2/1 PARTY on the AR

brian clemens · Senior Member

2/1 PARTY on the AR

shon42073 · Senior Member

That chromer was so sweet Brian ! I can vouch for Brian's report, He had a great day. I cant wait to see the pics. I only wish I could have landed mine, That type a fisning is a little new for me, Large river, and even larger trout. These are the type of trout i have only seen in pics. The one i lost just beat me, Thats all there is to it, Like a good ol a#@ kickin ! Great day on the water and nice to meet up with you guys. Brian, What about that super pig you helped that guy with at the end, Freakin had to be around 36 or 38 inches, UNBELEIVABLE ! And I wish I had a pic. of the look on emergers face when the rod snapped. Great day and lots of fun, I wish I would have tried this earlier.

ez · Senior Member

�� just wanted to thank all of for invitting me out..wish i could have hooked in to something !!! a snag - crap anything...but it was cool just to meet all of you anyway an just to hang....THANKS AGAIN......GOD BLESS

brian clemens · Senior Member

the rod snap was great, "ouhhh ohh" the face was priceless. ya that hog as about around the 36-38. it was a big fish. no dought about that. well, hope i get a new 7wt or my 6wt fixed before the possible closure on the river. but i really dont think it will happen. they will think about it for atleast a yr, spend a lot of money on studies on the river and what not. so if it does happen i am all for it. but i really dont think it will.

hey cappy i know you want to do it again. just let me know when.

-- Edited by brian clemens at 12:51, 2008-02-02

LilWhippersnapper · Senior Member

Haha, so I break your 8wt last week, and emerger breaks your 6wt yesterday. You're hitting putah on wednsday... I'll be there with you. Yes, I'm inviting myself.

dtp916 · Senior Member

Brian, congrats on a great day. You gotta get something heavier than a 6wt for all these beasts and hotties you are catching. I wouldn't get a TFO for a steelhead rod, the Scott A2 is a fantastic rod with a $295 price tag, save your money for an extra month and get a Scott. Try casting a Winston Vapor for the same price...

Scott A2�� 9' �� 7wt �� 4 piece �� 4.1 oz�� $295��
Scott A2�� 9'6"� 7wt�� 2 piece�� 4.2 oz�� $265
�"�� "�� "�� "�� 4 piece�� 4.4 oz�� $295
Winston Vapor�� 9'�� 7wt�� 4 piece�� 4.5 oz�� $295
Winston Vapor�� 10'� 7wt�� 4 piece�� 4.9�� $295

Tioga reels are rock solid construction and will take a beating, I wonder why you didn't like it....?

What were the hot flies? Poopahs and what else?

-- Edited by dtp916 at 13:48, 2008-02-02

ez · Senior Member

�sounds like u guys were doing some fishing after i left...sorry but i had a 2hr drive but turned into 3hr .....

brian clemens · Senior Member

the tiogas drag, the click drag doesnt feel right, the tighter you make you drag the harder it is to reel the thing. not a big fan of that.

as far as the rod, i will stick with the 6wt, its a good rod, and i will never put it down. the 7wt was a great rod, but didnt give me that fight i was looking for, kinda easy to bring�in some of those fish. the chromer no, that was great fight, and could just imagine what it would have been on my 6wt.�

anywas�the rod didnt break because of a fish, it broke because i snapped a lil peice off of it a while back while roll casting the hell out of it, it broke a 1/2" pc of the end, i super glued it for temp fix, it was only time before it broke due to hair line fractures in the rod.�ill get it fixed though the warranty and be out on the water with it the next day.

i sorry that you think i need to go�up to a 7wt, but sorry�to say this but for steelies my 6wt will always be by my side. it aint gettin put away anytime soon. its to much fun to land a big fat hottie fish on my 6wt.�so again sorry but i love the fight to much, and well a 7wt just wont give that to me. you may think that a 6wt is to light, but you can ask any of those that i fish with, (shoot even got some pics, well will have more come next week but i do have pics to prove that i can handle big fish just fine with a 6wt)�i handle fish, and big fish at that, without any technical difficulties associated with my 6wt, just my clumpsy dumb ars stumbling all over the place while fighting the fish.

not to be rude, but�lets get off the 6wt subject. actually how about we just put it to rest and not bring it up again.�i have my fishing ways you have yours. we are all different wnen it comes to fishing styles.

anways�i brought back the sage fli, and picked up a few tfos. more my price range atleast for right now. and they just brought in a really nice blacked out tfo professional. 9ft 7wt 4pc medium fast rod, new cost about 150-175 compared to the other tfo that i was looking at which was a tfo "jim" teeny whcih is 199, both really nice rods, but the teeny was just a bit more faster action than i like. but the professional was perfect. These medium fast and progressive action rods, not like the teeny which is fast action with a powerful lower butt section. a medium action is not enough on the AR or any river that matter for steelhead, or salmon, atleast a medium fast. chuck uses a nice medium fast 8'6" 7wt rod that loads perfectly. so i think ill be gettin the professional tfo 7wt.

