Zach Matthews
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
We were totally soaked, everything around us was soaked, the ground was soaked, and we were standing knee deep in water. I didn’t feel it although the lightning strike so close certainly got my attention. But Mike was leaning over on a rock in contact with the bank/hill which the lightning actually struck. I’m sure we did get super lucky.
Those Georgia brookies are native Southern strain brook trout. They were never stocked here, which is how I know they are native. In the Smokies however they actually were restocked by some brookies from northern zones. The result is that most brookies in the Smokies are technically hybrids, but it takes a trained biologist to tell them apart from each other anyway. It’s a very very subtle difference; this isn’t a subspecies that has separated all that much. Ironically it is today’s northern fish that would have derived from our southern stock and not vice versa, because the northerly zones had to be recolonized after glaciation ended ~13,000 years ago.
Here’s a study on brown trout recolonization of Europe after glaciation; it would have worked the same way here. http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v82/n1/full/6884470a.html
The brook trout obviously evolved in a northerly, cold temperate climate, such as we have now in the northern U.S. and southern Canada. That is where the fish do the best today–in Labrador these fish get up to the 40 lb class. But what constitutes a “northern” climate has moved around a lot over the last million years or so. Whether the *first* brookies originated here in the Southern Appalachians during a cold phase (when this area was like Labrador) or whether they originated in a northerly area during a temperate period like we are in today, then migrated as climate shifted, I am not sure anyone knows. That would be a fossil record question. But certainly the fish have spanned up and down the Appalachian range for several hundred thousand and probably a few million years, going wherever they could go as climate gradually opened up a window here or there for them to live. Today’s Georgia brookies are on the very southern edge of the available habitat, and will probably be gone within a few hundred years.
Zach
Great video Mike; that was really fun. I need to get a Go Pro. They should make a steadicam mount for it.
Zach
Hey Steve –
How do you like the part time 4WD versus the full-time 4WD or maybe “full time $WD” of the Limited edition? I have been driving a Honda CR-v with AWD for the last five years and I really, really love AWD. It is awesome to not have to worry about flipping it on when I encounter a rain puddle or a slippery turn. I had part time 4WD in my Jeep Cherokees (I owned 4 of them) and I was always failing to turn it on, including on the day I rolled one off an overpass embankment.
Also what color did you get and did you get that cool rear shelf that rolls out when the hatch is opened? Post us some pics!
Zach
Travis I am not sure I did. I’ll go back and check.
My week of actually fishing was delayed while I did this:
However, after getting that out of the way on Thursday, Mike Tolbert and I set out to do some fishing on the Toccoa… unfortunately the generation schedule was not favorable. So instead we went blue lining.
As you can see even in the highest mountains the rain has colored up the creeks. This is the second wettest year I have experienced in Georgia, after last year.
We took turns on this rock. This was right after a seriously scary storm came through and a lightning bolt struck a tree on top of the hill to the right in this photo. I wasn’t grounded but Mike was leaning on a granite boulder in the slot canyon down below in this shot, and he felt a jolt through his arm. We high tailed it up to a little overhang.Mike I am looking forward to seeing the video when you get a chance.
Pretty awesome week guys.
My week of actually fishing continues! Today I continued to spend half my day performing home maintenance (painted the stair railings and they look mighty fine–the risers and treads are getting replaced).
Then I dropped in to the Hooch for a little striper chasing. This year has been TERRIBLE for reasons unknown, but I finally landed a striper on fly (I’ve lost two more this year. Seriously, it’s been terrible). Later Jay joined me for some action a little further up. Unfortunately our old friend the turbidity levels spiked for completely unknown reasons, and I missed only one more strike.
Zach
Seriously. They are using some crazy tactics. I am going to Iceland next summer for my honeymoon. I can’t wait.
All you really need to do Mike is extend the slot down and then install a strap at the top, like Velcro. PVC is malleable when heated and then cools nicely. It is also paintable. What I would do is remove the holder, carve the slot longer using a Dremel tool, then sand it smooth or hit it with a heat gun and roll the newly-cut edge out so it makes a soft transition. You could do that with your hands and leather gloves (it’s how I made my pushpole holders).
One thing to consider though; fly rods are 9 feet long and flimsy at the tip. If you plan to do a lot of motoring with the rods up in the air you are going to take a risk. That’s why almost all flats boats have horizontal rod storage.
Zach
Ben I thought about that but didn’t realize there was a drought. For future reference what exactly are the surf species in the Pacific and how do you target them? Those waves were considerably bigger than anything I have dealt with in the Gulf.
