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chrismartin

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About chrismartin

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    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 01/23/1980

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  • Favorite Species
    The ones that swim
  • Security
    2008

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  • Location
    Fergus, ON
  1. I voted Bauer because I flipped a coin and it landed on heads... Bauer was heads, Lamson was tails. I have used a number of different reels and thes two are by far my favorites. Lamson: Light weight, great drag, very large arbor, huge line capacity and durable Bauer: Butter smooth drag, bullet proof, great manufacturing, bullet proof
  2. Not to get too sidetracked, but I don't know that I could agree less with your post. I also enjoy fly fishing for big uglies, the same bass and carp you mention, but small stream trout fishing still has something special about it for me. It's your opinion that you don't want to "catch bait," but don't make the mistake of assuming everyone thinks the way you do. I know a ton of folks who would rather wade a tiny stream in WV for brookies than set foot on a larger river holding larger fish where you'll likely be elbow-to-elbow with other fishermen. Do we all want to catch bigger fish? Not necessarily. I like catching big bass and carp and crappies and catfish, but I still make several trips to small streams every year to chase tiny brookies and bows. I enjoy it, and I know a lot of other folks do, too. Back to tenkara...I'd never try it. I need the reel. I also disagree with him. Little trout can be amazing to catch and buitiful in small wild rivers. Also there are tenkara anglers who do target larger fish such as big saltwater fish and musky and large bass are a common target for the heavier weight tenkara rods. Hey gents, sorry if I came off like I'm a trophy hunter or that I assume everyone is alway chasing big fish. I get the draw of small stream fishing... I mentioned in my post that I enjoy it from time to time. I never intended to dis small stream fishing and I certainly don't assume that everybody is chasing trophy fish. My comments were intended to be a tongue-in-cheek commentary on my preference. My suggestion to those wading small streams in search of solitude... Come north! Here in Northern Ontario I fish in absolute solitude and can reasonably expect that my next cast could be my biggest fish ever. That's probably the reason I see Tenkara as being limiting. The same wild streams here that holds 8" brookies also holds 24" brookies and I would rather catch the 24" fish every time! Interesting to hear that guys are using Tenkara rods to catch Muskie. Not sure I can see that being really effective. Where can I learn more about this? I'm very curious about how this is done.
  3. Sorry guys, but to be totally honest, the Tenkara style looks incredibly limiting in my mind. I'll admit that if all you're doing is small stream fishing for small fish, Tenkara seems like a very "pure" and "classic" style. I 've had some great days casting soft hackle wets on a 2wt for small trout, but for me those days are few and far between. I would much rather chuck chickens on a 10 wt all day, looking for muskie, or pound the banks of a river with big articulated streamers trying to fool monster browns. Catching bait can be fun occasionally, but lets be honest... we all want to catch bigger fish. Progress in fly fishing and fly tying has made the sport more exciting and opende the dors to sport fish that nobody thought fly fisherman could catch. I guess there will always be those who want to return to the roots of the sport, but for me, Bass, Muskie, Tarpon, Barracuda, Carp and other non-traditional fly fishing quarry are far more exciting than 8" trout. Now, who wants to go catch some shark on the fly? Is there a tenkara rod for that?
  4. I have 2 kid. My daughter is 18 months and my son is 9 weeks. Although I have never been so tired in my life, they have brought me more joy than I could have even imagined. I haven't done much fishing since they were born. The season before my daughter was born I spent 80 days on the water in a 6 month season and sold 20 dozen flies. Since we started having kids I've only fish 10-15 times. Tell me friends, when will this change. When can I realistically start teaching my kids to fish, fly fish and tie flies? Cant wait to share this great sport/pastime with them.
  5. Help me out friends. i'm wrestling with something here. So my wife and I are both creative people (my outlet if tying, hers is decorating), and this year we decided to give some tasteful hand made gifts for Christmas. After we decided on this direction, I immediately knew what to give to my wife's sister... I would make her 3 pairs of feather earrings; I made one pair with long Whiting hackle, one pair with grizzly shclappen and a third pair with turkey and guinea feathers. They were easy to make. The earring hardware was cheap and easy to find (Michael's) and they turned out really good. This has lead me to realize something... I can make a heck of a lot more money making earrings than I can tying flies. I tie trout streamers for a shop and I gross about $200 an order (6 dozen) and it takes me about 6 hours to produce and the materials cost about $25. That works out to about $30 an hour. Not bad, but when you have 2 kids under 2 years old it's hard to find the time to get the work done. When it comes to earrings, some investigation has revealed that I could gross about $10-25 a pair, depending on the style. They take no time to make and cost around $2 a pair. In an hour I can easily make 15 pairs and sell them for an average of $20 a pair. After materials I'm looking at about $270 an hour. My goal is to purchase a Pontoon boat ($850) trolling motor ($250) and fish finder ($250)... Am I the worst kind of scum if I'm considering using my fly tying materials to make women's jewellery in order to buy a boat or am I a genius for taking advantage of a current fashion trend in order to facilitate more fly fishing?
