Cabela's Prime Fiberglass Fly Rod

Cathey and I stopped by the new Cabela’s in Huntsville Friday on our way to see our daughter’s family in Tennessee. This store is larger than the one we visited back in the summer in Nebraska. I was really impressed with all the merchandise I saw in the store especially in the fly fishing department where I spent the majority of my time. The main reason for the stop was to purchase some new fly line and some waist waders. I haven’t replaced my 3 weight fly line in four years and wouldn’t replace it now but the loop broke and I didn’t want to use a knot to connect leader and fly line. I clean all my fly lines at least 4 or five times a year and I assume that is why it lasted as long as it has. The price of the fly line is ridiculously high so I was looking for a quality line, at a reasonable price

Cabela's Prestige fly line was exactly what I was looking for.  

I feel my chest waders with the seams wearing are nearing their last wade and will need to be replaced for this season. I’ve wanted to try some waist waders for some time not only for the comfort in the summer months but for the depth of water I wade in now. I never wade in water nowadays above my knees.

After suiting up in a couple of pair, I finally settled on Cabela's Breathable Premium waders.

As always when I visit the big box sporting goods stores, I find something that I think I just can’t do without. Well, today was no exception; after touching the surface and feeling the flex of Cabela’s Prime fly rod I was impressed big time!! The 7’ 1” ---4 weight was awesome, but a number of anglers looking at the fly rod in the store as well as me all agreed that Cabela needs to add a 3 weight in the 7 ft. series. I have fished with numerous fiberglass fly rods over the years, but the Prime is in another class, simply put; it is the best fiberglass fly rod I have ever touch!!! 

*********Check out the reviews on this fly rod*********

Interchanging Fly Line Weights With Fly Rod Weight

 

I started experimenting towards the end of the fishing season last year with interchanging different line weights with the fly rod weight. I did this because at times fishing the tailrace I experienced lots of wind in some of the narrow areas. I started using a 5 weight line with my 4 wt fly rod to help cut through the wind a little better. I found the exchange made it much easier to cast and place the fly with more accuracy. I also discovered that with the wind ripples on the surface I didn’t need the longer leader in the 9 -10ft. range; I could actually fish a 7 ½ ft. leader and get even more accuracy. So hopefully I have the wind problem solved when it is whipping down the gorge at break neck sped.

 After trying the “wind scenario” and it proving to be successful; my next experimental pairing will be to use 2 or 3 weight line with my 4 wt 8 ½ ft. fly rod. With this pairing I still have the power in the rod, but I am getting a much softer and lighter presentation of the fly as it touches the surface. Using a 9 to 10 ft leader/tippet size will cause even less disturbance on the surface. The trout here experience a lot of fishing pressure and I feel the lighter the better for me when it comes to producing a take on a tiny dry or nymph. This will be my first set-up I will be experiment with when I get back on the water. I know a lot you guys have interchanged lines with rod weights; what’s your take on line weight verses rod weight?

 

Hope all you guys have a great Christmas!!!

What is Your Remedy For That Dreaded Line Twist?

Line twist is a common occurrence in fly fishing if one fly fishes enough. I have often wondered why my tippet line sometimes looks like a twisted pretzel when I have completed a cast.  It is so frustrating when you are landing fish and all of sudden you noticed your tippet is tingled into your leader and sometimes even into your fly hook. I have done a little research on the subject and found different opinions from individuals and even fly companies. One opinion is the line size itself; using a larger tippet size will cut down on the twist. The assumption here is the larger tippet size is a bit stiffer making it more difficult for the twist to occur. I was even told that the fly itself can play a part in the twist, especially if the fly has a lot of hackle. They base this assumption on too much false casting which can cause the fly to spin in mid air resulting in line twist. Another theory is having your tippet line too long, which causes the line to overlap in a series of loops which can also cause knots in the line along with twist. I have tried all these suggestions and found that the line size makes more sense and works best for me. Of course one can’t use larger tippet line all the time especially when staking trout on a clear stream. In that situation it would seem you would just have to adjust to a smaller tippet size and accept the fact that you may encounter twist. What is your remedy to alleviate line twist?  

The Rio Nymphing Line for Numbers of Flies

I was watching a Kelly Galloup video the other night and he really got my attention when he mentioned the nymphing line he was using. In fact I didn’t know that there was fly line specifically design to fish one, two or even three nymphs. Along with the nymphs of course you have the weight to get the flies down. The nymphing line would enable you to cast with much more ease as opposed to your standard weight forward line. The following line by Rio is a good example of a nymphing line.

