ogilvie

A great thread for sure.Every community on this planet that has a world class fishery in it's back yard has the same questions..but thats the point! I grew up on the East Coast fishing for Atlantic Salmon ,considered to be a rich man's sport of course.Rich men simply bought beats! A common theme with Atlantic fisheries! However,fishing etiquet and crowding have worked extremely well together,in fact ,once you are positioned within the rotation of Fly Fishers ,they all but disappear and once again the quest is even more intense,and intuitive. I have been blasted by the old farts club for letting people know that we have a world class fishery,for Salmon, off the beaches around Nile Creek/Qualicum Beach. In 1997 we began a program of enhancement so we could once again fly fish for Pink and Coho Salmon ,for all to enjoy. The interpretation of "ALL" seems to have somewhat been slimed down. Many of these old farts still ,and thankfully,continue to be part of the enhancement programs. But,we rarely see them on the beaches anymore,instead,they have found their "SECRET" spots to congregate. We will adapt,and these forums and sites will lead the way to better opportunities for all fishers and not just fly flingers. During the past 5 or 6 years the membership numbers of fly fishing clubs abd such groups have fallen to ,in some minds,alarming numbers. I,for one,think differently;and have voiced this very loudly. We must embrace whats in front of us and really think outside the envelope. AS someone mentioned,Fisheries people must read these sites...well they do to a degree. And these sites are very helpful,but also are not being considered enough yet to make any policy change. At this time, individuals are too ananomous. This will perpetuate a broader and less focused policy approach for the many of us who think differently. Here in BC we are now innundated with with a major attack on our many smaller watersheds with considerations for IPPs(Independent Power Projects)...not only will this increase certain individuals purses via stocks and investments but in context is good for the consumption of Hydro. But to we fish and outdoors type people it is a rape of the wilderness and a killer of watersheds...all the while the government of the day says it is a good and safe thing for we mere mortals to undertake! Public forums like these are helping to a degree but toooo annoymous . Will the fish ever run out?.......not likely...fishers...likely!

Headscan mentioned something that is very important about individual set-ups that match the caster,also that some rods definitely have a wider range of possibility. And that is very very true. For example,the Beulah 11'6" and the 12'7" are more pure design,ment for a much more specific line and casting style . Once found ,this match is effortless and pleasureable. AS is true with the Hardy Angel, Goran Anderssen Loop Grey, Z Axis and a few others. The same is also true for the Line Manufacturers, in fact the first company to really understand that a line can bridge many windows was Rio's Skagit line. Loops efforts in this direction was bang on but not understood well enough so has had difficulty in getting a sustained following. SA,AirFlo, CND,Snowbee and now some others coming on line are making great strides in reaching this market. SA's Short Head Spey became the 2nd line to really make a mark. A good example of a rod that crosses over very effectively and effortlessly is the Tamar....I can work with a 350 Grain Elixir set-up or bridge to a 600 grain CND Skagit set-up (16' type 6) with amazing results and requireing little effort shift. The more I let the rod work the better is performs... the same is true with the YELLOW Loop 14' rod...a great cross over rod. However,for you casters in Alberta ,on the Bow and such rivers ,your crossover isn't quite as drastic as on the West Coast!

Perhaps I can help you a bit with this...the 13' Snowbee is a very powerful rod that is designed for mid-long belly lines but fishes a skagit set-up equally.. I would suggest that you use a CND 600 Grain Skagit head, Snowbee Running line and any of the tips from intermediate to type 6.. I am useing that currently and am amazed at the effortless deliveries achieved. The other set-up or floating line that matches that rod is likely as Colin has is the Hardy Mach 2 or the Snowbee 2D (62' head)...in the floating version or the sink-tip. Ironically ,I worked with a novice caster yesterday that had the Windcutter as well and had just a so so ability and no consistency...once converting his rod with the 2D line he was the last one off the water..... For practiceing and shortening the learning curve I would suggest you get a "ONE" line that works and get it down! C

As you say,generally the shorter heads are commonly used for underhand casting. The windcutters are nice lines but not the best for underhand casting...loop formation is a key factor in the underhand cast with a touch and go rythm. The 13' Snowbee is a major rod and will handle about any line you throw at it...have fun ...Courtney

Ah yeah...very nice........

