Just about noon today I met up with Gary and Scott at one of our Steelhead spots on the OK.
Scott is still struggling getting the hang of casting his new Switch rod.he asked me if I could help him dial it in and maybe show him or help him figure out what he is doing wrong. So I set up a different reel for him to use that the line could be changed.
When I got there the wind was at 25MPH + Scott and Gary were in the water.
I went out and just watched Scott for a while. He is getting better but it's still a battle.I had him come in and I checked his line and reel,
He is using a fixed line with a 425gr. head attached to the running line. the line that was commented for his rod. Short Skagit style very little taper.
I took his rod and out myself and tried it. It just didn't feel right to me. Sure I could cast it past my shoelaces , but it was a lot of work felt like it was over loading it.
Put no my reel, put on another short Skagit head at 420gr. still didn't feel right.went to a 400gr long taperd almost Scandi style and it felt much better, setp down again to 380gr. long taper. and was able to throw a 50ft roll cast no problem then a 65ft roll cast even into the wind. slowed down my action and tried a single spey cast EZ.
Got Scott back out into the water and walked him thru a few cast got him to slow it down and before he knew it he was casting farther and straighter then ever before. I know he will be down at the river this next week on his lunch hour flip line how that he knows that he can do it.
I shot some video of him and when we went to have a beer after the river.I showed him his good casting and his bad casting and right away he was able to spot the difference.
With the right line on any Switch or Spey rod one should be able to throw line a long way with very little effort. But it does that Practice, Practice, Practice,
Grasshopper did well today..
My best advice to anyone starting out with any of the longer rods Spey or Switch
SLOW DOWN THAT LONG ROD HAS LOTS OF LEVERAGE
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Lost Lake
Wens. 9/16 11 am slightly overcast at the lake, no wind at arrival
Gary & his 90 year old neighbor Bill
It was a beautiful, sunny no wind in the valley,
A perfect day to take my 90 year old neighbor to Lost Lake, was calm with a little overcast. Water was at 58 degrees and we had the lake almost to ourselves, the only other person on the lake turned out to be a friend of Bill’s. Bill put on his favorite deer hair fly and I put on my zug bug and we started out. Bill has a problem with his shoulder so he cant cast very well, this forced us to troll a wet fly in search of fish. It wasn’t long before we started getting some strikes. I brought a nice 12-13 inch brook to the boat when we realized that we had forgotten the net. This would haunt Bill later.
By about 3:30 Bill was getting tired so we called it a day. We talked with Ken (the other fly guy on the lake) and he had about the same success as we had. Overall the fishing was not great (brook trout are fickle beasts) but it was well worth the trip up there.
Thanks Gary for the report, I'm busy buildin a deck.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Big Green
OLYMPIA - Licensed anglers can now fish without daily catch or
size limits on six Eastern Washington lakes scheduled for treatment to remove
nuisance fish late next month.
Effective immediately, the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife (WDFW) has suspended restrictions on the following lakes
:
Upper
and Lower Green Lakes and Rat Lake in Okanogan County.
The no-limits fishing opportunity will run
through Oct. 18 on
the three lakes in Okanogan County, and through Oct. 25 on
the other three lake.
Water temp. 59 air temp 64 lite wind from the south slightly
overcast. 10:30 am 2pm
I have the whole lake to myself. Not more than 20 ft from
the shore / launch I case parallel to the shore my Punkinhead hits the water
maybe on a 45 ft cast of intermediate line sinks less than a foot while kicking
Bam first bow of the day 16in and fat. Cool it’s going to be a good day.
For the next 30 minutes still with the Punkinhead nothing
but Bluegill, from 3in to 5in. no matter if I let it sink to the bottom before
I stripped or stripped right away Bluegill.
I traded out to type 4 sink line
bigger fly #8 Wolly Bugger still nothing just Gillys hitting it too big for the
take.
Then all of a sudden while I was digging around in my
saddlebag full of fly boxes my # 3 rod is almost ripped from my hand,( I
almost set it down almost.) I had maybe 15 ft of line before my backing on the
reel, that was gone in a flash, then this big splash out there I see it up and
out of the water not once but twice. A few
minutes later it was in my net, 20 in bow. Pumped it’s stomach full of Chromimids.
I stayed with the Bugger until I made my
way to the north end. Switch to a # 16 black and red ribbed Chroni and within
minutes I was dialed in to the proper depth and was pulling a bow out on at
least every other cast. From 9 inchers to the biggest of 19.
Time passed by quickly and before I knew it. It was getting
close to time to get home to do the weekly chores.
I did bag 6 bows to take to
my 80 something friend for him to enjoy. Something I don’t do very often keep
fish, I know that he will enjoy each and everyone of them. I hope to get back
and grab him a few more.
I don’t know how many fish I caught today more than my share.
But I did share.
Time to play Spey
The Okanogan River is still closed, warm and low, but that didn't stop Gary, Scott and myself from going and getting some practice in with our long rods.