Rio's Nymph line is ideal for nymph fishing under all conditions; whether indicator, Czech, high stick or dead drift nymphing. The profile has a very long back taper and body for easy roll casting and mending and the short front taper ensures that casting weighted nymphs, indicators and big air-resistant flies is no problem. RIO’s Super Floatation Technology creates an ultra high floating tip that stays up under normal conditions and the high visibility tip is a built-in strike indicator. The Nymph line has a welded loop on the front tip for easy rigging and fast leader changes The line features RIO's amazing AgentX coating that ensures the line remains buoyant and super smooth, while the new Extreme Slickness Technology featured in this line creates a super slick coating that repels water and dirt and adds distance to each cast.

Want Distance When Casting Your Big Bass Poppers???

Made a quick trip to Smith Lake yesterday to try and land some early morning spots with the Boggle Bug black 6 poppers yesterday. I found out right quick that they were having nothing to do with the popper or anything else I threw at them. I landed numbers of bull bluegills which was in bad shape, because of the heavy spawn. This time of year the gills have lost so much weight. The savage fight they put up in the spring is all but gone now because of a slimmer body. The spots are harder to land in the hot summer months too because they go deep and usually don’t come back to shallow water until it starts cooling off in the fall. I am looking forward to landing some quality spots in October and November.

  I always discover something new on every trip and yesterday was no exception. I have been experiencing problems in getting distance with the # 6 popper and larger, so yesterday I spooled a new fly line called the Bass Bug from the Mastery Series Scientific Angler. It is a heavier line that will take the wind much better and also move a heavy popper much farther through the air as opposed to casting the tradition fly line. I was using the 6 wt. which worked to perfection for me. The cast was effortless because of the weight of the line propelling the popper so well. Has anyone out there used this line and if so how did you like it performance?     

Experimenting With Line Weights and Rod Weights

I was experimenting the other day with line weights and decided to switch my fly reels loaded with 3, 4, and 5 weight lines to my different rod weights that I fish. In trying these different combo’s I also used different weighted flies with the fly lines such as big bass poppers, and a tiny size 28 midges. I found the answer to all this interchanging was pretty significant. In other words overloading a heavy weighted line on light 3 wt rod could make for a long and frustrating day on the water. The same thing hold true for the opposite end of the spectrum. This experiment only proves what I knew, but was curious to try, that selecting the right weight line to match the correct weighted rod is imperative when fly fishing. The following guide is an excellent example to use when selecting the right line weight when fishing for a particular species of fish. What category do you fall in?

Determining the Right Fly Line Weight

So, what line weight is right for you? A summary of recommended line weights for various fishing by species and conditions is:

Fly Line Weight 1-3: Small trout, panfish, other small fish. Used when casting small flies on short casts.

Fly Line Weight 4: Small to medium sized trout and other similarly sized fish. Used when casting small flies and medium sized flies using short to medium-short casts.

Fly Line Weight 5-6: The most versatile of the line weights. This line weight fishes well for all but the smallest and all but the largest trout. Also performs adequately for smaller bass (not the lunkers in some Florida lake). Fishes well when using small, medium and larger sized flies (not massive streamers, though). Allows for longer casts yet performs short casts fairly well.

Fly Line Weight 7-8: Designed for very large trout and large bass as well as some saltwater species. Used for pitching large streamers and large flies. Longer casts are excellent. Not the best for short casts. And most definitely not designed for smaller fish and smaller flies.

Fly Line Weight 9-14: Large fish territory. Mainly used for saltwater fishing and fishing for Salmon and Steelhead.

Question About Line Weight

 Thought I would start the New Year off by putting a question out there for all you guys. What is your opinion on using a larger weight line with a smaller weight rod? I know some of you probably have apply this concept to your fishing arsenal, and some of you stick with the given rule of using the same weight light with the same weight rod. I also know there are advantages and disadvantages in going this route, with the line and the rod. So I am curious to know what your opinion is on this particular set-up. Thinking about, planning, and chopping at the bits to get back out on the water.

Choosing The Right Fly Line

I know a lot of us take our fly fishing line for granted. I have been using the same line on one of my reels for the past 3 ½ years. I try to really watch if there are any obstructions in the line and I always try to keep it clean. I usually try to dress the last 4 ft. of the line about every other trip. I thought a bit of information on line treatment could be helpful to all of us, and we all might pick up some information we didn’t know.


