charlie kreitler
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I don’t have the bank for it, but this setup looks awfully tempting…
Maybe my wife would let me store it in the living room?
I’m a striper fisherman through and through, so here goes in no particular order. Unfortunately some of the flies I use don’t have a name that I know. My flies also rotate in and out of favor. At the moment, the flies most likely tied to my line are:
1) Clouser minnow (usually chartreuse over white, but all colors of the rainbows are important)
2) Lefty’s Deceiver (currently having great success with a 6″ green over white)
3) Ray’s fly– a personal favorite
4) Bob’s banger- a terrific Bob Popovic fly
5) Surf Candy
6) Epoxy sand eel– not sure who gets credit for this particular tie
7) Ultra Shrimp- another Popovic fly that looks amazing and catches fish
8) Flatwings in assorted colors– frequently an East Coast Ghost these days
9) September night fly by Ken Abrams. Heck, I know it’s May, but it catches fish
10) Assorted clam worms. I never catch anything with them, but I sure carry a lot of them!There’s some good info on fishing for shad in the latest American Angler, and the Ask About Fly Fishing podcast has a good episode with the author as the guest. I’ve caught them as by-catch when targeting stripers. With a fast action 9-weight, you’re a little over-gunned for a 12″ shad. I would think a 6-7 would be ideal if you encounter larger fish.
I’m laughing Zach. I was once in a group that got caught in a storm line like that. Of 7 tents, only 2 remained standing, and all of them were flooded out. We nicknamed that one “Hurricane Eureka” after the tent brand. 😉
Don’t wait for summer– you should be fishing NOW! Here in CT we have awesome striper fishing for hold-over schoolies (generally <24"), and the bigger bass will be migrating north as the water warms up. The Chesapeake should be good now, but by the time the water hits 70F the fishing gets tough.
Your gear should do well. Don’t ignore floating lines, btw.
Best bet for local info is frequently the local fly shops. They can get you pointed in the right direction. Stripers Online is also a good place to look.
At their Manchester outlet, Orvis has been selling rods that are using mixed blanks and components from different lines. For example, they had a number of Zero-G blanks that had cheaper, heavier components on them than the retail version. It seems to be something they do with spare parts, selling them cheap just to move them out. If you didn’t mind the extra weight, it would be a nice way to get a good blank.
The reel seat on the rod in your photo looks a bit like the helios, but not quite the same.
This is a fascinating topic, and one that affects many sports.
At hand is the issue of cost: performance versus accessibility.
I spend a great deal of time outdoors. I enjoy fishing, racing sailboats, and a variety of winter sports. There is no question that quality gear will make you more comfortable, which in borderline conditions can make the difference between having a good time or not. Spend some time on a boat in a squall
I’ve been eying my brother’s pet rabbit. Good think he and his wife live in a different state or our family holiday gatherings might have developed a slightly different tone.
Chris, I use the clear intermediate. My wife calls it “the bomber”. I have it in a 9 weight, but the head is quite heavy so it casts more like a 10 weight. It is a terrific distance line, but the running line is so thin that it doesn’t offer much in the way of mending control. I remember one guy in the local shop calling it a “great boat line”. After buying it I understood what he meant– it’s a easy line to cast far, but not one for more technical presentations.
Hope that helps.
CK
Mat, I took an 8-weight Helios and Zero-G for a side-by-side test drive. The Helios is lighter and casts beautiful tight loops. Is it worth the extra money? For me, probably not. From Orvis, I own a Zero-G and two T3s, and a pair of Clearwaters in various weights. It’s easy to adjust my casting style for each rod’s individual characteristics. However, if the price isn’t a concern, it’s a beautiful rod.
My one concern from a brief inspection was how beefy the reel seat is on the saltwater models. It appears to be a carbon fiber scrim, whereas their other rods have a metal reel seat. I think they’ve cut weight out of the reel seat rather than the blank and other components, but it might reduce durability. With a 25 year warranty no one may care.
Still, a beautiful rod.
