headscan

I asked the Simms rep at the show what the differences were between the G3 and G4. I think the G4 was a little lighter because of some new Gore-Tex lining and the moleskin on the inside of the collar is different. I think there were one or two other minor cosmetic differences, like the colour, but otherwise not very much to justify the price difference or upgrading if you already have a G3.

Really depends on what you do with your computer. If you do a lot of gaming, get a PC. Otherwise get a Mac. I have a couple of Macs and use them for everything - email, web, photos, music, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so on. Bought my first Mac around 4 years ago after being a Windows user since 3.1 and haven't looked back since. I just set my parents up with an iMac a few months ago. My dad already had a bunch of Windows software that he didn't want to have to replace with Mac versions. Installed Parallels for him with Windows XP and installed those apps in the virtual machine.

Have one and love it. The cuffs have some neoprene and can be tightened to make them waterproof as well. I can put my whole arm in the water and only my hand gets wet. Same goes with the ripcords on the waist. I've gone for an unplanned swim and the only water that came in was through the collar. Haven't had any water come in through the zipper at all. The hood has ripcords as well so it stays on even in heavy winds. I've been wearing it all winter with a polartec jacket underneath and have stayed warm and protected from the wind. There are also plenty of pockets and the two front bellows pockets are big enough to hold a large C+F box. The zippers on the other pockets are all waterproof as well so your cell phone or camera (if you don't have a waterproof one) are kept dry and safe. The jacket is also made loose enough to offer you a full range of movement during casting without being too bulky either.

I hate to say it, but you're not going to see this get any better. Etiquette in general is pretty much dying off everywhere. When you put on your turn signal to change lanes how often does the guy behind you in the other lane speed up so you can't get in front of him? How many times has the person on the elevator pressed the "close door" button even though they see you running towards it? Etiquette on the rivers is just heading in the same direction. Your choices are to either deal with it or let it bother you to the detriment of the rest of your day. Sure throwing a punch might seem like a good idea - at least it might make you feel better for a few minutes - but think how ridiculous it will sound when you say to the arresting officer or the presiding judge that you hit him because he leap-frogged you or jumped in your pool. Maybe the CBC can do a documentary on it one day - River Rage! Just treat others the same way you'd want them to treat you and if you introduce anyone to fishing teach them to behave the same way you do. If you stoop to the level of the idiots, you're just perpetuating their behaviour and demeaning yourself. Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Interesting. So is there anything that defines a rod that crosses over effectively (an all-around rod) vs one that only handles one, maybe two certain lines well? Without turning this into a "what one rod would you take if you were stranded on a desert island", how would you decide which rod you would take with you on a trip where the conditions were uncertain. Sort of a situation where you can pack one rod and a reel with multiple spools holding a few different lines.

This is something I hear a lot. How do you define whether or not someone has paid their dues though, especially on an (relatively) anonymous forum?

I agree with LoneFisher. The fishable stretches of water right now are limited, so most people are concentrated in a few sections. Once the weather warms up and the drift and pontoon boats come out and other rivers open people will spread out more. I usually only fish the Bow after work in the summer and head elsewhere on the weekends. There are probably also more people fishing in the winter now and this board has likely influenced that. I used to end my season in late September or early October until I saw people here were still fishing productively in December and January. I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing, though. With the higher concentration of people in a few stretches I've had the opportunity to meet and fish with some really great people, most of them from this site. Sure there have also been one or two bad experiences because of the crowding, but you can get those at any time of the year sometimes even in "remote" areas. Like Al says, photo posts and locations can increase the pressure on an area. We experienced that first hand when we were heading to a certain spot. The day before someone had posted pictures here and there was an easily identifiable landmark in the background. Sure enough, the next day that area was crowded so we bypassed it. I wouldn't chastise anyone for posting a picture like that either, though. The person taking the pic probably didn't think about it at the time since the objective was probably to get the pic taken and get the fish back in the water without worrying about "posing" it. It wasn't exactly some super top secret location either. Thankfully we're still a long way away from the shoulder to shoulder fishing on some rivers. I was amazed to learn that out west there are pools during salmon and steelhead runs that people wait in line to fish. I believe the rule is cast, take two steps, cast, etc. until you reach the bottom of the pool then get back in line to repeat the procedure. The Bow just seems like it has more people fishing it now than 10 years ago. Until it gets to the point where people are lined up I wouldn't call it overcrowded.

I've read a lot of good reviews about the Tamar and Torridge. Maybe the ability to cast a wide variety of lines/set-ups is just the hallmark of a good rod? I find I can get my Beulah 11'6" 6/7 with the Elixir line to cast single and double speys, underhand, and snap Ts almost effortlessly (at least compared to my ability level). But when it comes to doing the same with my 13' Snowbee 8/9 with a Windcutter it becomes quite a chore. Granted, these rods have totally different lines on them, but when I cast the Beulah it builds my confidence. Then I pull out the Snowbee the next week and I feel like I'm back at square one. I'm sure my casting ability, or lack thereof, has something to do with it...

Thanks for the info Brian. This is the kind of info that seems hard to find for two-handed rods. You can find a good selection of books and videos on how to cast, but most of them are pretty lacking in terms of rigging, setups, and even how to actually fish a double hander.

