They are tied on a Tiemco 811s size 2 hook. The eyes are Hareline medium lead. The Clousers are chartreuse and white.

A kayak would be a lot easier than easing up in a ski boat! With carp, if you feel a short tug, strip the line immediately. Good luck.

LRHF said:

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The Clousers are chartreuse and white.

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The ole NW80.

Hewey Calloway said:

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I've been thinking about building a glass rod lately. I've built a few regular rods but haven't done a fly rod yet, and thats about the only type of fishing I do anymore.

Does anyone on the board do any rod building? I'd love to get some input on good fly rod blanks.

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I found an old as hell Fenwick FF79 in close to mint condition on Craigslist for $75 and it is awesome. The older 2-digit Fenwicks are pretty affordable and some of the better glass rods from back when glass was king. I believe the serial # on mine dates to 1967.

You should be able to find them on eBay or the like for around $100-150 pretty regularly. And at that price, if you break it, it's not a big deal.

Tying some bead headed prince nymphs this morning. Fresh coffee, dog has been walked, better half sleeping and Johnny Cash playing Pickin' Time.

Contemplating a return trip to Chile... the tug is the drug and I'm addicted, thank goodness they don't have AA meetings for fly fishing!

I'll tag a pic later of the flies, struggle to do from my phone.

Happy thanksgiving Freshwater Fly Aggies!

Going Live- LRHF style. We managed to get a last minute trip pulled together. Won't be able to post pics until back in Houston in 2020. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Coihaique, Chile !

rather be fishing said:

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LRHF said:

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The Clousers are chartreuse and white.

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The ole NW80.

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State fly of Texas according to Doc. I've caught every species of bass & bream in Texas on chartreuse and white clousers of varying sizes. I've also caught redfish, specks, sand trout, smacks, jacks, and ladyfish on them.

LRHF said:

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Going Live- LRHF style. We managed to get a last minute trip pulled together. Won't be able to post pics until back in Houston in 2020. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Coihaique, Chile !

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Nice! Look forward to pictures.

I've got all my tying gear and tackle packed at the moment for the upcoming move to Montana, and it's likely I won't do any fishing until March or April. Can't wait to start checking out the waters I'll have available.

It's also going to be really awesome having multiple fisheries biologists as coworkers.

Looking forward to your post once you get back from Patagonia. I will need to pick your brain a bit. I'm planning on doing a DIY trip to the Coyhaique area in February. A friend of mine pulled it off last year which inspired me. Apparently it's a beetle hatch year so I can chunk some fat dry flies around that time.

Check out Cinco Rios lodge Instagram for some pics from yesterday. A great day yesterday, hitting another lake today. Had some big rains the day before we got here and rivers running high and dirty. We will move mid trip to Estancia del Zorro for some world class spring creek fishing on border of a Chile/ Argentina when done here. That is much of a fish hunting day. Possibility to catch a 26"+ Brown in gin clear shallow water.

Stocking up the fly box in preparation for some hatches to start soon. We've been in the teens with winds gusting 30-40 this weekend, plus wife had a girl's spa day today, so I've been on baby duty, but hoping next weekend will give me a chance to get out.

Damn I need to go fishing.

I found a fantastic deal on a San Francisco era Scott G 4wt and I couldn't pass it up. Outside of a little wear on the butt cap, it doesn't look like this thing was used very much. I'm dying to fish it.

Nice, a Scott F Series is on my wishlist but hard to justify it with now 3 Barclays. Next on my list is a Hardy Perfect to go with my 5WT.

I have many questions for the fly fishing gurus...if you don't mind helping out a complete novice to the sport.

First of all, thank you for all the pictures and accounts of your adventures. It inspires me to try and figure this sport out.

Secondly, a small request. Can you guys give the details of the gear you are using. Mostly, I'm interested in the equipment you choose to use. Rod/ reel/ lines. I just got back a few weeks ago from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. I'm expecting a return trip in the next year or so and I want to fly fish. Fly fish. Not bumble around in the rivers ruining everyone' else's fishing. So I want to practice and be as proficient and accurate caster as I can.

As a novice, I understand this is a journey, and most things, just have to be experienced to learn and could take me the rest of my life to master, if ever for this older coot.

If you were to recommend a good rod/reel/line for NW United States for a summer fly fishing trip that you would enjoy using, what would it be? I have seen prices and I understand it can be expensive. So, I think I'm prepared. I can save and get what I want. I would rather buy once and enjoy making memories.

