KnotLikely

Just got back from Cancun, and had a great trip with Aquarius Flats Fishing targeting permit and baby tarpon at Isla Blanca. Not a lot of bones there, but they also offer great bonefishing through Aquarius in Cozumel. If you go a little further south and stay near Playa del Carmen, you can also hit Ascension Bay which will be good for bones. Plenty of shopping and things to do in either Cancun or Playa. For Ascension Bay, I'd stay away from Pesca Maya, I've heard some people have good experiences with them, but myself and plenty of others have not. Mexican bonefish aren't very big, though you'll be far better off with a saltwater specific 8wt rod so that you can punch your casts through the ever present wind. If you're only bringing one rod an 8 wt would also give you a better shot at small permit and baby tarpon. Think sage xi2/xi3, Loomis NRX, Scott S4s, TFO BVK. See the link for some great, fairly unbiased info: http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/8weightsh...ite.SageXi3.asp I've never had any problems with standard 9', 4-piece rods in checked baggage. Lookup Carlos Vega, of Aquarius Flats Fishing he runs the best operation I've used in Mexico. He's organized, on time, delivers what he promises, honest, has great guides, and very informative as to what gear you'll need. There's also lots of good info at some of our local shops: Country Pleasures, Bow River Troutfitters, Fish Tales, West Winds. Send me a pm if you want more info.

As a not so great caster, I'm not a fan of mono type running lines. I'd rather be fishing than worrying about uncoiling. If you're out in BC, bump up to 30lb ridge, the sacrifice in distance won't affect fishability, might even enhance it as you'll have your fly in the water more. No matter what you're using, always ensure that your weekest point is closest to the fly. Fly's and tippet are way cheaper to loose than tips, shooting heads and running lines.

For dollar value, the TCX is a better deal as the Z-axis has been discontinued and can be picked up for near half the price of a new TCX; though, selection is starting to become limited. You might want to look at the Sage ONE that replaced the Z-axis. The TCX is fast, and the blank feels stiff. I would say the Z-axis is a more of a medium-fast rod with more feel throughout the blank. The Z-axis is a very versatile rod, and does everything quite well. Like I said, the TCX is very good at bombing streamers, but you'd have a hard time spending the entire day using it for nymphing. I haven't had a chance to cast the Sage ONE, but I'd recommend that you try it out as it would be a more fair trade in terms of dollar value for the new TCX.

In my opinion, it's a do one thing and do it very well kind of rod, but not very versatile. If you're looking for a rod to do it all, this isn't the one. If you're a better caster looking to bomb streamers with laser beam tight loops this would be a good choice of rod.

Unless your targeting Chinook, an 8wt double hander in around 12' 6" is probably your best bang for buck. A 7wt is nice for skating dries, but that time frame and opportunity is generally rather limited. Spend lots of time trying out different setups and figuring out what action of rod, and style of casting you prefer before you buy. I have a good selection of 7 - 9 weight rod/reel/line combos if you want to give them a shot, probably hitting the water this weekend. If you're heading to Northern BC, pretty good chance you'll be throwing a skagit and tips which is also probably the easiest to learn on and a good match for the shorter rods. Skagits are pretty meaty and may affect your choice of reel as you need to allow for the extra line capacity. Choice of reels is very wide with traditional and pricy click pawl Hardy Perfects to nicely priced Echo Ion's. Lessons are also a good idea, and so are videos. The RIO Modern Speycasting series, Art of Spey Casting, as well as Introduction to Spey Casting with John & Amy Hazel, and Skagit Master 1 are great videos. Also lot's of stuff on YouTube, as well as a few local guys that you might be able to hit up for lessons. Make sure to get proficient in a few casts that will allow you to fish either side of the river with upsteam or downstream winds. And don't get frustrated if you're not a master caster before you head out. You don't need to cast like Scott Mackenzie or Simon Gawesworth to catch fish, I'm proof of that.

Agreed, let's try and fix what we've already f'd up before f'n up something else.

I've had some pretty above and beyond service from Sage on reel warranty, very quick and they've gone the extra mile a few times. Knock on wood, I've never had to use them for any rod repairs, but would expect the same great service if I did. While I really like my Loop two handers, I hope I never have to warranty them as I've never heard any good stories about their warranty process, at least in North America, though that may be changing for the better.

I had the pleasure of a guy on a jet ski playing around in the water for about an hour right in front of me, and across from another group of anglers. He had miles of open water to choose from not sure why he had to pick the water right by us. ...how come there's only 2 pages in this jet boat thread?

Screw in some studs, and you'll get another season out of them, I had the same experience with mine.

I have a pair of their diving fins that I use in my tube, and find they bang against my shin's when walking, and are hard to convert back and forth. I think the diving fins are longer and it could be that they still need to break in perhaps the fishing specific fins are better...that said they are much nicer for walking.

I had the pleasure of casting a DTX on Saturday on the Banchory Beat of the Dee...a superb rod, on a beautiful river with some amazing salmon! I found the rod to have a very crisp clean action, allowing for some effortless casting, even for a crap caster like myself. Hopefully I don't have to wait until my next trip to Scotland to get in some more casting with one of these rods.

