Over the past few weeks I've been uploading many photos to my flickr pages. I know how much fly anglers & potential clients like to look at photos of rods. This can only help you in making decisions about what you want in a fly rod, what's possible, etc. Giving you an opportunity to see as many rod photos as possible is a beneficial to both of us when we're designing your fly rod.
The idea behind adding all these photos over on flickr.com was to have an outlet where I could show you different things, in more detail, but without bogging down this website with photos that didn't necessarily have a place here. For instance, you can take a look at some "before & after" rod restorations, other examples of rods that have been made in all the different rod series, photos I've taken from along the stream, etc.
So take a look at these additional photos over on my flickr pages & let me know what you think. If there's something you want to see, but I haven't posted it there, let me know. I'd love to hear from you & get your opinions.
The wind can be a real curse to the fly angler. It can make what would otherwise be a wonderful day of fishing an exercise in frustration. Losing control of your casts, getting your line tangled in trees, missing strikes as your line is blown across the water’s surface are just some of the problems fly anglers might face on a windy day. Fly anglers out in the western parts of North America will certainly have to deal with the wind, but on some days it can really be frustrating to anglers in the East as well. So when the wind is blowing hard, what’s an angler to do?
First & foremost, you must make your own personal safety a priority to your fishing. No matter how good the fishing is, when you see an approaching storm, it’s time to quit & find shelter. Lightning is a serious danger to anglers & anyone else outside near water. No fish in the world is worth risking a lightning strike for. You must also consider the dangers of flash floods as well. These are nothing to take lightly & you would not be the first angler to die in one. Safety should be your number one priority. We’re talking about your survival here. Live to fish another day, please.
So, when dealing with the wind, changing tackle is what’s most often recommended. It’s usually advised that you use a fly rod with a lot of backbone & strength that’s made for a heavier fly line than you’d normally use for the size of fish you’re after. The stronger, stiffer rod will exert more force on the line than a more relaxed rod would. Also, the heavier fly line is larger in diameter & will cut through the breeze better than a smaller & lighter line. This is just basic physics: a line with more mass moving with more force will cast through the wind more accurately than a smaller line cast from a softer rod.
There are things, though, that can be done to compensate for the wind that will allow an angler to not have to use a different rod & line. Of course this will take both experience & common sense, but beating the wind can be as simple as going to the right places to fish. Here, perhaps, the eastern angler has a few more options than those in the west. In the east there are probably more tight-quartered, tree covered, small streams in the bottom of small valleys than there might be in the more open spaces of the west. These valley bottoms & tree covered streams will offer more protection from the wind than any stream passing through a flat open field. In these small streams you might also beat the wind by roll casting more than over-head casting.
Likewise, a windy day might be a good time to try some larger streams & rivers. Here it’s important to know the water you’ll be fishing & plan ahead. For example, having the wind coming from your back can be very useful in making longer casts & thus extending your fly presentations. In order for this to work, you must know both where the fish will most likely be in the river & which way the wind is blowing. Then it’s a matter of getting yourself in the river, with the fish in front of you & the wind to your back. Knowing the water well by past experiences will help you decide where you should go along the river, what side to enter the river from, etc.
1.) While an upstream wind, like the scenario described above, can make it easier to cast longer distances it can also cause your leader to be too straight when it hits the water. This is especially concerning while dry fly fishing. If the line & leader land on the water’s surface fully extended & perfectly straight, it will cause drag on your fly when the straight, tight leader hits the water causing an unnatural drift.
2.) Strong winds can blow many different stream side bugs into the water. Grasshoppers, ants, caterpillars, etc can all find themselves unexpectedly in the drink on windy days & trout might feed on them. Tying on an appropriate terrestrial or other non-aquatic imitation might, when conditions are right, prove very successful.
3.) Long periods of high winds can really affect the hatches on a stream. The wind can cause hatches to be delayed. When this happens, the trout will feed on minnows, dace, & other small forage fish. Tying on a streamer to imitate these small fish might increase your number of fish caught.
4.) Cold, rainy, windy days can be great for fly fishing as these conditions make it much harder for emerging insects to leave the water’s surface. Being forced by conditions to spend more time on the surface, these bugs become an easy meal for the fish. On days like this the hatch will also last longer. This will extend your time to fish a good hatch, if you can hold out through the cold, stinging rains!
