Is Euro-Nymphing Legal?

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

Is Euro-Nymphing Legal?

Is euro-nymphing legal in a fly-fishing only area? This question keeps coming around again and again. Oh boy, here we go once more.

To get to the bottom of it, (pun intended) a few years back I called fishing departments all across the country researching this question. And here is the answer: it depends on how fly-fishing is defined in a given state. The resulting article appeared in Fly Fisherman magazine ‘s October 2017 Gear Guide. Its entitled Fly-Fishing Outlaws, and can be found on My Magazine Articles page. If you euro-nymph, I encourage you to read it.

Ps. Note that Tenkara anglers can run into the same problem.

Posted in Fly Fishing in Freshwater | Leave a comment

A Vintage Fly Rod Day

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

A Vintage Fly Rod Day

Recently the weather here in Connecticut has been yucky. Mother Nature was throwing us a curve ball. Memorial Day weekend held three day of cold, rain, and wind. Three days. Go figure.  Terrible for this time of year. Well yesterday was an okay day. And given that tomorrow may hold more rain,  it was time to get back on the water.

A Vintage Fly Rod Day

Halfway through a second cup of coffee morning, I opted to make it another vintage fly rod day.  Drag out the “glass”. Hey, why not I’m a vintage angler. So between me and the rods this outing was going to be totally retronaut. The two rods in question were Winston fiberglass rods, the ones I did a post on a few days back. A 4wt and a 6wt. Nice combination for a trout trip. If any dry fly action appeared the 4wt would get the nod. For swing wets, nymphing or streamers the 6wt would step up to the plate.

As you can image the river was up after all this rain. That made for some careful wading. No sense taking a dunk. Right off, I saw a few fair size caddis come off and I did see some Vitreus later in the morning. Not a lot still they were around. But once again no rising fish.  Too bad, I was hoping for dry fly action. Yeah fishing is wishing. The action was all subsurface. Maybe next time.

Rainbow bends the 6wt

 

Posted in Fiberglass Fly Rods, Fly Fishing in Freshwater | 2 Comments

Monster Deals at Wild Water Fly Fishing

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

Monster Deals at Wild Water Fly Fishing

A few days ago my son purchased a fly rod outfit from Wild Water Fly Fishing. Friends it is a monster deal. And shows how the cost of fly gear is increasingly being impacted by the Pacific Rim. How about a 9′, 4 piece, 5 weight, graphite rod with a double up-locking reel seat. A CNC aluminum machined reel with a good drag. Yes, backing, fly line and leader too. A rod sock, and a nice case designed to hold the rod with the reel attached. And it arrived for under $100, shipping included. Not convinced its a deal? Wait there is more.

Monster Deals at Wild Water Fly Fishing

The outfit came with an accessory pack. That’s right you get goodies. Its “trick or treat” time. There was a upper pocket size plastic fly box with a dozen flies. A forceps, a nipper, a spare leader, a spool of tippet material, and not one, but two zingers. The accessory pack alone was worth at least $30. At this point you got to be impressed. What? You were expecting waders too! Give me a break. Oh, and there is a limited lifetime warranty if you register the rod. Read the fine print as always.

Accessory Pack

CNC Aluminum Fly Reel

The rod is labeled the AX series. The ferrules are tip-over-butt  style. It has a black, sanded blank, with a 7″ cork grip, tipped with burl. There is one SIC stripping guide and 8 single footed guides, plus a tip top and a hook keeper. All wraps looked acceptable. The rod weighed in a 4.45 ounces.

Fly Rod Weight

So how does it cast? I’m sure you want to know that. It proved to be a fast action rod. It formed very tight “V’ shaped loops. I had no trouble turning over the leader with just 5′ of fly line out. With one backcast and a double haul, it chucked 55 feet of line plus leader. Solid performance.

Is it all Peaches and Cream? No, there are a few shortcomings. But given the price you can’t complain one little bit. At 4.45 ounces the rod is a tad heavy. The blank itself isn’t holding the extra weight; its the grip end. Not a huge deal, but if you’re used to the super light rods from the big boys – Orvis, Loomis, Sage Scott and so on – you’ll notice it right off.  The cork is of inferior quality and heavily patched with filler. And the reel does not have a “click” in either direction.

