Mike Anderson
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Freshwater Bonefish is more like it. Here are just a few reasons I fish for Carp.
Yes they do put up a great fight. Some (about 30% in my experience) fight really hard with long screaming runs while others just bulldog in close to you. If you get to tangle with a 20 pounder, you won’t soon forget it.
Because nobody else fishes for them and they’re not good to eat, they are plentiful and grow very large. When was the last time you caught 10 or 15, 7 pound+ fish on a fly rod in one day, on freshwater?
They are everywhere, and in most locations are easy to catch on the fly.
I Striper Fish on the lakes and when the heat of the day sets in and fishing slows, I can hit the flats and stay entertained Carp fishing until the afternoon. This also applies to the Caney Fork but those fish are <<
>>, and much, much, harder to catch then any I have ever chased. 100 times harder to catch then Trout! It’s the “in” thing and it makes you cool.
Zach has an article and I wrote some stuff a couple years ago. I’ll try to find what I did but I bet Zach’s article in somewhere on the site.
Carp are truly an untapped resource so get out and enjoy it while you can. One of these days I think they will get the respect they deserve.
.Hey Zach I was actually thinking about heading your way this weekend. I had the Hiawassee or Tellico, or anywhere east in mind. Wife is out of town a few days :'(. If you need a partner I might be in. Let me know.
Not sure whose style mine is, probably a Heinz 57, but I am also working on casting all the line this season. As soon as I can draw Zach over here for some casting lessons I might actually hit that mark.
How about this.
I really don’t think you’ll need room for waders much where you’re going buddy. I used to live there and they don’t call it hotlanta for nothing. Wet wading might not be “in”, but you won’t sweat your arse off either.
Mike
Well I finally got the time to listen to the Rick Pope interview. Good stuff Zach! I am excited about the one with the guy from midcurrent.com. That’s a very nice and informative site.
On a 10’ Jon I would install a dry box to hold some dry clothes and a cooler for beer… I have been out once in a 10’ jon,,, once. I hope yours is more stable then the one I went in :-/. Standing up was not an option until you had a few beers in you, then it was easy. Getting back in the boat was the hard part ;D. Seriously, I would take it out a few times (assuming you haven’t already) before I did anything and see if it going to be what your looking for. Other then that keep it simple and don’t put anything in the floor or anywhere near where your casting from. Also, a stripping basket is most helpful when casting from a boat.
If you really want a small shallow water boat the 13’ Gheenoe or Riverhawk (Same family different name) is a rock solid little boat that will not flip.
Here are a few pics of mine
http://www.trophyfishingtn.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=23There is a lot to be said for carrying 70’ of line. I would like to see it done properly. Are the loops nice and tight at this distance?
Do you mark your line anywhere to help you know when to stop feeding and shoot?
My rod is great to about 65’ but beyond that it sorta peters out. A good friend who is an accomplished caster noticed the same thing when he tried to stretch it out. Not that I would ever actually fish anything longer then 65’ but it is fun trying to get it all the line off the rod.
I did notice that I worked the lower ferrule loose after several attempts. This would be fatal to a thin walled rod like mine if not caught in time.I wonder what most competition casters prefer as far as spine placement on a rod, top or bottom. If it’s factory then I guess they don’t get much of a choice.
What is the longest cast BTW?
If my line is 90’, the leader is 9’, and the rod is 9’ that’s 108’ if I get the backing out the end of the rod right?? Or even if I get it to the first guide it’s close to 100. Why do you say it’s impossible?
BTW roughly how much line do you carry for such a cast? I assume your shooting a bunch at the end, right?
You coming down this weekend? I got a two day grass pass. Wife is going to Alabama….
That picture is so last year ;D. I do see what you’re talking about however. I would go work on it but I’m afraid I wore myself out already. Plus my new outboard just arrived.
I tried a few on my scanner and it was nowhere near as good as yours. I need to playaround with my scanner some more. It’s only a year old and I think it was a good one???
I typically use red or orange thread for weighted buggers and nymphs.
Great advice Splitshot! I find myself trying to guess if I weighted an alike fly all the time.
I am a self taught caster so my opinion wouldn’t be worth much. What little skill I have casting is all due to time on the water and a lot of yard casting. For a long time when I first started I would watch a single lesson on a Lefty video and go outside and practice it until I felt I had it right. I now feel comfortable with just about any rod or line combo but I still screw up regularly, though not as much as when I started. I have gotten to where I can put a fly in places that I once would have thought impossible, like the back of BD’s head. The latest fun thing I learned is skipping line under trees and overhangs.
