who are the fly fishers?

[Lance]

I've been tying a lot lately and thinking about all kinds of stuff then I got to wondering about the this site.
I was wondering who all the fly fishers are on this site?
What everyone likes to fish for?
How long you've been flyfishing?
And if you tie your own?


I'll start

Stream trout are far and away my favorite followed by steelhead. I will mess around with bass and panfish also but trout are it.

I've been flyfishing and tying for 27 years and prefer to tie dries.

[zfish]

I like to go but dont really target a specific species as the only trout place I know of isnt all that far away but I just havent taken the time to learn the waters. I love fishing for panfish as I have never caught a Steelhead nor a trout on fly line. Im hoping to get a little more into it this year. I do like to tie flies though its kinda fun. Lol sorry I cant be more help I am fairly new to the idea. :)

[george tinkham]

me...i fish mainly for bigmouths or real big gills in small ponds...i do fly fish some for trout in colo.

[silverbullet]

Flyfishing for me revolves around the steelhead then to bass and panfish.I want to try some trout this year and also saltwater.
I tie my own and have been doing this for 3 yrs now.started tying right after the rod was bought.

[Live2Fish]

I fly fish for anything in the water that has fins. Smallie a my favorite though.

[Lunker]

I like tying flies more than fly fishing. I have been tying alot of deer hair mice lately and hope to get to use them this year. You must really like to tie if you tie dry flies! :D

[Lance]

I started my fly tying/fishing when I lived in MI and pretty much started out on trout and have always enjoyed the dries most. I like to tie extended bodies when practical but I also like to tie dries in the 16-22 range. I've never really taken the time to get good with spinning deer hair, do it just enough to get buy. You'd think I would have taken to tying deer hair flies a little more with all of the bass here in Ohio.....

[Lunker]

You said it Lance! The smallies are the best biting hardest fighting trout alternative around here. The only thing I need for the local hatchery trout stockings is the brass caddis. ;0)

[george tinkham]

the trout i caught in colo. were like lg. minnows bout the size i use for rivercats...fight good for there size if you let them,not as hard to land as a 1# smallie or bigmouth

[Ðe§perado™]

I fly fish a little bit for panfish. But would like to catch bigger fish.;)

[Neapolis]

Been fly fishing on and off for close to 45 years. The first fish I caught on a fly was small (about a pound) largemouth Bass on Indian Lake. I have been hooked ever since. I tried tying a few years back, but my results were pretty miserable. :o Having no patients probably didn't help. May try to get started tying again now that I am retired. :cool:

[Lunker]

Hey Ive got a Nightime trout fly swap on the Michingan Sportsman flytying forum. Ive got room for one more tyer! step right up send in 12 of your own and get 12 of others favorites back.

[george tinkham]

i didn't fly(BUG) fish last yr...i must hit the ponds this yr...at the campground in hockingport

[Predator]

I tie steelhead flies, been tying since my son started about three years. Also grew up fishing Pa. stocked trout at an early age. This summer I'll be moving into the warm water fisheries of the Tusc. river. This will happen after most of our local lakes stratify.:rolleyes:

[Lance]

Predator,
How's the smallmouth been down there the past couple years? My buddy used to fish Sugar creek(small but numerous) and some of the other areas on the tusc and did quite well.

[Predator]

The Tusc is an over looked fishery.

[Worm Drowner]

I fly fish some for steelhead and might give smallies a try this summer. I've only just started since last Autumn. I'm a CPA/Financial Analyst and if you think I want to tie little teeny flies after looking at little teeny numbers on a page all day, you're nuts!!;) :D

[Lance]

$ounds like you need to work with bigger number$!!! :D

[Worm Drowner]

$ounds like you need to work with bigger number$!!!

I agree! Especially the ones on my paycheck!!!:rolleyes:

[Predator]

If you need steelhead flies letme know I'll sell you some. And you don't need small ones, I use a great number of #10 flies, I only fish the Oh. side,I know you need smaller sizes on the Pa. side.:cool:

[Lance]

Worm Drowner,
Maybe we can hook up and chase some steel at lunch one day. I work 2nd shift in Eastlake and get up early and fish a little before work when I can get my mom to watch my daughter a little early.

[Worm Drowner]

Sounds like a plan. Let me know when. I'm right at 91 & Euclid.

[Lance]

Worm Drowner,
How short of a notice can you go on? I may be able to get out Friday but won't know till late tonight or early in the morning.

[Worm Drowner]

I was thinking about getting out tomorrow in the morning for a few hours anyway. I'm fairly flexible.

