Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles opinion of 7mm-08 rem. vs 308

Another thing about Lee....he used to tie his flies w/o a vise. Did it all in his hands. I even saw a film of him demonstrating this as he tied a Royal Wulff. My flies would look pretty sad if I didn't have my vise. That guy was very talented.

I remember that Whip...and he could tie one faster than I could think...
Just gave my little 6 Ft. 3 wt. its maiden voyage for the year the other day...
According to flow charts,damned creek was three times normal, so fishing wasn't great, but caught a few brookies on the dry, and scouted some new water...looks good for when the runoff subsides....
One of those streams where you can look at a spot and figure there should be a fish there...and even high and fast...there was!
Ingwe

Fly rods are a lot like rifles. You could put the most exspensive custom in the hands of a guy that shoots a few times a year, then hand him a T3, and he would still shoot those same animals. Have have handles and fished with some nice rods, Sage, and even a Hardy. Thay did make my St.Croix feel like clubs, but I managed to get over it. I'm just not there yet. Someday, but not yet. As to the question, no, it didn't answer, so I'll rephrase. Does the shorter, or longer, rod make fighting those smaller fish more sporty? I could benefit from the longer length as far as current and mending, but really am looking for the most sporty rod to really feel and play those smaller fish.
Great hi-jack.
Thanks.

R.

I am not a fly fisherman. These Hardy rods are over $1000. What am I missing out on? Is it that much more exciting than with with a bream buster and a cage of crickets or a Zebco and a box of wigglers?

Rman, Whip brings up a great point... There's nothing wrong with owning 5-6 rods. I've only got the one fast action St Croix right now, but I'm really wanting something beefier (that 9.5' Winston of Whips has my attention) I've fished one of their 5 wts and they're a damn nice rod.


Just stay away from SAGE rods, they're overpriced crap...

Oh yeah... The lower Flathead SUCKED yesterday. I missed two strikes. One jumped over my fly and was going to take it on the way down (gotta love flying fish) and I pulled it off the water under him. The other was good sized. I set the hook in him and he took all my schitt (I always seem to forget that I shouldn't be using 3X tippet on the lower river...)



So after half the float, I finally caught something
Plan B



The Wifey had been bugging me to take her on a float, so we went from Teakettle (C Falls) to the Steel Bridge (Kalispell's Ghetto)

Okay Rman, if you want the sport, then get a slow action rod that has a nice bend down into the handle. You do not want a stiff butt section. I'm not up on what St. Croix offers as far as action (I think they're mostly fast IIRC), so listen to your guru that knows St. Croix rods or string em up in the shop and have someone hold the line to simulate fighting a fish. Have them shake and tug the line. The one that flexes the lowest into the butt should be what you're looking for, regardless of how long the rod is, and should feel lively in the hand when you're tussling with the smaller trout.

I agree with you on your comparison of fly rods and rifles. Heck, thinking back on all the critters I've shot over the years, probably 3/4's of them could have been shot with my first rifle, a Marlin 30-30. Most of arguing over what's best, including the original topic of this thread, is wasted air. It still always comes back to a good bullet placed in the right spot, or a good fly with the proper presentation. Those that savvy that are the ones with full freezers and stringers. In the meantime, when I'm not able to be out doing what I love, yakkin' on the internet is good entertainment.

Nice presentation on the BL
Sure beats working, eh?

Not inclined to agree on the bending down into the handle for the best fight... I will step down a couple weights before going to a noodle. Too soft and the rod is not a joy to cast... Lighter and faster is still plenty good for feeling the fish, to my way of thinking.

I cannot imagine having so few rods as to make them countable...

If you think Hardy rods are pricey, take a peek at their Ti reels... 8k or thereabout...

We run about 35 Hardy reels here and after decades of hard use the oldest are still every bit as functional as they were the first time out. I have smoked a Ross Gunnison 3 and a new Sage reel so far this year...

I had a handle come off a Hardy JLH Ultralight 2/3/4 last week (unscrewed and 100% repairable) and Gr8fulDoug took the handle off a Hardy Husky a couple years ago (with a knuckle, OWWWWW!) and I smoked a Marquis 10 about 20 years ago on its maiden red salmon. And that is the sum total "failures" with a Hardy in many, many hundreds of days (and thousands of big fish) on the water with them.

Buy junk and you get to repeat the pleasure...

I've been fishing the same "Junk" pfluegers for about the last decade... On a fly-rod, all a reel is, is a place to store line and a counterweight...

The rule of thumb is, you don't spend more on your reel than you do on a floating line.

When I downloaded that pic to my 'puter... I thought to myself, if fish went after humans, thats how'd they'd do it...


You know what I've missed about work all this week?????










Not a [bleep] thing.

Dan
If all you catch is trout you may be right... Salmon will change that notion real fast. We have caught more trout over 5# this summer so far than most will catch in a lifetime. Miss T and I caught more than a dozen one evening and had multiple double hook-ups on wild fish in current.

Last year I had 8 casts in a row with 8 hook-ups on big trout in the same place.

If you never catch fish large enough to put themselves on the reel the Phlueger will work (don't forget the Loc-Tite). Most of the Hardys here have been here for a long time. They will still be working in 20 more years.

Drags are more important when talking saltwater...


Same model reel...
art

Just talking 'bout the smaller trout, Art. My beloved 8.5 5 wt Winston WT, when into a good fish, bends through the butt to a few inches above the handle. Biggest fish I've caught on that rod was a 24" brown, and it was plenty sporty and damn fun. Not a fan of noodles here either, even for small trout. I still think the best way for Rman to find what he's looking for is to try 'em in the parking lot.

I'd love to head up your way someday and fish for those salmon on a fly rod. What I consider to be heavy tackle down here you'd prolly think of as ultralight Gonna give it a go one of these days. Even with my poor work ethic, I don't get enough play days.

Scheeeeeiit, that must have been fun. Never heard of catching a 'But on a fly rod!!!!!!!!

'But is good almost any way you can get it...

Sitka, agreed... Big fish in my neighborhood go 4 Lbs.

And Whips right, you'd call our heavy tackle (6 Wt) Ultralightweight.

Dan,

I should email you a pic of a 46" Musky I caught on my fly rod in Minnesota. I love to fly fish for pike and musky. Ever try pike on a fly rod in your neck of the woods?


Dober

I would think a guy from MT would drink a real beer.

Not all our fish are huge. One of my favorite rods is a TFO Finesse 7'6" 2wt...