  6. An additional pro to tube flies is that you can tie "component" flies. I tie tube flies for pike and muskie. I can tie heads, bodies and tails on separate tubes in a wide array of colours and sizes. this approach gives me an almost unlimited number of colour options. I can also increase or decrease the length of the fly by adding or removing body components. The versatility of this approach is incredible!
  7. I accidentally posted this under "site help and suggestions" thus, the repost in the appropriate location. I live in a small city (150,000) in an area where there is tons of fishing! We really only have 1 tackle shop, and their fly fishing section is pathetic. I've been trying to convince the owner to increase his inventory of materials. Right now he has a wide selection of deer hair for bass bugs, but nothing to use as a tail. There is a wide selection of marabou and basic chenille for wooly buggers, but no hackle. There is some dry fly dubbing, but nothing to make tails, wing and lags with. This is the story for everything... half of what you need is there. I need your help! I'm compiling a list of around 25-30 of the most popular freshwater patterns, in hopes that he will begin to stock the materials necessary for these basic flies. I need patterns for Trout, Bass, Panfish, Walleye, Pike/Muskie, Steelhead and Salmon. I'm not looking for favourites here, I'm looking for most common. Here are some of what I think are on the list Clouser Minnow Lefty's Deceiver Pheasant Tail Nymph Hares Ear Nymph Wooly Bugger Copper john Adams Stimulator Please add to this list! Don't worry about repeats, just name what you think to be most popular. I'll worry about organizing the list after you have all given your input. Thanks for your help!
  8. I live in a small city (150,000) in an area where there is tons of fishing! We really only have 1 tackle shop, and their fly fishing section is pathetic. I've been trying to convince the owner to increase his inventory of materials. Right now he has a wide selection of deer hair for bass bugs, but nothing to use as a tail. There is a wide selection of marabou and basic chenille for wooly buggers, but no hackle. There is some dry fly dubbing, but nothing to make tails, wing and lags with. This is the story for everything... half of what you need is there. I need your help! I'm compiling a list of around 25-30 of the most popular freshwater patterns, in hopes that he will begin to stock the materials necessary for these basic flies. I need patterns for Trout, Bass, Panfish, Walleye, Pike/Muskie, Steelhead and Salmon. I'm not looking for favourites here, I'm looking for most common. Here are some of what I think are on the list Clouser Minnow Lefty's Deceiver Pheasant Tail Nymph Hares Ear Nymph Wooly Bugger Copper john Adams Stimulator Please add to this list! Don't worry about repeats, just name what you think to be most popular. I'll worry about organizing the list after you have all given your input. Thanks for your help!
  9. A 3 wt. would give you a little more power for casting in windy conditions or when using small streamers. A 2 wt. would present a small dry, like a 28-32 trico, more delicately. Both will be soft enough for 6 and 7x tippets.
  10. Kamchatka for rainbows or the Innoko River in Alaska for Pike
  11. Good call Day5... I used synthetic dubbing on the ones i tied, but didn't consider doing the rabbit in a loop. I've gone both ways with the eyes... If I'm fishing this fly on the bottom, mimicking a crayfish, the aluminium eyes are far more realistic. When crayfish swim, they glide back down to the bottom, they don't drop straight down. That being said, if I'm fishing weed edges and structure I'll work this fly like flippin' a jig and pig... the heavy eyes really make this style of presentation come to life I also tide some small ones up in a #6, using pine squirrel strips... they slay carp!
  12. That's a great looking brown trout fly! Also, a lot of guys on this thread need to sack up and chuck it on a 5 wt. rig. You don't need a cannon to throw big flies, just adjust your casting stroke to allow for a more open loop and use the weight of the fly to shoot your line.
  13. The Woolly Bully is a great a great pike and muskie fly Here is the link to a giant one that I tied and posted http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern9109.html Here is a link to the original (as featured in "Hatches"), by it's inventor. http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern884.html This is my "go to' pike fly. Another great fly is a "Bunker Fly" tied with a synthetic material. I tie it in a number of colors... Chart/White; Black/Yellow; Red/White Here's a link to one I posted http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern9108.html Three components I try to include in every pike fly... some red to look like blood or gills, a lateral line and eyes. Those are big triggers for pike.
  14. Not a big fan of "Swimms". Big on price small on features... The Korker Guide boots are great! I have a pair and am totally sold! Boa laces are great! Fit is great! They are light weight yet totally durable! The interchangeable souls are like nothing else out there. For the price, I don't think you can find a better wading boot
  15. The only time I'm using gear is on an annual trip with a group of guys going after Muskie and Pike. I always bring my fly rod, but being the only fly fisherman in a group of 15 anglers is tough. They tolerate me dominating the casting deck for a little while, but it's usually only a few hours out of a 4 day trip... funny though, I've caught the biggest fish the past 3 years and they've all been on fly. You would think a few of them might clue in.
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