Fishing The Super Light Fly Rods For Trout & Bluegills

If you read my post much you will find that I am really into fishing light fly rods. I am talking fly rods you can use all day and your arm or shoulder doesn’t give out. I thought I would devote this post to some great deals on super lightweight fly rods. I have never fished anything longer than a nine foot, so I will keep it in the 7 to 9 ft. range. Keep in mind that most all the fly rods shown below are over 100.00 bucks. I found out some years ago when I started fly fishing for trout that the lighter the fly rod the more the cost. I never purchase a fly rod without knowing the weight.

The Temple Fork Signature Series is an excellent fly rod for the money and the 8 1/2 ft. weigths in at 3.1 oz. --my son has this fly rod and really likes the lightness. Price--110.00 to 120.00 depending on length---if this rod is purchased through Percy's Flies you get 2 doz. free flies with your purchase

The Pursuit by Redington is an excellent fly rod for the budget minded as is the Temple Fork fly rod above. The 8 1/2 ft Pursuit weights in at 3 oz. Price--119.00

Super nice and extremely light the Redington Trout Classic is one of the lightness fly rods in this price range of 150.00--this fly rod in the 8 1/2 ft is 2.6 oz and the 7 1/2 ft. is 2.3--I have the 9 ft. in the 5wt. which weights in at 2.9 oz.

A fast action fly rod by St. Croix the Imperial in the 8 1/2 ft. 4 wt. weights in at 2.5--the 9 ft. 5 wt. weights in at 2.8 oz. Price 200.00 for the 4wt. and 180.00 for the 2.8 oz---If you purchase this fly rod at Percy's Flies you get 10 dozen free flies with your purchase of this Imperial Fly rod.

This medium action Greys XF2 Streamflex in the 9' 2 3/4" length 3 wt ----weights in at 3.1 oz.--this rod actually feels lighter than the 3.1--it is quite possibility the lightness fly rod I have ever used in the 9 ft. + length---a dream to cast---worth every cent of the 289.00 price

This is the Orvis Superfine Touch fly rod which weights in at 2 3/8 oz. in the 9 ft 4wt series. This is an exceptional fly rod and the reason I know this is a friend of my has this series and it is unbelievable to cast--Feather Craft is selling this fly rod with any trade-in of any old fly rod you own for 380.00--It sells everywhere on the web for 475.00--



This is the Hardy Lightweight Classic which weights in at 1.35 oz for the 7 ft. 3 wt. --the 8 1/2 ft. weights in at 2.4 oz--Price 7 ft. --395.00---8 1/2 ft. --425.00 --the price gets higher as you get lighter





And Last, the "Orvis Helios Ion" -----this is a chunk of money to spend on a fly rod but if you are going super light then the 8.4 ft. 3 wt weights in at 2 oz. and if that isn't light enough for you try the 7 ft. 3wt which weights in at 1.2 oz. the price for either is 795.00---I didn't find anything fly rod lighter than this series anywhere on the net. I don't think I will purchasing this brand anytime soon but I just wanted to share with you guys the varied weights of some of these classics fly rods. Thanks for viewing!!

Fishing The Spent Mayfly in Late Summer For Rainbow

Today was my chance to fish with the Spent Mayfly on the upper portion of the tailrace. I was planning on fishing below the pump station in hopes of landing the bigger rainbow, but repairs were being made on the access point in that area so I stayed in the faster water above the pump station. I started at the first access point where I found two other guys fishing above me and I thought I should just move on, but something told me to stay and give the Mayfly a try here.  As usual no rises at all; but I was still determined to fish the dry for a while. After a few cast I had my first rainbow of the morning. I continued working the same area for a couple of hours, which was all the time I had to fish.  There were numbers of fishermen in front of me working the other spots up the tailrace so I decided not to move.  This place gets a tremendous amount of pressure so one has to be on his game to even land a trout, in any of the areas that hold fish. In other words these are highly educated trout. 

This guy was fishing too in the early fog, right after I got this shot off he/she flew on  to tap into another hole 

The Mayfly right where the hook set was suppose to be top lip---this one was really a lot fun on the 7  1/2 ft. 3wt Temple Fork--

The base of the dam is over a 1/4 mile wide----need a dam this size to hold back the amount of water on the other side

Two generators control the amount of water being released at any give time of day--the water here at the dam and 1/4 mile below is between 56 to 58 degrees--notice the white PVC tube, that is the tube used to dump the 3000 trout a month into the area below.

Landed this bow on the famous Zebra Midge. I always have one handy when I am fishing here.

The Spent Mayfly, is just a little variation from the original Mayfly, I like this pattern much better because of the amont of hackle, which in turns helps the fly to stay afloat longer. I was kind of proud of myself today after talking with four other guys who said they didn't land a single trout.  I would like to think my success today was from my own ability, and not from just being at the right place at the right time.  With all the speculation aside I still had a great morning fishing a place I am slowly getting accustomed to.

Missing my Goal to Land 100 Super Size Bream

Sorry to say I missed my quest again this year to land 100 supersize bluegills during the spawning period. I ended the quest at 78. I thought I would make it this year but there were other fishermen going after the gills especially when they went on the beds. I landed the majority of my big bluegills really early before they ever went on the beds. I found during the months of March and early April the bigger bluegills are cursing the banks to select areas they are going to fan out for beds. This is a prime time to catch them because no one else is actually fishing for bluegills during this time. Once they go on the beds you better get there early or else you lose out on the best size fish. Walker County Lake is the one place I landed some monsters this past year early. I did catch some counters on Smith, but the really bigger bluegills are going to be in lakes that are managed properly to grow that size fish, and Walker is really blessed with the big fish. So I would say I was lucky to have landed the 78 I brought to hand and I am going to look forward to next year’s quest.

What Would be Your Top Five Fly Patterns to Use Nationwide

After Tuesday’s outing, I was wondering on the way home; what would be the top five flies that most trout fishermen would pick to fish anywhere in the United States, regardless of the hatch? My top five would be  a mixture starting with: 

My number one choice for going down under would have to be the tungsten bead head Zebra Midge in sizes 18 and smaller.

The Pheasant Tail is my second choice in size 14 and 16, again tungsten bead head

My third fly would have to be the Griffiths Gnat, this little jewel works for me when nothing else is happening on top---size 18 and smaller

 The famous Mayfly in size 14 and 16 is an awesome dry for me on the Caney Fork in Tennessee and has also produced on the Sipsey tailrace

My last is another awesome dry pattern called the Bomber. This fly resembles the Parachute Adams, but has more hackle and stays afloat longer. This fly is tied by Alan at Small Stream Reflections, he has landed lots of brook trout with this one pattern.