Jimmy the word was that the price would be similar but adjusted for inflation. I would expect a $575 range based on the $425 price point in the mid-1990s. They may try to keep it under $500 due to the perceived pricing threshold there though, so it could be $495. Total guess.
Zach
By the way here’s the Abel Sealed Drag reel. It got my personal vote for best in show. I loved the matte black model with the fish skin dipped drag knob.
JT –
I have thrown one and have one to fish. I am extremely impressed by it and so were most of the people at IFTD. It was never likely that a midmarket entry like the Tidal ($475) was going to knock off a flagship launch like the Sage SALT ($750+), so I wouldn’t read anything into the fact that the Tidal didn’t win the award. (Sage also had a lot of dealers there and those awards are not exactly a disinterested survey).
The buzz on the show floor was that the Tidal may in fact be too good. Some dealers I talked to were griping about it cannibalizing S4s sales, although the S4s series is about due for an upgrade anyway. I was throwing rods from one of Scott’s competitors with the rod designer and he out of the blue asked if I had thrown the Tidal yet. Clearly he was impressed.
What Tidal gets you is a slightly less than top of the line materials package of resins and fiber, with the same guides that Sage uses in the SALT, a slightly lower grade of cork and a slightly lower grade of reel seat. Both cork and seat are better than the best TFO offers but not as nice as the S4s or SALT range. Kind of an upper mid level set of fittings.
Basically the magic here is all in the taper. Bartschi simply designed a seriously nice stick within the parameters of what he had to work with. I *easily* could see this rod selling for $575 instead of $475 and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see dealers agitating to bring the price up.
Functionally, the scoop from inside Scott was that in non-technical terms they took the things they had done to make the Radian so nice and applied them to a lower grade of materials with a saltwater profile. I strongly suspect we’ll see a Radianized S4s successor within the next two to three years. I for one am really excited to see what that rod looks like, because if Tidal is any indicator, it will be an all time high water mark rod for saltwater anglers.
In comparison to the Sage SALT, which I fished in Mexico, I would class the Tidal as the better caster but the SALT as likely to be better for fighting fish. SALT is much more of a lifting rod and I would pick it to win the long-term durability fight. If I were planning to punch casts into the wind for cruising permit, I’d probably select a Tidal. If I were planning to fight heavy jack crevalle or anything in bluewater, I would choose the SALT. If the fish can get under the boat, choose the SALT. But definitely cast them both if anyone is planning on buying a new saltwater rod this year.
Zach
Bob that’s probably going to be similar to the Soque and other private streams. Those fisheries can cut two ways: they can be really easy or really, really hard. It depends on pressure. A river like Duke’s Creek in Georgia, which is managed like private water but open to the public, quickly produces super spooky fish.
Meanwhile there are plenty of places that have rules like never allowing tippet thinner than 3X (approximately 6 lb. test). That way the arms race against the fish is, at least in theory, arrested and they stay easier to catch.
Does this water have open grassy areas near by? If so I would fish hoppers. If it is in a rhodo jungle you probably want to inquire into the local hatches, but you’ll almost certainly be able to use sulphurs in about size 14 and 16 and blue winged olives in size 18.
I’d also bring some Zuddler minnows in white in case you want to dredge some pools, and some smallish stonefly nymphs (roughly size 14 or 16) to do some nymphing. A general nymph pattern like a Copper John in size 16 or size 18 will usually produce.
I know you’ve done some trout fishing but I’m not sure if you’ve tried much nymphing. Definitely plan to use a 9 foot leader with a couple feet of tippet tied to the end. Pinch on a small weight (size BB or smaller) ABOVE the knot so it won’t slide down and hug the fly. Then tie on your nymph. Last, pinch on a Palsa float or use a half hitch loop to string in some doped yard or a balloon/thingamabobber. The rule of thumb is 1.5X the depth of the bottom for the distance from FLY to INDICATOR. I’d look for an overall leader length of about 11-12′ but if you are in a tangled area or you have trouble dealing with the ball and chain effect, it’s fine to switch to a 7.5′ base leader and throw a couple feet on there for a 9′ total length of your setup. Your catch rate will probably go up with the longer setup if you can handle it. My default on new water is a tapered 9′ 5X leader with 2 feet of 5X fluoro carbon for tippet. You can totally use Berkeley Vanish or similar fluoro for tippet if you have some in 4 lb test.
Good luck Bob and feel free to shoot back some more questions. I know you love your trips to the frozen northern mountains. 😉
Zach