DFoster

I had a really enjoyable couple oh hours on Saturday early morning.  The weather was perfect, 45  degrees at first light and warming as the morning went.  I decided to fish a spot that I have never been to before.  Massachusetts classifies this area of the river as a "cold water fishery" and therefore has the potential to hold wild trout. We'll see.  The most likely part of the river to hold natives has a few miles of thick tree canopy which begins just past the abandoned rail road dam in the photo.  To get in and fish it will require some bushwhacking unless I can find a trail.  I had lots yard work waiting for me on Saturday and didn't have the time to really explore.  Still I hooked 3 rainbows. The 2 that made it to the net gave great accounts of themselves, hard fights with many jumps.  I got careless with the 2nd bow and he slipped from my grasp before I could get a pic. Several fall fish and a yellow perch made for a fun couple of hours.

17 hours ago, johnnyquahog said:

The hook that still haunts me is the turned up eye Mustad 94842 in size 16.  This was close to 40 years ago when I was determined to catch a real sea run brown trout on one of Cape Cod’s estuaries.  This was called the fish of a thousand casts.   I’d caught dozens of the recently stocked trout but until they spend a couple seasons feeding on minnows, grass shrimp, mumichogs and whatever the tide brings in they are not sea runs.  I spot this 20+” brown feeding on the opposite bank along with a few smaller trout.  In order to get below this fish without spooking him i needed to get out of the river, climb the bank, walk down to rt. 28, cross the bridge, go behind a condo complex, hike below the fish and find an opening where I can quietly approach the fish and hope he is still around.  Twenty minutes later I am in position and the fish is still working in a foot of clear water.  I tied on a #16 black fur ant.  I would wait until the sea run was looking upstream before casting.  I took a couple dozen casts over the course of thirty minutes and got a few close looks but no joy other than I succeeded in not spooking them.  Another cast and the ant is drowning in front of my fish and I see his mouth open and take my fly.  I lift my rod and feel the weight.  Two seconds later I see the fish swim off to the protection of deeper water.  Maybe gobsmacked is the right word to use here.  When I recover I look at the fly and see that it is missing from the middle of the bend.  I had a long two and a half hour ride home to process what happened.  I put a few 94842 hooks in my old vise and after clamping it the hooks were definitely brittle.  The sea run program was discontinued a long time ago. Sorry for the ramble.

oh, I can relate to Captain Bob’s issue with the Tiemco 800s.  It was my go to saltwater deceiver fly until it wasn’t.  I was debarbing a 2/0 or 4/0 800s and it just snapped at the bend with very little pressure.   I realize why those one expensive hooks were discounted so much.

now sorry for the double ramble.

Of the fish that haunt me all except one have been lost due to a clear error on my part.  Poorly tied knots or using to much force on a light tippet in fast water have resulted several long car rides home.    Loosing a great fish is frustrating but at least I can review what I did or didn't do and put them in the "Lesson learned" category.   Doing every thing right and still losing a trophy fish because of equipment failure is much harder to live with.  

A few unweighted nymphs for the shallows.

NAME: FLASH BACK PHEASANT TAIL NYMPH

HOOK:  #12 - #16 1XS 2XL NYMPH HOOK

THREAD: BROWN

TAIL: PHEASANT TAIL

ABDOMEN: PHEASANT TAIL

RIB: FINE GOLD WIRE

WING CASE: PHEASANT TAIL, HOLOGRAPHIC TINSEL WITH LOON UV THIN

THORAX: PEACOCK HERL

LEGS: MALLARD FLANK

HEAD: LOON U.V.

The last time I looked the Tiemco could be had for about a grand.

Here's another option- coming in at $900.

https://www.flyfishfood.com/products/fnf-talon-vise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3JoqeFTqDM

On 5/3/2023 at 9:38 AM, Steeldrifter said:

The way the spots cover the entire body of those bows is really cool. The ones here in Michigan usually only have the back and half the side spotted. That's neat the way it is all over on those there.