It's obvious that the casting style you use is based primarily on the type of line you're casting - for example, you wouldn't want to underhand cast with a Grand Spey line. But do rod actions, lengths, and weights come into play at all? My understanding is that a long rod (13+ feet) lends itself better to more traditional spey casting and that the desirable action is based more on the caster's personal preference. In looking at an "ideal" skagit setup, though, I sort of get the impression that a shorter, faster action rod in a lower line weight would be best. I know that fish, river, size of flies, and back cast room figure into it as well, but are there any sort of loose guidelines?

That's probably why they make you mail in the broken pieces with the serial number...

Ok, I understand that underhanded casting was developed primarily for shooting heads but that it can also be used with other lines. I'm aware that there aren't any hard and fast rules for anything to do with fly fishing and spey casting in particular, but is there a generally accepted maximum head length for underhanded casting? For example, on my 13' Snowbee 8/9 I have a Windcutter with (I believe) a 52 ft. head. Would this be too long to underhand cast effectively or just about right? I don't want to start attempting to underhand cast it thinking I'm doing something wrong if it's a case that I'm trying to underhand a line that's too long.

You can run Office, Adobe suite, iTunes (made by Apple), and Quicken on a Mac. Not sure about QuickTax. I'm running Word, Excel, Photoshop, etc. on mine. Now, here's the downside - you'd need to buy the Mac-specific versions of those programs and suites which can run a fair amount of money. You can also run Windows directly on a Mac through Bootcamp (included with OS X) or in a virtual machine like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. In that case, you'd be able to install all your Windows apps that you already own. The only problem is if you're running these on Windows, then you inherit all the same potential Windows problems like the ones you're currently having. Lemme know if you have any other Mac questions.

I have the SA Streamer Express 300 grn line on an 8 weight Sage FLI. Great for throwing streamers and big nymphs like a size 4 golden stone. I've only had it since the beginning of November, so I can't comment on the durability. My first day out with the line was in brutal wind and I was still managing decent accuracy and distance with a size 4 conehead Bow River Bugger on. Only bonked myself in the back of the head once (thank god for wading jackets with thick hoods).

Those videos just depress me and make me want to get out on the water to practice. Anyone wanna fill in for me at work tomorrow?

I'd just uninstall Office and reinstall it from scratch. Half the time the different repair options on software don't work. And I wouldn't bother with the tweaking stuff unless you really need them to speed up video games or something.

You could try asking the Whistler Flyfishing guys or check out the FlyBC forums.

I didn't catch the demo, but it probably would've either been him or Francois who's another of the Whistler guys. They've also got an item in the Streamwatch auction for a spot in the spey class they're doing here in May.

Think I'll try it with a short polyleader, but if that doesn't work I'll just use weighted flies rather than start chopping line.

You could ask Brian Niska (owner of Whistler Flyfishing), he's on here as Whistler. I think in another thread he mentioned that mid-March is a good time for a few rivers out that way. http://www.whistlerflyfishing.com/

Had a feeling that would be the case. I'll give the polyleader a try and see what shakes out. I'd only be using it for tight line nymphing, so I wouldn't need too much distance or delicacy. The reason I wanted to go with a polyleader instead of an actual sink tip line is so that I can switch from floating for dry fly fishing to something sinking for nymphs while on the water. Different lines + spools for each also makes it a lot more expensive to vary your sink rates depending on the water depth and flow. Bah, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and keep using the weighted nymphs.

If you have more slack line on the water than you can tighten with your hook set motion, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to set the hook. You could try lifting/sweeping the rod and giving a good strip at the same time to hopefully take all the slack out. This might also help if you think you're missing sets with the softer rod. Just be careful not to jerk the line so hard that you pull the fly right out of the fish's mouth.

Just found out this week that I have to give a presentation in Denver on April 7th. Since I'll have to prepare beforehand it seems unlikely I'll be able to help out with this. Might still be able to make it out for a bit on Friday or Saturday.

Brian, Any idea how well polytips would work on the OptiStream or Multi lines for single-handed spey casting? I'm starting to lean towards using lines and tips to get my flies down instead of heavily weighted flies. A sinking polytip on a floating line is more versatile (and cheaper) than having both floating and sink tip lines for my purposes.

Wow, the OptiStream is a fantastic line. It probably wasn't the best day to test the line for spey casting with all the wind, but it still performed well. I'm sure if my spey casting ability was better I wouldn't have had any problems. I was still able to shoot a rod length of line on a double spey when the wind died down. I also found it was kind of strange spey casting with a one-handed rod right after using a two hander. Probably the difference in rod and line weight. Overhead casting was easily better than my Sharkskin line. My hauls are usually mediocre, but I was able to shoot around 20 feet of line on a double haul. As Greg pointed out to me it's probably because you can really feel the line load the rod so it's easier to time the haul. Even picking the line up, single back cast and throw I was able to launch a decent cast. The best part is that even with the distance I was able to get with the line the presentation was delicate enough that I'd feel comfortable casting a size 18 dry to rising fish. I was casting the 4 weight line on a 4 weight Loop OptiStream rod. Very nice casting rod. These definitely won't be my last Loop purchases. I didn't have a chance to try the Multi line. Hopefully next weekend...