headscan

Get an external USB hard drive and back everything up to it. You can get a 250GB drive for under $100 or a 1TB for around $200.

Last summer I decided I wanted to improve my dry fly fishing, so I only carried a box of dries until the end of October. It was too easy to give up on the dries and tie on a couple nymphs if I had any with me. It really made me gain a new appreciation for dries and it's now without a doubt my favourite way to catch a fish. Swinging streamers is a close second. Nymphing has just become a way to get my fishing fix until dries and streamers pick up again. If I could fish dries and streamers all year I'd throw all my bobbers out in a heartbeat. Don't own a tweed coat, but then again I'm not a pro, elitist, or purist either.

I used to have the 4/5 Beulah switch and it's totally different from the Opti. The Beulah is more of a medium "traditional" action while the Opti is a faster "European" action. Not saying that one is better than the other, just that they each appeal to a different casting style. I was able to toss decent sized streamers with the Beulah but not anything in the dead bird or small mammal category. Then again I used that rod when I was just starting out with spey casting and using an Elixir line rather than a Tonic, so maybe that made a difference too.

Yeah, switch rods are another way to go. I have the 6wt Opti Switch but haven't been able to find a line I like on it yet.

That's Nick Nolte in the pic, though I believe he and Busey may be about equal in levels of batshit crazy.

Jack, that makes plenty of sense. I find even in the summer most of those 2 year old 18" rainbows put up a more spectacular fight than the big lunkers who might make one or two runs before giving up. Gord Kennedy told me once he'd take 18" rainbows all day over anything bigger for that exact reason.

Looks like a reporter was a little over eager or inferred a bit too much... http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2010/02/sta...t-retiring.html

I don't know that there's a most popular rod, but any rod in the 4/5/6 range should do the trick and even a "light" 7 wt. The two-handed rod I use most on the Bow is a 12'6" 5wt Z-Axis with an Airflo Compact Skagit and type 3 and 6 tips which pretty much covers all my streamer fishing. I also pair it with a Compact Scandi to skid stones in the summer. Lots of similar rod setups out there that'll do the same work.

Did you take a look at this already? http://www.speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=8416

It was both a tragic and a funny story at the same time. Sorry Rick, but as soon as I read the stuff about the sinking tip and drying the line out your story popped into my head.

Just don't hang it from a ceiling fan. I hear this can lead to disaster if someone doesn't notice the line there and turns the fan on.

I haven't noticed the ridge running lines getting any dirtier than my other lines. A quick dip in some warm water and Ivory dish soap followed by a pass through a clean cloth will take care of it. Considering the Tactical Trout for dry fly fishing this summer myself. Airflo is pretty quickly becoming my favourite fly line company.

That was my gut reaction as well, but then I got to thinking how many of that 30% are knowingly fishing illegally? I'd guess a fairly large chunk, in which case more angler education is needed. A good example would be the signs that were put up at one of the lakes specifically calling out the regs for that lake. I remember it was guys from this board (Don maybe?) and there was a picture of it in a thread, I just can't remember the specifics of it.

Yeah, this is a big difference maker. Videos and books are no substitute for lessons from a qualified instructor. I've taken casting lessons from Brian the last two years and plan to take more this year.

Never run into the situation myself, but if I were in your shoes I'd expect the other dog's owner to pay for 100% of the vet bill and any follow-ups like for having the stitches removed. Were both dogs off leash at the time? Might be worth asking your vet what the best course of action is since they probably deal with these situations frequently.

More fun than fighting it on a light fly rod with 5x tippet?

A lot of people, myself included, consider it easier to learn to spey cast with a bit of a longer rod like 12'6" or more. If you aren't in a hurry to get one, Fish Tales is doing another Spey-o-rama on April 11th. Good opportunity to try a few different rods and lines and get some pointers for free.

Not sure if I saw the Headwaters or the G3 pants at West Winds, but they were Simms pants. I know some guys like the pant-style waders and there's nothing wrong with them, but if it were me I'd look at the G3 convertibles. With convertibles if there's that one spot where you need to go a little deeper you just pull the top part up but with pants you don't have that option.

I've been tying all my streamers with UTC 140 lately. I like it a lot more than the Danville flat waxed nylon because it doesn't fray as much or slide around. I know a lot of guys split the UTC instead of using dubbing loops but I haven't tried it myself yet.

I picked up a spool of the red XXF (12/0) a little while back after Chris at Fish Tales recommended it to me for chironomids. At first I was only using it for size 18 and smaller flies, but it's easily stronger than 8/0 Uni. I had lots of problems with 8/0 breaking under tension or after nicking it even slightly on the hook point, but I I haven't had the 12/0 break yet. I've since picked up more colours and use it on flies up to size 14 as long as they don't require big thread heads. It's a little more expensive than Uni thread, but the headaches it saves me make it well worth it. Has anyone tried the thicker Benecchi threads? If they're just as strong I think they'd be ideal for larger flies where you want to keep the thread bulk down but need some strength to tie in heavier wire, bunny strips, and that sort of thing.

I've had the Fisknat San Juan for a couple years now. I have to admit that I don't carry it as often as I used to though because I find myself either tailing fish or just sliding my hand down the leader to pop the hook out. It is a great net and I heard that Fisknat is using newer net bags that are lighter than the one I have. I couldn't see myself getting a different net, but I would consider replacing my bag with the lighter one. It's very durable and has stood up to a lot of punishment. Personally, I wouldn't get one with a long handle as I never fish out of a boat or pontoon and the longer handle would just add unnecessary weight and get caught up on more things when walking through brush.

Hex grip or composite? I'm pretty sure the AEG rods have the composite cork but they aren't hex grips like on the Opti Switch and Salt.

Saw the full movie at the Backcast film festival and it was pretty good. Definitely worth watching if you find a copy.

Good thing there are 31 other teams to watch, meaning 15 other games on a regular season week with no byes.

If you ever wanted to buy a Bogdan reel it sounds like now would be the time to get one... http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2010/02/sta...-from-reel.html