These are definitely stocked fish, maybe that makes a difference in their appearance?  I vastly prefer wild trout but that requires a 30 minute drive.  This river is 9 minutes down the road so it's perfect for after work.  Other than the first 2 weeks after stocking I haven't seen another angler. 

https://www.ketk.com/reviews/br/camping-outdoors-br/fishing-br/lady-angler-catches-pending-world-record-largemouth-bass-at-o-h-ivie-lake/amp/

Two from Monday and yesterday- We've had a good amount of rain lately and the rivers are high and ripping.  As it' all but impossible to get a good drift with the heavy flow I've been swinging wets.  

I love the Swift and fish it often, the well known pools are always busy and covid seemed to have doubled the amount of anglers.  But it is the best Brook Trout fishery in the state and fortunately almost everyone is after it's large bows and browns.   When I'm there I'm targeting Brookies and that usually results in me fishing where everyone else isn't. 

 Dan Trela is a great guy and a master on that river.  I've fished next to him many times at the pipe (week days when there are not as busy.) 

You really can't go wrong with any of the top of the line in vises.  It's really a matter of preference.  I have an HMH TRV and there is a 25 page review on this forum page that will tell you everything you need to know about the TRV.  I would imagine that Colorado has some pretty large fly shops?  My advise would be to get to one that stocks a large amount of vises and handle them or even try them out.  Then you can make a decision based on what you like.

19 hours ago, XPATier said:

I had a Norvise for a little while a few years ago and didn't really care for it either. I do have 2 Regal vises, both are the Regal Revolution models. One is the standard jaw and the other has the stainless jaw which  i really like but arthritis in my hands is starting to be a problem and squeezing open the jaws on the Regals are painful some days. I guess after tying for 45 years or so and tying 10's of thousands of flies commercially back in the day has taken its toll but I'm not giving in so easily. My hands are actually starting to feel better now that I stopped using the Regals for a few weeks. I do try and tie daily so I'm hoping I have many more tying days ahead.

I don't have any fly shops anywhere near me here in Texas like I had in Pennsylvania. I spent 50 years in Pa and sure do miss it at times. Back there between PA and NJ I had some great fly shops but there aren't any here within 90 minutes from me. Most don't carry top of the line vises either. 

Here is a pic of the first fly off the Master. "The Humpy".

Terry If arthritis is an issue with your hands than I would say you made the best choice.  A cam lever requires the least amount of effort to clamp a vise.   The TRV isn't too bad, on size 12 to 28 the TRV knob requires minimum force to tighten. I roll my thumb forward to tight and then take my right hand and go a quarter turn past that.   On large hooks #2 and up it's even easier, just roll my thumb forward and the radial grooves grab the hook.  Where you may have had an issue is with medium size hooks.  10's to 4's are to small to fit in the radial grooves so they require a good snug turn on the knob to get them to hold.   I can do it easily but I don't have arthritis.  

  I learned how to tie from watching  Davie McPhail and Oliver Edwards videos and they both use the LAW vise.  That's probably why I'm partial to the TRV.  As far as I know HMH is the only company, small though they may be, that produces this style vise.  I know there are several people in Europe making high quality LAW copies, essentially in a home work shop as Lawrence himself did.  But unless you know someone with one the only way to try one is to place an order.  When your talking a grand plus shipping that's a bit to risky for me.  Recently FNF, a company in Scotland started producing the "Talon" which is just becoming available through some suppliers in the U.S. It list for $900.

A perfectly tied Humpty- Nice work!

15 hours ago, XPATier said:

Well after getting everyone's opinion here and on other social media groups it seemed that there was a love/ hate relationship with the TRV. Some guys loved it, others hated it. After much thought I decided to go with the Renzetti Master.......oh AND the Renzetti Saltwater Clouser/Streamer vise too (you only live once). Both fantastic vises. The Master is smooth as butter. I thought my Dyna-King Barracuda was smooth....the Master is a pleasure to use. I've been tying some Clousers on the Clouser vise for bass and it is a great vise use.

