Paul Sadowski

Good discussion. Above my level of expertise. I do fish the Driftless with a glass rod though, the Scott F6'6", 2 WT. Perfect rod, if you're hitting the smaller creeks/feeders--this rod will serve you well. Just take it a bit slow. Bonus is that this rod (all glass rods really) is nigh unbreakable. I took a few major spills and the rod was no worse for it. They are selling the new F series so I am guessing you can nab a deal on the older ones.

I use a 6wt Sage SLT. Perfect smallmouth rod. I fish the Dupe/Kankakee the most and it is right sized for that water. There are quite a few new available on the net. A 6 or 7 would do nicely. My 6 wt is perfect for big flies but you can still toss a dry if needed. I have seen a bunch of 7 wts for $200. If you plan to hit the Indy flats for carp, a 7 may be better. I love the SLTs and I am not sure you could do much better, regardless of how much cash you spent. Plus there has been a huge Z-Axis dump as they clear those out so you may see the SLTs drop just a bit.

The "Can of Worms" prize in the category of Questions goes to Jack T. That's a doozy Jack;)! The best way to learn is to head to any knowledgeable tackle shop and have them show you some outfits, and walk you through the components. But I can make a few comments too. Balance is key when considering a fly rod set up, just like it is for other fishing rods. You wouldn't put 35 lb test on spincasting rod and give it to a kid to fish for panfish. Likewise for a fly rod set-up. The above Cabela's Combo is sure to be balanced. Whether you want to consider the rod, reel, line, or leaders, when you choose one, you really choose all the rest of the componets that balance the outfit (or should). You asked about lines. Let's leave aside specialized fishing lines. Lines run from 000 (the lightest) thru to 12 and even beyond. You most likely will fish lines right in the middle say 4-5-6 weights. If you go to a fly shop, they will most likely try to sell you a 9ft 5 weight, and line it with a WF5F line. So let's look at that line weight again, WF5F. So 5 is the weight of the line, but what about the rest of it? WF is the line taper, it means weight forward. Another taper is DT or double taper(all this means is that the line is tapered on both ends, well it doesn't just mean that but for now leave it there.) Next, the F stands for Floating; S stands for sinking. Most fly-fishing can be accomplished with a floating line, but obviously in deep or fast moving water, sinking lines (or tips) are required. Tackle companies pretty much stick to these conventions, but I pulled some recent lines I bought and they are all a bit different: DT3F - Rio WF10F - Rio WFF#5 - Allen EXR-FWWFL4 - Albright DT - 3- F --SA Regarding color, I like natural colors the most, green and tan. Sure it looks spiffy to have magenta gel spun backing and teal lines and whatnot, but I can still see my line pretty well, so I'll pass. Reagrding breaking strength, in fly fishing it really only pertains to your tippet, or leader. If your fly line breaks on something you catch, let me know ASAP so I can fish where you are fishing. Just a few thoughts while a took a break from the grind. I could easliy type up 10 more pages and probably still leave you short. But hope this helps. Feel free to bounce back with any specific questions and I and many others, I'm sure, will try to help you out.