It’s important to consider the wind when planning a fishing trip. Most experienced anglers check the weather, stream flows, etc when forming their plans. It would be a good idea to get into the habit of checking the wind conditions, too. In addition to temperature, precipitation, & the barometer take note of the wind’s speed, direction, & the speed of the wind gusts before going fishing. Dealing with the wind can be challenging for the fly angler, but with a little thought & preparation you can use the wind to your advantage.
-Wide, adjustable shoulder strap making them very comfortable to use all day long.
-2 D-rings on each side for hanging accessories like nippers, landing nets, etc.
-2 lamb's wool drying patches for your flies.
-Inside center loop perfect for hanging your hemostats or other hook removers.
-2 large front pockets with velcro closure big enough to hold your fly boxes, fly wallets, or most anything else.
-4 smaller side pockets with velcro closure made to fit tippet spools, flotant tubes, split-shot containers, & any smaller accessories.
-6 small grometted ventilation holes on the bottom to allow water & moisture out & air to circulate inside the bag.
-Full cover top flap with snap closure.
-Fully lined inside with a stain & water-resistant lining, making these bags very easy to clean inside.
Enjoy the classic good looks & comfort of these bags. They're a great alternative to wearing a bulky, heavy vest.
All bags please add $5.50 for shipping & insurance (in lower 48 states, all other locations please contact me for shipping costs).
If you have any questions about these bags, please don't hesitate to contact me. For more information about these bags, please see the "Accessories" page.
ALSO: don't forget to check out the prototype bag I have listed below these bags on the "Available" page. It can be yours for a discount price & is also a quality fishing bag you'll be proud to own.
A graphite fly rod is truly a piece of “space-age” technology. During the 1960’s “space race” to get to the moon before the then Soviet Union, the United States government invested considerable monies & research to develop new, high-performance fibers, - especially boron & graphite. These materials promised to be stronger, stiffer, & light in weight; perfect for sending people & objects into space. In the beginning, scientists focused mainly on boron, but soon it was discovered that graphite had greater potential as a material & was cheaper to produce. Soon graphite was allowing aircraft to fly farther, faster, & with heavier payloads than before. Graphite has become an important material anywhere weight, stiffness, & aerodynamics are important considerations, like say, fly rods.
It was bound to happen. The scientific community cannot develop a new material like graphite & not have a fly fishing scientist experiment with it in order to improve fly tackle. This is exactly what happened when, in 1971 Don Phillips, an aerospace engineer & life long fly angler, began experimenting with fly rods made from boron fibers & epoxy resins during his free time. Mr. Phillips, employed by United Technology Corp, was both knowledgeable about the new high-tech materials & an expert angler. He was the right person to develop new fly rods.
At first Phillips began making rods by laying fine strips of boron fiber / epoxy resin tape onto permanent mandrels of balsa wood. Philips reported catching the first trout on these new & experimentally designed rods in April of 1972. Keep in mind that these are the days when fiberglass was king. No angler would have seen or heard of a boron fly rod back then.
Unfortunately, the balsa cores of Phillips’ new rods were too fragile to hold up to prolonged fishing. So he began making solid boron / epoxy fly rods. Looking to improve these rods further, Phillips began putting an outer layer of graphite & epoxy on his new rods in 1973. This outer layer both improved the rod’s appearance & slightly helped to soften the rod, as boron is a stiff material by its nature. However, experiments & new improvements in material technology allowed Phillips to go back to making all boron / epoxy rods by 1977. Throughout this time, Phillips has been running his own synthetic rod company, “Flycraft Associates”. When Phillips closed his business in 1985, he had made well over 700 new synthetic fly rods.
By the middle of the 1980’s graphite fibers has lowered in cost so much as to make boron uncompetitive as a rod material. Plus, the developments by the rod industry had made graphite rods perform better than boron. Phillips, who was focused more on boron, probably couldn’t compete with both the cost-effective, cheaper graphite material & an entire industry focusing on developing graphite rods. Be that as it may, Phillips’ work & creativity is the reason the rod industry had new, space-age materials to work with as his rods were an inspiration to all rod manufacturers. If you fish with a graphite fly rod, you owe this to Don Phillips. Without his inspiration, the rod industry would probably not have developed graphite rods as they did or when they did. Don Phillips is truly an important figure in the development of the modern fly rod.
