J.C.
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
@Alex – not sure when the next comp will be, there aren’t any scheduled yet for my region. I mentioned we should hold one on the Guad, they all liked the idea. I did, however, warn them about the tubers, guides, and fellow fishers; they seemed to think that it would be no different than East coast comps, so who knows.
@Jerry – only the mini comps are competitor controlled, the big comps are volunteered controlled and you don’t fish immediately after someone else, plus each session is three hours long. I actually like the competitor controlled comp because you get to learn how the top anglers approach water, how long they focus on an area, which flies they used, how long they go between fly changes, etc. I picked up a really good tip after controlling Cody Burgdorff, number four on Team USA, he asked me what I would have done differently if I were fishing his beat. What a brilliant and insightful question to ask, even to someone as relatively new to comps as me. I gave him my answer and immediately turned the tables and asked him what he thought he should have done differently. Going forward in competitor controlled events, I am going to ask my controller that question.
Nice mop, Drew. May have to add some mops to this box I’m currently building for a comp this weekend on the Big Thompson in Colorado.
I don’t think I was asked for a TU member # either, but I confirmed it was in my log-in profile prior to registration so perhaps LAP registration pulled the TU membership # from there.
Thanks, Trey. I had a great day but know what you mean about the river traffic. Good luck in Idaho, stick some fish in the face!
I too had a great time. Fishing with a couple of guys that can flat out fish certainly elevates my game. We absolutely need to plan another day when you get back from CA, Jimbo. Alex and I will keep the fish busy while your away. On another note, I landed in Denver this morning, left the airport at 830am and was fishing in Cheeseman Canyon by 1130. A spectacular place that always reminds me how out of shape I am as hike into the canyon. No sign of Pat Dorsey, though. Tomorrow I’ll fish Deckers and keep an eye out for Rim Chung.
JC
If that happens, I’m thinking road trip, Scott.
Really great and on point comments by everyone. There is a ton of information packed into these posts, Jimbo. It would be challenging to distill all this information in a few salient points but that won’t deter me from trying. Also, I appreciate the kind words of Alex and Trice, both very accomplished anglers.
My perspective is a bit skewed because I participate in comps so I tend to follow the often inane and incomprehensible FIPS-Mouche rules even while fishing for enjoyment. Setting that aside, if I had to boil it down to one rule – presentation rules! Everything else is about selecting the appropriate tool to make the best presentation based on the conditions. If we believe that trout feed 90% of the time subsurface then it makes sense that we mostly nymph and it turns out that Euro nymphing is a stunningly effective method of nymphing (but there are circumstances where it is not the case).
Rather than try to explain every facet from rod selection to leader formulation to fly selection to presentation techniques, I make the following offer, Jimbo: PM me and I will provide you an excellent introduction video that you may have already seen – Modern Nymphing. After you have had time to digest most of that material, I will loan you a Euro nymphing starter set (rod, reel, leader, flies). Finally, we will go out on the river and I’ll demonstrate my techniques and approach and then we’ll fish a bit. I will bring several Euro rods and reels (Orvis Helios, Thomas & Thomas Contact II, Sage, Cortland…) for you to see and feel the differences. And who knows, I bet we could convince Alex to be there as well. More than likely though, if we want to fish with him, we’ll have to bend to Alex’s schedule (some week day at the crack of dawn). Also now that the weather’s broke towards Fall, probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to get on the water prior to first stocking while the crowds are down.
JC
Well this topic has certainly generated a lot of discussion, so much so that it’s bled into a second post. I guess I might as well add to the fire. Seems that the issue is long-standing members are worried about being squeezed out based on the speed at which last year sold out and server bandwidth not able to handle traffic volume. Members offered many suggestions, which I think may prove to be impractical to enforce or infeasible to implement.
Perhaps, allowances for members with 5+ years can be made, but I don’t know what GRTU’s membership records look like. I think it would be helpful to have the distribution of membership longevity in order to make informed decisions. But, I don’t even know if GRTU retains those records. Supposing that GRTU can determine the length of membership for all current members, then as pointed out by Jimbo and others, this preferential treatment could potentially lead to no openings for new members in short order. I think new and especially younger members are vital to the survival of the habitat (full disclosure this upcoming season will be my 10th, so I consider myself in the old person category). So what can be done?
