The IM10 Nymphing Fly Rod

The IM10 Fly Rod is probably the closest I will ever get to fishing with a Tenkara Fly Rod. The IM10 is a medium-fast action 10 foot, 3/4 weight, four-piece nymphing fly rod. It weighs in at a light 3 ounces. I seldom order a fly rod online but I took a chance on this one from Ebay because of the reviews, which were all positive. While fishing last spring and summer on the Sipsey I notice I needed a little more reach when nymphing the smaller pocket holes; my 9 foot Sreamflex just wasn't getting me the extra reach. 
This fly rod not only gives me the chance to nymph small areas easier but I have the option to use it for casting beyond tight nymphing areas. 

The quality on this fly rod is amazing, even down to the rod tube, alignment blank indicators, name tag insert, embossed fly pattern, extra rod tip blank, and the beautifully designed reel seat.

I couldn't wait to get out on the water and give it a test trail. It was an incredible 80 degrees in Jasper on Thursday so fly fishing was my top priority. With my 10 ft. Pelican loaded and my 10 ft. IM10, I started my bluegill quest on Walker County Lake. Everything was positive on this outing but the wind, which was horrendous at times even to point of water splashing into the boat. I had to cross the lake in whitecap conditions. So glad I had the battery fully charged, which was not the case when I left the lake. 

Now to the rod review; the first thing I noticed was how easy it loaded the 3 wt. Orvis Clearwater Line paired with my Battenkill II reel. I was even more impressed with how fast the line straightened out on the water surface as I completed the cast. The medium-fast taper action gave the right amount of bend action to make small bluegill seem larger. Yet it still has the power to handle much larger fish such as the spots on Smith Lake. I knew the extra length would give me a longer cast and it delivered. I will admit it took a little time to get used to the extra foot compared to my 7,8 and 9 ft. fly rods. By the end of the trip, the fly rod and I bonded nicely after landing a bunch of bluegill for the afternoon. 

Now the next test will be the Sipsey high sticking some of the pocket holes I like to fish there. 

Practicing for Spring

The temp today was in the upper fifties so I decided to make a quite trip to Walker County Lake to land a few rainbows. I was fishing right before the temps were supposed to drop in the twenties overnight. In fact, we are supposed to get at least 3 inches of snow by noon tomorrow. Southern's go wild when they hear the word snow and crowd in the supermarkets to stock up on milk and bread. Hopefully, the snow will all be gone by Wednesday and we will back in the rain mode. In fact, I would much rather have the snow than the rain. The rain has slowed our house construction to a crawl, the inside will be finished before the outside. 

Healthy rainbow landed using the Flashback; no mending just making the long cast and a slow retrieve. I missed a few simply because I wasn't watching my line close enough. It seems fish always know when you're not paying attention, that's when they decide to hit. 

A peaceful couple of hours until the wind kicked up and the temps started to drop. I'm missing fishing the tailrace and its tight seams and pocket water. I'm afraid it's out for now because of all the rain and generation. In the meantime, I will stay in practice with the lake trout. 

I thought I would share the family photo during our Xmas stay in Tennessee. The little creek behind the willow tree has small fish in it for the kids to play with. 

Just wondering if any of you guys have used fly clips. I read a short description the other day detailing how handy they are when changing flies. This one in the image is a size 1 which will handle size 12 to 16 flies. I don't know how effective it would be when using dry flies.