Well again thank you guys for your input, very much appreciated.

Terry

trout-flies.com

Congratulations Terry- the Renzetti is a fine vise. 

The trouble with buying high end vises is that most of us can't try them out first.  It's not like the local box stores carry a full selection. I am fortunate to have Bears Den fly shop nearby. They are a very large fly shop and usually have the top of the line offerings from all of the major manufacturers sitting on the shelf.  It's the only place I know of where buyers can get a side by side comparison and make a decision about which one is best for them.  A high end vise is really a personal thing, more a decision about taste than function. I've never cared for the Regal or Norvise designs but I know people who wouldn't part with them for anything, I feel that way about my TRV.  It's all what you like.

14 hours ago, BobHRAH said:

Has HMH resolved the problem that Mark had to fix for SalarMan, or do current versions still require tuning?

Thanks, Bob H

"problem" is a strong word, the short answer is no.  However I would add the TRV is designed to and will hold the largest hooks down to #28's.  Salarman was tying Victorian style salmon flies and needed to add in spacers to protect the black Japaning from being marred and the TRV jaws wouldn't open wide enough to accommodate the spacers on the largest hooks.  Not really a problem for 99% of the fly tyers in the world.

A nice fat one.  Caught on a Wickham's Fancy winged wet.

10 hours ago, niveker said:

Great fish, DF

Thanks- it's one of the better ones I've landed in recent memory.  Given that I've had so many "spit the hook" on me this spring I was a bit worried that I was going to loose that one to.  Sometimes thing just go right.

16 hours ago, partsman said:

Nice rainbow DF, have you been using your bamboo rod? I’m still waiting for the rivers to come down a little here in Michigan, maybe this week.

Mike.

Thanks Mike- yes I used the bamboo 3 weight all of last year as well as this year.  It's become my go to on most days. I did a lot of experimenting with my home made leader and have found what the rod likes best relative to my particular casting style.  I can generally hit my target area out to about 35' which is all I need on the smaller streams I frequent.  One issue has been that tip no.2 has a persistent set to the right that keeps returning.  I use heat to bring it back to true but by the end of the day it's back although to a lesser degree.  Each time I straighten it the set becomes less and less so I think it's simply a matter of time until it's gone for good. 

 I hope your waters calm down enough to allow you to fish.  It seems like the season took forever to get here.  

Thank you sir, I am really humbled by your kind words. The white latex came from a balloon that I got in a pack at the dollar store. If you dab it with a marker the ink won’t sink in and it leaves those wonderful blotches. Then you cover it with UV, and it’s permanent.  The legs are simply tied in at the tip and palmered forward to the head.  Brush them down and pull the Latex over the top of the fibers.  

Oliver was my main influence, both for tying and fishing.  He had a passion for the history/traditions of the sport and I learned practically every technique I use from his videos.  Hell my dog is even named "Oliver".

Very sad-

Friday a 4 foot black water snake got my heart pumping after I almost stepped on it while it was sunning itself next to the path.  I'm pretty much indifferent about snakes except for when they catch me completely off guard, like this one did.  Any way I calmed down to avoid cardiac arrest and I got a nice Rainbow.  Caught on a #12 weighted stonefly pattern.

DUNK MONKEY

HOOK: #12 2XL

THREAD: #70 BLACK

TAIL: TURKEY BIOTS – RUSTY BROWN

ABDOMEN/BODY: DUNCAN’S UNDERCOAT (IF YOU DON’T HAVE A DUNCAN THEN ANY DOG’S LIGHT UNDERCOAT WILL DO)

RIB: COPPER WIRE

WING CASE: WHITE LAYTEX, DABBED WITH A BROWN MARKER AND COVERED WITH LOON U.V.

THORAX:  RUSTY BROWN DUBBING

LEGS: HEN HACKLE– SPECKELED BROWN

HEAD: LOON U.V.

