Bench Time

I’ve been busy the last few weeks tying a bunch of bass, pike, and muskie flies. It works out pretty good since it’s been cold as heck around here lately. Temps 20 below with wind? No problem, hit the vise and start tying!
Tying warmwater flies are a lot different than tying trout flies. For one, the size of these warmwater flies are gargantuan. Hooks range from size 4 to size 3/0. Due to these larger patterns, there is a lot more material used when tying these flies. As a result, tying times are greatly increased. I’m good if I can pump out a half dozen of these flies in a couple hours.
Trout flies, on the other hand, range in size from size 6 down to size 32. Those size 32s are pretty microscopic. It’s a wonder that a huge lunker trout can feast on insects that small. But they do, so an apt tyer must tie up a bunch of those small midge patterns. The plus side to that, is that a proficient tyer can pump out at least a dozen or so of those flies an hour.
With the forecast for this weekend predicting lows in the -20s and highs in the teens and single digits below zero, plus wind, you can rest assured that I’ll be staying in and tying this weekend. Stay warm!

Trout Finally!

I finally got out this season to chase some rainbows. I got up at 530 and headed out the door shortly after, since I loaded up the truck the night before. I arrived at the park, and I settled into my spot on the shallow flats just about an hour before sunrise. I got my first trout right at 730. It was still dark out, and trout are sensitive to light and sounds, so I fished in the dark. Because I was so shallow, and since trout often come in to a bait quickly and leave just as fast, a flasher is just about useless. As a result, I was fishing “blind”, so to speak. I had to wait until I felt a fish on before I could set the hook. I missed two fish this way. I ended up catching one more fish in the dark. The action was slow until about 915, when the sun broke over the hills. Then the action picked up and I caught three more bows in about a half hour stretch. Two of those fish put up a pretty good fight.

It was nice to have the whole lake to myself this morning; nice and quiet . It was good to be out again!

New Reel

My new Battenkill Mid Arbor reel and spool arrived this morning. First impression of this reel is the beauty of the fine machining. The drag appears that it will be up for the challenge of a mighty muskie. I’m excited to test this badboy out. I’ll mount the new fly lines to the reel and extra spool tonight when I get home. Tomorrow I’ll probably mount the reel on my new rod and give the whole outfit a few test casts.
Yep. Only 127 days untill the open water Muskie season starts…

Compliments

What better way to compliment a new fly rod than with a new reel? I just ordered a new Battenkill Mid-Arbor V reel and spool. I opted for the titanium finish, which will compliment the reel seat on my new 9 weight rod. I actually ordered the new reel, not because I needed a match for my new rod, but because I needed homes for the new fly lines I got last month.
My current 9 weight reel is an Albright General Practitioner. It is a sufficient reel, but nothing magnificent. The reel is a large arbor model and constructed from cast aluminum, it has a center disc drag. Cast aluminum is not known for its durability, especially for big game fish. In addition, extra spools for the reel go for $55. I needed two. For just $19 more than what I would have paid for the Albright spools, I ended up with a new reel and spool machined from bar stock aluminum, a sealed center disc drag, and an Orvis unconditional guarantee. Plus, the Battenkill MA reel won Fly Rod and Reel magazine’s prestigious Kudos award in 2005. The Albright reel will now be delegated to backup duty. My new reel should be pretty sweet!

First Cast

Well, my new rod arrived last night during supper. After the table was cleared and the dishes put away, I eagerly opened the packaging. The rod was beautiful! I quickly put the rod together and mounted a reel on it to feel the balance of the rod. Nice. Since it was dark out, I decided to wait until morning to cast the rod.
I casted the rod this afternoon briefly and I must say, WOW! I casted with a Rio WF 9 wt line and it loaded real nice. The action wasn’t quite as fast as I imagined it would be (because it’s a fast action, and not an extra-fast); once I slowed my cast down just a little bit the line casted wonderfully. It was pretty easy to shoot just about the whole line (100ft) with two false casts. I was in my front yard, and could have probably casted the whole line with ease if I would have casted into the street.
I am impressed; the rod did not cast like a $130 rod (I paid $99), but rather like a higher priced rod. The rod also looked well constructed. Thanks must go in order to Sage for passing down technology from their higher end rods.
The only thing I might question about the rod are two things. The stripping guides, looked thinner than the ones on my RedStart. It could be that higher quality guides could be thinner diameter for the same strength as the cheaper ones. The other thing was that there was a stripping guide just above the ferrule on the upper piece of the rod. My other rods had the guides up just a bit further. The only problem that could happen here is damaging the guide when connecting and disconnecting the ferrules on the rod. I am pleased with my purchase; Time will only tell how this rod holds up to the punishment of the dreaded Esox family. Not to worry, though, as the rod comes with a lifetime guarantee.