H.Champagne

Flytire, that berkeley link was helpful, i found the phone number for the professor running that program, hopefully he is willing to chat for a few minutes with a non berkeley student who is obsessed with fly rods! i'll post up once i talk to him. cf berk is a good idea but I am curious to see how willing these companies will be to give up information, but they seem like good people and outside of the corp. bandwagon, so i'll see what happens, never hurts to ask right?

Crazy, does anyone wonder how these companies that are based on fly reel production (obviously plenty of these listed make many other things so reels is just a side program) stay in business with so much competition and a relatively small market,especially with a product that is not really disposable in any sense of the word, most people have fly reels for a long time with little turn over, granted there are people out there with several reels but in general most people i know have between 1 & 3 reels, depending. Not to mention, this post is starting to show that there isn't one company that just dominates the industry, the choices are dispersed somewhat evenly, and since it is common knowledge that your modern day fly reel is slightly "over engineered" for freshwater fishing, as in you dont need the technology, its nice to have, but it doesn't help that much with landing your average brown trout or large mouth bass, where is this section of the industry going? how can such a diluted market which has already created a product which does its job perfectly, evolve? I know, there will always be little things that will make this or that slightly better, but until some huge shift of paradigm comes along, are these companies set to ride a stagnant plateau? I would love to see some demographics for the fly reel industry in the US....

Yea that's what I am starting to think, that maybe Rod companies have pneumatic manufacturing companies build them just for them. I have a pretty large project planned and this has turned into a big hurdle, not to say that graphite rod manufacturing is by any means a simple process, but I can't even find what I need to handle this step in the program. There is no realistic way to control this step without this machine and still maintain the integrity of your modern day fly rod. This forum has some pretty interesting characters on it and a lot of smart people so I'm hoping as a group we might find an answer...or something close haha. thanks

Alright, if this topic gets deleted, i understand completely and will not be totally upset, but i posted this on Rodbuilding forum and have had so many views and zero replies, so i figured i'd let you guys check it out. I have been doing a lot of research into electric pneumatic rolling tables, the tables used to roll the "uncooked" graphite around the mandrels when constructing rods, and i cannot find one anywhere, at all. I have been through every youtube video with a fly fishing factory tour and the sections with this machine you cannot see the company who makes it or the persons head is in the way. I've typed it in on google ten different ways and there is just..nothing...nada. If anyone knows about these, where to get them, who makes them, anything i guess, im looking for info, and would appreciate any input on this topic. Thanks!

So I removed Cortland from the choices and replaced it with the Pflueger Medalist, i guess twenty choices is the limit, since no one picked Cortland, i figured it would be alright, If anyone does come across this and would have picked Cortland, just post it up and I apologize.

I have a soft spot for shrimp patterns, the burnt mono eyes look great man!

Creating this poll has quickly shown me just how many fly reel brands there are. It's crazy that they all share such a small market.

It could be one you want or have. If you post up a reel that you cant afford but really want, it would be cool if you post up why so people who read this can see your thinking behind it. If you just love hatch reels but cant afford one, go for it. I have never used a lamson lite-speed & cant afford another reel, but the conical drag and subtle dark gray look really sells me as a consumer.

This is my first poll, i hope it did it correctly. I have been looking at different reels lately and thought it would be interesting to see the responses. If i forgot a reel company that you like, let me know.

yea, i see the point about bigger fish and the grab can be exciting. i enjoyed it more in my younger days of bass and pike fishing. I even lived in naples florida for awhile & caught some hogs, but i wouldnt trade it for a january weekend in southern minnesota tying size 22 midges in my hotel room and freezing all day long catching beautiful brookies and browns. Though i def will go out in the middle of summer and chase pike with a fly and it is a great time, it just lacks that feeling for me, that dark, smokey adventurous vibe achieved on cold rivers in the middle of nowhere with steaming coffee and such an acute silence that you can hear the paper burning on your cigarette. The point being, thats my fly fishing, its what got me into it, and we all have that thing about it, whether its bright sun on a beautiful flat or swinging intruders for steelhead, we all got our thing. But i dont view it as "classic or pure" for the sake of being classic. I try new techniques and new flies and new rivers, and though i know hardly anything about tenkara, i bet there are guys out there that see an advantage to it and try to make it better. But, if you dig chasing monsters, and like you said, we all do, do it up but progress in fly fishing is not just chasing bigger and crazier fish. PS: i would be lying if i said i didn't go nuts when i catch a huge brown trout.....it just isnt my only goal

that is freakin cool, great post.

and i agree with Khoss, go to your local shop and buy some crap, talk to the staff, and if you're buying flies and asking questions, they will help you out, its a good relationship to build.

There are several streams and rivers that come off of lake ontario and lake erie that have steelhead runs. I could post up a bunch of random streams that are really crowded and you might have a shot but the best way to go about it is sit on your computer and do some research and you will find better, less popular spots to go. Remember also, the DEC in NY state is a great resource, a lot of people treat them like they are cops and just give out tickets but in reality its a really untapped resource, you can call your local office and talk to an officer for half an hour about fishing and they will probably be happy to do so. The US fish and wildlife service is a great place to find good, up to date maps, and google earth is a nice way to navigate to specific spots. The whole program, the adventure, getting shut out and rained on, and realizing some spot is shit, is the best part of steelheading for me because that day will come along on some random stream you are checking out that you didn't bother to wader up for, and you get freight trained, and all the countless hours driving looking at maps, drinking crappy gas station coffee, arguing with your girlfriend on the phone, flat tires, frozen digits, pays off ten fold. Buy a folder, start printing maps and buying steelhead flies, fill up your tank and go for it. Good luck man, you are in a great area with some big fish.