[george tinkham]

i use a big stiff pole that handles big ole bass bugs and big ole bass...i have a smaller pole for big ole bluegill and crappie and trout but i'm usually throwing some kind of popper big or small.i dont git very many trout unless i'm in colorado

[getinjiggy]

You know I just got 2 flyrods from my grandfather and I might just have to give it a shot this summer! I live near two of the best smallie rivers so why not! Ive tossed it around in the backyard a few times and I have to say its not real hard! I just didnt want to look a fool on the water( thats why I practiced at home) Waders flies rod? hmmmmm Game on!!!! Glenn:D :D :D :D

[george tinkham]

not hard eh,wait til yuh take off a pc. of your ear...sorta like some say in nascar...it ain't hard,then they wreck...good luck

[getinjiggy]

Well today wasnt bad at all. I do need to learn or find a wider area to fish! I found every tree around me! lol I did manage 4-5 smallies! I was happy, Glenn:D :D :D :D

[george tinkham]

awesome...

[hoot gibson]

well i have been fly fishin ever since i can remember . my uncle was a fly guy and he tought me at an early age of about 6 or 7 years old. but i am not a fly fisherman , i just fish with a fly rod . mainley bass and bluegill. in my pond , but every couple of days i get into a big catfish and the fight is on . the cats in my pond are between 8 and 10 lbs . man what fun .
i used a 7 wt. rod for years , but have switched to a 4 wt. i used to take the 7 over to buckey lake with the cannoe when the mullberries were ripe and falling off the trees into the water. put one of those babies on your line and cast it in front of a big carp , then just hang on. mabey i will try the 4 this summer . hoot

[Lance]

Welcome Hoot,
Cat's on the fly, a friend of mine used to do that also but I've never gotten the opportunity. Gills are a blast on the fly rod. Everyone keeps talking about carp on the fly these days maybe I'll need to try it one of these days.

[george tinkham]

i have taken a few channel cats on flies,crappie jigs an jitterbugs an l&s mirror lures

[Thunderflight]

The last time I went fly fishing was back in 1998 in Scottland. I didn't catch anything, but my friend did.

I've been wanting to get into it. There are a couple salt water ponds on the Parris Island recruit depot that hold some BIG red fish. On calm mornings you can catch them in the shallows. The big problem is having time to go...

TF

[hoot gibson]

well great news . as you know i do not tie flys. but i have a friend that does (its easier to have a friend , than try to learn to tie flys)
anyways i went up to lee this last weekend and told him i needed something and would trade him an obsidian head for a favor. i told him i needed some dry flys tied . he ask me what kind . i told him they have to look like purina dog food . when i get them i will let you know how the cats like them .
lance , the best way to catch carp is to find a mullberry tree overhanging the creek or lake , when the mullberies fall the carp will feed on them . i wont tell you what to use for bate , its a secret.. hoot

[george tinkham]

i got a mulberry tree in the back but no lake an it now is loaded with mulberries.

[Lance]

Funny you should mention that. I was looking at a mulberry pattern the other day! Another one to try is the Cicadas.

[Lunker]

Hoot Ive caught a channel cat on a hex nymph I tied before. ( larvea of the mayfly) It slammed it on Lake Dianne. I couldnt believe it!

[hoot gibson]

well my next feat of high adventure , is to catch one of the grass carp in my pond. but i better go a little bigger than 4 lb. on the tippit. i was told a garenteed way to catch them . ( i bet you guys have never been garenteed about a bait befor ) any way i was told to use a green pepper . put a little piece of green pepper ( bell pepper ) what ever you choose to call it . on your hook and its like a carp magnet
.. h

[Lunker]

Very interesting Ill have to try that. Ive heard of people using banana peel too.

[CatDaddy]

Is anybody interested in teaching me how to fly fish. I could even pay for lessons from ya. Preferably someone here in central ohio, like the Grove City area.

[Lance]

If you were a couple hours further north I'd take you out. I'll give any advice I can given the distance though.

[Lunker]

Yeah same here let me know if your ever in the Toledo area.

[Spitfire]

I tried fly-fishing for the first time 4 yrs. ago on vacation to Montana. I get to fish the Madison River every year we go out. Although I haven't fished it yet, the Mad River is just down the road. Working at a Private Trout Club has really got me hooked on this fly-fishing.

[Lance]

The west is awesome isn't it?! What do you do at the trout club?

[Spitfire]

I mainly clean fish lance but help out maintaining the grounds. I could give you an entire list of what I do but it would take forever to put it all on here

[Star1pup]

I started fly fishing at about 12 years using a telescoping, steel pole that was as flexible as a water pipe. Every so often the reel spool would drop into the lake. I will hit 66 this year so it was a long time ago and the cheap line I could afford had to be dried and then dressed with silicone about every half hour or it would sink. The plastic coating finally cracked and peeled off.

Caught a lot of bluegills, bass and crappie on flies and still love it. I tie some flies, but they probably scare hell out of the fish. Well, actually, I caught a nice smallie on one of my creations yesterday while just goofing around the water with my flyrod.

