Fly BlogFly BlogMusings on fly fishing, fly rods, and rod building. 
Articles
Why a long fly rod punches through the wind better
2008-05-20 00:19:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - Ever wonder why you might want a longer fly rod? Ever have people tell you that you can punch through the wind and cast further with a longer rod? Ever wonder why? The answer to this is simple physics. The tip of an eight foot fly rod that ... More About: Wind , Long , Punches
Classic dry fishing flies - Adams
2008-05-12 02:24:00 The Adams was originally tied by Lenard Halladay of Mayfield, Michigan about 1922. It was named for Charles F. Adams of Lorin, Ohio, who fished it on the Boardman River in Michigan with good success. The Adams has been dyed to imitate deer flies, mayflies, caddis in flight and in smaller sizes gnats and mosquitoes. ... More About: Fishing , Classic , Flies
User reviews of Sage ZXL Fly Rod
2008-05-05 06:32:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods — I collected what I could find around the web of user reviews of the Sage ZXL fly rod. My conclusion is that if you are a die hard LL or SLT fan you may not like the ZXL. If you have an open mind and ... More About: Reviews , User
G Loomis rod blank policy
2008-04-28 05:34:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - I’ve been asked a number of times about which rod blank is which when it comes to G Loomis fly rod blanks. Loomis has a strong tendency to re-use names for their fly rods and put addendums on them. For example they make a GLX ... More About: Policy , Blank
User reviews of Sage Z Axis fly rod
2008-04-21 06:33:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - Continuing my series on user reviews of various fly rods… I’ve always found it to be a pain to collect reviews of various fly rods. To help us all out I’ve been collecting user reviews of different rods. This time: Sage Z Axis . Great rod. Enjoy… Two good rods. ... More About: Reviews , User
Reviews of G Loomis GLX (Streamdance) Fly Rods
2008-04-06 00:26:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - I’ve collected a lot of web site forum commentary on the G Loomis GLX rod. Please enjoy reading and add your comments if you have opinions on this rod! Enjoy… 25 foot performance - 18 points out of 20 The softer progressive tip of this rod contributes to the excellent ... More About: Reviews
Fly Fishing a Fast Rod
2008-03-26 16:34:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - Most people know the advantages and disadvantages of fishing a fast action fly rod. Fast fly rods punch harder and form tighter loops than slow rods. Tighter loops mean less air resistance and better penetration in windy conditions. But fast fly rods are harder to cast than slower ... More About: Fishing , Fly Fishing
The hardest part of building a fly rod ? getting that fly rod wrap coating
2008-03-23 21:47:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - I know a lot of fly rod builders that advise a newbie to build a cheap fly rod to get started. They figure it is going to turn out looking like crap so why mess up on a good rod. My opinion is that if you build ... More About: Building , Part , Wrap
User reviews of St Croix Legend Elite Fly Rods
2008-03-13 06:17:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - I’ve been doing a series pulling user reviews of various fly rods from a variety of web sites. I find trying to get reviews of rods very frustrating. This review is of the St Croix Legend Elite series of fly rods. This is ... More About: Reviews , User
Do?s and Don?ts of Winter Trout Fishing
2008-03-08 18:36:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods By now the weather is just starting to turn but not really. You are itching to get out there fly fishing for trout but its too early. Maybe not. Here are some offerings that may help get you started early. These come from an excellent article by Zak ... More About: Winter , Fishing
Fly Fishing Technique for Low, Clear Water
2008-03-05 06:47:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - Fly fishing low, crystal clear streams is as demanding trout fishing as there is. In these kind of conditions trout see very well and spook very easily. Here are few things to remember when outfoxing your trout. Have a very careful approach to water you are ... More About: Fishing , Technique , Water , Clear , Fly Fishing
User reviews of St. Croix Avid Fly Rods
2008-02-28 18:25:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Inc. Custom Fly Rods - Continuing in my series on collecting user comments on various fly rods. Today I am covering the St Croix Avid Fly Rod. This is the SCIII rod blank from St Croix and is a medium fast taper. In my opinion this is a great rod, ... More About: Reviews , User
How good is a Thomas and Thomas Helix Fly Rod?