Come late winter when i need to knock out a large amounts of Caddis dry flies I take a pomus stone (yea i know, my girlfriend bought it for me) and smooth my index finder and thumb along the inside until its baby soft and it helps me pinch wrap faster and more precisely when im tying down the elk hair. Kinda weird, but for those of us with rough scratchy hands, it helps a lot.

From what I've seen there is a bit of a divide in fly tying over waxed vs unwaxed thread. Waxed thread is the traditional style thread and was popular back in the day. Unwaxed is popular now with the high quality threads and bobbins available and some say has less build up and head cement soaks in better. These really depend on the company and like the post above, i dont have a problem with head cement on waxed thread, mine works fine. When i have to tie a bunch of flies that require rough or "wispy" looking dubbing like some styles of emerger i use waxed thread and can very quickly knock out several flies and my dubbing has that sloppy but perfectly buggy look to it. I think it might just be a preference thing though, try both, thread is cheap. Some purists use antron dubbing with unwaxed thread to dub, which for most, is more difficult, but can produce really clean, even dubbing. This is a more challenging road, as antron plus no wax really forces you to learn how to apply and control your dubbing where like...hairline dubbing plus waxed thread is easier to apply but may not be as crisp looking.

yea,I cant argue against the thread thing, you really don't need that many colors. Thread is so inexpensive its easy to have lots of it and it looks cool on your bench all lined up though and i do use almost all of my colors of thread that i own. But to start out on a budget, you could easily get by with just one or two.

I only tie blood knots. It was just how i was raised, but i hated tying them at first. I used to use rope to practice in my living room, it was nice since there is little to no memory, so you can just flow through the knot and get used to the twists and turns. After years of doing it, i barely have to even look at what im doing and can fix up my leader pretty quickly. There was a joke in The Drake a long time ago about what fly fishing guides do in the off season - "tie blood knots at the local boat launch". Its a hard knot to learn but fly fishing is a hard type of fishing to learn, but enough practice and you cant remember why it was so hard haha. I have to agree though with most of the posts above, find a knot you like and practice it, if you just dig the surgeons knot, then rock it.

I always put them down after i cut but its a horrible habit in my opinion. I always lose my scissors somewhere random on my desk and spend time looking for them. I get so into what I'm tying i totally forget where i set them down. I do not have good desk habits, its gets pretty messy when i tie. I think in part its because i dont tie all the time, but when i do tie, i tie for several hours to knock out part of my fly box, and when im done, my desk looks ridiculous. Admitting you have a problem is the first step right?

I agree with both of the previous responses in that you need to figure out what you want to tie. Do you fish for trout? bass? musky? etc...I live in MN also, but i only fish for trout so when i started i got the materials i needed for wet & dry caddis flies and scuds. As you progress you will keep finding patterns you want to learn to tie and of course new materials. One master list is almost impossible to create unless you have a ton of money to just burn on materials you may or may not need down the road. Even to this day i still come up with things i want to learn to tie and go buy materials for it. Check out Angler's Workshop, you can request a free catalog and they have a vast amount of stuff available for mail order and the catalog has great pictures. You can place your order over the phone and the people are really nice and will answer any questions you might have about what you want. This might be helpful as you will def. hit a point where you want more stuff and its easier than driving really far to get something. If i had to create a basic list of materials that i would want to be able to tie trout patterns in MN, it would be roughly this (im sure im going to forget something haha): Waxed and unwaxed 8/0 thread - black, brown, white, olive, red, gray. Hareline dubbing - dark hare's ear, black, olive, light cahill, adam's gray, amber + some antron colors Hackle is expensive but those whiting 100 packs are nice to explore different sizes and colors without having to buy a full/half cape. I would get grizzley, black, tan/and or white, Brown, gray. Head cement Various colors of elk hair Small pack of two or three pheasant tails A turkey feather or two Peacock herl Bead heads Turkey biots in black for now Hairline dubbing makes mayfly tails that are really easy to use and look great, gray and yellow are fine for now Some copper wire for ribs Please post up if i have forgotten something. This list by NO way is what is required to learn to tie well, you could go out and buy what you need to just tie one or two patterns and spend plenty of time learning to make them perfect, but i think this list covers a ton of different basic patterns and leaves a good amount of room for growth without having to buy more stuff. Depending on how much of a variety of hackle you can afford, you could easily fill a fly box with all of this and have what you need for a great season. good luck and welcome to the site!

NJ all day, that was a great idea, thank you. as posted on their facebook page: Finback Films "Low & Clear DVDs will be ready to ship by Thanksgiving Day, 11/24/11. However, because we have begun submitting to film festivals we cannot guarantee that they will actually ship by then as many film festivals will not accept films that have been released on DVD. We are also planning a limited theatrical run and will be announcing screening dates shortly. Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and visit our website at www.lowandclear.com for updates." at least we now know. I am going to try and order one around then, ill post up if I am able to get a copy. thanks again

yea i went on the site and found an email address to the producers but they didnt respond to the email, this was about 3 or 4 weeks ago. There is an ad in The Drake's current issue for it, and i agree, it looks like a really cool movie, less about fish porn, more about how crazy we all are haha.

I've noticed over the last few weeks more and more people being rude on this forum....i dont see the problem with having a picture of a great fish on a forum that is about....fishing

hey man, sorry, i didn't post it up here to create issues, if you knew the answer to the question posted you wouldn't need to see the title capitalized, I don't understand why you are posting in this thread, but for what its worth, the film looks pretty sweet, thats the official trailer. I cannot find the release date anywhere, i even emailed the producers & they didnt respond. Low & Clear

I agree with Laxi on this one, fish it every way you can. Make sure you fish the fly all the way to your feet. I have had fish smack a streamer just a few feet from where i was standing and it startled the hell out of me.

So this dog slowly limps into a bar and says to the bartender "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw?"