The advice that helped me the most came from Flip Pallet’s show when he said not to worry about a casting style, or how someone else does it. Just get out there and do it every chance you get, you will eventfully find a style that comes natural for you. Fish some small creeks to really get in shape. After spending $100 on leaders and tippet you either get better or quit.
I thought you were doing pretty well for a new guy when I saw you cast. Just keep it up.
Hey SilverDoc I also thought along those same lines not so long ago. I still think proper handling of the fish after landing it is much more important then the choice of rod.
I should also mention that I didn’t head to the river that day with 20+ inch Trout on the agenda either. I had caught a good number of 8 to 12 inch fish earlier. This fish showed himself (smashed my indicator) and I was not about to walk away without trying to catch him. I finally got him to eat a #8 black/olive no bead wooly bugger!
That was my biggest trout on a 1wt and I would do it again without hesitation.
Here is an interesting article from Bill Byrd’s site on this very topic.
Some Basic Myths
“Landing a fish on an ultralight does not involve a fight…it is more of a process of staying connected while the fish swims around and wears himself out.”
Experienced ultralight fly fishers use ultralight fly tackle aggressively to FIGHT fish. Dave Whitlock and most knowledgeable ultralight fly fishers know that one can land large fish FASTER on ultralight tackle when using light tippets without fear of breaking the fish off. Hence they will apply MORE pressure on the fish, and land it faster. My experience in over 4,500 hours of ultralight fly fishing confirms that I land fish faster on ultralight fly systems when using light tippets, which is 99 per cent of the time.To prove the point on a trip to a famous stretch of north Georgia trout water, fishing in pouring rain, I hooked a 5 pound plus Rainbow on a small streamer while fishing my Orvis Silver Label TL mid flex 8 foot 1 weight rod with 4 pound tippet. A guide timed me with his watch. I broke the fish out of deep water, pulled him cross current, led him to a sand bar and landed him in under 60 seconds.
Had I let this trout “…swim around and wear himself out…” it would have stopped in the next county!
Try to do that on your favorite 5 or 6 weight with 4 pound tippet, and not break off the fish! Most fishers over play the fish to protect their tippets, defeating the purpose of using the heavier rod! Yes, landing a large fish takes skill with ultralight tackle. It takes skill with a 5 or 6 weight, too.
A few years back, I spoke with Stu Apte about ultralights. He considers a 4 weight an ultralight, then again he spends most of his time on salt water. Stu has learned how to tame 100 pound Tarpon with a stout 6 weight. That seems ultralight to me. Do you expect that there is a fight involved in landing a 100 pound Tarpon on a 6 weight? I guess so! Understand that there is a lot more than rod weight going on here. Stu suggested a fly fisher can land just about anything if he can maintain one pound of pressure on the fish.
With ultralight rods, keep your rod angle low, fight the fish with your reel, and put smooth, consistent pressure on the fish. I consider that fighting a fish. Last time I was fighting a 10 pound Amberjack or 10 pound red drum on my 8 weight, I fought the fish the same way.
Here is the full page of UL myths
http://www.byrdultrafly.com/ulmyths.htmMike
It’s not the size, but how you use it that matters. ;D
I got hooked on ultralight with an awesome little
Well considering that I own two small boats and one bigger one I also lean towards smaller boats. This is mostly due to expense and ease of maintenance. I have owned almost every kind of boat for freshwater fishing you can think of but out of all of them I like small tiller operated boats the most. I once had a Ranger 363 (great boats BTW) and I must admit I do miss that one sometimes but I don’t miss that 10 gallons an hour.
Most striper opportunities in this state involve open water or tailwater fishing. If you have not had an opportunity to get out one some of our fine Striper/Hybrid lakes when they are in “summer mode” then you won’t understand my reasoning. I now regularly encounter boats that make a 3′ wake in rivers that I can cast across.
Then you have your tailwaters where a sudden discharge from a turbine could flip or severely impair a small boat. This happens every year here in mid TN.
I have been in some situations in my center console in these places that left a mark in my BVD’s. Tailraces with locks and barge traffic are a whole other horror story. I can go on and on about why a bigger boat is better but I think you get the point.I wouldn’t use a Canoe like boat in these waters If my life depended on it, because it would. This also explains why I spend so much time chasing Trout with a fly rod lately….
My RH should be here any day now. I also have a Honda outboard on the way from Singapore. When I get it ready I’ll give you a shout. Your gona love it, I guarantee it.
Mike
The RiverHawk I just bought is the same boat as a Gheenoe. I have a 13′ Gheenoe and they are great boats. My RiverHawk has a Floor, raised casting deck, and dry storage. It’s just under 16′ and a 5′ beam. You could have a square dance on the darned thing.
I don’t think you would want to consider this boat for a Striper rig unless you were in a isolated river somewhere.