I'm in The Woodlands Texas area and the only fly fishing store local to me is Orvis. I don't have any problem with them, except they don't have all the other fly fishing companies rod/reeels/line etc. Is a $120 fly line better then a $50 fly line of same weight and design features, ie. weight forward?

Thanks.

tlfw378 said:

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I have many questions for the fly fishing gurus...if you don't mind helping out a complete novice to the sport.

First of all, thank you for all the pictures and accounts of your adventures. It inspires me to try and figure this sport out.

Secondly, a small request. Can you guys give the details of the gear you are using. Mostly, I'm interested in the equipment you choose to use. Rod/ reel/ lines. I just got back a few weeks ago from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. I'm expecting a return trip in the next year or so and I want to fly fish. Fly fish. Not bumble around in the rivers ruining everyone' else's fishing. So I want to practice and be as proficient and accurate caster as I can.

As a novice, I understand this is a journey, and most things, just have to be experienced to learn and could take me the rest of my life to master, if ever for this older coot.

If you were to recommend a good rod/reel/line for NW United States for a summer fly fishing trip that you would enjoy using, what would it be? I have seen prices and I understand it can be expensive. So, I think I'm prepared. I can save and get what I want. I would rather buy once and enjoy making memories.

I'm in The Woodlands Texas area and the only fly fishing store local to me is Orvis. I don't have any problem with them, except they don't have all the other fly fishing companies rod/reeels/line etc. Is a $120 fly line better then a $50 fly line of same weight and design features, ie. weight forward?

Thanks.

---

You really need to go to a store that will let you cast a bunch of rods and figure out what works best for you. There's a couple of places in Houston that you can do that. Set your budget and go from there.

Order of importance for equipment:
1. rod
2. line
3. assortment of flies
4. leaders/tippets
5. wading boots
6. waders
7. some flowers for your wife since you'll be fishing all the time
8. reel

You're going to hear/be told that a 5wt rod is going to be the best all around rod for trout fishing, but you should consider a 6wt also. If you plan to do any fishing around Texas, and you definitely should, a 6wt will handle bass streamers a little better, and the tapers on a lot of 6wts are made to handle both streamers and dry flies. The sooner you buy your setup, the sooner you can get out and start practicing. Learning to cast will make your trip up to trout country a lot more enjoyable.

As for line, while you're starting out, you probably won't notice too much difference between a $40 line and $120 line. Something in the $60 range should be perfect. Whenever you buy your rod, ask the shop to recommend a line. Most rod manufacturers will have a list of lines that work best with their rods (Scott does at least).

You are fortunate to be so close to an Orvis retail store which can be a great resource to the beginner. A 9 foot 5 weight is the all-around Western trout fishing rod and Orvis offers its quality Clearwater outfit at a reasonable price point. Other manufacturers offer quality equipment as well so there is lots to choose from without investing in an expensive line that is not needed when most casting will be done within 30 feet or so. I'd also suggest spending time reviewing the Fly Fishing Learning Center on the Orvis site. Lots of good beginner-level material there, particularly the videos which can also be streamed with Amazon Prime. You may want to consider the free Fly Fishing 101 class held at the retail store for some basic instruction. Then go find a pond and start practicing. Good luck!

tlfw378 said:

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I have many questions for the fly fishing gurus...if you don't mind helping out a complete novice to the sport.

First of all, thank you for all the pictures and accounts of your adventures. It inspires me to try and figure this sport out.

Secondly, a small request. Can you guys give the details of the gear you are using. Mostly, I'm interested in the equipment you choose to use. Rod/ reel/ lines. I just got back a few weeks ago from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. I'm expecting a return trip in the next year or so and I want to fly fish. Fly fish. Not bumble around in the rivers ruining everyone' else's fishing. So I want to practice and be as proficient and accurate caster as I can.

As a novice, I understand this is a journey, and most things, just have to be experienced to learn and could take me the rest of my life to master, if ever for this older coot.

If you were to recommend a good rod/reel/line for NW United States for a summer fly fishing trip that you would enjoy using, what would it be? I have seen prices and I understand it can be expensive. So, I think I'm prepared. I can save and get what I want. I would rather buy once and enjoy making memories.

I'm in The Woodlands Texas area and the only fly fishing store local to me is Orvis. I don't have any problem with them, except they don't have all the other fly fishing companies rod/reeels/line etc. Is a $120 fly line better then a $50 fly line of same weight and design features, ie. weight forward?

Thanks.