Please Note! These outfits can be purchased directly from Wild Water or on Amazon.com. Prices maybe rising as we speak, and some items sold out. If you pick a plastic fly reel instead of the aluminum reel, the price is lower, perhaps $20 lower. There seems to be some variation on exactly what the accessory pack contains. So check. The company is in New York so you can call them. If you do, tell them whether you want a reel with right or left hand wind. Yes the reels are likely reversible, but it wasn’t immediately obvious how to do it to my eye. Have a great holiday weekend.

Posted in Fly Rods, Gear | 2 Comments

Clear Skies, Clear Water – A Day on the River

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

Clear Skies, Clear Water – A Day on the River

Met my friend Phil on the river yesterday. Great weather, high 70’s, and plenty of sun. Clear skies, clear water – and beacoup trout. All you could ask for.

Clear Skies, Clear Water – A Day on the River

Well as soon as we got there, we ran into anglers bragging about the excellent fishing. With that kind of news, we wasted no time getting rigged up and donning waders.  Game on dude. I had my Diamondglass 8 foot, 4wt along for the trip.  And Phil showed up with a vintage Vince Cummins “glass” rod. Nice unit.

Phil using his Vince Cummings ‘Glass” rod

My Diamondglass  8foot, 4wt Rod

Phil also brought a Coleman Stove, table and chairs. So we were all set for a lunch streamside. How cool is that? On a cast iron skillet he cooked up onions, dogs and burgers with all the trimmings. And yes, we washed it down with ice cold beer. Ahh a day on the river, you can’t beat it. Life is good.

Lunch on the River

After lunch we went right back to fishing. It was a blast. By the way, during the morning we saw some “sulphurs” coming off. Probably not a true “sulphur”‘; they’re more of a June hatch. Its likely what we saw was Vitreus. But for all purposes, they’re nearly identical to a “sulphur”. No trout rising unfortunately. Hey maybe dry fly action next time.

Sulphur Dun

Posted in Fly Fishing in Freshwater | 3 Comments

The Partridge “Carrie Stevens” Hook Size 2 for Sale

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

The Partridge “Carrie Stevens” Hook Size 2 for Sale

Get a kick out of those Mustad size 32, gold plated hooks? Crazy stuff. Best I know, they’re the smallest freshwater hook ever made. Well, this time around my fly tying box coughed up something at opposite end of the scale. A Partridge “Carrie Stevens” size 2 streamer hook.

Box of Partridge Carrie Stevens Hook in Size 2

No longer in production, this hook is now something of a collectible. And it is still much sought after by serious exhibition tiers desiring to make trolling flies in the fashion that legendary Carrie Stevens (1882-1970) did long ago on Maine’s Rangeley Lakes. Stevens lived near Upper Dam which separates Mooselookmeguntic Lake from Upper Richardson Lake. There she became world famous for her flies. In case you are unaware, Carrie Stevens is the creator of the Grey Ghost, among several other streamers patterns.

Partridge Carrie Stevens Hook in Size 2

The hook is handmade in England by Partridge of Redditch. It is on heavy wire and the shank is 10x long! Why such great shank length? Stevens wanted a long trolling fly, but she did not want the wing to extend far beyond the bend. Landlock salmon are notorious for short-strikes. By extending the bend all the way back to the end of the wing, it reduced that problem. Trolling flies tied on more conventional length hooks frequently carry a stinger hook for the same reason!

Partridge Carrie Stevens hook in Size 2

This is a beautiful hook on heavy wire. It has a down-turned looped eye. (Such as you find on a Mustad 9575). Personally I find a looped eye makes tying in material at the head easier. It also has a Limerick bend, the strongest kind and very desirable for large fish. The hook is barbed. The finish is bronze and the hooks came wrapped in a special paper to prevent rust. All is top notch.

Partridge Carrie Stevens hook with looped eye

Partridge Carrie Stevens hook in size 2

If you are interested in owning this box of hooks, or those Mustad 277 size 32 hooks, please contact me. Sold by the box only.

Posted in Flies and Fly Tying | 8 Comments