Of course, graphite & other synthetic materials continue to develop & be improved. The fishing tackle industry always seems quick to adapt to these improvements. Throughout the 1970’s, rod manufacturers had to overcome several problems, especially as the materials were changed & improved. Some of those problems concerned designing a ferrule that was not bulky & would not interrupt the rod’s action. A look back at different rods throughout this period will show many different approaches by the different rod companies to solve the ferrule problems. Not to mention that rod materials were constantly changing, make rod design a challenge to incorporate the new properties of the material in fly rods. This could all make marketing, pricing, & costs of new fly rods difficult. I can well remember some anglers in the 1980’s not trusting the newer graphite rods. Some of these anglers never did own a graphite fly rod.
As the technology we use everyday continues to develop, be sure that rod manufacturers will continue to examine the newer technologies to see how they ca adapt then for use by the angler. Rod companies are always concerned with rod efficiency, lessening rod weights, etc. As the scientific community continues to develop new ideas & materials - & the new “nanotechnology" looks especially promising – we can be sure that we’ll see these new technologies along the stream.
The main source for this article was: "The Technology of Fly Rods" by Don Phillips. 2000. Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
The sport of fly fishing appeals to so many because many times it’s peaceful & quiet as you fish at a leisurely pace. Other times it’s an action-packed adrenaline rushing onslaught. When a good hatch is occurring, this can be the most exciting time for the angler. Let’s talk about these times when a hatch is on. This isn’t a “how-to” about matching a hatch; rather these are some suggestions, based on experience, on what to do to catch fish during the hatch.
Technically, matching a hatch is a text book exercise in dry fly fishing logic. In actuality, however, there are times when it’s not so easy. Trying to match & fish a hatch can be one of the most confusing & frustrating things an angler can attempt. Most of the books I’ve read on the subject all say mostly the same things: you study the streams surface, identify the hatch or hatches that are occurring, & select a dry fly that closest resembles the bugs on the surface.
This sounds simple enough. Sometimes it is, but the angler will find themselves in situations where, try as they may, they aren’t catching any of the many rising fish around them. The first question is why. Well, there could be many reasons for this. Maybe they’ve miss-identified the hatch. Maybe the dry fly they chose isn’t a good enough match. Maybe the fish aren’t taking the hatching bugs the angler saw on the surface & instead are feeding on a different bug that has been hatching for the past few days. As you can see, there are a lot of variables.
1.) The angler may be trying to match the bug with an exact imitation & might be slightly off the mark. For example, the fish might be eating a size #18 bug & the angler is using a size #16. Close, but no cigar. Also, the color of the angler’s imitation might be slightly off. It may look like the same color as the bugs on the water to you & me, but not to the trout looking at it from under the water. So maybe the angler could try a slightly different size or different color fly, if they have them.
2.) With so many naturals on the water, even if the angler has matched them perfectly, what are the odds of their fly being taken by a trout? One trick in this situation is to tie on a completely different, larger fly than the hatch entirely. The trout that wouldn’t take a size #16 because it wasn’t a #18 will not be so careful or critical of, say, a big & bushy #12 Wulff-style dry fly. Not only that, but because it’s so different than all the naturals around it on the surface, the big #12 might get more attention from the trout that see it.
3.) When the hatch began, it’s likely that the trout were taking the bugs as they were emerging to the surface. The fish were happily feeding away on these emergers before there were many adults on the surface. Most bugs struggle & fight as they emerge to the surface, making them an easy meal for trout. The angler can try changing over to an emerger pattern & fish it continuously through the hatch. The fish that see the emerger may very well opt for this easier meal, rather than the adult insects who are leaving the water’s surface.
4.) Some anglers live for particular hatches. You might be one of them & if you are, than you know what I’m talking about. These anglers wait all year for their favorite hatch & have the imitation matched perfectly. Still, there are days when even these experienced anglers will have trouble catching fish during the hatch. When this happens, study the behavior of the naturals very closely. Watch how they move on the water’s surface & try to imitate this movement with your fly. I know a very experienced angler who will tell you that on certain days when fishing a particular caddis hatch, you must “skate” your dry fly on the surface or you’ll get no strikes. On other days of the same hatch, “skating” your fly will ruin your chances of any fish & you must achieve a natural drift. So study the natural insect’s movements, or lack there of, very closely.
These are just some points to consider when you’re trying to fish during a hatch. These can be the best, or most frustrating, times for any fly angler. Some days, by the time you’ve figured it all out the hatch is over. That’s okay, there’ll be another hatch coming soon.
Every angler has there own ways of dealing with the challenges of fly fishing. If you have any ideas or suggestions about fishing a difficult hatch, I'd love to hear them!!