about 150 flies in it, all nymphs, and the box itself was a Scientific Anglers System X. So I really did not want to lose it.

So I told my mom about it, and we resolved to the decision that we would go to the lake as soon as they opened, before school, and see if it was still in that bush...

That morning we woke up earlier than usual and drove to the lake. We were in fact the first people there. I walked out to the spot where I had dropped it and low and behold, It was still there!!

Needless to say I was extremely happy! We then realized we had a lot of time to kill before it was time for school, and I had brought my 3weight and chest pack. So I went to the car and grabbed my gear. I then walked back out and fish were rising. I started casting and immediately hooked and landed a very nice 2lb bow!

How cool is that? Finding my fly box, and catching fish before school even started, What a way to start the day.

That made my whole week.

Tight Lines!

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Thanksgiving Day Fishing

Went fishing today, later than I wanted to go but hey, fishing is fishing.

When I got to the lake I saw a couple fish rising but nothing major. Tried for a while with my sinking line and a woolly bugger.....Nada! So I Walked around to another side of the lake and saw some fish rising closer, I busted out my 3wt and started casting a little wet fly at them. Had one take, a very large fish and in one head shake snapped my 5x tippet like it wasn't even there.

Then it was time to go home, the owner wanted to close the lake, it being a holiday and all, early.
So I went home with only a strike and a large fish lost.

Oh well, At least I know that big fish took my fly!

Tight lines!

Line to leader connection

I used to use the Nail-knot for my line to leader connection, But after having three fail on me when getting stuck in trees, I decided it was time for a change.

I looked around for a possibility and found high marks for a knot called the Castwell knot.
I decided I would try it and it has not failed yet! Seems like a success so far.
Hopefully it will continue to be a success.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/begin/knots/castwell.html
There is where you will find instructions to tie the knot as well as a little history on it.

Fly fishing Life list...

Do you keep a fly fishing life list?
Maybe you should?
It is fun to keep track!

I recently decided it is time to make one.
And..here it is.
Life list

• Rainbow trout
• Brown trout
• Brook trout
• Largemouth bass
• Black bass
• Spotted bass
• Carp
• Bluegill
• Pumpkinseeds
• Red ear sunfish
• Rock Bass
• Crappie
• Catfish
  

Species I would like to catch soon:

• Cutthroat trout
• Smallmouth Bass
• Steelhead
• Striped bass

There you have it, Fun and easy. Thought provoking and reminder of good memories as well.

Wax those Ferrules!

Your rod tip may fly off during casting if you don't!

I have had this happen to me twice before I read about waxing ferrules.
Reasons to wax the ferrules:

• Tip may fly off and get lost in the water depending on fly size on end of tippet!
• Rod pieces may get stuck together (requiring gorilla strength pulling to get apart)

• Loose ferrules can cause the tip over butt sleeve to break and crack. Because if the ferrule loosens and slides up the rod there is now a gap which when casting clicks and can snap or crack the ferrule!

Waxes that work for this are numerous, and range from candle wax to commercial ferrule wax, to a product I have heard good things about which is U-40 ferrule lube.

Note: If you have a bamboo rod and are currently wiping nose oil on the ferrules...don't do it anymore. I read that it causes corrosion!

So there you have it, Please save yourself some grief and wax your ferrules!

It's Official!!!

Trout catching time is here for me at my local lakes!!! I'm very excited for it to finally be here.
I have been to my local lake 2 days in a row, the yesterday I only took my 3weight with me. The wind was howling, but the trout had been planted and I was determined. I casted #12 buggers and woolly worms the whole time I was there and caught just over 30 fish!! The biggest being around 4 pounds! Thats what I'm talking about! My smallest fish was about 14" and my largest was JUST shy of 20".These are FAT(Phat) rainbows though, not your typical skinny fish.

Today I went out again, But this time I took my 6 weight with a type 2 sinking line and my 3 weight. I was sure glad I took the 6weight with the sinking line because it was the only rod I used. The fish were a bit deeper and they wanted the streamers stripped fast! Perfect use for my sinking line(which was a virgin fish-wise until today!) The wind was up and blowing strong, I had to throw tight loops the whole time and at times it was a little sketchy(read that having to duck!) All In all though today I caught around 25-30 fish! The biggest one being about 21-22"!

My technique for today was as soon as the fly hit the water to start stripping and the sinking line would carry it down in between strips,,,worked fantastically!
And of course if I saw a rise form I would cast to it...Hitting the ring and that resulted in a bulge and smash of my streamer!NICE!
Most of the fish were out a distance and I was FREQUENTLY having to cast 70'.
A few times when I had just shot the line for a 70' cast I would strip once and get a take!
Those have got to be the some of most difficult strip sets!

I can really tell I have been catching fish when I look at my thumb that I use to lip trout and it looks like this!(note the scratches and cuts)

Heres some pictures From yesterday:




A 21-22" BOW from today!

Skunked!

Well as the title implies,I got skunked last time I went out to my local lake. I still had fun though.

That is a shot of the lake I went to.
I was shore bound with my 3weight and it was a bit windy, not bad though.
I showed up at around 1pm and the bluegill were not rising and there was no visible action. I was late for the morning bite and to early for the late bite....Darn!
So to sum it up I spent 2 hours without a strike whatsoever,,,But it was still fun!

Well anyways I'm going fishing later today!
Report will follow!

I leave you with a picture of me double hauling my 3weight.

Tight lines!