Hey Ryan--had a similar set of issues while fishing the Dupe near Hammel Woods for the last few weeks--about 5 outings. My first reaction is, if you can catch carp consistently, carry on by all means. I think they are spectacular game fish and will certainly put up a battle to match even the toughest smallie. I took one on a dry and it spooled me, and broke me off about 100 yds downstream--just awesome power. That being said, how to solve the smallie problem? I don't think it is a lack of fish. I have been fishing the mornings and have seen plenty of large smallmouths cruising the banks and pools. (I also get quite a few "tips" from passing boaters on fish locations.) So why the hard time? Who knows? But this is what I did and it worked for me. 1. Keep moving. The trout fisherman in me has a tendency to fall in love with "can't miss" holes/lies. So I'll take a bunch of passes at one spot, resting it as needed, while finagling with my fly/tippet/leader, presentation etc. This is a waste of time on the Dupe for smallies, I have concluded. Some places just don't hold fish, despite that perfect rock pile and heap of deadwood. No amount of presentations will raise a fish that is not there. Move on. More water, more fish. Hit it again on the way back. 2. Change it up, fast. I have yet to find the fly equivalent of my old spin casting clear/green Tiny Torpedo. That lure was simply irresistible to smallies. I use streamers, poppers, dry flies, large nymphs, terrestrials and they all work about the same. Sounds like you are doing this too. But again, if you are not drawing strikes, change it up. I was tossing a large popper along the banks in about 2 ft or water. Not a stirring. I tied on a smaller panfish sized popper, slid back down to where I started and worked the same water again. I immediately picked up 4 nice fish. Same water, 20 minutes later. That popper worked until it literally disintegrated from the repeated maulings. I then when back to streamers, etc and caught no fish. I searched my box and came up with the weakest popper I have ever seen. Could have been a gag lure but it was small, had an OK hook and so I thought I 'd give it a try. First cast nailed a mid-sized fish. Popper was blown up and useless but I solved the riddle, right? Small poppers on the Dupe. So I stopped off at the tackle shop on the way home, filled up on panfish poppers and was back at the Dupe early the next day. And caught no fish on small poppers. After an hour or so, I tried fishing the deeper pools with a deceiver, and bingo. Lesson, tie on some xtra tippet and change lures quickly if you get no action. 3. Fish the middle. I focused mostly on "prime" water. Banks, overhanging limbs, structure, pools. But I also found (maybe everyone already knows this) that there are some nice fish in the middle of the stream as well. Since there are no rocks like a large freestone stream and the water seemed featureless and shallow, I passed it over, but a couple times while mindlessly retrieving a long cast or letting my line just hang out down stream I got a couple hits. Weed lines/sand lines/depressions seem to be where they hold. It's hard to find this water but I know that stretch I fish pretty well (as I am sure you do too) so give these middle stream sections a try too. Could save you from a skunking. 4. When. I have had poor luck very early, say from 4:30- 8ish. After that, things always seem to pick up. I figured the earlier the better. Not so right now. 9 -10 AM seems to be the money time. I have not fished the evenings so can’t say. This is all basically fishing 101 stuff, which I am sure you know, but as applied to the Dupe right now July 2011, perhaps it can help you out a bit. Tight lines. ps

At the risk of being accused of rod snobbery, inexpensive rods can be an excellent example of false economy. If you know you'll be fishing the driftless for the next decade, my advice is to stretch as far as you can budget-wise and make sure to invest in equipment which meets your particular needs and casting style. Testing a rod is a must, so either make your way to Cabela's or a dealer and line a few up. If you know what suits you best, save some dollars and consider having someone build you a rod. Dan, of Dan's Tackle in Chicago could build you a nice whatever you want, and tell you where to fish it too. IMO a warranty is a must. (Sage and others will fix custom rods for a small fee). I haven't broken many rods but it happens and the good companies stand behind their product. I had an older Orvis rod (20+ years) with a snapped tip. Brought it to the Orvis store, they took it no questions asked, lent me a Helios to fish with in the interim (a much nicer rod than I was having fixed), and returned my rod a couple weeks later at zero cost. I fished the rod last week up at Oak Creek on the beach--still performs very well. Some companies will just outright replace a rod. So in effect, you are buying a lifetime rod, or at least one that will get you through 2031. Can you spare 20 bucks a year? Do you want to pay more in tolls than for your rod? That's not to say that you have to spend a bundle. My Albright is fantastic (though they charge a fee to repair) and I still fish one of my first rods, a Berkley, for bass. It's great and fun but I'd be lying if I said it was in the same league as rods I bought later. (Albright lists their rods for much more than they sell them for--just wait and they have a sale every few weeks, marking their rods down by hundreds.) I got an A5 5 wt for 100 bucks. Then again, if you really are only going to use it "a few times" then go with the cheap set up. I am sure it will work well enough and you'll have some extra scratch for some Leini and New Glarus ales.

Ultralight is not for me either, but I have to say the rod I saw was a nifty thing indeed. I think it was a Sage, had one of those Daniellson Midge reels. It wasn't exactly toylike, more like a functional miniature. Plus the owner was a fantastic fisherman and I think it was just the next challenge for him. Also have to agree with the earlier poster, delicate presentations on long leaders and fine tippets are a greater factor than rod wt.

Hey Ryan-I fish quite a bit up in the driftless and northern WI. My advice would be to go with a 3 wt. I've always brought my 5 wt, but never needed to use it, even on the larger waters. The more important question may be long or short rod. If forced to choose, I'd go with the longer rod as it's more versatile as you can nymph, toss streamers, mend, dap, etc. a bit easier with added length. I switch between my short 6'3" Sage SLT 3 wt w/DT line for the really tight brushy areas but use my Loop 8'9" 3 wt most of the time. While I have tied into some large fish, light tackle will more than suffice and I think it also makes thing a touch more fun. If you are worried about being too light, consider for some perspective that I have seen some guys fish 1 wts and 000 wts and do quite well. IMO, lighter is better up there. You can't go wrong either way, you may even want to fish your 5 weight the first trip and then make up your mind. Good luck, and watch out for bulls and electric fences.