Tim Angeli
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Nice report Neal, and thanks for sharing. Looks like some beautiful time on the water, but a pity the fish weren’t more cooperative.
I drove through that area a few days ago and almost everything except for some of the smaller creeks looked quite high. I didn’t get a chance to fish, but it sure looks like the water is still cranking almost everywhere.
“The Trout Diaries” by Derek Grzelewski – As the subtitles states, its tales from a year of fly fishing New Zealand. It is very well written, and comprised of myriad entertaining stories that paint the picture of what fly fishing is all about.
I have also heard good things about “The Alaska Chronicles” by Miles Nolte, which will be waiting for me on my vacation home in a couple weeks.
Anyone have any experience with TFO’s Deer Creek rod? Or what is a good starter rod?
TFO’s Deer Creek rods are nice.
I agree with Justin and Zach. Spey sounds like the ticket for what you are wanting to do. As far as lines, a Skagit taper with a head length of 2.5-3x the rod length would be a good place to start. That should be fairly easy to learn with and will turn over a good size sink tip to get deep in the situation you mentioned.
I used to be averse to spending the extra money on flouro, but have since completely changed my tune. Your leader and tippet is what actually connects you to the fish, and is largely responsible for getting a fish to take in the first place. I find it quite funny when people have rods that are in the $600 range, reels that are $300+, and yet they refuse to pay an extra $5-10 for the piece of equipment that actually connects them to the fish. The same goes for flies…people often try to find cheap flies, which are inevitably tied on cheap hooks. Again, hooks are the piece of equipment that actually connect you to the fish. Is it worth having a hook bend out because you opted for the $.95 budget internet fly versus the $2 fly from a quality manufacturer? Is it worth wondering if the trout of a lifetime that was an absolute sitter spooked because of your tippet? Is it worth doing everything right and getting a 10lb bone to follow your fly for 20 meters, only to turn away at the last second, leaving you wondering if you should have been running flouro instead of mono?
Personally, I think that mono is sufficient in the vast majority of situations. But you never know when that 10% or 2% situation is going to arrive that you may have had an advantage by using flouro. I still use some mono leaders, but have transitioned to always using flouro tippet. On top of all the scientific data, in my experience, it knots better, it sinks better, and it casts better than mono. However, in my opinion, the most important benefit is that it gives you an increased breaking strength at the equivalent diameter to mono. For example, Orvis 4x is 0.007″ in diameter and has a breaking strength of 7lbs in flouro, compared to 6 lbs in mono. That’s the real difference for me. The tippet diameter is most important characteristic of your tippet in terms of minimizing drag, and not all tippet is created equal. I look for the maximum breaking strength with the minimum diameter. That way, there is no reason to wonder if your gear let you down.
However, back to the original question, would I pay $17.50 for a normal 30m spool of flouro? No. No way. Scientific Anglers makes great products…some of the very best lines on the market, great leaders, great tippet, etc. However, I think they will find that they have priced themselves out of contention at that price. Will I buy a $10 spool of flouro over a $4 spool of mono? Yes. But like Bob said so well,
It is a tool like any other tool. Use it when appropriate.
