so a very close fishing buddy of mine said he wanted to go fly fishing. which he has only done once and that was in the winter time for steelhead. so figured why not hit the yuba. so we did. we walked all the way up to wht weir and fish ladders just to take a look. and what do you know not one single fish. and not even one rise or jump all the way up from hallwood. anyways so we got there took a break and we both decided to fish all the way back. didnt get nothing at the first section that we came to but the next one looked very nice perfect little tail out chute section the it got deep on one side with fast water and well it was shallow on the other side but around the 4ft deep mark where we could fish from. second cast ( i was using a stonefly immitation that i made as well as a pupah) i got hammered on the swing at the bottom of my drift where it went from deeper fast water to the 4ft section we was standing in. being a yuba trout it fought hard, but it wasnt huge 16"er, but it was beautiful and well i caught it on my flys which made it even better. anyways so we really didnt fish all that hard just enjoying the water. then came to this nice section of water. then nothing for a while. i was fishing a tailout chute with my buddy it had a huge tree in the middle of it that had some nice white water on either side. i was fishing that when my buddy said huge fish easy 15lbs. told him dont touch it with my 6wt i dont need to break it, ill get it with my 7wt. so i roll up and its slowing moving upstream. the looks of it it was as steelhead and a big one at that. first cast the fish looked at it, but i didnt get down low enough. second cast was solid. the fish went for it and took it and i set the hook hard. fought it for about 15mins in the fast water and my tippet broke. lost both flys that i tied a stonefly and my pupah that i caught my prev fish on. so i switched to a bead and hook, and after a few cast and crossing the river at 900cfs in 2ft deep water i hooked it again and she shot up river fast, and i had to run with her. she moved above the chute which was much easier wader but still about a foot and a half deep and flowing at 900cfs but it was wide so not to bad. she broke my drag on my reel so now i have to palm it. i am running up stream 50-60 yrds down stream 50-60 yrds and well as one side of the river to the other. this happened more than just once. i am gettin very tired at this point, the fish is showing no regards to my health or stamina. my buddy finally shows up and i tell him to get infront of the fish ill get at its 8 o'clock position and move it to the shallows (by slapping the water and stomping on the bottom of the river) so you can tail her. it was working until she decided to head straight back down stream towards the big fallen tree. i said oh sh-t this wont be fun. i am on the bad side of the river so i have no leverage to pull her away from the tree and it would take way to long to walk up and around. so i started to take off all my gear my hat and glasses, buddy was like what are you doing. i said
"A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT" he said brad pitt style i said hell ya, and it will be my first. so starting to walk into the water flowing at 900 and its about 3ft deep and about 20 ft across, ya i didnt have a chance in hell to make it, next thing i know my feet are out from underneath me and i am fully underwater, i nail my already busted up shin on a rock, and then my reel comes flying off. go figure that i brake my reel, actually it was the spool that broke off. so i finally make it across, still having the fish on, but having to find my spool with fly line all wrapped around my feet, and my shin bleeding very badly. i sit in some slower water to untangle my feet and put my spool back on and it falls off again. the shaft broke and my drag gear is gone, so i have to hold the spool on and palm it for a drag system. and after all that i still have the fish on. i tell my buddy to go grab the gear to get the camera, he said no we need to land it first i told him i got it and get the gear. he leaves and 15 mins later comes back, meanwhile those 15 mins that i was fighting the fish he could have grab the fish 5 times. he gets back drops the gear gets in the water and is only 5 ft away from the fish when it does its final good bye headshakes and comes undone. i did notice it had a black mouth so it wasnt a steelhead it was a salmon, a good 18lber at that. when it came undone i got my previous set up back. yup thats right i hooked my first fly which was my stonefly that i tied the night before and i hooked it in the middle of the fly which was sweet. just tells me that i am making some strong hardy flies. after that i was battered and bruised and tired to boot. so i told my buddy that i would kinda guide him on the rest of the pools and that i wont fish anymore. my arm was dont, i could hardly walk. that fish beat me up hard, BUT I LOVED EVERY MINUTED OF IT.
so after a few riffles with no luck, i took the reels off both rods, put everything in the back pack, and we both floated all the way back to the car.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
The ol' orvis rocky mountain finally went down? What a valiant reel. I have one sitting here in a box I'll give you if you want another one that's gears aren't toast.
