Clay34
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Posts posted by Clay34
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Must be me JP, but I can't see the pictures on your blog or here. I'll try again later for the photos. Nice when a new pattern pans out for you. Congrats. I have one week from today to chase trout in Wisconsin and then the inland trout season closes. Salmon are still on the ticket for a few trips, but carp will be the major show until the water gets hard after that.
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Nicely done indeed.
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Great report, while I loving fishing family is where life is. I have 3 children and work at staying married (24 years so far) and the pictures of the kids put a big smile on this grumpy old guy's face. I barely noticed that the report was about a rod.
Glad that you did enjoy your new investment. Did you beach the fish or land the small guy with a net? Next time out, land a few with the net even if they are small just to see how that whole thing works for you. I would love some tips on landing larger fish with a net and the longer rods. It should only be a couple of weeks and the fall salmon run will be here. I will chase them with a 10', 7 wt. Of course the 8 wt will be there too and another 9', 7 wt will come along for the ride. It's cool when you find a rod that matches your casting style and all of the pieces of the puzzle come together. Sounds like it will be a long and successful relationship.
Rick
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Cool, the more the merrier. Glad to have you aboard.
Rick
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As I did my search for a great knot system earler this year, I also tried the Palomar knot. As far as a knot goes it is a great one per this link: http://www.fishingclub.com/ExtraContent/Ex...ctid=1425858079
I love that knot war show since it ties the knot with mono, fluro and a super braid. The one drawback of the knot and the one that keeps me from using it as a fly fishing knot is that if your tippet is 18" long and you change flies often, like I do, your tippet won't last that long because you eat up more of the tippet each time you tie compared to the improved clinch. So for a spinning or gear head application it is easier to use because you are not worried about having to retie tippet all of the time. If you are the type that ties on a bead head bugger or SJW and you fish that for hours without changing color or size or fly type it might be a good option for you.
There is another important point when it comes to fly fishing specific knot application and that is if you have a great knot where the fly meets the hook, but the leader to tippet knot isn't as strong, you will always break off that 18 to 24" or longer piece of tippet instead of breaking at the fly. I looked at half life of mono and it is damn long, but the fluro that I use is a much longer still. Knots have to be a complete system. I personally use the Albright for backing to fly line, nailess nail knot for line to leader, double or tripple surgeon's for leader to tippet and improved clinch for tippet to fly. I know that the knots break, but most of the time the knot will break at the fly and not at the tippet. I can also tie this knot in the dark and with cold hands. They are not only fast but repeatable. How you tie a knot and being able to produce that same knot over and over and be consistant is an important aspect. Whatever knot selction you choose, make sure that you can preform them under various situations.
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It's always tough to loose a big one. Bluntly it might not be your knot. When you tie a knot the knot is always weaker than the line. Same knots tied differently will have different knot strength too. A lubed and an unlubed knot, when you clinch it down is more different than many people will guess. I went on a big knot excursion this year. One of my areas of interests was the leader to tippet connection and the fly to leader connection was secondary.
I wanted a knot that was easy to tie in the dark and when my fingers were cold. I tried all kinds of connections and read many articles. Here is some info if you want to do a search for a new knot for your own application:
http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/knots/s...lastlink_1.aspx
http://www.fishingclub.com/ExtraContent/Ex...ctid=1425858079
http://www.marinews.com/errorpage.php
When it was all done, I now tie what I have tied for 40 years - improved clinch for fly to tippet and for my leader to tippet the same knot that I started with: a double or tripple surgeons. They are easy to tie and I just have to understand their capabilities. You very well might come up with a different answer on what is right for you. But, you need one that YOU are comfortable with. Good luck on your search for the perfect knots for you.
On the monster fish, she'll be back and so will you.
Rick
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Congrats on the new addition to the arsensal. It's nice to hear your review of the product.