Along with components that won't corrode, a salt water rod tends to be a faster action rod that will more easily punch through the ever present wind and has a bit more back bone for hauling in fish that pound per pound tend to fight and/or run more than fresh water fish. You'll typically see more fighting butts on salt water rods. I know a few guys that prefer salt water rods on the Bow especially for chucking streamers because of their faster action. I think the VT2 was a medium fast action rod, and I don't believe as popular of a salt water rod as the Xi2/Xi3 or the TCR/TCX (perhaps because of the action). Seems to be a pretty versatile rod, and can be found for a good price.

G.Loomis Venture series is one of the best bang for your buck reels that I've used. Simple, reliable, won't freeze up, great drag and adjustment...and you can find them new for $100.00 or less. Check out the bargain bins at most fly shops, you'll usually find some perfectly good lines there. They might have been used for a demo, be a bit older, or be missing packaging, but will get you going for a lot less than having to fork out for a new line.

If you don't clip your deer hair before you spin it, you'll have a bit of a handle to pull the collar back giving you some room to throw on a few half hitches or a whip finish. Before you do that, do like Southbow says, and add some zap-a-gap, or head cement to your thread and then half hitch or whip finish. With the technique Southbow describes using zap-a-gap, you don't even have to half hitch or whip finish, but if I have the room I like to throw on a few half hitches or a whip finish. I usually let the zap-a-gap or head cement dry before clipping to keep things neat. A sharp razor will also tend to give you a nicer more even cut than trimming with scissors. Leaving the deer hair long, you can again use it as a handle when trimming to avoid cutting off your flared collar.

It's been a great rod, I really like the full wells grip for single hand spey casts...also a perfect rod if you're heading south to target some of the smaller bonefish.

I have a 691 with a 4500. I just didn't think the CF would be as durable as the Al, and weight wasn't a concern. You can also use the old 2500 series spools in the 4500 if you happen to come across any.

That's if you're a responsible purchaser, and only tie a few patterns, once you get addicted and go off the deep end, you have to factor in the cost of: - multiple vises - extra clamps or bases for each vise - at least a half dozen bobbins and scissors - dozens of threads and flosses in every conceivable colour and size - nymph hooks, scud hooks, streamer hooks, dry hooks, salmon hooks, shanks, tubes, salt water hooks, stinger hooks, all in various sizes, bends and eyes - crystal flash, cheneille, flashabou, rubber legs, rubber hackle, tinsel in various colours and sizes - at least 2 dozen types of marabou in various colours - Grizzly hackle in all grades, and at least 3 colours - Brown and black hackle in all grades - a dozen or so salt water hackles and schlappen - every conceivable colour and texture of dubbing - a few different types of epoxy, glues and head cement - hares masks - rabbit strips - temple dog - pb if you're lucky - ostrich and rhea - pheasant tail in at least natural, olive, black and red - deer hair, elk hair, - squirrel tail - pheasant skins - partridge skins - lady amherst - golden pheasant tippets - a few different dubbing twisters - containers to hold all the stuff - cabinets to hold all the containers - goose biots - turkey biots - peacok hearl - turkey flats - mallard flank - teal flank - bronze mallard - beads in every conceivable size shape and colour - foam - a few different foam cutters - a UV light - nearly as much yarn as your grandmother. - doubles of about 60% of the above ...that's why it's not cheaper

Save money...I wish! Once you're addicted to tying, you end up buying material you need, material you might need, material you think you need, but already have at least two of, so no you don't save money. That's said, it is rewarding catching, or seeing others catch on your flies.

That's a great fly, especially for deep and slow winter fishing on the Bow. I usually tie mine with a fine red copper wire dubbing brush, and no cone, just a red glass or metallic red bead. I'll also vary proportions of red and black simi-seal, and add a bit of pink or purple light bright to the brush...definitely one of my favourites

I don't know of any true wholesaler that will sell to individuals. You typically need to qualify for this privilege with at minimum a valid business license, never mind minimum commitments and credit approval. If you don't have that, you're like the rest of us schmucks paying retail.

The TCX is a cannon. If you're a good caster, and need a purpose built rod, the TCX is a great choice. It's not a do everything rod, but it does what it's supposed to do very well, bomb casts with disregard for wind, big streamers and heavy tips. If you're not the greatest caster, don't like really fast rods, or think you might want a rod for more than chucking streamers you might want to consider something else.

Disagree, polyleaders are designed for better energy transfer, and therefore better casting. Maybe your mistaken the spey sized polyleaders commonly used with Scandi heads for the 5' trout polyleaders. You can easily loop a 5' trout polyleader onto the end of your floating line to acheive various sink rates.

You might want to look at trying some polyleaders cheap and easy way to go from floating to various sink rates...and they're easier to cast.

Low holers, and lead footers are rampant on the Bow, walk n wade, jets, or drift boats. I don't think the problem is isolated to any one particular group. I think (hope) a lot of people just don't know their etiquete.

It's kind of like using pliers vs. a wrench, or using a screw driver instead of a chisel; both will work, but the purpose built tool will do a better job and last longer. The soles on your $60.00 hiking boots were designed for a casual hike, not gripping greased bowling ball river rock and repeated soaking/drying cycles...and like Uberfly says, use the studs I believe Bow River Troutfitters and Country Pleasures are clearing out some Simms boots...might be worth taking a look.