chriswalrath

Well, brother-in-law. But I don't think of him that way. Anyhow, Saturday, I ditched the kids (gonna make it up to them) to spend the afternoon on the water. Eddy brought the boat to Reynolds Pond, just northwest of Milton, DE. We launched about 2PM and worked the north shore for a couple hours. Eddy was flipping some larger homespun and was bringing in the pickerel, 5 in all but 3 in that first hour. I was working my little 5wt in a slight breeze but was managing well. We drifted in to shore a bit and I was able to flip right in under some shoreline brush and the bluegills started tearing up my size 12 homespuns. I was fishing top so, as the surface was kind of choppy, kinda surprised I did that well. Lost one of the pattern on a snag so I tied two to replace it when I got home that night. We worked around the pond and found what seemed a nice hole. Landed a bluegill on the first cast. Then the fog started to roll in with the cool coastal air form the east. It was about 6 so we called it on account of dimness, cold, visibility and bladder capacity. What, I don't balance well in his boat. So, a great day was had. We only caught fish, not each other. Yesterday, got the kids new tackle boxes and tackle so we will get out one night this week or this weekend. Can hardly wait.

Hope the trip proves fruitful. I'm going out with a local member here in Delaware, Eugward. Ah, who am I kidding. He's me brother-in-law. Just pond hopping for pans and bass or whatever will rise. Have fun.

It has happened to us all at one point or another with one thing or another. We drop our precious and sometimes expensive items into the creek, the sink, the bath, the surf, the hopper (don't ask). But it's not how you handle the situation, but how you handle the situation that matters. And don't ask. But since you did . . . Now, the more electronic our gizmos get, the more fragile they become. If you were to drop an old Minolta sr-T101 into the water it's more akin to driving a tank through a stream. Sure, you have to take care and make sure that everything dries out, but it is more likely to survive the affair. But what about today's gadgetry? D-SLR's, electronic PhD's (push here, dummy), GPS devices and cell phones. We are all about proving that the one did not get away. Or just to catch a beautiful scenic that visually describes the zen-like sensations we are experiencing streamside to show our buds or prove to the little missus that we were where we proported to be. So, what if it does end up in the drink? In a perfect world, there is a tech down at the next bend in the trail. If you have someone you can get it to and cash is not so indispensible that you can by immediately a replacement, take any container you have handy and fill it with water. Keep the thing immersed in water and take it to your repair person. This way you do not introduce air onto the circuitry which can cause bad and corrosive things to happen. They can clean your gear properly. In the absence of such luxuries here is what you do. Take out the battery. DO NOT POWER ON A WET ELECTRONIC DEVICE. Aside from a nice jolt, you will almost certainly fry the bugger. Take out the battery. Take everything home. Take out a freezer bag and put a cup or two of rice into it and then place your gear in with it. Place it into another bag, a bigger one. Make sure that there is air in the outer bag. Place all of this into the fridge. The rice and the fridge (air-conditioned environment) will suck the moisture out of Holly Lake if there were enough of it. DO NOT TOUCH IT FOR THREE DAYS. Then do one of two things. First, send it off to a repair center. If you choose to just see if the thing works, here is the best procedure for doing so. Secondly, take the bags out of the fridge. Leave them on the counter for an hour. Then remove the inner bag from the outer. Two bags instead of one are to help the gear acclimatize to room temperature more gradually thus reducing the risk of condensation from too rapid an increase in temperature. After removing the inner bag, allow it to sit for another hour before opening it and removing the contents. Let them sit for another hour before assembling SD cards, SIm chips, batteries and whatnot. Then flip the switch and see what happens. Hope it never happens, but if it does I hope this helps.

This is probably a little late, but for those who follow. http://www.flyfishingoutfitters.com/fly_tying_kits-umpqua-umpqua_deluxe_fly_tying_kit_3505 I got this Umpqua Deluxe kit. I have only tied a few thus far and have not even tapped the materials included. I would recommend this kit for anyone just getting wet and wanting to see if tying flies is for them. As a beginner tyer I would give this a 5 out of 5.

Paul, I'll try to pinch harder. Pete, yeah, I always take the thread down the shank through the bend and back up before I put anything on in, tail, et al. J, in seeing that the material was rolling I actually tried to head it off by positioning it slightly offset with some modicum of success. So, I can see the best way to overcome this is to, well, keep on tyin'. Thanks, guys.