---

Orvis really does have some good starter gear and their Woodlands store used to have a chalkboard up with fishing reports from the local ponds up there. I highly recommend hitting up those ponds for fun and practice. I don't think this website is updated much but it's a good repository of information for fishing up there: Fishing in The Woodlands

Regarding other gear, take some time to come into Houston one day and hit up Bayou City Angler on Westheimer which is a 100% dedicated fly shop, Gordy & Sons on Waugh, and Fishing Tackle Unlimited on I-10. All 3 have excellent people working in them who can help you out.

Bayou City- they're all good dudes but Ben Gossett is the GM
Gordy & Sons- Baron Boyette is a nice guy but Marcos Enriquez is a prince. Marcos is also a casting instructor and president of the Houston Flyfishers.
FTU- either Jim Collins or Andy Packmore will set you right

Hudson2508 said:

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A couple new small streams fiberglass toys. Excited to bust these out in Colorado this summer. For the time being, been fun on some small bass and sunfish though.

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Sweet glass rods. I fish glass from time to time, mostly in freshwater and pretty much all of it vintage. I wish I had better pics but this is an early-1970's model Scientific Angler System 5 rig- the rods from this series were built on Fisher blanks which are some of the best glass blanks ever made and the reels were made by Hardy and specifically mated to the rods. I have the System 5 and System 7 combos and also have a System 11 rod with a System 10 reel that I'm trying to match up.

Anyway, I love vintage glass.
https://instagr.am/p/BetzQWqAjH8

I'll give you my own personal experience advice. For now, forget about the fishing you will do in Montana/Idaho. Go get yourself a 9' 5 or 6 WT, a cheap reel, some decent weight forward fly line and start exploring your local creeks/lakes/rivers. Find places within 15-20 min of your house and go every weekend. Who cares if you're just catching panfish and bass, those are just as much fun as a trout. You'll learn fast this way and by the time you're up in the mountains you'll know what you're doing.

Also, practice tying knots, then practice some more, and then practice some more. I can't tell you how much more productive my fishing is now that I'm an expert in the knots I need to tie on the water.

Then go take a casting lesson after you've taught yourself all the wrong ways of doing things. Then practice casting in your yard with yarn.

Then go to the mountains where God intended that we fish and enjoy it that much more.

That's what I did at least.......

And now....go by yourself a custom rod and a Hardy reel to spoil yourself.

Nice setup! I've become quite obsessed with old Hardy and Abel reels. Never fished the classic SA rods and reels but need to try them out. My Barclay rods are such a treasure though, he's a great guy as well.

If anyone has any inkling of ordering a custom glass rod, check him out. He's a local guy from Round Rock (now relocated to North Carolina) and he makes beautiful sticks.

Anyone have experience with the Sage Foundation? Looking at a 9' 6 wt for cutthroats and summer steelhead here on the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. Wondering if it's worth the price over the Echo Ion XL.

Welp, went ahead and bought the Sage Foundation 9' 6wt with the recommendation of my local fly shop. Got it set up with a sage spectrum C and rio gold line. Set up for nymphing until the salmon fly hatch in a month or so.

Nice setup.

I'm in the same boat waiting on the salmon fly hatch. I suck at nymphing, and the last couple of weekends, it's really showing. Need some hatches to start ASAP.

Would also be good if May could hurt up and get here so I can fish new water.

Awesome. Where are you at?

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Awesome. Where are you at?

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Noxon, MT

rather be fishing said:

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Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Awesome. Where are you at?

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Noxon, MT

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Nice. Looks like a sweet area. You are WAY the **** up there.

What do you do for a living up there, if you don't mind me asking?

I work for an electric producer/provider called Avista. I'm overseeing all of the land and recreation aspects of the FERC license for 2 dams in Montana.

Nice! What fly were you throwing? Popper or something else?

The ole standby. Chartreuse and White Clousers. Have always had luck with them in the pond.

Have occasionally tried poppin frogs and never had much luck. Bite was really good today. Y'all get out if you can

Thanks! I'll give them a go. Have just been getting into fly fishing. Do you give them a little action/hand retrieve while they are sinking or just let them sink where you cast the fly?

Anyone have a trick to breaking down your fly rod while keeping the line on without it ending up like a tangled mess?

I float a river out here in my kayak and plan on throwing my rod and reel in one of these cases while I drift between spots. The water is too fast for me to comfortably fish from the boat.

I put the hook on the first eye, then put the line behind the reel, then reel down to take all the slack out. Once you've done that, you can disconnect the mid sections and it'll keep it relatively untangled.