My Son Found some Schoolie Bass

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

My Son Found some Schoolie Bass

A few days back, my son took his kayak down to the mouth of the Connecticut River. Things have been pretty slow, but this time he found some schoolie bass.

My Son Found Some Schoolie Bass

He tells me the tide was slack high and the bass were pushing bait up in the weeds. Where lucky egrets were scarfing down anything the bass missed. You gotta love it. Using his new Wild Water fly rod, the one I told you about awhile back, he landed several stripers. Nothing huge, but it must been fun. Nice going.

Posted in Fly Fishing in Salt Water | Leave a comment

American Angler’s Digital Version goes Belly Up

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Ed Mitchell

American Angler’s Digital Version goes Belly Up

American Angler’s Digital Version goes Belly Up

Not long ago, I posted on the demise of American Angler’s print edition. Well guess what? Back in July, American Angler’s digital version went belly up too. Granted I’m way the hell late in reporting it, but felt all along it was inevitable. Here’s former editor Greg Thomas’ final thoughts.

When American Angler stopped the presses and shut off the lights, the writing was on the wall. (terrible pun) The magazine wasn’t making moola. Frankly I doubt even American Angler’s parent company, Morris Publications, is on rock solid ground. Publishing is a troubled business, my friend. Many are called, but few are chosen.

Well, I guess the Coronavirus fiasco was a factor. Yeah, the bat bug gave the fly-fishing industry a blackeye. Retail shops had to close, at least temporarily. I bet some went belly up too. Guides, a fragile business to begin with, got an avalanche of cancellations. Some of which landed at the height of the fishing season. Even the big boys like Orvis and Sage had to mask up and shut down. And the worst of it landed in the fly-fishing travel industry’s lap. Man, they got both barrels. Anglers didn’t want to travel and even if they did airlines and lodges were closed.

On another level I would have thought our yearlong hermitage might have given American Angler a new lease on life. Internet traffic soared. Man, some states experienced upwards of nearly a 50% increase in internet traffic. The UK had nearly an 80% boost in demand. People were on their desk tops; on their laptops; on their IPads; on their mobile phones – all wandering the web. And sportfishing saw a huge surge during the Coronavirus. Folks hit the water in record numbers. Yes, fly-fishing is the smallest segment of sportfishing, but it saw growth too. Believe me. In fact, it may be at its highest level in a long, long time.

Still done is done. The magazine had a long wonderful ride, dating back some 40 years. Born under the name Fly Tyer, it was the brainchild of Dick Surette working out of his fly shop in North Conway New, Hampshire (Now called North Country Angler). Slowly it morphed into American Angler & Fly Tyer, and then simply American Angler. May American Angler rest in peace.

Posted in Fly Fishing in Freshwater, Fly Fishing in Salt Water, Outdoor Writing | 2 Comments

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