2008-02-25 17:47:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher.com Custom Fly Rods - In my last blog How to choose a fly rod model and manufacturer, I mentioned that I wanted to roll up comments on fly rod models and manufacturers from around the web. You can see my entire collection at Flycatcher Fly Wiki. My first look is ... More About: Thomas , Good
How to choose a fly rod model and manufacturer
2008-02-23 00:36:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - I often get phone calls from fly rod prospects wanting to know what fly rod they should buy and which one is better than another. What I can tell you is that with fly rods you get what you pay for. The more you spend the better ... More About: Model , Choose , Manufacturer
Caring for your fly line
2008-02-17 19:11:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - You probably agonized over what fly rod to buy and how much to spend for a product that will probably last you 10 years or more. But how much time did you spend worrying about that $50 fly line you put on it? And how time do you ... More About: Line
How to tie your own knotted fly fishing leaders
2008-02-11 19:41:00 by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods In my last blog I spoke of the reasons why you might want to consider tying your own leaders. Today I am going to talk about how to tie your own leaders. It’s pretty simple really and it can be relaxing as well. A leader starts out with ... More About: Fishing , Fly Fishing , Leaders
Why you might want to tie your own fly line leaders
2008-02-08 22:01:00 by Mark Waldin Flycather Custom Fly Rods - Making your own fly fishing leaders is not only one more piece of the fly fishing experience, it can save you money AND get you a more user friendly leader. Let’s talk $$ first. An Umpqua 7.5′ trout leader goes for about $3.50 at ... More About: Line , Leaders
Keeping your fly hook as sharp as a razor
2008-02-06 18:04:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods Hook s from quality manufacturers are sharp as a razor. Hooks are generally drawn and cut, ground to the proper shape and then chemically etched to increase sharpness. Make sure when you spend $2 on that fly that you are buying a quality hook! Some ... More About: Sharp , Razor
Hooking a fish on a fly rod
2008-02-04 18:42:00 by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - Last article I talked about how to play a fish, So now you have a fish on your fly line. This time I thought I’d talk about how to get the fish on to the hookHere is how my friends at eHow instruct ... More About: Fish
So now you have a fish on your fly line
2008-01-31 16:57:00 by Mark Waldin, www.flycatcherinc.com Set the drag BEFORE starting fishing if you want to make sure you don’t break your tippet. Keep pressure on the line at ALL times. Pinch the line and play it out to the fish until you get the fish onto the reel. Keep the rod tip up using the flexibility of the ... More About: Fish , Line
Essential Flys for Dry Fly Trout Fishing
2008-01-28 18:28:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Number one is to pick a fly on a light wire hook. The hackling should be slightly oversized for the hook. In Western rivers the most common sizes are 6, 8, and 10 while Eastern rivers run mainly with 10, 12, and 14 size hooks. In low, clear ... More About: Fishing , Essential
Skipping a Dry Fly
2008-01-25 17:14:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Normally, the dry fly fisherman wants to float his or her fly on a natural float down a current. But this won’t always give the best results. Sometimes it is good to mix things up. A fly skittering across the water may be just what a trout needs ...
How well do you keep your fly dry?
2008-01-24 17:36:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com The manner in which a dry fly floats is one of the keys to catching fish. A dry fly that isn’t floating isn’t going to catch fish. Unless you have good reason to choose something specific, go with a fly you know will float well and bob back when ...
Watch out the wind knot
2008-01-22 20:06:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com If you are like me and are not an expert caster, then I am sure you have found times when you have placed your fly line in something that resembled more of a heap of line than an arrow. And if you have done this I am sure ... More About: Watch , Wind , Knot
Building a Fly Rod - Tip #8
2008-01-21 20:48:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Have you ever sealed your fly rod thread wraps and found a single loose wrap on the end that has pulled away from the pack? Do you ponder as to how that could have happened? Of course there are multiple reasons that it could happen and it is always best to examine ... More About: Building
Getting sinking tip line airborne
2008-01-18 18:59:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Sometimes you need something other than a standard back cast. Sometimes a roll cast is called for. A roll cast is a great technique when you don’t have room for a back cast or you are using a sinking line or tip and need to get the line airborne. If ... More About: Line , Airborne
Tits up and tummy too
2008-01-17 00:25:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com I’ve been busy building rods and haven’t been able to get in the mental mind frame to write about fly fishing. I’ve been thinking about some things as I build these rods. I’m especially touched by the things I do that make the fly rod a master craft product but are ... More About: Tits
Fly Casting - fundamentals are key
2008-01-15 17:57:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com If you are new to fly casting or just want to brush up on technique it is always good to have a set of fundamentals to go to. Fly casting is simple and it is hard. It is simple to learn and do. Depending on who you are you can get ... More About: Casting , Dame
Selecting the right fly fishing fly for nymphing
2008-01-11 18:11:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com Like any fly fishing the first thing to do when fishing nymph is to check with the local fly shop to see what they are taking. Beyond that, there is no sense looking at hatch charts since flies can live in the nymph stage or larval stage for a long time. ... More About: Fishing , Fly Fishing
The Wimps Way of Nymphing on a Fly Rod
More articles from this author:2008-01-10 20:23:00 by Mark Waldin www.flycatcherinc.com In my last blog I discussed nymphing with a naked leader . Today I am going to shift tempo and discuss the wimps way out, fly fish nymphing with a strike indicator. Of course, there are benefits to being a wimp…like more fish on the hook. A sink indicator does a number ... 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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