-- Edited by brian clemens at 13:41, 2008-02-02

-- Edited by brian clemens at 13:51, 2008-02-02

dtp916 · Senior Member

You got a malfunctioning reel, Brian.

I have a Tioga and its landed big, wild browns on 6x tippet and it sure doesn't get harder to reel in when I tighten the drag.

And having a lighter rod for fighting a fish is great, but you will learn as you get farther in to your fly fishing endeavor that one line weight up will make a significant difference in lifting power, indicator/shot casting, wind driving casts, and of course fish fighting capabilities.

if you like the feel of light-line for steelies, get a medium action. You would be amazed on what a 15" trout feels like on a 5wt Winston BIIt compared to a 5 wt Sage TCR.

Just some food for thought.

dtp916 · Senior Member

I never said you needed to go up to a 7wt, Brian. Geez! I was just trying to offer some advice! It appears you don't want any. Ok then.

You keep talking 7wts so I thought you were in the market for a new stick.

-- Edited by dtp916 at 14:02, 2008-02-02

shon42073 · Senior Member

I also didn't like that tioga reel. Looked and felt cheap, Didnt do that sweet rod justice.

brian clemens · Senior Member

so you are saying instead of a 6wt fast action get a 7wt medium action, or maybe medium fast action.

ya that reel was sweet but the tighter the drag, the harder it was to reel, not saying that had to really crank it, but you could tell it was harder to reel with a tighter drag, so i compinsated, i loosened the drag more that i normally would and used my palm in adding drag when i need it.

but ya hit me back on the wt thing

dtp916 · Senior Member

I'm saying fish whatever you want.

But 30+" chrome steelhead would be more adequately handled with a 7wt or even 8wt. Have you ever seen Jim teeny's steelhead video? He's using 8 and 9 wts...but he is also throwing sinking lines which I don't think you have been doing....and he's catching big ass Oregon steelhead.

What i am saying is that if you want to "feel the fight' get a longer, softer rod. Medium action 10' will bend down to the freakin cork and a 25" steelie will feel like a rocket. IMO.

Different rods are designed for different situations and are useful in a wide variety of circumstances. Most guys want one rod for everything or most things. Some rods are capable of that, most aren't.

Same goes for fly lines. Fly lines need to be properly assigned to the correct action of the rod to load properly and feel nice.

But I'll tell you what, there is nothing better than when it all comes together with the perfect rod, reel, line, tippet and everything works together in harmony and you land that perfect fish.......It's a great feeling and you thank the river gods for your equipment and for the ability and skill to land your fish.

-- Edited by dtp916 at 14:11, 2008-02-02

-- Edited by dtp916 at 14:19, 2008-02-02

brian clemens · Senior Member

you took what i said a lil wrong dtp, i am in the market to get a 7wt, but the 6wt will be by myside always and forever, it was my first 6wt rod, that i landed som great fish on, and i was just stating that i will always fish steelies with it thats all.

well i have been looking into the longer rods as well 10-11 ft, they have their pros and cons, but i think a nice 7wt with a stiff butt section, and a light tip would work great, can fish for largemouth with it, and still be able to pull them out of stuff with the butt section, strippers, salmon if i want to give that a go, and ofcourse steelhead. the action, if i choose to will probably be medium fast 7wt, with 8wt line. but who knows, only time will tell. maybe ill have a good friend make a nice rod for me. who knows.

brian clemens · Senior Member

whats the point in bending the rod to the cork, i look at it like this, if you have a rod that bends to the cork, you can go with lighter tippet, but shoot, you wont have any back bone to horse the fish, thats just in my mind, seems like you would have to play the fish a lil more, due to the action of the rod, dont get me wrong, i tried a medium actio nrod and loved it, just dont know if i would like to fight a fish on one. on ya and with a 10' rod you have to beach a fish instead of netting a fish, and with a noodle rod, seems like beaching would be a lil harder to do without back bone.

Packrat · Senior Member

I think too much thought is being given to the action of rods. The action has more to do with how the rod casts than how it will play a fish or strength or the rod. Depending on your casting style, floating or sink tip lines, nymphing or dry...all these are factors to consider when making a rod decision. The best comment so far is that there is no 1 rod that will do everything. But, a medium fast action will get you into the middle ground where most guys will want to be with regards to action.

shon42073 · Senior Member

Next time instead of using a bunch of shot i"m pulling out the sinktip line. Thats a good point dtp, Seems people want one rod that does it all, Not gonna happen. I am a huge fan of medium action rods. Remeber guys, We all have the same goal, just different opinions on how that goal is best acheived. Its an art, so nobody is wrong or right biggrin

.

dtp916 · Senior Member

I understand you, Brian.

Scott makes rods with stiff butt sections for fishing fighting. I don't fish TFO but the Jim teeny model has a stiff butt for turnover and lifting power.

7wt is a great bass and striper rod. As far as topwater and shallow depths. It is hard to cast a 300 gr line and a 2/0 clouser in the wind on the delta, but it can be done with a 7wt....tough, but can be done with the right rod.