Unfortunately,we or perhaps I should say I at tumes ry to create a ratio between playing the fish and the amount of strain we can apply witht eh rod. I have broken several rods doing this and had a client do ths to a 10 weight Spey Rod. Of course the fish was over 30 lbs and on a Gravel bar. Many of the larger fish will spend little energy until the can give it a last shot...and we can't respond fast enough.. Single handed rods are nowadays computer tested for their flat spots,weak points and power points...The older fibreglass rods could almost be made to bend in half! New Graphite fly rods are much lighter and I say better designed for the efficient caster and not necesarily for the average fly fisher. With this in mind,thinner walled faster action fly rods are less able to accept off-torqueing! Blue Water rods used for large game fish have typically a high grip of Cork that is designed in. C

I've never met any!!

Yes, The waders come in as small as a size 4(UK) and the Hi-Elastic Waders come in a a size 3 if needed. I think the whole Idea is to make fishing a much more accessable sport for the youth and even the ladies. The junior series of rods are 'I think",the smartest concept going...make an affordabe and accessable fly rod and gear series that performs well,is not cheap and clunky and lasts as it says it will. The fly vests come as a S,M,L in the Junior Size... You can exchange the waders for the hi-elastic if you need a size 3. Enjoy and thanks for supporting any protection and enhancement project.. C

What the old Brits used to do is have a fighting butt hanging off their waist or inside their waders just for playing fish. The butt end of the rod has a slot in which to slide your fighting butt! Thus , a Switch rod...it seems very natural to fight a fish with two hands!!

AL, Snowbee is bringing out 2 new life vests..one in a fly vest style and the other in the body strap style..won't be available until mid April or so C Finally a fly vest style vest that isn't about your ears all the time!!

Maybe we could get Carlin out to see him swing a few lines??? I hear that there are lots of people on the river these past few days...hope they leave a few fish . On the opther side of that coin the gathering is a great time to see and understand the many intricacies of a Spey Cast, in fact the many Spey Casts. We may have a series of brand new Spey Lines on hand to play with and see how they perform. Looking forward to that week-end C

Useing a sinking polytip on the OptiStream line works really well,especially the 5' versions. If you get desperate ,do the unthinkable and do cut a foot or so off the front taper on the opti Stream line. The front taper is long enough and isn't really designed for delicate presentation anyway. I have fished the Opti-Stream for 4 or 5 years now,especially in Small stream situations for trout and Steelhead ,over the course of time the front taper shortens anyway.That line is sure a lot of fun to work with. C

BTW...this is an ongoing issue on most of the fly fishing web sites..another great way to get down is to use an Ultra FAst sinking Scandanavian Short Head Spey line set-up. Line control is with this much more critical but once mastered you can manipulate your swings at almost any level. Most companies have this system to various specs. The best are the density compensated and well tapered designs.. The best I have ever cast and worked with is Snowbee's ,followed by AirFlo and Loop. There are more of these set-ups coming onto the market and widely used throughout Europe and Scandanavia. Just now making therer way into popular use in these parts. The difference is a sink tip hinges the sinking section to some degree because the floating line provided resistence to sinking. The full sinking heads have no resistence and if designed well the taper acts as a controlling mechanism...by maneuvering your tip,like you guys do with nymphing, you control to swing and depths.. You do lose flies and leaders but you are in the Zone for long periods of thime and in their face!

