flyfisher

sharpies are a wonderful thing. Another good paint is the foam flex paint you can get at places like Michaels or other craft stores. It lasts a little longer, especially if you cover it with some flexible UV like solarez flex.

we call that the bikini hatch around here and there are certain areas where even the bikini is optional and the hatch is in full swing right now As far as having a delightful hour or whatever and not catching, nah. I mean it is better than a lot of the alternatives that I could be doing but I am not a go out and enjoy nature and catching fish is a bonus guy. I go out to catch fish and if I don't, I am irritated.

Small stream rods for me mean short length and 3-4 wt. If the small streams have the room, a longer rod will help when mending and dropping flies into pockets etc. I know many on here recommend the 5/6 wt range to learn on and I will be the dissenting opinion. You can learn just fine on a smaller weight rod and as I think about it of all the rods I own, I am pretty sure I have never owned a 5 or a 6 lol Lots of good deals out there now too as rods from some companies are switching models and old are going on sale. If you have a loval fly shop, definitely go in and talk to them and they can guide you on what works well and also many offer a free intro lesson to casting. Have fun and keep asking querstions as there is a lot of great fly fishing knowledge on this site, even if we lurk in the shadows

It is all about confidence and now your confidence is higher and that will result in more awareness and probably more fish. I used Copoly on my jig rod for a while and switched to braid and have seen the opposite result that you have but I do also use 40lb braid not 65 so the diamter is much smaller. Bottom line is if it works don't mess with it until it doesn't.

Honestly I have found poppers with rubber legs out the side in the color of the dragon flies that are buzzing around work just as well as any dragonfly pattern. Around here that usually means a carolina blue or dark green. If you want an actual drgaonfly pattern there are some easy foam ones out there that are pretty quick ties. Maybe I will whip some up tonight but basically it is just some foam tied on the hook shank allowed to extend off the back about double the hook shank length, tied in a way to give the segmented appearance, some wings, I use snythetic but anything works really, then you can put eyes, I usually don't and then tie off the head. Turns out something like this usually but without the eyes. Don't make them too complicated becuase generally you are casting them, letting them sit or float a little if there's current, give it a little twitch and then lift and repeat.

Got a new kayak via warranty and here it is pretty much ready to go. Rigged up with stick steer for my motor and it is fantastic. Last shot is from my recent trip to the susky so you can see the mounting plate I made for the anchor system off the bow.

No wading trip for me as I would be on my kayak. Juniata is where I went this time and it was solid for sure.

I am gonan try to get up there again this fall but with teaching and kids soccer it is always a challenge to get away for more than a day.

That isn't that expensive given what it is but what it is odd is I cannot find any specs on thrust or anything on their website. If it is there, it isn't that obvious to find. That isn't that expensive given what it is but what it is odd is I cannot find any specs on thrust or anything on their website. If it is there, it isn't that obvious to find.

Good loking flies. I went out today and the hot fly was an articulated popper. I usually put the hook in the head though, like the action more. I used the howitzer popper heads though.

Just get one of these and you will be fine. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GFFXTLT?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_K3A47RK56C8YVEK6M14Z

I thought about it but I also knew I had a 4+ hour drive to make it back home. If I had some more action in the last hour or so I probably would have stayed. If I lived 45 minutes from there I would no doubt be there often as that is about my normal drive length to hit most of my spots.

Some groups allow it from the beginning but Hobie is a little more strict from the jump like no motors for one.

Yeah I didn't follow it through the correct side of the overhand knot and figured I'd see if it still held, and it did.

Yup, they had to adjust the rules so that you could wade as long as you were tethered to your kayak.

why don't you like loop knots? And this isn't a perfection loop, lefty loop Totally worth the drive. We usually do a multi day river trip each summer and camp on an island somewhere but it wasn't in the cards this year. Susky was ridiculously low, not even sure if you could fish much with a kayak unless you were wiling to walk it around a bunch. Briery is a great lake but if you come down again, go to Sandy river reservoir, same area really but not as crowded and produces just as many quality fish as Briery does. I haven't been to Briery in a while though cause for that length of drive, abotu 90 minutes for me, I usually just head up the james a little further than I usually do. I grew up fishing the Delaware for smallies from about Yardley up to the water gap. basically wherever I could drive and wade I was in. Haven't fished it in a while though but my parents still live up there.

Knowing you from your posts I can bet that you had a level and tape measure out when putting them on too Something to do in your cold winters....

I taught summer school this year so I haven't had much time to get out and I didn't get a chance to go fishing with my dad up in PA. Well on a whim I decided I would do just that. Even though it is a 4+hour drive one way, the smallie water there is worth it. Left the house at 3am and was on the river by 8:30. Water is super low everywhere and chock full of eel grass which made fishing a little difficult but having a kayak i can stand in made a huge difference. I could see the slots and holes in the grass and pick where to drop my fly or float over the top. Started out with topwater and first fish was a nice 17" smallie. After that is was a bunch of under 15" fish on topwater and gamechangers. Got off the water around 6:30 and headed back to VA. Was a great trip and my dad who is almost 80 spent the whole day out there too and held it together nicely. Ended up catching 4, 17" or larger and my new largest on a fly rod at 19" and 3.5lbs on the dot.

On a whim decided to tie something up a little larger....5/0 stinger style hook in the rear attached to a 40mm shank up front. It is amazingly light given its synthetic materials and it is tied pretty sparse as well.

Heading out Wednesday to do some smallie fishing and needed a few of the finesse gamechangers so I tied up a few....might do a few more tomorrow. Smaller ones are on a #1 gamakatsu B10s and the smaller ones are on a 2/0 umpqua stinger and yeah i know it doesn't make sense but the hook shapes are so different that it does. For whatever reason, the pink will get bit when others won't and yellow always is a winner for me and the smallies.

I was talking to a guy atr a show once who is a world class river smallie angler and he basically said one thing you have to remember with bass and smallies in particular, if they get curious enough they don't have hands so the only way to check something out is to pick it up in their mouth. This was in reference to winter fishing and going painfully slow and the impact scent makes in these situations. I have taken that info to heart though and I do think it makes a difference. So long answer to your question is yeah, they absolutely will.

Add me to the instruction list for the most part. I pay good money for my gear and I want it to perform flawlessly and the only way to do that is to understand how it works and is adjusted.

I don't fish any lakes that are high pressure but I do fish rivers that have massive amounts of people tubing, canoeing and recreatinally kayaking every weekend and I have caught fish right after they pass a spot. River fish are different though and not as soft as their lake counterparts

I wish i had a garage type space to do those type of engine repairs and have an old vehicle to work on but I don't, yet. I think for that pool liner I'm paying the 2k to get it done lol. I have a temporary above ground pool and i leveled the yard and crap this year and said I won't do it again lol

Just do a disc brake conversion