flyangler

He also mentioned Bosnia, having just returned from a bike trip there, but thought there might be a little better infrastructure in Slovenia.

I'll probably go to the dark side for fishing sub surface. I'd like the spey rod for skating flies. So can I save a little weight with the smaller rod reel and line set up, or will I just not be able to deliver the fly where it needs to go on a big river without a 14' rod? Thank you for your reply, I just maybe don't know enough to ask smart questions.

I was contemplating a TFO Pro two hander and wondered if I would really be that much better off with a 9 wt that's 14' than with a 8wt 13' 3"? Total novice here. We're fishing the Skeena system this fall. I have a one hand 8wt and access to spinning and casting rods for this trip.

We've used the first one down to size 20 and caught loads of browns.

I've dreamed of NZed for a long time. But recently, a friend mentioned Slovenia. http://www.lustrik.com/gallery/Rivers/riversgallery.php#

Harps, I'm mesmerized by those pink spots.

From what I've seen, you can't tie an ugly fly SJW. Congratulations on the recognition you deserve.

I use the 8wt single hand for steelies here, but would like to learn spey technique for bigger water.

Just a wannabe. Wondering if the Skeena trip calls for an 8wt or bigger? If bigger, will the fact that I'm a strong but wee tiny lass make casting a 9/10 all day a chore?

No one's feelings are hurt if you admit the fishing just wasn't satisfying.

Pacres- the only reason #6 is true is that fishing IS the disease!

What better life lesson than "sometimes you catch them and sometimes you don't?" "Keep up the tension" is also a good thing to learn, as is learning to carry on despite frustration. Much of flyfishing is physical, there's only so much info you can stuff into your head. You can best learn about keeping the pressure on by doing it- or seeing the consequences of not doing it. Conservation, following the rules and responsible fish handling are excellent lessons. It's a fast paced, fast food, instant gratification world for which most of us use flyfishing as an antidote. I urge you to resist handing it to them on a paper plate. And I definitely agree with the right reverend Bob on the hook extraction point. I'll bet the most fun was being with Dad and it was the icing on the cake to catch fish. If there's time to explore, splash around and be a kid in there somewhere then there's a balance between lessons and play. They're lucky to have you.

Both of you show some nice caddis ties! Clive- I never would have thought of the pinkish ice dub until I saw your natural photo. Fascinating.

Thank you Clive. And yes, I have seen Graham's work. We correspond from time to time. Awesome talent!

I have read that it is better for a guide or other teacher to instruct one's spouse in the art of flyangling, so that the couple's day to day dynamics don't get in the way. So good on yer for going the guided route. As for the list of dislikes at this point, everything changes. A net and a hemostat make unhooking your own fish less of a slimefest, though it does seem to take a little more coordination to handle three things with only two hands. Wind knots can be cut off instead of untangled if you happen to enjoy rebuilding your leader and tippet instead. I don't care for wading wet either! Brrrrr. A lot of ladies have a thermostat that's just set a little lower than a man's. I've been known to wear my longsleeved wading jacket on days when my buddies are sweating it out in t-shirts and vests. Anyway, yes, I do think it's a good idea to fish with your wife. It helps a great deal if your best friend and lifemate understands what makes you happy. I hope that this is the beginning of a wonderful new adventure for you both.

I'm about to set up some lessons. I'll need an early Christmas gift to swing the deal for a rod, though! Yikes! My friendly local flyshop showed me the Sage catalog and I about spat my tea.

Thank you for that, I can almost smell the pines.

Sweet! Thank you for the grins. I thank my late parents every day for my love of the outdoors.

There's some ancient song lyric about reaching an "acceptable level of ecstasy" that applies for me. Much depends on when we last got to fish, how much effort it took to get to the spot and so forth. There's a place we fished on the dark side of the AB/BC border that we had to be sure we stopped fishing in time to climb back out of the canyon before either lightning or nightfall closed the day. That was a tough one to call because it seemed like there were big fish everywhere and I was a couple of hooksets short of my favorite fishing buddy! Congratulations on a good day's fishing. I'll bet you had permagrin for a while!

A sconnie broon:

You just don't want to see this. Fish belly white up to the notch in the collar, brown freckly arms and hands.

Hmmm. He said mallard breast feather and wrote hen pheasant feather for the recipe. Would the duck float any better?

I like that fly, even in chartreuse with an orange golden pheasant tippet tail. I wonder how it would be if you just spun deer hair for the body, too. Use it instead of the hare's mask dubbing? Just sayin.

I spose they would be useful if you had to walk uphill to get to the water.

4 pounds. not turquoise, though http://www.sexyloops.com/tackle/williamjosephchestpack.shtml