mending question

[Guest]

i got the chance to fish a small steelhead stream over thanksgiving and while doing so, developed a question that i have never asked, nor seen talked about.

 

while fishing a hole i got to thinking, can you mend to much during a drift?? i know you can not mend enough, but i was wondering if mending to much is harmful. as time went on i noticed as the line was drifting downstream and i was mending i would notice that i had a tendancy to pull the leader up out of the water in turn taking the fly or flies out of the zone. i am chalking that up to my inexperience in the fly fishing dept, but i thought i would raise the question for others to learn or comment on.

 

also, for those that steelhead/salmon fish, what lenght rod do you use? currently i am using a 8'6" 8wt, but was thinking that if i moved up to a longer rod it would help in the mending/keeping the slack line out of the water. i was thinking a 10ft rod, is this too long, or just about right?

 

thanks for any and all help

 

btw, had one known hookup for about a headshake, but didnt get a good hookset so it didnt last long. might have had another bump earlier in the day, but i am very inexperienced in detecting bites and am not sure if it was a fish or a leaf.

 

 

[Guest]

One tip that I picked up and helped me quite a bit is to keep as much of your fly line out of the water as possible. A longer rod will help you acheive that and most of the time I was up in PA I was able to just have the leader in the water and that really helped getting a good drift. I only use a 8' 6" rod as well but I was fishing a somewhat small trib but with a larger river I would probably go a little longer.

[Guest]

This might sound ignorant, but what the heck is mending? Tight lines and good tyin!-redneck

 

[J Desjardins 0]

If you cast across a stream your fly may land in a spot where the water flows slower than inbetween you and the fly. If the fly line is in the faster water the fly may dragged away from of where you want it. Mending is when you move the line up or downstream to allow the fly to drift at the speed of the water.

 

If the water between you and the fly is faster you flip the line upstream with a roll of the wrist , and if the water is slower you want to flip the line downstream to prevent the fly from being dragged unnaturally.

 

And to get back to the original question you can mend too much. Each situation is different but Ive found that I dont do well when I try for super long drifts. Just my humble opinion others may differ.

[Guest]

Thanks! Tight lines and good tyin!-redneck

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

Like JD said i also think you can mend too much...I have also seen guys use so much "slack line" in their mend that it would be imposiable for them to get a good hookset.

 

As for the rod i think it depends on how comfortable you are with a long rod and the size of the river your fishing. For steelhead/salmon i use a 9'6" rod as my normal rod and i also have a 10'er that i like to use certian times.

 

If your comfortable with a the rod that you have then i'd say dont waste the money to get a rod that is only 6" or so longer,it really wont make that big of a difference IMO.

 

SD

[Guest]

I use a method known as high sticking.

Like smallie said keep most of your Fly line out of the water and hold your rod tip as high as you can to complete the main drift as the drift tails out you can lower the rod tip and let the fly line enter the water were the water speed slows to complete the tail of the drift.

This is the same method I use when nymphing.

 

 

Hope that helps.

OSD.

 

[Guest]

osd, i tried the high sticking method, and just plain dont like to do it with my rod. to short for that in my opinion. it tires my shoulders out quickly and makes for a rather uncomfortable day making it an unpleasant trip home.

 

thanks for the info guys, i am really thinking of getting a 10 fter now. just gotta clear it with the wife first

[Steeldrifter 0]

ffe if your set on a 10'er check out the scott sas rod,i just bought one from BBT a short time ago and got it for 20% off since scott is discontinuing that rod. cost me like $240 or right around there its a pretty nice rod.

 

SD

[Guest]

actually i was thinking of the temple fork rods. they are in range of the allowance the wife gives me to spend at 99 bucks. they come with a lifetime warranty, and i cant think of who, but a big fly guru actually has a line from them with his name on it from them. cant be to bad of a rod if someone big time is endorsing it, well maybe... they also come with a lifetime warranty so that helps some too.

 

i doubt i will get one before christmas, so i will probably wait and see what kind of gift certificates i get from the various outdoors stores and see what i can do with those.

[Steeldrifter 0]

I havent owned one of those but i have heard that they are a very nice rod for the price.

 

I just looked to see whats on ebay right now and theres a few 10'er on their right now for less than $100 tonight,i know you said after christmas but it might be worth a look.

 

SD

[Guest]

I also do the high sticking method, and yes, you can mend too much. I have seen it done to a point where you affect the drift of your leader and in turn your flies. A combination of high stickin and some mending should get you a decent drift. No matter what eventually you will create a drag on your fly and thus end your effective drift. Unless you are skating your fly, which is another topic altogether.

 

As for TFOs, they are pretty good rods for the money. There is a lot of bashing of them from "buy USA bullys", but the fact is not many companies at all are still USA made, and the ones that are seem to be out of the price range of a lot of people. I'd say get it and have fun with it. The new lefty kreh editions are nice, technically saltwater but good actions. A little on the heavy side, but thats what you give up in a non-pricey rod. I'm not too sure they come in a 10'er though.

 

steve

[Guest]

steve, one of the guys at the orvis shop in okemos said they make them in 8.5 and 10 ft models. that is basically what got me thinking about the 10 fter.

[Guest]

yeah, i know miles, I was over there when the lefty kreh edition came out, and we test drove em a little bit. I was impressed with the rod for the price.

 

steve

[Guest]

Mending and my take on it....

 

It's directly proportionate to the speed of the current and the distance covered in a cast. There are situations where a downstream mend is required in order to maintain a somewhat drag-free drift. This would be utilized when fishing froggier water closest to the rod and high sticking isn't enough to counter-act it's effects. Short casts will allow one to high stick, as will a longer leader. I have used leader as long as 14'. The drag on the leader is less apt to influence the fly than the heaver fly line. Of course certain situations will not allow anything that long.

 

As far as mending in general, try to mend either while the line is still in the air or shortly after it lands. Once the friction of the water gets a hold of one's line it gets difficult to pull it free and mend to the leader. Like Steve, Steve and OSD mentioned above, eventually you will end up with some drag, but an additional set of mends while paying out more line will extend the drift. I utilize this while while fishing wets with great success.

 

Confusing enough??? LOL