Most guys don't like soft tips for bass...which is why Sage and Scott created their warmwater series. Some bass fishing requires manhandling the fish to the boat so they don't run into the weeds. Ask Al about the time his buddy snapped his 8wt Sage XP on Clear Lake on an 8 lb bass...

Bass/Striper fishing on the delta is a blast by the way. You can pretty much use the same fly the whole time too.

I understand your relationship with your 6wt. I feel the same way about my 3wt Winston BIIx - greatest rod I have ever owned.

dtp916 · Senior Member

Brian. You are mistaken.

If you have seen any sal****er fly fishing pics, you would know these fish will smoke you, burn out 200+ yards of backing with your drag cranked ALL THE WAY DOWN, bend your rod to the cork on a ultra stiff fast action, all while swimming 40, 60, 80 MILES PER HOUR in some cases. You want a fish that fights, fish salt. Talk to Al about fishing salt. Ask him about wahoo and tuna.

This is 14wt SAGE Xi2 (not me

):

You won't have to beach a fish with a 10' rod. Medium action is not necessarily a noodle rod. That would be SLOW action. But yes, you are correct you will have to fight the fish longer in some cases, but I thought that's what you like, the fight??? You can horse a fish with a lighhter rod and tippet because it will protect the tippet. I horsed in 23" rainbow on a 3wt recently on the creek. if you haven't fished a 3wt before, a 14' trout feels like a freakin cannon.

And with the size of fish you have been catching lately what kind of massive net are you towing around? Lose the tape measure and get a scale to attach to the net and weigh these monsters. Landon Mayer style. For those of you who don't know Landon Mayer and his skills, google him...guy is crazy......Crazy good at catching beasts. His video is highly recommended.

Back to the point. Brian, fish whatever you want. You will learn so much more over the years of fly fishing, as you have proved to accomplished quite a bit in the 10 or so months you have been at it.

Good luck with whatever rod/reel set up you go with. smile

-- Edited by dtp916 at 15:27, 2008-02-02

-- Edited by dtp916 at 15:29, 2008-02-02

shon42073 · Senior Member

thats pretty cool dtp, Now thats some serious bend.

brian clemens · Senior Member

well that is food for thought, i will look into things more before i buy a rod, maybe try out a few more too. never saw a rod do that before, bend all the way to the cork. not used to that one bit.

Emerger · Senior Member

Thought I'd post a pic of one of your fish from that day. Wish I could of stayed longer so that I could have seen the chromer. What a day! Those fish were enormous. So sorry about your rod bro! Thanks again for loaning it to me, I'm definitely hooked on fishing the steelies and will be ready with a rig of my very own by the start of next year's season. biggrin

brian clemens · Senior Member

that would be the fish that took my eztaz egg / brian c custom pupah dropper combo. man that is such a great feeling to tie your own flies the night before, it being�the first time that you tied any fly ever. and then catch a fish on it the next day.

new yrs resolution- catch a fish on a fly i tied check
new yrs resolution- catch a fish on a streamer check

got a few more to go but that is a start.

besides needing to get a new rod, might have to pick up a few things to start tying flies. i tell you what if you havent tied flies, its a great feeling to catch a fish on one. you cant explain it, and its like fly fishing, you do it once, and you just want to keep doing it. i really think that it makes you a better fly fisherman if you tie your own flies as well. you take what others have done and copy from it, but also put you own personal touch to it.

-- Edited by brian clemens at 19:32, 2008-02-02

WytEurp · Senior Member

Brian, Brother.... you have the worst luck with poles.....Id stick with the SAGE so you can send it back and get a new one when it breaks....Wish I could have been there....headed out to putah right now to give this bamboo rod a try....Ill let you know how it goes....

shon42073 · Senior Member

Brian, streamers were the way to go on friday, defenitly. I didnt even bring my streamer box. But check out these pics, I was wishin I had these with me. I think the black one will kick some butt. by the way my camera is really old and a peice of crap.

-- Edited by thecaptain at 16:59, 2008-02-03

brian clemens · Senior Member

cappy pm sent

Misterbill · Member

Tioga "Malfunction"?

brian clemens · Senior Member

2/1 PARTY on the AR

dtp916 · Senior Member

MisterBill:

You said it better than most guys at a fly shop ever could. Thanks for sharing great info and advice! I agree with what you said 100%.

And good call on the reel, the backwards drag/spool combo never would have crossed my mind. But it makes perfect sense.

-- Edited by dtp916 at 14:22, 2008-02-04

brian clemens · Senior Member

as far as the reel, i triple checked that thing, just to make sure i wasnt being dumb. and i wasnt, if i tightened it down all the way, either the drag wouldnt move, or you could reel it. i think it was just a defaulty reel. one way i couldnt reel it at all and the drag was loose, and the other way i could reel it and that drag wouldnt move. just that the tighter the drag the harder it was to reel. probably a faulty reel. thats all.