Again, supposing GRTU actually has membership records to support this idea, then institute a finite number for pre-registration that takes longevity into consideration. Here’s how it would work – allocate (pick a reasonable number) say 250 memberships for pre-registration every year (which leaves 600 for general registration). Then from that pool of members that have 5+ years of consecutive membership institute a lottery, whereby the length of membership is weighted so that someone with 10 years would be twice as likely than someone with 5 years of being selected. In other words everyone with 5 years would get 5 lottery tickets, and 1 additional ticket for each year beyond 5. For example, Ron would get 25 tickets, Alex 15 and Jimbo 125 (just kidding) and they would have a 5x, 3x and 25x greater chance, respectively, of being selected than someone with 5 years. It’s not perfect (and there is no solution that is) but it prevents the membership from being filled with only 5+ year members, accounts for longevity and ensures that we can still reasonably enroll new members. Again, assuming there are membership records to support this plan, this is at least viable and provides a way to recognize the contributions of long standing members. Also, there is software that can do all of this so that someone isn’t drawing names out of a hat. Well that was longer than I expected. Thoughts?
JC
I think your analysis is on track, Scott. The aerodynamics of the airlock vs the Dorsey indicator can create issues when using finer tippet. In my exuberant fly tying days, I used to tie Wally wings on a lot of my my dry flies because I liked the way they looked. Fishing them with 5x or thinner would always cause the tippet to spin or pigtail, which led to tangles. As suggested, opening your loop will help but if your Dorsey indicator is acting like a wind sail it will still play havoc with your finer tippet especially if you are throwing unweighted flies. A couple of things I do when fishing a New Zealand indicator is increase the weight of the flies or the amount of split shot. Another suggestion, which you’ve already stated, reduce the amount of 5x or 6x tippet and increase 3x – 4x tippet to give you better turn over.
BTW – I’m fishing in New England this week. Came here to compete in a comp in VT but it was cancelled due to high water temps. So I’ve been fishing the Swift River in MA the last couple of days. Hit the Deerfield River as well. I forgot how fun dry fly fishing is, the sulfur hatch has been amazing. Heading to the Farmington tomorrow.
JC
No worries, Alex. I think the thread went off the rails prior to your last post. Rather than try to put it back on track, I’ll stray from the thread’s original intent, acknowledge that there are other species than trout to target with a fly rod while circling back to YouTube, all the while still hoping others will post their favorite tying or fly fishing channels.
Check out Mill House Podcast. Andy Mill was a world-class downhill skier, 2 time Olympian and world record tarpon fisher on the fly. His podcasts are phenomenal and in case anyone feels compelled to mention that there are more fish in the ocean than tarpon, he has podcasts on bonefish, permit and others species. His interviews with world-class guides and fly fishers as well as elk bow hunters (his other passion) are truly exceptional.
Outstanding, Drew. Congrats, you have my vote.
JC
Glad to hear you are getting some time on the water out there, Jimbo. Based on Internet images (which, we all know are always real), it appears to be a zebra mussel. I have pictures of the other side, but they weren’t quite in focus so I didn’t post. Here’s one of them, maybe somebody else can confirm/deny.
Thanks, Alex. As we all know, Machiavelli’s seminal treatise was devoted to the prince nymph. 🙂
Now that I know it’s the olive fdybrdjug, I’m switching from tan because that one hasn’t been working well for me. On a slightly more serious note, varying presentation even within the same drift should be considered especially when the fish seem to have lockjaw with repeated dead-drifts. Occasionally, you can induce an eat.
Now that you are a guide Alex, I have a few questions before I book your service. First, how many fish can I expect to catch? Can I keep them and do you clean them? Can you accommodate my low-carb, keto-atkins, hollywood grapefruit, paleo kardashian dietary restrictions (and I only drink single malts)? Will my 6ft 12wt fly pole work on your river like it did when I was in the Alaskan patagonian rain forest fishing for exotic golden striped steelboned peacock poons? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, I’ll see you on Sunday (unless you see me first). Kidding aside, guiding someone successfully is maybe a better feeling than catching it yourself. Well done, mate.
JC
_(edited)_flies_-_Copy.jpg)
_(edited)_zebra(1).jpg)