Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Getting back into flyfishing!

ok guys I stepped away from the flyrod for the last 18yrs..

Anyway high mt lake's is on the schedual!!!

Can you all please list your fly gear for high lakes fishin!!

Rod
Reel
Line
flys

Basicly what works for you and any advice espically line info!!

To be honest my rod might have to be stashed for a week or two come hunting seasons. So my budget for a rod is one that won't hurt to bad if someone else finds it and thinks it's a gift from god or something..

Any Rod suggestions in the $150 range??

Anyone any experience with lower end rods from Powell or Redington??

For most of What I'll be doing I'm thinking I can getta way with a floating line and if I wanta get deeper weighted flys will slowly sink the tip? Right? Or am I smokin?

Thanks alot guys!!

Not a guy, but i really like my TFO professional series. It's not expensive, but nice to cast. It's a 4 wt, with a SA reel on it and SA wf floating line.

M

TFO is a good choice and a 4wt is all you need. 3wt may not cast the nymphs and a 5/6 wt may kill the fight. TFO's cast as good as Sage or any other rod. Go with a reasonable WF line for casting. A good all around reel that will last is a Orvis Battenkill but get what you like. (around $100, try Sierra Trading Post for clearence deals). Don't spend alot of cash but enjoy the sport of Flyfishing.

I spent a lot of time fishing the Sierra Nevada's in California before I moved to TN. I would strongly suggest a float tube or pontoon for high mountain lake fishing....it will really open up the possibilities.

Rod....My personal favorite is a 9' G Loomis G3 in 5 wt. Reason: it can get really windy on those lakes and a little heavier setup can be nice. I would go with a 9 or 10 foot rod in a float tube/pontoon and the best bang for the buck is gonna be a TFO in my opinion (I have 2 and I like them)

Reel....lots of good options...can't go wrong with an Orvis Battenkill large arbor for trout fishing, I personally like Bauer

Line....I would suggest an extra spool and two lines....one weight forward floating and one full sink (4-5" per second sink rate). I have had some pretty frustrating days watching friends catch one after another when I only brought one line. Scientific Angler is good line for the money, but I prefer Rio floating line and Teeny sinking line.

Flies....go to the local fly shop, but wooly bugger (lots of flash and rubber legs help), leech patterns always work in those lakes and don't be afraid to drop another fly off the back...chronomids and damsel flies are good lake flies as well

Good luck

I would be all over a 4 or 5 wt TFO. I have a 3 wt and a 10 wt TFO and totally love them. They're cost effective and they take care of you if you have issues with the rod.

SA line is tough to beat for the cheddar and some of the Cabelas line (pun intended) will do you well also.

For reels I'd take a look at some of Cabelas and I still like my old Plueger Medalist...grin (no need to spend over $40 on this)

For wets I'd take:

Royal Wolf
Humpy's
Elk Hair Caddis
Hoppers
Goddards

And for wets:

hairs ear beaded

Dober

thanks alot guys I've been seein alot about them TFO's the last couple days.. I'll check them out!

Lines, someone please talk to me about lines in the high lakes??

floating?
sinktips?
etc.

Thanks

I'd go WF Floating take some small split shot and my wets would most likely be beaded

Never fished high mountain lakes, but I understand it's deep nymphing. If that's the case, I would get a sinking line. And TFO seems to be the choice.

I don't have a TFO, but I've got a 4wt Diamondback that's a very good rod.

What everybody has said here is great advice and goes right along with my personal tastes in equipment.

As far as a rod, a 9' 5wt is a great choice as a multi-purpose trout rod. If you're not an experienced fly caster a medium or medium fast action rod is easier to learn with. The slower action allows you to feel the rod "load" which is a big help to an inexperienced caster. TFO has some great rods.

I'm partial to suggesting a modestly priced reel for trout. A Ross Flycast or Ross Flystart are great value priced reels. However, right now, Orvis online has their Battenkill Mid Arbor fly reel III on sale for $109.00 with a free fly line. That's a super bargin on very nice reel. If your serious about getting started jump on this one before the sale ends. Get a wf5f line with it. A floating line will cover most of your lake fishing needs.

I got to agree with the idea about a float tube. For fishing lakes it's the only way to go. My recommendation for that would be a Creek Company ODC 420. Look it up online. Get a good pair of fins. Don't go with the cheap poorly designed float tube fins. They're worthless.


As far as flies, my go to basics would be:

drys:

elk hair caddis
orange stimulator
black ant
adams

wet:

black rabbit strip leech
prince nymph
damsel fly nymph

One thing about flies is that they are habit forming. I have a powerful addiction with buying flies. I can't stop. I have to have every possible fly that a fish might hit on. I do tye flies but with little bitty trout flies, for me, is easier to buy them than to tye them. I have sooooooo many I'll never use em all in my lifetime.


Good luck and tight lines to you,


fly fishin' fish head

Glad you brought up rod action... I can cast excellent!! Hell I even got a mean roll cast.. So givin my casting ability what rod action should I be looking at?? I guess if it's too stiff that would take away some of the fight..

I will be looking for either a float tube or a pontoon boat for next year.. Locally Coldwater and Castle lakes in the blast zone up at St.Helens are great fisheries!!

But for now I looking at backpacking into alpine lakes while scouting deer and bear.. I will be fishing from the bank...

I wish we had a local flyshop worth a crap around here..

Forgive me if I ask too many stupid questions..

Last fall I fished a lake with some borrowed gear and I was using dry line with a weighted nymph.. The dry line would eventually start to sink a bit and hooked most my fish in about 8-12 ft of water...


Is there a better line for this application?

Where are you, exactly, as I was just down your neck of the woods and scouted out several!
Be happy to share the list, if you want.