Dear, FTF.com It is difficult to get the hair/hackle to stay put when I am wrapping the first couple of anchor loops over it. Or, if I try a big loop to not put tension on the material until I am around I can never get the loop to pick up where the other left off and things are awful loose. I seem to be getting by, but what is the secret to keep this stuff from rolling around the shank with my thread? Thanks. Loopy on Delmarva (edit: if this would be more appropriate in Beginners (bet it would) feel free to move it there. won't double post)

I think I was being too rough with it. Tried a lighter hand, more gingerly looping the thread and I have not had the fraying issues I reported. I closely inspected for burrs, mis-manufacturing and could not really see anything that indicated faulty workmanship in the part of the little people.

Well, got a box of goodies from Cabelas. Included was a bobbin with the steel shaft. I got a bobbin with the ceramic shaft with a beginners kit. I had been using the ceramic bobbin until today. I used the steel bobbin for the first time and I found that my thread was shredding like a rope against a sharp rock edge in all those bad adventure movies. I then go to draw out a little more line and it just snaps and 'Cliffhanger' comes to a sudden end. I even let off on the tension around the hook a little and the thread was still showing some serious wear at the point where it was rubbing around the end of the steel tube. So, do steel bobbins have this as a classic character flaw or is this pilot error? I can answer any other questions to figure this out. Not sure what kind of other info to offer to speed thing along. Thanks in advance for all of your help, folks.

Well, it's not exactly film related but what the heck. What your white balance does is negate the affect of the light source that illuminates your subject. A light's color depends on the temperature of its source. Sunlight is very hot (around 34,000 Kelvin) and generally tends to the blue end of the spectrum. Flourescents tend to the blue end of the spectrum as well. Incandescent lighting (regular old light bulbs) generally allow indoor lighting to cast a yellowish/brownish pallor. What white balance does is infuses more of a color's complimentary color to balance it out to a 'more natural' look. If the source light is blue, then the white balance will decrease blue and increase yellow to get a more natural appearance. If your light source is cooler and in the yellow area it will favor blue light in the subject area and filter out the yellow. So, your white balance depends completely on your light source. You should be able to choose amongst all kinds of sources including, but not limited to, daylight, flourescent, incandescent/indoor, etc. If you choose the proper white balance setting, and automatic can be a crap shoot in lower light situations, then you should get a descent image. The dust is probably due to two things. First, a lot of particulates in the air. Secondly, shooting with a flash will illuminate anything in the subject area within a certain range to the plane of focus (in this case, the fly). If it is slightly off from that plane, it will appear as a fuzzy spec. As the dust was not in the same place in both photographs I do not think it is on camera dust, just atmospheric. So, how was that for non film related advice? Hope it is now clear as mud. And yes, that was the short answer.

Welcome from Delaware.

Jusst wanted to throw this out there. Don't know how many others there might be but I tend to fancy myself a film photography freak. So, if there are any non-digital questions you guys might have, do not be afraid to let them loose. I'll answer what I can and I'm sure there ought to be a couple more on here as well.

You take cloves and press them through the skin of an orange and they make a very nice smelling thing until it rots. I've just been keeping things in the bags they come in but I store those in flat four row opaque tackle box trays for easy access.

As a beginner tyer I would like to throw in my two cents. Get a rotary vise. You don't have to plop down $150. But I have tied a few flies on a static vise and a few on my grandfathers old rotary and the rotary makes things by far, if not easier, more smooth.

A good way to test rods is to hit the Fly Fishing Expo circuit. Just had one three weeks ago in Lancaster, PA. $15 to get in. Lots of vendors with lots of gear and supplies that were marked way down. Some, not so much. They had two demo casting pools for experts and when they were not being used for that purpose, they could be used to try out the rods that the vendors were peddling. Some of your smaller shops, E Hille in Williamsport comes to mind, has a little room outside and during a down moment, you might be able to coax a rod outside for a flip or two to see how she feels.

Most times along a creek or a stream I am in constricted space. This means roll casting with a short rod. That's when I call on my 7.5' 5wt setup. I'll tie on a smallish (12) dry, be it an imitation or a nymph. Something that will stay up to avoid tangle in submerged rocks/logs that I may not be able to get to to free the bait. I like to look for natural overhang (rocks, logs, brush, root matt) and roll the fly just under the edge, present the fly like a jumper. I try to cast upstream a bit so I can draw as it drifts. Downstream and the current takes the fly toward the middle of the current. Mornings, sunsets and overcast (non-front) days seem to do the best. Especially once things warm up.