Rick
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I have a fast action 10', 7 wt that I use for steelies. I have been fishing more with the 9', 7 wt for carp. As we talked before it gives me the creeps to land a big fish that is still green, or not ready to come into the net when the fish is close and I am trying to put the fish in the net the rod bends at an angle that just makes me cringe. On the steelhead chat boards most if not all of the spey boys, beach their catches. I love my 9 and 10' rods, but the truth is, it is probably easier and less risky as far as snapping a rod, to net a fish with an 8'6" rod, just because of the angle of the rod when netting. I find this also to be more so with the very fast action rods that I prefer. With a slower action rod that bends much more than the fast action rods that I prefer, I believe you have less of a chance to snap the thing.
The only point that I am making is that there are trade offs in whatever you decide.
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There are three places that I keep my eyes on for some very aggressive prices:
http://www.sierratradingpost.com/d/1398_Fl...ses.html?page=1
http://www.mrfc.com/MadisonRiverMontanaFishing/Default.aspx Click on their clearance specials
http://www.bobmarriottsflyfishingstore.com/default.aspx Click on 3D Sale
It's already at the end of the season, if you can wait another 30 days or so, the prices will be dropping like lead in deep water.
Note, I ordered 6 rods at the end of last season, one was sold out but I received 5 of the 6 at about 33 cents on the dollar from Bob Marriots. I bought three St. Croix Legend Elites that retail for $520 for $169 each. I then grabbed a Legend Ultra and an Avid. They have all been very good to me and my family this past season and I am a cheap fella by nature.
Rick
Rick
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I love these ethical questions. I will be very sincere in my answer. I also realize that those that post to these boards are from a world wide audience. The fish would be killed with no hesitation. Where I fish, there are literally thousands upon thousands of carp. They net them commercially to try and control the population.
Enjoy a shot of a commercial opperation,
Rick
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Location is much of the recipe to great success. After location, I would think that the next great piece to the puzzle is detecting signal from noise, or in other words, a bite from no bite. A good set of poloroids is as important as your fishing stick. If your water is clear enough to see the fly, cast beyond the fish, bring the fly to the nose of the fish or with just a few inches off to either side of the nose and pause it right there. If they are shallow, let the fly sit on the bottom right infront of them. You won't catch every carp, but if you put the fly in the right place enough, you will see them take the fly. Hesitate a count of one or two and then set the hook. You will be surprised at just how many of these fish take the fly undetected in stained or muddy water, so if you can't see the take, set the hook often at anything that feels different than the norm.
Good luck to you and hope to hear about your success soon. Welcome to the most active carp on the fly board that exists. Some great people are here with a tremendous amount of experience and a good attitude.
Rick
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Cool reports Wendy, I'm not sure that I will be chasing them or anything else in Dec. I tried trout fishing a couple of times when the water freezes in the guides and decided that I am a fair weather fisherman at least as far as temps go. I don't mind rain, but being frozen, even though I am from Wis, I can just wait for better days.
There is a whole lot of the season left though, between summer and hard water. I checked the log and have made 45 entries this season so far. I'm hoping to end up with around 60 days out before the water turns hard. We'll see how it goes and how the temps affect my success. Rick
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...every time I land a fish with my 6 wt (the 8 wt's baby brother) I am fearful that it will snap and meet the same fate as that 8. Hopefully I can overcome that phobia.
That's the place where you will flex the rod past it's bend radius and hear the sound that will haunt you. Landing fish is a nightmare for me too. I use a steelhead net, but I much prefer to have a second person land the fish for me. If no one is there, I have been beaching many fish these days, it just doesn't put the same bend in the rod than bringing one to the net yourself, BUT that can't be done at all locations. I hold the rod handle as far away from the fish as I can, behind my back, so that the angle on the rod is not as drastic as I net the fish. But even then, if you try too hard on a green fish and the fish surges with the rod at a less than ideal angle, life can get ugly in a hurry.
So John, not to rub salt in the wound too much, but how did the rod snap? It's happened 3 times with this Albright, were there any similarities between the breaks? I take it that the rod is typical these days of a very fast action rod? The older slower action rods could take a bend deeper into the blank, but I much prefer a fast action. I broke one of my St. Croix, Legend Elite rods earler in the year. In my own case, I tried to free a fly from a snag the was at my feet. While I didn't put that much pressure on the stick, the angle of the bend was so sharp that she popped pretty easily.
