Zach Matthews
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Check out the Bill Butts podcast.
I don’t know the specifics of striper fishing in Texas but I do know stripers here in Georgia.
Clay, Tim has been the main designer of those lines for a number of years. You can take what he says as gospel. And no, feel free to ask questions like this here. The Headstart is exactly what you need for your first line. SA was really smart to make that line with their top (“Mastery”) coating chemistry (think Teflon), so people get used to what a good line is supposed to feel like.
Zach
(1) Graphite has no functional memory unless it is subjected to extreme heat. Leaving a rod strung horizontally for years on a rack will not cause the rod to develop a set. This is a leftover collective unconscious-type concern from the days of bamboo, which could take a set.
(2) I am highly suspicious of the idea that knots inherently weaken if the rod is left strung. If that were the case the knots left tied on our reel would be weaker the next day (the amount of load on a knot from simply looping the fly over the butt end is negligible). First, I strongly caution you against believing what a guide says just because he is a guide. Second, I think it’s probable that this is another collective unconscious-type concern left over from the days of catgut, which could dry out. That or it’s just rank BS.
I have a horizontal rack in my garage which I am quite proud of. I have anywhere from a half dozen to a dozen rods strung on it at any given time of year, ranging from three weights to ten weights. Some of those rods have never been broken down even one time, since I have room in my SUV to run them through from the back to the front. I use them to fight everything from brookies to striped bass, from 7X to 20# tippet. I have never experienced “first cast knot failure” nor noticed any set in any of those rods.
Zach
PS Here’s the rod rack from when I first built it:
I will be attending a business conference in Las Vegas at the end of the month and I am keen to try and squeeze in a day fishing. From what I can make out Lake Mead may be the best option but I am having trouble finding a guide service that caters to fly fishing. I am hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction/
thanks, Malcolm
Is it the Surfaces trade convention?
Excellent start! Plus, the blog/podcasts are a lot more SEO-friendly which should drive more targeted FF traffic to you. Your podcasts are always great to listen too.
Clay –
Jekyll is a good target. (Guys Clay is my baseball watching buddy). We could hit the inside of Jekyll Creek out of my Gheenoe and do well.
Practical advice: I would look at the TFO Lefty Kreh Professional series 9′ 8 weight as your first rod. That’s a good medium fast action stick that will not break the bank. In learning to cast for the first time it’s important as Bob Riggins alluded to above for you to be able to feel the rod load, meaning bend when the force of the line is pulling backwards on it up in the air. A really good way to do that is to get an overlined learning fly line like the Scientific Anglers Headstart, which also has the advantage of being less expensive for the quality of line. It’s got the full Mastery high-end coating chemistry but it is cheaper (basically it’s a loss leader for SA to get people to buy their high end product).
So I would get that TFO rod, the SA Headstart line in a 9 weight (one weight heavier than the rod is rated, to help you feel the load). You can fish locally for stripers and shoal bass just fine with that setup and I’ll spot you a redfish line in 8 weight if we get down there. At $35, the Headstart is a good investment.
Reel-wise you don’t need to go crazy. When you get good at this you will probably want to upgrade gear across the board. For now you can get away with a reel under $100, for that matter you can even get away with a plastic reel from Wal-Mart like the Cortland Fairplay or the Scientific Anglers System One. In fact that SA System reel is probably your best bet as a beginner.
So with the TFO, the SA Headstart line, and the SA System reel from Wal-Mart, you’ll have a solid setup that will cover redfish, shoal bass and stripers for under or around $200. That’s pretty good. Down the road you can invest in the thousands of dollars of tackle I know you’ll be wanting but for now you need a rod you can beat up for a while.
Zach
Scott –
Yeah that is annoying; some of these settings are things I am messing around with still and it is not going to stay that way.
Guys I haven’t made much to do about this lately but this board does have a real first and last names policy and I would appreciate it if everyone would go ahead and comply.