Short ramblings from my mediocre attempt at fly fishing. I’m not starting from ground zero since I attempted to teach myself about 5-10 years ago. I can’t remember if it was closer to 5 or closer to 10, or both. I actually caught a few fish, too. That’s probably not good since I think I know what I am doing. Or, at least I think I know what I’m supposed to be doing. Here goes nothing…
July 9, 2011
Bought an 8wt fly rod combo complete with rod, reel, case, line and backing. It was my price, cheap. Only $100. Lets see if I actually use it.
Bought some big flies online. Sizes 2 to 3/0. Should work well for big bass. Casting might be an issue.
July 17, 2011
Tied on a big rubberband. Practiced casting in the yard. Surprised how well I did. At least I think I did well.
July 18, 2011
Practiced casting again. Tried the double haul. I get the concept.
July 27, 2011
Took the fly rod to the lake and practiced casting a popper. I hooked the dock a few times, but didn’t catch anything. Tried some more double hauls. I’m getting better. I only hit the back of my head once.
July 28, 2011
Went to the river. Fished a popper. Made 40 casts. Skunked. Getting used to fly line and current. Tornado-like weather ran me off.
July 31, 2011
Hiked in and fished a large set of shoals. Caught a few fish. Lost a few. Lost one fish around 3lbs. Sam Potts’ ‘Big Muddy’ was the fly of the day. Handled the fly rod well. Suffered from heat exhaustion/stroke. Almost passed out. Heart rate elevated for hours. Scary.
August 6, 2011
Fished a large section of shoals. Nada. Even the deep holes. Strange because it was cloudy and the barometer dropped. Fooled a very, very, very small spotted bass on a Hairy Fodder. Getting better and longer with the fly rod.
August 9, 2011
An 8 weight TFO BVK was waiting on the porch when I got home today. Took it to the lake for 30 minutes. SWEET! Very lightweight and smooth! It can sling a fly out there.
August 27, 2011
Finally took my BVK fishing. 20 mph wind gusts made for an interesting day. Popped myself in the back with a ‘Hairy Fodder.’ Decided to stick with streamers. Less dangerous. Fish weren’t active. High pressure. Picked up a few late in the afternoon on a popper. Good day.
August 30, 2011
Went to the river after work for about an hour. Casting was good. Line control was good. I am actually improving. One blow up on a big frog popper, but nothing brought to hand.
September 5, 2011
Went outside and practiced casting for 45 minutes. Didn’t realize how bad I was. Got better 20 minutes in. My timing got better. Got worse 25 mins later. Figured it was time to give it a rest for the day.
October 17, 2011
Received a few new short sticks by UPS today . . . a couple Redington Predators and a Sage Largemouth. Time to take them to the river for a little breaking in!
October 22, 2011
Took the short sticks out today. Pretty sweet! Took a little getting used to, but I like! Enjoyed whipping flies underneath trees. The Sage LM is a broomstick. The Redington Predator is slower action wise. Not sure if the 8 weight Predator works well with Sage’s SM line. Might have to do some tweaking.
November 2011
Picked up a few Lamson Litespeeds. Can’t wait to try them out.
November 24, 2011
BVK plus SA Saltwater line went together pretty good. Pretty sweet to cast. The Lamson Litespeed 3.5 matched well with the BVK 8 wt. Starting to find the sweet spot with my casting stroke. Fun.
The fun with the BVK didn’t last long……SNAP!
November 25, 2011
Got out for a few hours of casting with my Sage LM. Casting practicing puts me in the zone when all the world’s stresses fades away. I guess this means I’m a pansy, too. Oh well. Not bad.
November 27, 2011
Picked up my new JK Coosas yesterday evening. Put one on the river today.
April 15, 2012
I haven’t done much fly fishing in a while. I sold a bunch of gear recently that included reels, rods and line. I learned buying fly fishing gear can get addictive. I’m not at the bare minimum of what I need…..for now.
