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Displaced Texan

Taking up fly fishing..

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When I was a kid, my dad taught me to fly fish. I haven’t done it in YEARS, but I inherited my dads old fishing gear. Figure I should put it to use again, and besides, it helps me remember dad.

A low end rod/reel to practice on, but he had some high end Orvis gear he used too. I guess when I remember how to cast again, I’ll move up to that. 
 

We have several stocked ponds here in Sun City that have plenty of bass, trout, and panfish. 
I will be seeking the panfish, as I remember them to be a hoot to fight on a fly rod! 
 

Any tips from veteran fly fishermen? 
 

I gotta remember how to tie knots!  
 

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47 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Eh, I won’t be doing any wading, to start anyway.

Probably for the best.  Discussions about technique can get ugly.  

 

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It's like riding a bike, you will pick it up again.  Don't be surprised if you soon find yourself looking at hip or chest waders.  Trees and brush suck.  The difference between low end gear and the good stuff is performance.  It's not like a $1,000.00 rig is more difficult to manage or complicated.   Flies on the other hand, start out with the cheapest ones you can find.  Buy or make some practice flies and retrain yourself casting into a bucket or garbage can.

By panfish, do you mean sunnies or crappie?  Those lil guys do put up a good fight.

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17 minutes ago, Scorpio64 said:

It's like riding a bike, you will pick it up again.  Don't be surprised if you soon find yourself looking at hip or chest waders.  Trees and brush suck.  The difference between low end gear and the good stuff is performance.  It's not like a $1,000.00 rig is more difficult to manage or complicated.   Flies on the other hand, start out with the cheapest ones you can find.  Buy or make some practice flies and retrain yourself casting into a bucket or garbage can.

By panfish, do you mean sunnies or crappie?  Those lil guys do put up a good fight.

I was about 10 or 12 the last time I fly fished. That was…OMG…45ish years ago! I doubt the muscle memory lasts that long! 
 

I bought some relatively inexpensive flies, and a few poppers. 
I remember how much fun it was catching bluegill on that old fly rod. Those little bastards are hard fighters for their size! 
 

I spent the afternoon replacing all the line (and tying those damn little bitty knots!), and I may head to the pond when it starts to cool down this evening. Just for a little practice casting. 

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Still have my first rod (South Bend 8' fiberglass) I got when I was eight. Upgraded to a Fenwick 7'6" 6wt. when I turned 14, added an Orvis 9' 5wt. graphite sometime in the 90's. Use the old South Bend 'glass rod for bass now. The other two I flip-flop on depending on size of streams I fish. Nothing fancy, no Hardy reels, just Pflueger Medalist's. Rod action and quality and style of fly line are equally important as matching the rod to the style and type of fishing. 

Pre-season as a kid was spent casting in the backyard by March and tying tapered leaders in 7', 9' & 12' lengths. The Godsend for me was unknotted tapered leaders when they came out. Was tying my own flies in the 60's and fishing the Battenkill River with them when it was THE stream in the Northeast to fish. Fished the Mettawee and White River's as well when up there. When I could drive we'd make a day or weekend trip just to fish in VT. Would make at least one homage to Orvis in Manchester every year, was thrilled when they opened a store in Saddle River and then moved to Paramus. A shame they closed, but this area didn't suit them. 

Poppers for bass is a ton of fun. Responding to this thread reminds me how much I miss it. 

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I've had a cheap fly rod for probably 25+ years, but first fish I ever caught on it was only in the last 2 or 3. Granted, I basically stopped fishing for 18 or so years in the middle, and when I was young, there were few places I could get to that were really appropriate for fly fishing, so I hardly used it.

 

I tied my own flies for a while when I was young, and lately have taken up making my own spinners. There is significantly more satisfaction catching fish on a lure you made yourself, and hearing stories from friends catching fish on your lures too.

 

Knots, I mostly use what I believe is called the improved (or) enhanced clinch knot. Really simple and holds very well. I used to use the Rapala knot for everything, but it is more complicated and just creates a loop. I do gotta do better leader<->line knot for the fly rod next time I put new leader on.

