toolman

In closing, tune in for tommorow nights discussion. Mice...Fact or Myth?

Try both presentations....then sink them if that does not work.

The regular WF 8wt. line will not be heavy enough to load the rod properly, especailly on the grass. A grass leader is an inexpensive alternative for practise on the lawn with your Windcutter Spey line. Each rod has a miminum and maximum amount of load that can be placed on it to allow it to cast properly. The grass leader tries to mimick the extra load that you would normally get from the line/leader forming an anchor when it is laying on the water at the begining of the cast.

Hawgstoppah and I are going to search the tall grass for hoppers, chuck a few in the drift to see how they react, collect samples for id and photos, then we will go and hunt down a pod of big Broonies to play with till the wee hours of the night and hopefully slam a few, using Skid Bitches....black or tan bellied, juicy Skid Bitches, cause as we all know.... Stoneflys Rule...grin. ps. Have a safe and successfull trip this weekend guys.

I have a few colleagues that have taken throat samples from many trout in the Bow this season, (including an entomologist), from the WHD Weir to Carseland Dam, starting in June through the season till mid August. The samples revealed the trout were eating a lot of Caddis larva, pupa and adults, juevenille waterboatman, Mayflys, Stoneflys, leeches, freshwater snails, worms were abundant in the diet in early June through the high water, but no Hoppers indentified, not one. And as Taco and others have pointed out, Hoppers need the right conditions to be available to the trout as food. As I stated previously, I'm certain it does happen as Fishead describes, but just a lot less often than is commonly believed and on the majority of days, Stoneflys Rule... ps. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences in this great discussion and I am open to the possibility of bieng completely incorrect. It's just that I have learned to question many of the beliefs that are inherent in the flyfishing world.

Fishead, I'm sure it happens occassionally in the late season as you say, along a few stretches that are often only accessible with a boat, but Stoneflys routinely emerge along all stretches of the Lower Bow, every day for months on end, long before the trout see any Hoppers and I think the Stoneflys tune the trout into big bugs with long legs. You would have to admit that a hopper fall, as you saw last Sunday, which was possibly a Hopper migration whose flight path brought them to a stop at the edge of the river, happens far less often and only in specific area's, when seasonal conditions are right. Stoneflys rule...

We hear about a lot of folks routinely using hopper immitations with success on our southern rivers, such as the Bow and even in mountain streams where there are few, if any hoppers at all. But the reality is I have never seen hoppers floating in the drift on the Bow this season, ever. Never... I spend a lot of days on the water and a lot of time collecting, photographing and observing the insects in the drift, whether aquatic or terrestrial. What I have seen so far this season, is thousands of female Stoneflys (Skid Bitches) for the past couple of months, every day since the end of May right through July, August and there is at least one species of Stonefly still emerging right now, in early September. I believe that through the summer, the trout do see/eat some hoppers on occassion, along the tall grassy banks where the hoppers live and sometimes fall in the water, but for the most part, I think the trout get tuned into these large bugs with long legs because of the Stoneflies, not the hoppers. I have fished with Skid Bitches for the last two seasons and have had consistent success in all types of water with this pattern. The days that I did try and use a Dave's hopper or similar hopper pattern, success was marginal compared to the Skid Bitch which I use in a couple of sizes, with tan, yellow/golden, black or orange bellies for the different Stonefly species on the Bow. What do you think, Hoppers...fact or fiction? I say fiction, Stoneflys rule...

Just think of what your gonna look like in a kilt, wet wading, casting and drunk on cheap scotch, with the rest of us cheering you on. Did I not mention the initiation ceremony that Speyghille and I are hosting for you and Glenbow? Gordon talked me out of making you guys do the blindfolded river crossing for the final rite of passage....something about it's not covered in his Ghillies insurance policy or somethin'. You did'nt think it was going to be that easy to join the Clan, now did you? . ps. Be sure and hide those fancy shooting head lines too, if Gordies around...he's kind of a traditionalist when it comes to these matters.

Ahhh....humble in defeat...Now you're in trouble Pacres, he's got revenge on his mind and seems to have a wicked plan as well. Next match is going to be a tough round for you.

That's awesome Chris... An officail welcome to the Spey Brotherhood is in order, since you have allready landed a big trout with your new Spey rod and on your first outing.

You're gonna love that Spey rod when you get it lined up and balanced properly. It has great sensitivity and the slower action of this long rod will help keep the trout on when using smaller hooks. If you can come into the city, we will try a bunch of lines/leaders on it and you will see how important it is too have a balanced line/reel/leader system and how well it will cast when it does. Edit: Lonefisher, Dave at Fish Tales Fly shop has allowed me to take the G Loomis Streamdance Metolious 13'4" 5/6 for another test drive so that I can try it with my new lines. I'll let you know the results in a few days.