What line are you useing? If you are useing the Elixir Line they are designed for poly-tips....the Elixir Spey Lines can be cut back to allow for "sink Tips" but on the Bow that shouldn't be necessary. Getting down is a simple thing if you understand the hydrolics and water speed. You might definitely want to have a longer small diameter leader, and a weighted fly. Your line mend will also be a factor to some degree..if you are doing a 90 degree change of direction cast then an upstream mend will get your fly down much more quickly. There are many ways to skin a cat... C

Well Don Grey Bird is very nice to work with and dresses up Spey Flies like no other..difficult to get your hands on though. There are some imports coming in nowadyas. Rhea is nice to work with and Todd has mastered it's use. But there are many other materials available that do the same thing and in some cases better.If you get a chance tie a few intruders with glow in the dark Flashabou there are 4 0r 5 colours. Super natural looking under water and tough as nails...glows perhaps underwater...inexpensive and effective. Ostrich and Peacock work well but can wear poorly. C

I see you dress your stingers!! Have tried that here on the Island but have found the water to be too clear,some limited success though. On the larger Mainland Rivers ,especially off colour waterways these work much better.

Several years ago I was useing intruder style patterns for Coho and Chinook Salmon off the Kelp Beds in the open Ocean...if you think of a BuckTail simply being a large silouetted shape in the prop wash then it is simple to see an Intruder pattern doing the same thing.I have managed to land many Black Bass doing this and only several Coho...For the past year I have been working with the Eumer Tube Fly accessories ,bang on for intruders tied on tubes..will be working on new Saltwater patterns as well.. If all goes well,perhaps we could do a tying evening on the Friday of the Spey Weekend...April 5th??

Yeah,you're probably right!

Thats a good post Brian...as I mentioned earlier,even the British appreciate the fun and versatility of the Loop Opti Stream series as do I. For years that is the line I used for my casting lessons...I found that the newbie caster could identify the load mentally very quickly and the forward stroke was almost automatic. Likely the first to produce this "mini" single hand short ehad line. C

My Wife has an older Hardy Featherweight...will see if I can "borrow"...but she's a Cockney...sharp as a whip! C

YET???but SOON! I'm off to the Gold River for a few days...let you know how we do. C

The good news is that we are coming out with our own version of a smoother "Skagit Style" Spey and Switch Line. More agressive than the Elixir but not as Klunky as a Skagit.And we are also doing one in an Intermediate body that will allow us to swing the fly at great distances in a manageable and controlled depth. Over that past few weeks I have ben doing a lot of playing around with many different Elixir Lines amtched with many different rod and rod weights. Surprisingly,One of my favorites small stream matches was the 5/6 Elixir Switch line on my;yes;8/9 Switch. What this really tells me is that these lines are able to really cross over many of the line barriers we experience.. C

Hi Headscan; The Rio Gold line is nice, the Loop Opti Stream nicer, Snowbee Two Colour or Extreme Distance also nicer...Colin has the ED line...ask him....try it!

Yes you are fortunate indeed,and I concur with you about the changes. It was a sad indeed when Andy left? ...a changeing of the guard!...yet he knew it was coming and posponed the enevitable. Korea,History,lineage,tradition,and so much more is part of our everyday experience these days...yet memory fulfills the day. I sold an 8' 4 wt.rod yesterday to a fellow that wanted an 8'ish 4 wt. rod for small stream fishing...and a 2 piece rod at that...it brought back so many memories to me and the beauty of fishing such light tackle...I yearn at times for the Small Stream adventures of my youth...hooking into that monster 12 " trout that has eluded me for the past season...only to lose it at my feet!...2 lb. tippet is too light I would grumble! Yet keep fishing because I knew it worked and the challenge was indeed the high light of the adventure. I too have seen the Demon and find it over the top....Snowbee has this year brought out a version of their XSD(die Cast) cassett reels in a new 4/6 and an 1112 Spey to compliment their 780..absolutely the cats ass in cassett reels...the drag discs are broflon,not rulon(???and)...approx 80 GBP or $160 cdn...tested here in both Salt and Fresh water..impeccable...have my clients use it...totally dependable on all fish from 1 -40 lbs. I don't see the need for a 4wt reel to have a drag that will stop a truck, but the old saying" if it ain't broke;don't fix it" applies here. I recently acquired a Sharpes Scottie 5wt Cane rod that was never used...my new small stream rod....need a reel that will suit it though. I have an old Farlow but it feels tooooo heavy C

The Opti Stream lines were voted the most fun lines in test in England 2006..and they are all of that.... Brian...any "springs" yet?