Scott has a new Orvis Helios 2 Switch Rod #7 that he has not hadn't the chance to try out.
He did real good with it for just learning how from watching videos, and tiring to get over the single hand motions. Use the left hand as your power and keep your right hand tucked to your body. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, you'll get the hang of it.
Gary has his dinosaur 14' 9 weight that is as heavy as a ancient oak tree, still tapping the furrels together, but he love it. His first Spey baby. throwing heavy 610gr. shooting heads.
I on the other hand I brought three rods to dial in, Yes I am a gear guy and love it.
The newest is a Echo Dec H 8136-4 the heaviest of of my Speys set up with 550gr short Skagit shooting head just to shoot my MOW tips. and chase larger Salmon, Chums (big dogs) or Chinooks.
Then I have my Good old Redington RS4 7133-4 this was one of either my 3rd or 4th Spey I read the reviews found a shop that had one, I put my reel on it went out, tried it, fell in love with it after dialing it in for me with 425gr short Skagit or 410gr Scandi for summer run Steelhead to me this is a GREAT rod. I have landed more Steelhead on this rod then any other and an uncountable number of Steelie on both the Methow and the Okanogan rivers. It's light mildly fast to recover and I can throw lotsa line all day and not be worn out.
Then I have an RL Winston Boron III 133-4 so lite so fast so accurate it's insane i just need to learn to slow down more to get it to preform right. it has taken me to a different level of Spey. Slower, EZer, more relaxed this is my rod of choice just to skate flies long Scandi line with long leaders. To see and feel of the take is awesome the control is unbelievable. even with 90-150 feet of line out the sensitivity is unmatched. It never came out of the tube yesterday Pretty much have it dialed the way I want it.
Working as a guide, and then in the Fly Shop for the two years I had the opportunity to try many different Spey rods, Beulah, Loop, Echo, Bob Meiser, Gary Anderson, Scott and a few other. there are so many great Spey rods out there at so many different price points. it make it hard at time to find the right one.
My suggestion if you want to get into the Spey or Switch game. Either find a Good Shop that rents rods or has a loaner program, or a friend that has his rod dialed in for himself. Then watch him cast for a hour or so try to figure out his movements and mimic them. Still the best way is hire a Guide or Certified Casting Instructor. They usually have lots of different lines of different weights to dial you in.
Then go to a shop play with different rods see what feel rite for you, look in the mid priced range Not the cheapest, you'll out grow it soon, and not the most expensive it will take way to long to dial it in and most of don't have the patience. Also get a good reel spend some money on a reel that feels right on the rod it has to have line capacity at least 150-225yds. of running or shooting ( I like Mirage, It's bright red strong and comes out of the water without a bunch of drag, it's on all my Spey reels I have 250yards line, Remember that Spey shooting heads are fat in diameter and take up space.
My all time favorite Spey rod was stolen out of my truck on the Methow, Sage One 7136-4 I just hope that the Crackhead DOed and the person that bought it from him knowing that the Crackhead stole it and sold so cheep fell and broke it and his/her wrist on the to the water.
My thoughts for closing:
Fish often, Be patience, Take a kid or friend, Enjoy your surroundings, Life is full of adventure outside.
Now I think I'm headed to Green Lake
Scott has a new Orvis Helios 2 Switch Rod #7 that he has not hadn't the chance to try out.
He did real good with it for just learning how from watching videos, and tiring to get over the single hand motions. Use the left hand as your power and keep your right hand tucked to your body. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, you'll get the hang of it.
Gary has his dinosaur 14' 9 weight that is as heavy as a ancient oak tree, still tapping the furrels together, but he love it. His first Spey baby. throwing heavy 610gr. shooting heads.
I on the other hand I brought three rods to dial in, Yes I am a gear guy and love it.
The newest is a Echo Dec H 8136-4 the heaviest of of my Speys set up with 550gr short Skagit shooting head just to shoot my MOW tips. and chase larger Salmon, Chums (big dogs) or Chinooks.
Then I have my Good old Redington RS4 7133-4 this was one of either my 3rd or 4th Spey I read the reviews found a shop that had one, I put my reel on it went out, tried it, fell in love with it after dialing it in for me with 425gr short Skagit or 410gr Scandi for summer run Steelhead to me this is a GREAT rod. I have landed more Steelhead on this rod then any other and an uncountable number of Steelie on both the Methow and the Okanogan rivers. It's light mildly fast to recover and I can throw lotsa line all day and not be worn out.
Then I have an RL Winston Boron III 133-4 so lite so fast so accurate it's insane i just need to learn to slow down more to get it to preform right. it has taken me to a different level of Spey. Slower, EZer, more relaxed this is my rod of choice just to skate flies long Scandi line with long leaders. To see and feel of the take is awesome the control is unbelievable. even with 90-150 feet of line out the sensitivity is unmatched. It never came out of the tube yesterday Pretty much have it dialed the way I want it.