GRAY STONEFLY

HOOK: #12 2XL

THREAD: #70 BLACK

TAIL: TURKEY BIOTS- BLACK

ABDOMEN/BODY: DARK GREY DUBBING

RIB: BLACK WIRE

WING CASE: TURKEY BIOTS- BLACK

THORAX: BLACK DUBBING

LEGS: HEN HACKLE - BLACK

20 hours ago, danishnavas@ said:

Nox Vidmate VLC

For what it’s worth - IMO any top of the line vise from the established manufacturers would be a pleasure to own and use. If you like a “Law style” vise you won’t be disappointed with a TRV.  When you get one you’ll never need another. It is as reliable as a steel anvil for all the reasons I’ve detailed previously on this thread. I purchased mine in December 2019. After hundreds of flies, It shows no wear other than the gun metal bluing fading at the jaw tips from my fingers rubbing.  I recently looked the jaws over with a jeweler's loop and didn’t find a single sign of wear. It’s a great piece of equipment from a company known for great customer service. When I called to order my vise, Jon who is the owner of HMH answered the phone.  I hope this helps and the best of luck with your quest!

Dean

I’ve had a rough start this year.  Over a couple of days I hooked and lost 8 stocked Bows and lost most of them at my feet, net in hand.  I had a few knots fail but mostly they’re spitting the hook at the bank.  I don’t fish a lot in the winter so even though I’m a seasoned fly angler lack of using my fish playing skills gave me problems.  I fish barbless so I’m used to losing a fish here or there but not 8 in a row.  I’ve felt like a baseball player in a slump over the last few days.  And just like a batter in a slump I started focusing on mechanics.  I started really thinking about what I might be doing differently from years past and it came to me.  When I fish any type of wet fly (upstream) prefer to not use a strike indicator (except on broken water).  I like to grease the 3’ of butt section of my leader to float it and use that as my indicator.  As with most upstream techniques slack on the water gives me a natural drift but there’s a fine line between the right amount and too much.  Bingo- too much slack on the water.  When the fish hit I wasn’t getting my best hook set.  A little extra slack is not as much a problem when hooking 6” to 8” wild fish but it’s a different story with the larger fish.  I got out for a short while yesterday after work, tightened up the slack line on the water a little and suddenly all seems well in the world.

I've always had luck with white flies when the sun is low in the sky-

On 4/15/2023 at 7:57 AM, niveker said:

Looks like a good time!

16 hours ago, Bryon Anderson said:

Normally I'm a vocal advocate for kayak fishing; like Utyer, I am a member of the NuCanoe plastic navy. I've owned two of them, and they have profoundly enhanced my fishing life. If you do end up looking at fishing kayaks at some point, I can't recommend them highly enough. 

All that being said - if you already own a 14' aluminum jon boat, I don't think a kayak is going to be able to do anything your jon can't do, and the jon has more versatility with regards to adding a motor, casting decks, gear storage, etc. Many people think kayaks are lightweight and inexpensive, but they're thinking about the kind of small, flimsy recreational craft that you see in big box stores. A fishing kayak that is worth its salt is going to start in the $1500-2000 range (slightly cheaper used), and it's going to weigh upwards of 80 pounds, and that's before you put a seat and all your gear in it, so, again -- not much of an improvement over what you've got, if any. Yes, you can car-top a fishing kayak, but it's a PITA, and not something I'd recommend for someone with back issues. So if you're going to need a trailer anyway --and I think you would--you might as well find a good used one for your jon boat and go fishing. 

Good luck and enjoy whatever you end up with! 

Well put- 

I like the fact that a kayak will get you there 100% of the time as long as you have a paddle and your arms work.  To that point I highly recommend getting a paddle lanyard.  When I'm focused on fishing it's surprisingly easy to knock the paddle over the side and you can became a giant bobber surprisingly quick.  Depending on the size of the water your on or in parts of the South where gators are present I wouldn't want to have to go for a swim.