Just bought a cottage at Atwood Lake and trying to find some panfish down there that will hit my flies...or anything else for that matter.

[Neapolis]

I had the same kind of setup, haven't thought about it in a long time. Was more like 48 - 50 years ago for me. That telescoping rod was something. As I remember mine was more like a wet noodle. I tried to fish with it about a half a summer before my uncle told me about cleaning and dressing the line. Now that was a chore. I think I still have the reel. An old Martin or Pflueger (sp ?) I think. I'll see if I can find it. My wife has been after me to clean out the garage, I guess this is a good reason to get at it. I turn 63 this November, that rod would be a collecters item if we still had em. The first fish I caught with that with that outfit was a largemouth bass. Used a rubber ant, boy this brings back some good memories

[Star1pup]

I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven when I got my first bamboo flyrod with an automatic Martin reel. I just bought an old bamboo South Bend rod and will be checking flea markets for a reel to put on it.

Did anyone ever have what they called a semi-automatic reel? I had one and wish I still had it. It was metal and had a trigger like an automatic, except that there was no wind up spring. Each time you worked the trigger (lever?) The reel took up a couple feet of line. Actually not a bad concept.

I still have a rod I bought the first year we got married almost 47 years ago. It is a green fiberglass and it still works. I also have a custom rod that my wife and kids chipped in for the material and my son-in-law built for me. It's a lightweight beauty!

[Spitfire]

hey star1pup, that green fiberglass rod you have, do you know what kind it is? any writing on it?
I have one that was my dads and it has "CONOLON" Live Fiber stamped on it. It had a pflueger automatic on it but I put it on another rod that I use.
Do any of you know anything about old bamboo rods or what they might be worth? I have a couple that are probably from the 50's. They are still in there cloth sleeves and in storage tube's. I found them in my house after I bought it along w/ some other fishing rods and reels.

[Star1pup]

I think mine is a South Bend, but it is down at the cottage. I'll check it out this weekend and let you know. The "Conolon" name is familiar, but can't remember the manufacturer. I'm thinking about maybe Shakespear.

The price for any antique depends on how much the seller wants and the buyer is willing to pay. I gave $50 for mine just last fall.

I remember a conversation between a gun buyer and seller. The offer was very low and the seller quoted what "The Book" said it was worth. The buyer said, "so go sell it to the guy who wrote the book".;)

[Spitfire]

I don't know what they would be worth or even how much I would ask. Thought maybe I would just put them on e-bay and get whatever I could.

[Star1pup]

e-Bay might be a good idea. I've seen bidders get so competitive that they bid more than the cost of a new item.

[Spitfire]

I've seen that myself! Bunch of crazy people on there. Thanks for your input star1pup I appreciate it. Let me know about that rod we might have the same thing.

[Lance]

Welcome star1pup,

I've never seen a steel flyrod that would be interesting. I had a steel baitcaster that my grandfather gave me but I lost it in a river when I was kid. Alot of people still like those old glass rods like you have there. They're kind of like bamboo rods, some a very collectible and others are just good rods to fish.

Spitfire,
I've got some books on identifiying old cane rods and know a few people that collect and restore them(I'm just a newbie at the cane game). I can probably get you some approximate values on them if you'd like.

[Spitfire]

Thanks Lance! Heck they might only be worth a couple dollars but I would like to find out. What all do you need to know?

[Lance]

The most important things needed to get started on this would be:

Brand and model name of rod if available.

Overall length and number of peices, all the same legnth? (should be)

Line weight

Condition of cork

Condition of ferrules(all there and working order)

Condition of windings and overall finish.

Is there any "set" to the rods. Set is a permanant curve, usually in the tip section of the rod when laid flat. These came from storage or use.

In case you can't read the writing on the rods the book I have also includes b/w pictures of the reel seats/handles of most of the rods made and they can be identified through the handles. I'll help with watever I can, like I said I'm new on the cane rods but I've got some good help available if I have trouble figuring it out myself it just may take a day or two more to figure out.


I'm hoping to try to build one this winter/spring.

[Spitfire]

I'll PM you w/ the info.

[sycamoreredneck]

Glad to see some fly fishing talk!! I am new to fly fishing, but I love it!! Plan on going to WV next weekend to hit the Cheat, Brushy Fork, and Blackwater in Tucker County. Too warm to hit the trout real hard but the small mouth will be just fine!! Anyone ever fish that area in WV???

[Lance]

I've never been lucky enough to fish in WVA. I've only driven through it a few times. Heard some good things though.

[Lunker]

Spitfire you want to post this on The MI site ..Theres Alot of oldchool flyfisherman with alot of knowledge on the subject.

You could have a goldmine so dont let them go till you know exactly what they are worth.

[CatDaddy]

any fly tyers need squirrel tails? PM me.