Working as a guide, and then in the Fly Shop for the two years I had the opportunity to try many different Spey rods, Beulah, Loop, Echo, Bob Meiser, Gary Anderson, Scott and a few other. there are so many great Spey rods out there at so many different price points. it make it hard at time to find the right one.
My suggestion if you want to get into the Spey or Switch game. Either find a Good Shop that rents rods or has a loaner program, or a friend that has his rod dialed in for himself. Then watch him cast for a hour or so try to figure out his movements and mimic them. Still the best way is hire a Guide or Certified Casting Instructor. They usually have lots of different lines of different weights to dial you in.
Then go to a shop play with different rods see what feel rite for you, look in the mid priced range Not the cheapest, you'll out grow it soon, and not the most expensive it will take way to long to dial it in and most of don't have the patience. Also get a good reel spend some money on a reel that feels right on the rod it has to have line capacity at least 150-225yds. of running or shooting ( I like Mirage, It's bright red strong and comes out of the water without a bunch of drag, it's on all my Spey reels I have 250yards line, Remember that Spey shooting heads are fat in diameter and take up space.
My all time favorite Spey rod was stolen out of my truck on the Methow, Sage One 7136-4 I just hope that the Crackhead DOed and the person that bought it from him knowing that the Crackhead stole it and sold so cheep fell and broke it and his/her wrist on the to the water.
My thoughts for closing:
Fish often, Be patience, Take a kid or friend, Enjoy your surroundings, Life is full of adventure outside.
Now I think I'm headed to Green Lake
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Beyond the fires
The Northstar and Okanogan Complex still burn on but are at the point of 30+ containment. We have lost so much beauty that it is beyond belief . and hard for me to put into words. At least half of the experience of going some where to fish is the scenery.The lush trees and plants the critters and the birds, Rite now there is so much the has been blackened around some of my favorite lakes. Big Blue, I have heard blacked the whole west side. Limebelt all the way around it. Buzzard the same thing. I will be driving out to these places in the near future to give my out of County readers a much better update.
Today we, Gary and I met up at one of the lakes that didn't get touched by the fire.
Aeneas Lake: Is not one of my favorites just because of the scenery. Tho it is at times a fun lake to fish and I have had some really great days there. Early spring the Water boatmen is a blast, along with the chironomid fishing both dry line with a bobber (haha) or straight below on sinking line. I had fifty fish days there.
The fish get lesions on them in the warm days of summer and it came early this year with water temps in the mid to upper 70s by mid May. Then again this is not a normal year.
Today the water was 63 and the air at 9am 52 overcast and looked like it could rain on us at anytime, we both packed our rain gear outwith us so of course it never did. the wind did blow tho. a fierce blowing out of the northeast. Gary had his ores and used them I left half of one of mine at home.
I hooked and landed 11 by 1:30 (lost don't want to say how many), and tried for a even dozen getting back to the launch didn't do it. Gary couldn't leave with out his dozen and stayed out to make a quick second pass on the southwest side Getting #12 and picking up two more to boot.
I really do like it when he catches more fish then I, that way he says different thing and make excuse's for doingso.
My arm and legs didn't get sore like I expected, being out of shape from not fishing since Beth some time way back when.
Many, Many thanks goes out to all the fire fighters and the volunteers So much personal properties were saved by them. It was and at this time still an international effort to stop them. I feel bad for the three fire fighter that lost their live helping and the one still in a Seattle hospital wish him a speedy recovery.
Today we, Gary and I met up at one of the lakes that didn't get touched by the fire.
Aeneas Lake: Is not one of my favorites just because of the scenery. Tho it is at times a fun lake to fish and I have had some really great days there. Early spring the Water boatmen is a blast, along with the chironomid fishing both dry line with a bobber (haha) or straight below on sinking line. I had fifty fish days there.
The fish get lesions on them in the warm days of summer and it came early this year with water temps in the mid to upper 70s by mid May. Then again this is not a normal year.
Today the water was 63 and the air at 9am 52 overcast and looked like it could rain on us at anytime, we both packed our rain gear outwith us so of course it never did. the wind did blow tho. a fierce blowing out of the northeast. Gary had his ores and used them I left half of one of mine at home.
I hooked and landed 11 by 1:30 (lost don't want to say how many), and tried for a even dozen getting back to the launch didn't do it. Gary couldn't leave with out his dozen and stayed out to make a quick second pass on the southwest side Getting #12 and picking up two more to boot.
I really do like it when he catches more fish then I, that way he says different thing and make excuse's for doingso.
My arm and legs didn't get sore like I expected, being out of shape from not fishing since Beth some time way back when.
Many, Many thanks goes out to all the fire fighters and the volunteers So much personal properties were saved by them. It was and at this time still an international effort to stop them. I feel bad for the three fire fighter that lost their live helping and the one still in a Seattle hospital wish him a speedy recovery.
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