Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Revelations

No, not biblical...but piscatorial(?)

I got out of fly fishing/tying entirely for about 10 years largely due to the crowds of louts on streams here in the East and the absurdity of the annual $-driven "revolutions" in rod,line, and reel technologies.

I'd been tying my own and making rods since the early 60s but when costs of non-bamboo fly rods started to bypass those of hunting rifles and Type A folk started to hatch with Yuppies on the streams, I quit and never looked back.

Until that is, around Christmas this year when I was stuck home on recuperation for a long time and started to play around with Youtube. I revisited a few old streams here and abroad where I fished a long time ago; checked out new patterns using synthetics that do not actually look like a 1958 Buick; and yes checked out some of the new rods...

There actually have been significant upgrades in tackle and an explosion in creative, and, what looks to be, effective fly innovations. (I'm sure this impression would not have been the same if I had waded through all the high $, bad ideas in incremental waves each year.) Anyway, two of the innovations that really caught my imagination were switch rods and articulated streamer patterns --the latter as tied by Kelly Galloup, Richard Strollis, and Bart Landwehr.

Spey type casting with smashig attractor patterns to big smallmouth, trout, and steelhead on a light long rod! Yippee! My gear is back on my fly tying table and the 6/7 Beulah switch rod just arrived. (The buy-in costs were still high but why let the kids get it all.)

Now to hit the waters again and monitor the knothead hatch.

1B

What reel are you going to get with that Beulah? Nice rod to jump back into the "swing."

M

Mr Landwehr has a shop right here in Green Bay, was just there yesterday. Great folks there for sure. Tightlines Fly Shop

Miss Treated,

I got a Lamson Guru reel with a RIO 7/8 switch line for the 6/7 rod. I really like the Lamson sealed drag design.

vmthtr,

I already have bought a lot of the makings for some of Bart's desings from Tightlines. Good folks to do business with.

1B

Lamsons are awesome! Wish I had one!

My Lamson is a 20+ year old one and it still defines what I want in a trout/bass reel.

The biggest innovation that has made a difference? Breathable waders!

Pugs,

I don't even want to think about that innovation. Sky-hook stuff! Lets fetid air out and also seals water out? My old waders did not even do the latter job very well.

1B

My Lamson is over 20 years and alot spent in the salt.


You need to get out in the bay and throw flies for stripers.

Spent a lot of time fly fishing in the bay and on the Potomac for bass and stripers.

Check out Indian River in Delaware. i sued my spey rod out there throwing flies.

Have fun

I'm much more a mountain that shore guy anymore but I have done a couple bay trips. I have an old FinNor wedding cake reel that was my Grandfathers I used.

With our camp in WV I'll no doubt be hitting the Potomac for smallies more than the once a year I have in the past.

Holy Cow! At first, I thought kawi wrote this.
But I get it now.
Sorry, Pugs.