Rick
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I was on the water, yesterday for a number of hours. I took the pontoon boat out and tried to chase koi, which I saw one fleeting glimpse of a big yellow fish. When I hit the landing without making my goal, I was thinking about what makes a successful outing. I didn't break a rod, which I did earlier in the year. And I didn't drop my camera in the water, which always scares me to death.
This year, so far, I have left my favorite Reddington 3 wt, less than a month old, on top of the van; drove away only to return within 15 mins and it was gone. New reel and $60 line was attached to it by the way. I broke a $185 net in half, ripped waders and fallen on rocks. As an old guy, I have come to the conclusion that to enjoy the day out side and come home with nothing broken, including myself, is a grand day indeed. The fish are a nice touch once in a while. Hopefully Albright will repair your rod again, and life will be good.
Rick
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By the way if you want to buy some fish and put them in a pond and fish for them with a fly rod this is a good place to start:
http://www.majestickoi.com/index.php
HA
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What a hog John, super cool. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.
I went out again, last night. Two times in one day. I found hundreds of small carp, the smalliest fish of the season, but had great difficulty in hooking them. 3 fish yesterday for the amount of time that I spent chasing them was again discouraging and left me longing for the spring floods again. I haven't been in my pontoon but one time this year, I might grab it and hit the lake today. It's later than it should be for prime time, but anytime on the water is better than time behind the computer screen.
Thanks again for making me jealous of the big koi.
Here is a picture of my pets, not fly rod material, but koi that I take to koi shows. I have been a koi keeper much longer than a fly fisherman. I've been keeping koi since 1995. More than you want to know about koi, but the white and black one is a Shiro Utsuri, the one with the round red circle on the head is a Matsunosuke sanke (http://www.matsunosuke.com/preview2.html) the yellow guy is a yamabuki ogon. They are all Japanese names and think of the different varieties as different breeds of dogs. A Yorkshire terrier and a dachshund are both dogs, but quite different at the same time. Sorry, that I got carried away with the koi stuff.
Rick
I edited this to give a better link, that first one that I put in wasn't very good.
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I've had a really tough streak lately. Out today, but not during prime time, around noon for a couple of hours. One fish foul hooked and one fish on a SJW. Saw hundreds of fish, but just couldn't turn them. Really frustrating day on the water since they were tailing, but just avoiding everything that I threw at them. I must have thrown 8 to 10 different patterns at feeding fish and one fish landed. I guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching.
Best part of the day, I found a pond where they released a bunch of mongrel koi. I haven't caught a koi on the fly rod and that is a goal still this year. Might take the pontoon down to the pond this evening and see if I can turn one of them.
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Seriously, earlier this week it was 94 F. Today at at 4:30 local time it's 66 F. Wowza what a change. So the question is as the fall approaches for many in the northern part of the US, what do you do differently to still make contact with our beloved carp?
I can see slowing down the presentation as the water cools and fishing more mid day when the water warms up the most instead of at dawn if the water temps are cool. The water temps dont change that much in just a few days, but the trend has begun. Kind of curious if you will focus on different locations to fish and what you might key in on? I'm not looking for the name of a river or lake, but what types of structure or lack there of will you focus on, or will it not change much for you. Nothing against or brethern in TX, but they aren't going to go through the same swings that guys in the north will go through. Just starting to think about how to extend my season as much as possible.
Rick
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Welcome and anyone crazy enough to chase carp with a fly rod is in good company here. Did you post on FAOL? The pictures look familiar. Like the first shot, big tails and perfect scales make me smile. Welcome to the board.
Rick
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I went out yesterday. It wasn't the best time of day, around 3 pm. I was just scouting and saw an opening and a concrete structure on the other side of the river that I had never noticed before. I fish in a park often and they have these goose deterants up. The material is like backing on your reel and they make a fence out of it with three strands that stand about 18" high. Keeps the geese from coming out of the river onto the sidewalk and taking a crap on everything. This ties into the open area on the other side of the river since this new spot was a goose refugee. It was a mowed area that the city keeps to offer the geese an alternative place to crap instead of the sidewalk in the park. I walked up to this new area and immediately saw some fish. I went back, grabbed the rod and outfit. On my second cast I had a nice take that I watched unfold. The fish ran upstream about 60 yards, turned and came back straight under a log and pulled free when the line became wrapped in the obstruction. I didn't get another bite in 3 more hours. No fish landed. Odd day.
