Michael Phillippe
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T & T has never marketed to the masses. It’s the owners’ choice the previous as well as the current. And yes, they still make the most (I think) beautiful graphite rods. I have a 20 year old Special Extra Fry Fly rod that is fantastic.
Wooden boats are as strong as fiberglass, guys. If you check, you’ll find that the crazy guys that run the Colorado do it in wooden boats – not low-sided Clacks.
The Clacks, Hydes and Boulder boats (and now the RIO boats being built in Bozeman) are great tools and highly recommended if you guide 100+ days per year. They are very low maintenance. But, part of owning a wooden boat is the care of feeding of it. My son and his friend guide on the Bitterroot, Blackfoot and Clark Fork in wooden boats and the biggest problem is client abuse.
If you feel you need it, you can put Kevlar bottoms on wooden boats or add a ‘shoe’ to the outside. I’ve done neither since I only float the Delaware River and it has nothing to hit.
I think the only value of low-sided boats is that it’s easier to get in and out of for old guys! I’ve been in Clacks and Rio’s and had to ‘high side’ in order not to ship water.
Zach, a skiff would be a great choice for you. My buddy has a MBB skiff and it’s great for transportation. A bit crowded for two anglers plus someone on the oars. The Clack skiff is used by guides on the Yellowstone a lot and that’s saying something.
Finally, couldn’t resist posting these shots of my boat – especially after the comments about the MBB Kingfisher and Land Rover. It’s a MBB 16′ Guide that I built (for less than the cost of a new Clack or Boulder boat) in 2006.
I bought the Fish Pond this past year and used it extensively in Montana for wading and Alaska for hiking, wading and a little as a monopod. It’s a good product. It’s one fault is that there is no attachment point for a lanyard – definitely a requirement for a wading staff. I use 3 mm (climber’s) accessory cord (3 ft) and attach to my wading belt with a small carabiner and to the wading staff with a slip knot. I can then take the cord off and use it for hiking and photography alone.
I have the McKenzie light (without magnifier) that I’ve used for about five years. I think it’s great. I tie everything from #22 Trico’s to spey flies. I’ve had a couple of others over the years but the McKenzie gives the best light and I haven’t had to change the bulb yet.
I’ve learned to check eBay for these types of things. I bought a used Manfrotto for $60 from a photographer who was upgrading to graphite. Mine is too heavy to pack around the woods but is great for the few times I really need it.
Zach,
Do you notice any distortion with the poly lenses versus glass? I have a pair of Maui Jim’s and I’m not at all happy with what appears to be edge distortion. Granted, I’ve just gone to contacts for fishing, running, etc. from progress bifocals which would have forced me to buy multiple pairs (read: colors) of $500 sunglasses. I mentioned this to my wife and well, it wasn’t pretty….
On the other hand, I don’t want to buy the Costa’s and end up with the same problem as the Maui Jim’s.
I am about to order a pair of Habervision sunglasses. They are about half the price of Maui’s or Costa’s and I’ve heard a few good reviews. I’m told the copper/rose is a great color for the flats as well as spring creeks. They are quite innovative with their coatings and they even make upside down bifocals so us old guys don’t trip on our own feet wading!
On the other hand, if you’re not buying…. đ
This is a fascinating thread for me. Based on your profile pictures, it appears that I was learning to fish the streams of the Chattahoochee National Forest while most of you were learning to crawl. That was nearly two decades before âthe movieâ and you could move as slowly or as fast as you wanted, because there were never any other fishermen. The ethics of the day â probably established in the old East Coast fly fishing clubs â said that you always fished âthroughâ a pool. Yielding it to anyone waiting after a reasonable period of time. (This still applies on many Pacific North West steelhead rivers and the Atlantic salmon rivers of the east.) BUT, the guys that wrote these rules werenât competing with fifty other TU members for the same pod of rising fish. Fact is, when I was fishing in North Georgia, TU only had about 25,000 members!
While âyielding the waterâ and all the old rules used to make a lot old sense. They just arenât practical in crowded waters of the East anymore. On the other hand, be careful of crowding people in the West. A native Montanan and a sow grizzly with cubs have about the same comfort zone.
I would love to be able to fish the âoldâ way but it just isnât practical anymore in most places. We all have to remember that the purpose of the exercise is to have fun – it isnât always about sticking as many fish as possible.
The times they are a changin.
Great cast-n-blast trip Tony – thanks for sharing. And I love the shots of your Labs. I think the South Fork must be great in the autumn. I floated it in July and it was running really high this year. It’s
Dan, I cannot praise you enough! This is something a lot of older as well as new anglers could read and follow. As someone who runs a drift boat on the crowded Delaware River, I can say that Adam makes a great point as well.
Zach, I’m afraid you’re right. This strikes me as a small part of the invasive species problem that the marketing folks at Simms, Patagonia and others have leveraged very well. The fact is that it will be criminal to wear felt in Maine, Alaska and probably other states soon. I think Tom Rosenbauer’s ideas are quite valid.
And $180?! That’s not even the top. Simms has two models higher!
I have an older Scott G series rod that they have replaced twice because of a ferrule issues. I assume you have the Scott internal ferrules as well.
However, Zach is right. Most of the problems are becasue we forget to check the alignment and snugness of the ferrules during a fishing day. Why do you think spey dudes always tape their joints…
I don’t think Vibram is close to felt in performance. I have 3 pairs of boots – aged 6 mos to 3 years with respect to technology – and nothing beats my old Borger felts. BUT, unless you only wear them in your backyard, it’s almost a crime to wear felt in streams. Especially since we are all itinerant anglers.
I own a couple of very nice cane rods. One is an old Orvis designed by Charlie Fox and built by Wes Jordan. The other is a six-foot Sweetwater small stream rod – some of us old guys fish in rhododendron thickets too. But now I only fish them on special occasions on special streams – the Orvis rod on the Battenkill for example.
For ninety nine percent of my fishing I use graphite. It’s simply more practical. As much as I love my 7 1/2 ft Orvis, I can’t imagine casting a 13 1/2 ft bamboo spey rod all day. And, of course if you do break one, it’s easily replaced.
For me it’s about tradition. And, bamboo is a great part of that tradition. I love the history and tradition of fly fishing and one of my favorite pastimes is reading and collecting books about our sport.
I bought the new Simms Guide boots (with the new sole but no studs) this spring and wore them for a month in Montana and Idaho and then again in Alaska this September. I think the new soles are as slick as glass. Nothing grips like felt, but that’s all history. My American-made Danners are forever retired. The best solution I have for now is Simms boots with studs for wading and a second, cheap (I have L.L. Bean travel boots) pair with sticky soles for floating.
