Anyone Fly fishing?

[plowhog]

Elbow to elbow with a bunch of people catching hatchery raised fish on just about every cast.

I am lucky to live in an area where there are many rivers and streams that go through unsettled forested areas. I pretty much never fish anywhere that another person is at-- almost all my fishing is with only me and who I hiked in with.

 

[MossRoad]

That's cheating... according to some.

Yeah, I get some dirty looks from the fly snobs... :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

I am lucky to live in an area where there are many rivers and streams that go through unsettled forested areas. I pretty much never fish anywhere that another person is at-- almost all my fishing is with only me and who I hiked in with.

Most of my fishing is on hard water (ice). It never fails, I'll be the only one out there on a 500 acre lake, I'll turn around, and there'll be some guy drilling a hole 10' away from me!

:laughing:

 

[Wagtail]

Next year, the World Fly Fishing Championship is being held here in Tasmania!

World Fly Fishing Championships 219 | WFFC 219

C'mon down... you've got over a year to plan as it's on from the end of November 2019, which is the beginning of our Summer.

[Or c'mon down now and get some practise in. :fishing:]

 

[check]

I used to do quite a bit of dry fly fishing in the rivers of eastern Washington, Idaho, and Western Montana. Loved to camp and fish from the banks and take a nap along the shore during mid day when they weren't biting.

I tied my own flies, caddis, drakes, hoppers, etc. It was a great hobby at lunch time when I worked in a Boeing cubicle. Eat a sandwich, pull your vice out and clamp to the table edge and tie a few. Had a good friend that should have been a guide instead of an engineer for a day job.

We floated the Yakima several times with great luck. But mostly I enjoyed bank fishing and wading. Learning the rivers is key. Knowing how to read the water, the 'pillows' and dropping your fly (not that) against a grassy bank for best presentation to the fish became an art form.

A great hobby while soaking up nature, but like golf, I have found it too time consuming. Can't wait for retirement.... I have so many hobbies, I will probably be busier than I am now!

I hear ya Dragoneggs! I grew up not too far north of you, fishing the rivers streams of the Rocky Mountain foothills, in southern Alberta, over 50 years ago. (my God, I cannot believe it has been that long!)

Me and my father and my two brothers were ardent fisherman, and we ONLY used fly rods with automatic reels. (Ever seen an automatic fly reel?)

We used bait a lot, but also flies. Caught a lot of Trout in those streams! Lovely memories of camping out in a tent, with our pink ‘58 Pontiac as our trusty steed. For years and years afterward, I aleays made a big deal of how much “clearance“ a car had before I would ever consider buying it. That old Pontiac had a lot, and we forded a lot of streams as we worked our way up into the mountains as far as we could get until the trail became impassible. Then we stopped and fished.

A great way to remember your childhood.

 

[MossRoad]

I've got an automatic fly reel sitting in a box somewhere. Found it at a garage sale for a buck. :laughing:

 

[dragoneggs]

I've got an automatic fly reel sitting in a box somewhere. Found it at a garage sale for a buck. :laughing:

Never seen one. Please post a pic or two if you can!

 

[bunyip]

I have seen an old spring model and more recently a battery operated job, the former was quite heavy and the latter I only saw in a catalogue.

 

[MossRoad]

OK I went down and searched 4 boxes of fishing gear, and, of course, it was in the 5th.

It's a Shakespeare Model 1835.

You wind out line just like a regular fly reel. When you pull the lever, it winds up automatically. There is no crank. It also has a latch where you can keep it locked into the re-wind position all the time. Not sure what you'd use that for.

Back view.



Front view.


Rewind in action (live photo)

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a nice video someone posted on youtube that shows how it works, how you tension it, rewind speed, etc.... they are neat little reels.