I was fishing with a new fly that I made up. The one in the vice. I then tried that crawfish pattern for the next three hours and couldn't buy a bite with it. First time fishing a crawfish pattern and it didn't give me a lot of confidence. Will have to try it again when I know that the fish are biting. The fly in the vice was the one that I hooked up with on the second cast, the crawfish pattern is on the bench in the background and the foam beetles will be used as indicators with a dropper for trout. Trout keep whacking the indicator and I wanted something with a hook in it, but that is a story for a different board.
Rick
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Neat Qull Back. I've never seen one before. I caught my first buff and mirror on a fly rod this season and thought that they were neat, so now I have a new one to chase with the quill back. I know that there are many types of carp to chase, but I think of each one as another step in the experience level.
20 fish are always a welcome addition and it sounds like you had a grand time. Sorry to hear about your rod snapping. I snapped a St. Croix Legend Elite 4 wt earlier this year while trout fishing. I had a fly hung up on a snag relatively close to me so I thought that I would just pop the rod a few times and free the fly. The sharper than normal bend in the rod tip and it went. Luckily I had another 4 wt with me in the car. It did put a real downer on the day though. I bought that rod as a demo rod so it had no warranty, but St. Croix took good care of me. They built me a completely new rod tip to match the rest of my blank, I had to send the whole thing in and shipped it back to me for $50 which was 1/10th the cost of the rod new, so I can't complain. Some times it not the size of the fish or the amount of pressure you put on a rod, but the angle at which it is placed. I always get the creeps when trying to land a big fish in the net by myself. Even though I hold the rod behind me to give the angle the best bend that I can manage, it still gives me the creeps. Then again, I have been breaking off flies in snags more than I have ever done before. One fly just isn't worth sending the rod away for repair. Let us know how the warranty issue shakes out for you. That interests all fly fisherman.
Congrats on the mirror too. Neat fish.
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Pretty much all of last year was spent just figuring out what type of water the bigger fish hang out in, and where I could expect to find a really big carp. I had a few shots at big fish, but didn't really put it together until this season. This year I fished specific water types, and really hunted for bigger fish.
First off congrats on a spectacular fish with the fly rod. I know you have worked very hard to meet your goal. It's damn cool when a plan comes together. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to turn this into a learning experience. Would you be willing to share some of your thoughts on your learning curve about where and how to find bigger fish?
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I really hadn't planned on fishing but rather doing some scouting between apts. This spot has been closed with an orange snow fence for a couple of months since the floods earler in the year. I climbed over the fence and was looking down on literally hundreds of carp. In this spot the river channel goes through the city and there is a concrete wall. I kept thinking, I know that I can catch them but how am I going to lift the fish up a 10' wall.
As I was scouting I saw two mirrors among the commons. I then remembered that I had my gear in the car from an outting two days prior. It was the weirdest feeling try to pull the fly away from the large fish, because I knew that I could not get them up this wall with 3X tippet material. I stood there for quite a while waiting for a shot at a mirror. I placed the fly in front of one but a bigger fish pushed the little guy out of the way for the fly so I had to pull the fly out of the water. This game went on for 15 minutes before I had one of the mirrors by itself, well at least relatively and then I presented the fly which was taken greadily. I played the small fish longer than normal for a fish this size so when I was raising it up the wall it wouldn't flop and either break the line or pull out. After the fish was up I noticed that the hook actually snapped off. I then had a grand time getting all kinds of takes on large fish only to pull the hookless fly out of their mouths. If I would have really hooked one, I would snap it off anyhow. This little guy is my first mirror. He's little, but gave me a neat feeling of success.
Hope your carpin' is going well for everyone.
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Neat cat on the fly. I've never had that opportunity. Did you sight fish him and see him take the fly? Congrats on a bunch of fun at lunch.
Rick
clam flies anyone? *updated 9/24*
in Carp on the Fly
Posted
Nicely done JP. Huge head on that thing.
Rick