actually the orvis is holding up strong, its my sth that went down. valiant reel huh. pm sent.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
well the big problem was that my buddy has a really bad knee so he had to move slower than some of us would. i know if one of you from this sit was there, that fish would have been landed, 8000 pics taken then back in the water to do her duty. but hey its a day that i will never forget when i fought a 18lb salmon on my 7wt rod only using 4x tippet. yes i said 4x tippet, see my original set up was 2x down to 3x which went to my first fly to 4x which went to the dropper. when i lost that set up i went straight to 2x with a bead and hook. when i hooked it i thought i was in the fishes mouth, just the way it was headshaking and how the fish went and took the bead and how i could turn it, which wasnt easy but i did. my 4x tippet is only rated at 6.4 lbs, and the fish was 3 times that. i am highly impressed with the strength characteristics of the tippet now. much respect for it, and i now know what i can do with my tippet material. i put some serious power on that tippet and it held up like a champ. i do wish one of you were there, but hey it was withing 5ft of me at one time, i didnt get to touch it or beach it, but hey it was close enough for me.
ya time for a new reel, been looking at the tioga magnums, also the redington cd series. so we shall see here soon.
but if anyone has a 7wt reel that is no longer in use and collecting dust pm me and let me know. i might be interested in buying it.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
ur funny matt, as chrome as it was i thought it was a big steelie, but with its last head shakes i saw the black mouth. shoot it targeted my flies. you would have done the same thing.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
You have to watch out when you hook a salmon that no one in a green uniform is watching. You're not supposed to try to hook into salmon and if you accidentally do you are supposed to break them off immediately.....just so you know:)
Just read through it again...a bead and a hook....you're bordering on unethical there Brian, I'd hate to see you get pinched by a Warden.
well it wasnt that type of bead, it wasnt a 9ft leader with a tiny bead and a hook. not like what they use up at numbus, it was one that immitates an egg that was tooth picked one inch above the hook on and indicator. just like i do when i steelhead fish. and thats what i thought it was, it went after my pupah just as it did my egg immitation, i thought it was a steelhead until the last 5 mins with its headshakes, had i known that it was a salmon i wouldnt have even tried to hook the fish.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
I figure if your out there tearin up gear and fishin hard thats a good thing. If you smoke a reel thats an even better thing. As for unethical, Well I'm sure there will be plenty of that come winter. Hey Brian, Stop screwin around with reels and just be done and get an Abel !
Fly Fishing Specialties in Citrus Heights has two Abel Exstream 789 reels on clearance (under $280). I'm considering buying one as a backup. That's the same reel as the Big Game 3N, but it has a plain matte finish and less porting. This reel won't fail you.
thats just to far out of my price range right now. ill be going on vacation back to new york for most of sept (after oneweights truckee rendevous) so from the 9th through the 28th ill ne in NY. so need to save for that. dont know what i am gonna do yet, but i have been checking out some redington cd series, some orvis battlekills ofcourse, which i have put my orvis rocky mountain through hell and back, and its still holding up. so both those companies might be gettin my business. who knows. only time will tell.
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
well i didnt buy an abel, but from what JT was telling me, and what he told me to buy, i bought a reel just as good. its a work horse and built brian tough, like a tank. and for the price cant beat it. normally 180 for the reel but on ebay stores i picked it up for 125 with free shipping. whats the reel you ask.
teton tioga magnum #8. and the spare spool is on its way as well. ill put 7wt floatin line on one spool and my 7wt sink tip on the other. both lines load up my 7wt fairly well, but i know for a fact they will load up my 6wt even better. so not only can i use it on my 10ft 7wt redfly2 but as well as my 9ft 6wt redfly2. both rods kick but on steelhead, but not as well on salmon, hahaha. maybe i will get a 8wt rod soon and get a spare spool for that rod as well. but i have been looking at a certain 3wt at a local shop that is about 100 dollars cheaper than what it should be so i might just pick that up.
so thats the new news on the bc front, new reel on its way, and i should have it before my upcoming feather or yuba trip on thursday, and my trinity day trip as well which will be the week after, and dont for get about the truckee trip the week after that. shoot, looks like the teton will get some use after all. oh ya and dont forget about my vacation to new york, where ill be fishing for muskys and northern pike on the st lawrence river and upstate new york rivers lakes and streams.
man i cant wait. oh yaaaaa.
-- Edited by brian clemens at 17:10, 2008-08-15
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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.