The right line makes everything possible.
In spin fishing the weight of the lure being cast pulls the monofilament line off the reel. In fly fishing the weight of the fly line being cast carries the fly to the fish. The fly line you cast and the way you cast it creates the "presentation" of the fly. To catch fish you must present your fly in the water column the way the fish expect to see their foods. The right fly line makes that possible.

Fly line
Selecting the right fly line will help you get to where the fish are. Your local fly shop is the best place to get advice on fly lines, especially in choosing the right line for your fishing needs. Nothing "sinks" a fishing trip faster than arriving with the wrong fly lines for the fishing situations.

Considerations when choosing a Fly Line
Shape and construction: These determine how the line delivers the fly. In fly fishing you want to deliver the fly where and how the fish expect to see their food. So, you must choose the fly line that is designed with the proper length, weight, taper, color, specific gravity and coating for the fishing you want to do.

Length and Weight: A fly line's weight is distributed throughout its length - from 90 to 105 feet or more - but its weight designation (1- through 15-weight) is determined by the weight of the front 30 feet of the fly line. Fly line weights range from a 1-weight to a 15-weight.

Tapers: The way fly lines shoot, turn over a heavy fly, present a small fly delicately, or cast efficiently at long or short distances is through the taper design. The fly line's taper (its outside dimension) is designed by varying the thickness of the line coating. Notice the way a fly line is described - tip, front taper, belly, rear taper, head and running line. All these elements can be varied to change the casting performance of the line. Fly lines are broken into five design categories: the seldom-used level (L), the highly popular weight-forward (WF), double-taper (DT), shooting-taper (ST), and specialty tapers. The fly lines you will use the most are weight-forward, double-taper and specialty.

Color: Some fishermen prefer a brightly colored fly line so they can see where their line is in the air and on the water. It helps them in casting and in knowing where their fly is at all times. Others prefer fly lines that blend in with whatever background they are fishing. Fish see colors, they reason, so why spook them with colors they are not used to seeing? You must decide what color fly line works best for you.

Coating: Fly lines float because they are designed by the manufacturer with tiny air bubbles in the line surface. If instead the manufacturer adds lead or tungsten to the fly line's coating, the line will sink.

Fly lines are constructed of a core, a taper design, and a coating (usually polyvinylchloride). These basic elements are varied to make form follow function. In other words, by changing the core, coating or tapers, the manufacturer can make fly lines that perform best under any fishing situation.

To sum things up:
• For the best advice and choices, buy your fly lines at a fly shop where you can describe your fishing needs and receive the counsel of experienced fishermen.
• The weight of your fly line must match your rod - 6-weight lines for 6-weight rods and so forth.
• The larger the fly, the larger the fly line (and fly rod) needed to cast it.
• Fishing the water column from top to bottom requires both floating and sinking fly lines. As water depth and flow increase, the heavier the sinking fly lines you will need to penetrate it. If you cannot penetrate it to where the fish lie (near bottom), you cannot present the fly in the level at which they are feeding, and you will not catch them.
• Match the type of the fly line to the fishing conditions for which it is designed.
• Take care of your fly line, and it will take care of you.
If you see a line marked "Trout," "Bass," "Bonefish," "Big Game" or the like, you know that it is designed for that species. Fly line designations are indicated on the side of the manufacturer's packages as in these examples: "WF8F" means weight-forward, 8-weight, floating; or "Wet Tip V 13'" means sinking-tip, very fast sinking, 13-foot tip). Then the length of the fly line is given: 90ft./30 yd./27.4m. Each tells you something important about the function of the fly line.

Fly Line Care
Fly lines should be washed in mild soap and water and wiped dry or cleaned with a line cleaner after use, because they accumulate dirt and algae on their surface, making casting difficult and floating fly lines sink.
After cleaning, allow the fly line to dry in the shade (ultraviolet light from the sun destroys the chemicals in a line), or wipe the fly line dry and dress it with lubricant provided by the manufacturer or with Armor-All. Some newer fly lines require less dressing because they have lubricants in the line coating that gradually weep toward the surface.
When you are not fishing the fly line, detach the fly and wind the line onto the reel until your next trip. Long storage on a reel can create reel-coils in the fly line, but to remove the coils you just need to stretch or cast the line.
At the end of the season clean your fly lines thoroughly and wind them back onto their original line spools.
Always keep your fly lines stored out of direct sunlight. The sun's ultraviolet rays and high heat (a hot car trunk, for example) can cause the coating chemicals on the fly line to deteriorate quickly. With proper care your fly lines should last from three to five years under normal use.