M

Since you know how to cast go with a faster action rod. It will allow you to cast further, handle casting in wind better and it won't take away from the fight. A fast action flyrod doesn't mean that it's stiff, it just has a faster taper to it. A fast taper 5wt rod is still a fairly light rod. A TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) TiCrX 590-4 is about as nice a rod you can get for the money. EBAY occasionally has deals on used ones if you want to save a few bucks.

If you're going to be fishing from shore I'd say stick with a floating line. What happens if in the evening the fish come up and start feeding on the surface? I'd rather catch them on drys than wet flies any day. A floating line with a long leader will still get down 6' to 8'+ with no problems. Longer leaders, a small split shot, weighted flies or bead head nymphs and sloooow retrieves will all help in fishing deeper.

If you need to go deeper than that, yes, then a sinking line is better suited for the task. I'm more partial to sink tips than a full sinking line. They're easier to pick up off the water when casting. A 10' or longer sink tip or a full sinking intermediate (#II sink rate) would work out well for fishing 8' to 12'+ deep. Get an extra spool and load it with the sinking line of your choice.

Another option is to get a short sink tip section that can be looped onto the floating line. I make my own sink tips with mono braided loop to loop connectors. One downside is they don't cast as well as a properly tapered line will.

One question to ask yourself is how deep are you going to be able to or even need to fish from shore. In cool small high mountain lakes they're not always down extra deep. Trout will move throughout the water column depending on the time of day, where the food is, oxygen levels, sunlight or lack of, etc. Nothing is better than when they start rising to dry flies on the surface. Dat's sum fun fishin' then.


fish head

I'd most definately stay with a floating line. The lakes are no different than the streams in regards to sometimes you'll need to go wet and sometimes dry.

I'd not have a sinking tip as my only line..

Dober

MT,
I live in Kalama Wa. Just south of Kelso/Longveiw

Castle/Coldwater lakes are great fisheries!!!! If you like to bust your ass Castle will have fewer people and a hell of a hike!

Coldwater lake actually has a boat ramp(no gas motors allowed) so access is great.. Can't think of a much better day than hookin trout on a Fly at the base of Mt.Helens with elk all over the hilside..

It's in the Monument!! Actually think I've heard o Trout that go 22-24 inches in Coldwater.. You can oly keep one fish over 16"..(if you like)

MT, I know more about the secret little mt lakes in the next yr or two!!

Thanks to everyone for helpin out.. It's all slowly starting to make more scence and nice to have a direction to go!!

I used to tie up all my own flys and still have a vice and some tools(just dug out the box) books and some material..

Hell I even got an English Bulldoge that prolly has some hair for me to invent a dogs hair nymph of some kind!!

I gotta thank the hunters up in the Cascades that let me borrow their gear to get the fire burning in me once again..

Oh it's so on!!! Nothing quite like takin fish flyfishing!

Well, then, if you are in for a little bit of a fact finding road trip, you might want to take a day and visit Gig Harbor Fly Shop 3100 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor WA 98335 (253) 851-3474. They were friendly, helpful and had a nice selection of rods, reels and fly tying stuff. Continuing on, we visited Port Townsend Angler, 940 Water Street, Port Townsend WA 98386 (360) 379-3763. It's a little hard to find, as it is in the upstairs of a bead shop and not well signed, due to city ordanances. Nice, interesting character, spent some time in Alaska, seems to know a bit, has different stuff than Gig Harbor, but not nearly so much of it.

Didn't get to Peninsula Outfitters 19740 7th Avenue NE Suite E Poulsbo WA 98370 (360) 394-1599 Because we didn't make it there, I really have nothing to report. Nor did we make it to Bay Street Outfitters, 130 Harrison Avenue, Port Orchard, WA 98366 (360) 874-7880.

We went to other shops north of there, up by Sea-Tac, and frankly ALL of them mentioned some shop in Pt. Angeles. We didn't make it that far, I was outvoted by the non-fly fishers in the vehicle and the distance we had already traveled and the distance we had yet to go that day. Nonetheless, since all the other shops said to go there, I would assume it was good.
Waters West 219 North Oak St. Port Angeles WA 98386. (360)417-0737.

Then of course there are a bunch of them north of Seattle, and we won't even talk about those in Eastern Wa, which needless to say, I didn't make it to, but will have to make it a destination on my next venture down south.

More south of you in the Portland and east areas, the shop in Hood River comes to mind, a great little store I visit every time I'm lucky enough to be in Hood River, which hasn't been for a number of years now.

Was with my brother and he has one of those "stick on the window" gps driving instruction thingies, it was worth its weight in gold.

Oops! Missed a couple, didn't know they were close, didn't visit them, obviously.

Greywolf Angler 275953 Highway 101 Gardiner WA 98382 (360) 797-7100. (I mistakenly thought Gardiner was in E. Wash.)

Black Heron Fly Fishing 1060 14th Avenue, Longview WA 98632 (360) 575-3970.

Prichards' Western Angler 2106 Kalama River Road, Kalama WA 98625 (360) 673-4690.

The Fly Fisher 5622 Pacific Avenue SE, Lacey WA 98503 (360) 491-0181.

Greased Line Fly Shop 5802 NE 88th St. Vancouver WA 98665
(360) 673-9383.

I'll be looking for a full report!

Nice. Some local stuff mentioned there. Thanks

You are most welcome. I didn't even mention the shops in Bellevue, Seattle, Carnation, Cle Elum, Eatonville, Ellensburg, Ephrata, Granite Falls, Issaquah, Kent, Lake Forest Park, Monroe, Seattle, Spokane, Woodinville, Woodland or Yakima!

More to choose from than the 3 that we have here and one more about 50 miles north of here. But I must add that the 3 we have here in town are excellent. Nice supply, nice owners and helpful staff.

What town(area) are you located in?