Off Topic Fly Fishing

"JeffFurbs" (jefffurbs)
08/06/2014 at 07:47 • Filed to: None

So I pulled off the road yesterday and found a little stream. You can't see it from the road and I wasn't sure if there was water there. I just always see vehicles there so I figured there was either fishing or hunting there. Turns out it was fishing. I have had almost no luck fishing streams this year. It's my first full year fly fishing and I have a lot to learn. So getting this little whitefish was pretty rewarding. My favorite part about fly fishing is it makes me want to explore off the road more. I had re-acquainted myself with spin fishing about 2 years ago and thought I'd never touch a fly rod. It looked to complicated. We spent a weekend in Pittsburg, NH last summer and I decided to try my buddy's fly rod out just to see how it felt. I hooked my first fish that weekend (it was about the size of my thumb). I went home that weekend and bought some used fly equipment from a friend who was upgrading. I've touched a spin reel maybe once since that weekend. I have no interest in it anymore. There's nothing wrong with that type of fishing, but I bore easily and it wasn't really doing it for me anymore. Fly fishing keeps me focused and relaxed. I have so much fun just exploring, and even though most of my searches for good fishing spots are fruitless at the moment, I'm enjoying it never the less.

I've had a tough time catching anything but a metric crap ton of sunfish of a few varieties this summer. So I hooked this bass this weekend which was also a nice change. Nothing huge, but with fly fishing I don't really care how large the fish is. Also got my girlfriend into it a little bit. We both caught some trout this weekend. Nothing big there either but they have been elusive for me. Oh and I don't look that weird in real life...eh I probably do hahah

DISCUSSION (21)

505Turbeaux > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 07:51

I fly fish often, and for the past 30 of my 35 years on earth. First thing I caught this year was a LM bass...on a caddis of all things.

BTW if you ever end up with another metric crap ton of sunfish or bluegills, it is a ton of work to clean them, but some of the best tasting fish there are. I make fritters out of them. So goddamn good. Fish on!

JeffFurbs > 505Turbeaux
08/06/2014 at 08:12

Damn, you got started young huh? That's awesome man. Yea I like fishing with caddis' because I find they are pretty much a shoe in for a catch around here but I definitely have not caught bass with them. Just sunnies hahah.

Really? I did not know that they were good eats. I'm not a huge fish eater but I may have to try that some day.

Any basic advice for a new guy? I know books could be written on the topic, but anything you see that is common for a beginner to get wrong?

505Turbeaux > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 08:22

yeah my uncle (RIP) got me started tying and casting real early!

Best piece of advice I can give if it is your first year: go find a piece of lawn and a stack of frisbees or something to give you targets. Toss the frisbees out randomly at different distances and practice your casting accuracy there, not on the water. Tie something bright around the practice fly so you can work your placement. That was how I learned.

That, and dont buy cheap waders

ColoradoTaco > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 08:30

Awesome! I love to fly fish. My dad got me into it young but I only really started to take it seriously a few years back. What state are you fishing in? Try poking around here a bit www.theflyfishingforum.com lots of helpful members and tips for any area. Here's a nice cutbow (rainbow / cutthroat hybrid) I caught on my final cast of a 4 days trip to Southern Wyoming this past spring

I did a poor job displaying him as he wasn't too keen on being held out of water. We spent the whole weekend catching fish like this. Biggest of the trip was about 27" (not my fish but I have a pic if interested) this guy was a solid 21.

Mattbob > 505Turbeaux
08/06/2014 at 08:36

you mean reel early

http://community.sephora.com/t5/image/serve…

JR1 > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 08:36

Fly fishing really is the best kind of fishing on the planet IMO. Have you read the book A River Runs Through It? If not I suggest you look into it

thebigbossyboss > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 08:40

The first fish I caught this year was this.

505Turbeaux > Mattbob
08/06/2014 at 08:44

hahaha yes

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thebigbossyboss > ColoradoTaco
08/06/2014 at 08:46

My biggest fish so far this year was this. Big fish is big.

trynthink > thebigbossyboss
08/06/2014 at 09:05

What is that?!? It looks like some kind of small shark.

ColoradoTaco > thebigbossyboss
08/06/2014 at 09:11

Big and ugly. What the hell is it?

thebigbossyboss > trynthink
08/06/2014 at 09:16

It's a white sturgeon. That ridge down the side of the fish is really what helps identify it. Those are basically ridge like bones.

thebigbossyboss > ColoradoTaco
08/06/2014 at 09:18

It's a white sturgeon. In my opinion they are a great looking fish but their heads do look kind of goofy.

ColoradoTaco > thebigbossyboss
08/06/2014 at 09:23

Ah, we don't have those here. Kinda looks like a skinny catfish / shark cross

thebigbossyboss > ColoradoTaco
08/06/2014 at 09:27

They do kinda look like sharks. Luckily they are bottom feeders so they can't bite in any meaningful sense of the word. In BC the sturgeon fishery is catch and release, so this guy is happily swimming again out there somewhere.

For a sturgeon in BC this guy is small fry, believe it or not!

ColoradoTaco > thebigbossyboss
08/06/2014 at 09:36

Wow! That's a small one? crazy. We C&R only as well. We don't eat the fish so no reason to keep them. Just like to be outside with a line in the water and a beer in hand.

thebigbossyboss > ColoradoTaco
08/06/2014 at 09:41

Yeah me too I really have no interest in gutting fish.

Here are some recently caught giagantic sturgeon from the same river I was fishing in (Fraser River)

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/it-look…

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/br…

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/07/20/fra…

BJohnson11 > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 09:55

Nice! I just spent a weekend up near Lassen in CA fly fishing with my girlfriend. Great fun, and a great way to see some beautiful nature as well.

BigBlock440 > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 09:59

I have the equipment and can tie flies, but I don't like tying the hooks or leaders on (I'm not good at it) so I tend to stick with on fly that usually doesn't work. Then I don't catch anything, get bored, get the 9-foot pole tangled up in the brush and branches, than say screw it. Plus tying on new flies shortens my leader and messes with my cast, so another reason I avoid switching. Caught a few panfish on a pond with a beetle, but my biggest fish in a stream was a 4" trout. Eventually I'll have time to pick it back up again.

Stephen the Canuck > JeffFurbs
08/06/2014 at 11:15

I like me some fly fishing. Haven't managed to catch a single fish this year yet (fly or spin). My girlfriend's Dad and Grandpa usually had memberships to a stocked pond fishing club and took me out last year to try fly fishing. Then her parents got me a fly rod/reel combo for Christmas. They bought a cottage this year so they didn't get memberships. I tried a few different streams in the spring, and was literally putting the fly all around schools of trout I could see, and nothing would bite.

I like trolling for walleye in the lake they got their cottage on, with either a spinning rod or bait caster and a crank bait. My parents have a trailer on a lake that is usually pretty good for bass, but I haven't gotten up to it yet this year.

StingrayJake > JeffFurbs
08/07/2014 at 00:12

Took a guided fly fishing trip down the upper Rio Grande in SW Colorado with my grandpa a few years ago. I'd attempted to fly fish with an old rod on a pond up there a couple times before, but this was my first real experience with modern equipment. I might have only pulled in a two or three small trout (and tangled my line more than I'm willing to admit), but I'll never forget that morning on the river with grandpa. It couldn't have been more perfect.