Jason DeBacker
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Patagonia has a truly waterproof backpack – the Stormfront pack: http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/patagonia-stormfront-waterproof-pack-fly-fishing?p=49152-0-950
It’s a bit pricey, but one of the few truly waterproof packs that is not a roll top.
Well, I don’t know enough physics to know why the polarizing effects would be lost, but that is good to know!
I’m very new to dslr’s and filters and in my few weeks playing around have only used a CP- although I already see that a GND would be extermely helpful for just about all lanscape photography that includes a horizon.
How effective are two CPs at achieving the effects of ND filters? I thought I’ve read that you can turn then CPs to vary the amount of light let in (anywhere from none to a 4 stop loss of light)- like when you take two pairs of polarized glasses and turn one of them. Wondering if I really need to add ND filters to the bag or if another CP will suffice.
Thanks,
JasonA rod that does both stripers and redfish on the flats well is probably not going to happen. The baits are just too different in size- for those big river stripers you’ll be throwing 10″+ plugs or similar sized live gizzard shad, but for reds in inches of water you want to be able to throw light baits that land very softly. If you want a rod that does double duty, you’d probably be better off getting a rod that can do both fish on the flats and black bass/trout.
Some other things to consider:
1) I like copolymer lines much better than mono. Much stronger and more abrasion resistant. Also, less line twist. And if you are like me, and use fly the vast majority of the time, you will apprecaite not having to replace the line every time you take the spinning rod out.
2) One piece rods are much better than multipiece rods. Get these if you can deal with storing and hauling these around. Rod sensitivity is much more important that with fly rods since you won’t (usually) have your hand on the line like in fly fishing.
3) Longer rods seem to give more control.FWIW: I have two conventional rods; both St. Croix spinning rods. One is a 6’6″ light (4-8lb) rod and the other is a 7′ medium (8-17lb) saltwater rod. I usually have 10lb proline line on the light rod and 17lb fireline on the saltwater rod. I’ve never broken the line on a fish with these lines (though I’ve straightened a bunch of hooks). I like these rods pretty well, and they cover a lot of my fishing situations (>85% flyfishing, fishing in GA, VA, TX for all warmwater fish (a little for trout), flats and surf fishing in TX, FL, MA). The downsides are: the medium rod is too heavy for the flats, but a little too light for river stripers (though it does decent there and is good in the surf); both rods are multipiece; the action on the light rod is too slow for my liking; I’d have gone 7′ on the light rod, but wanted to be able to reach the tip top while holding the other end and sitting in my kayak.
Good luck with the purchase. I think you’ll find that there are times when conventional tackle can improve your fly fishing by helping you locate and pattern fish more quickly. This is especially true of schooling fish.
Jason
The Caper is a great boat- you won’t regret that purchase. It handles very well in rivers and the stability is great- you can fish while standing up and pole around on the flats. I have a WS Tarpon 120 and really wish I’d bought something more stable. The Caper (along with a Native Ultimate) are at the top of the list for my next kayak.
One tip for the flats- if you like to get out and wade, have a rope off both the bow and stern. Tie the bow rope to your belt (or around your waist) and a 2lb dumbbell to the stern rope. This allows you to tow the boat around, even if you work with the wind at your back.
A couple of the Caper in action:
Jason
I do a lot of fishing from a SOT kayak. Frankly, this is the best fishing investment I’ve ever made. It opens up so much water (you can take it anywhere from 10ft wide creeks, to large rivers, to the flats and surf) and is very low cost (pretty cheap up front and zero maintenance).
Lots of good comments above. I’ll second the thoughts on strapping gear down. I haven’t dumped, but have seen it many times. At least half of these were on completely flat water. The common themes are moving very quickly to reach something (usually a rod) somewhere behind the seat and tossing an anchor down in current. In general, I go into any small watercraft with the expectation that I will get wet- so dress and pack accordingly. I also don’t anchor with any substantial current- just slide the boat up on a rock, hold a branch with a hand or the paddle, etc. I do sometimes use a drag chain, but it’s covered with plastic, hangs directly behind the boat, and I carry a knife just in cast it snags.
I also agree with keeping it simple. My usual set up is one spinning rod and one fly rod (spinning rods make great fish finders and are easier to fish while paddling up stream for those do-it-yourself float trips). I usually have the spinning rod in a rod holder and the flyrod between my legs (I’ve snagged the rod holder I have positioned in front of me too many times). I strap a backpack and small cooler in the tankwell and that’s about it. If I’m doing and extended trip or targeting a lot of different species, I put the extra gear under the deck where it’s out of the way.
I’ve only brought a waterproof P&S camera on the boat so far, but am looking to increase my investment in photography soon. My plan for additional camera gear is to keep in under the deck in a waterproof bag, at least when I’m not on calm, still water and to take it out when wading.
There are great tips of rigging and fishing from these boats here: http://riverbassin.com/ and here: http://texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/
After finally finishing school, I upgraded to a Fishpond pack, but I can sympathize with getting a pack on a tight budget.
For my most of my college and grad school years (after abandoning the vest completely), I used either a Lowe Alpine hip pack (trout fishing or small stream/pond warmwater fishing) that I picked up on Sierra Trading post for about $20 or, for more serious warmwater fishing and for saltwater, an LL Bean backpack (the small book bag they have- $18- though it looks like the price went up to $28, I think they have sales, plus you can look used). While neither at intended for fishing like the packs above, the price is right and they work well (it’s great to havea built in fly tray, but it’s just a luxury).
The LL Bean pack is nice (I still use this, though I could stand to get a new one) because it is light weight and packs small when empty, doesnt’ have any padding in the back and so dries quickly, and you can swing it under your arm so you don’t have to take it completely off to get stuff out while on the water. The backpack also has the advantages of being high so you can wade deeper than with a hip pack and works better with a stripping basket than does a hip pack. There is also no buckle at your waist to tangle flyline on, like there is with a hip pack.
I think I’ve also seen decent hip packs at Target for about $20.
Jason
WNYC’s RadioLab is excellent. As are the TED Talks (though a few of them are best in video).
I also enjoy EconTalk, Planet Money, and the Freakonomics podcast (full disclosure- I’m an economist). Bloomberg’s “On the Economy” podcasts are very good, but I think they’ve started to require a subscription for these.
Enjoy the trip!
Jason
My first post here, but I’ll throw in my 2 cents:
1) Combining both of the above posts- affordable and truly waterproof hip packs and backpacks for fishing would be good. The Simm’s waterproof hip pack is nice, but not well designed and can let in water. For surf fishing (or more gear on the stream), waterproof backpacks are nice, but very pricey for any model with a decent layout. Think William Joseph or Fish Pond design, but with waterproof seams and zippers.
2) Felt-like traction with rubber. I still don’t think this has been accomplished to a satisfactory degree.
3) There is still lots of room to improve sit on top kayaks for fly fishers (e.g. under deck fly rod storage, better layout to stand and fish).
4) While there are more and more custom rod builders, it seems like with all the mail ordering of off the rack fly rods, you ought to be able to customize them a bit more from the manufacturer (e.g. if I want a Sage 4wt with saltwater components, I need to have it custom made- why can’t Sage just build one after I place an online order specifying the components and blank?).Jason