 

Good luck

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On 6/16/2022 at 7:26 PM, Displaced Texan said:

I’ve been practicing knots lately. I’m going to go out fishing Saturday morning before it gets hot out. It’s 6:30pm and it’s 101°. To hell with that. 

The bloodknot just makes me curse at times. Joining dissimilar size tippets is necessary but frustrating. 

Tying an improved clinch knot on a size 22 dry fly when a hatch is rising at dusk is just as frustrating. 

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22 hours ago, Displaced Texan said:

Had a little fun this morning at a local pond. Caught 8-9 panfish and a small bass.  Forgot how much fun they are on a fly rod! 
 

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I would let the kids catch sunfish using small trout flies at our small lake here. We'd save a couple small sunnies in a bucket for later. I'd then tie a worm hook on the end of the tippet, hook a sunny through the body, hand the rod to one of my kids and tell them to hold on. A big bass would invariably inhale it and a fight would be on to land him. Fishing here isn't what it used to be nor are the streams and ponds. Glad the kids experienced it when they did. 

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This morning, I caught a couple of little Guadalupe bass, and a decent sized green sunfish in a small creek near my house. Although small, they put up a hell of a fight on my little fly rod! What fun! 

 

 

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Neat, on another note, a friend of mine has been trying to convince me to get one of these:  Tenkara Rod Co | Tenkara Rods Tenkara Lines and Tenkara Fishing

Also, after a multi-year string of failures, I got and ate a keeper black bass Friday after going offshore on a party boat.  Tasted so good, but cost hundreds of dollars. :icon_lol:

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25 minutes ago, CMJeepster said:

Neat, on another note, a friend of mine has been trying to convince me to get one of these:  Tenkara Rod Co | Tenkara Rods Tenkara Lines and Tenkara Fishing

Also, after a multi-year string of failures, I got and ate a keeper black bass Friday after going offshore on a party boat.  Tasted so good, but cost hundreds of dollars. :icon_lol:

Just do it!  So much fun! 
 

I haven’t been offshore fishing in decades. The local Rod and Gun club I’m a member of has a flats fly fishing trip they are trying to convince me to go on. 
 

I’m not ready for that yet, and I only have 4 weight and 6 weight gear. I’d have to pony up for new gear plus the cost of the trip.

Maybe next year. 

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2 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Just do it!  So much fun! 
 

I haven’t been offshore fishing in decades. The local Rod and Gun club I’m a member of has a flats fly fishing trip they are trying to convince me to go on. 
 

I’m not ready for that yet, and I only have 4 weight and 6 weight gear. I’d have to pony up for new gear plus the cost of the trip.

Maybe next year. 

Funny thing about the party boat trip...  The guy sitting next to me was a Philly homicide detective.  (Alright, that's not funny, but his reaction when I asked if he was a Krasner fan was funny.)  He an his son and his son's best friend were there on vacation.  It wound up that not only were they all former Scouts, but his son is an Eagle who served on staff at the same camp that I did, but like 20 years apart.  His son is a competitive trap / skeet shooter and ran the shooting sports at the camp.  Small friggin' world.

On another note, I want to do a flats trip some day, but will need to get my weak little girlyman arms beefed up before attempting it.  Hell, I could barely lift a beer (or 6) after the trip last week.  Shame on me...

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2 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Awesome! Sometimes it is a small world. 
 

I want to do a flats trip at some point, but have a long way to go with my skill set first 

I was gonna post in the BBQ thread, but decided not to.  When we're on vacation over Independence Day week, I run the grill.  I did a London broil that knocked everyone's socks off.  Nothing but salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil to "grease the skids."  I cooked my sea bass on the stove, in a frying pan with S, P and butter.  2 minutes, each side.  Spectacular with a side of slaw. :8):

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8 minutes ago, CMJeepster said:

I was gonna post in the BBQ thread, but decided not to.  When we're on vacation over Independence Day week, I run the grill.  I did a London broil that knocked everyone's socks off.  Nothing but salt, pepper and a bit of olive oil to "grease the skids."  I cooked my sea bass on the stove, in a frying pan with S, P and butter.  2 minutes, each side.  Spectacular with a side of slaw. :8):

Love it!! 

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