Superb photo's Tangledlines and thanks for posting.

Where are you from zuggbugg and are you coming over again this season?

Welcome back Wes and I look forward to seeing another sensational photo album from you again this year. TM

Congrats to you and your wife Chris.

That is unfortuneate Rob. My advice is to move to Calgary, set up a con$ultant$ operation, then go fishing 200+ times a year, whenever you want to.

I use the 11-12wt. reel for a few reasons. 1. Balance... 2. Large diameter spools reel line in faster... 3. the large reels can be used for larger spey lines/rods, which I will purchase in the future.

The SA Mastery Shorthead Multi-Tip Line is not a Skagit Head. It is a short belly Spey line with a selection of tips that attach to the line, for a total head length of 61' (6wt.), with a tip attached. A 450 grain Rio Skagit head is 27' long and 10'-15' tips are added to the head. The multi tip line has an intergrated running line where as the Skagit system is just the head, which is looped onto the running line. I like 30lb. running line as it mends well, but others like 20lb. running lines as it shoots a little further, but does not mend as well in the wind or at distance. For lake fishing where mending is not a big issue, 20lb. will cast your Skagit head a little further. Skagit heads can be cast with almost no back casting room, using a frontal water anchor created with the line. Skagit heads can also carry bigger sink tips and turn over heavier flys at a distance than a Short belly Spey line, and they can also be used for drys or at any depth in the water colum. They are a bit spashy when they land, as the line weight that is needed to load the rod is concentrated into a short piece of large diameter flyline. Traditional Spey lines use the weight of the head and the length of the longer head on the water to form an anchor, to load the rod on the cast. The Multi tips system is a good versatile line for many applications and a good choice if you were to buy only one line to fish rivers and lakes with all types of flys/presentations through the entire water colum, from surface to bottom. If you only want to fish lakes with big sink tips and splashy landings are ok, then the Skaggit will be a good choice for those conditions, but you need to strip the running line back in to be able to recast the head again. Stipping line in freezing conditions is not a lot of fun, so I prefer a traditional spey line when it is cold out.

Man, if you're a hack tyer, then I can't wait till I am one too. Seriously though, it's impossible to pick a winner in this battle royale, because there are no flaws in either fly and it's just a matter of personal taste. Next battle, don't tell anyone who tied what fly, just post the two flies without saying who tied which. Also, choose the same background so that the presentations are the same. Then, it will be easy to declare a winner...both of you.

Sounds like a cast called a "single spey". You should consider attending Gordons Spey school coming up in a couple of weeks. I describe this rod as a great dry line rod because it is a very long rod for a 5/6 wt., which gives it a slower action for good feel and accuracy and the long length is an advantage for line control and distance, when swinging drys on a light 5/6wt. line. The 5/6 wt. line will have a small casting/mending imprint on the water when dry fishing the surface with long leaders. This rod also has a very wide casting grain window as well, so it performs at short or long distances. As for line systems, it will cast very well with an Airflow 6/7, Delta Spey Line and also with the Airflow 6/7, 450 grain Skagit shooting head system, for use with sink tips. I have both of these lines on spools/reels, so if you can attend the spey school, I will bring them along for you to cast. I also have an Airflow Scandianavian Shooting head system and a SA XLT, long belly, distance line that should work well on your rod. I have a good selection of sink tips and polyleaders, which are an important component of a balanced line system. I use Pfleuger Trion #1912, 11-12wt. reels, with spare spools loaded with 250 yrds. of 30lb. Dacron backing, for the line systems on both of my 12'6" Spey rods. Very nice set up. Also, Gordon has some nice Large arbor reels that he is bringing over with him that are going to be for sale and well priced. Welcome to the world of Spey...and you are right, you are gonna become dangerous with that new stick.

Lonefisher, I casted/fished with the Metolious Stream Dance 13'4" 5/6 wt. for a few weeks back in January. This is a sweet dry line Spey Rod. The price is certainly a bargain. Have you purchased this rod yet?

That is very generous of you Chris. We are certainly gratefull for the support that FlyFusionMagazine has given us at FFC. Thanks again. Greg

Ladystrange, I can assure you, Dutchdryfly was only joking, as he is a conservationist and dryfly purist. Rob, it is unfortuneate that you may not be able to come over to Canada this year. Tell your boss that we are not happy with his decision and that he should reconsider the long term impact on your fishing spirits if he makes you wait another year.

[quote name='chidders' date='Aug 29 2007, 08:02 PM' post='13911' TM is that a pair of waders I see you wearing? Oh no, those are'nt waders, they're dress pants, as I had just come from my office... waders...me? NO WAY!

I am stealin' your mojo.....and it's working too...LOL! It's my new Ninja hoodie.