Tim A

Awesome, Ryan! I'm stoked for you. They're such versatile and economical boats.

If it gets you fishing, buy it. Lifetime no-hassle warranty keeps you fishing.

Tom, I really like that last set. Just curious, what, in your opinion, sets your version apartfrom other sliders?

And you can still get loads of CF from DF, just order at least one swatch ($1) and get 5 sample swatches free. Do it before they realize fly tying is a thing.

I have both of the vises you are considering, and I hate the peak and love the griffin. For me it's all about hook-holding ability, and the peak slips everytime. Keep in mind I mostly tie size 2 and above, but the griffin has zero problems holding hooks of all sizes. Not worth he jump to the peak unless you just need a heavy pedestal for portability. But that can be arranged for any vise. Screw peak.

As Tom suggested, I too would take precautions against line burn on stripping fingers when using this line for musky fishing especially. It takes a lot of force to move big musky flies through the water quickly, 18" at a time, 8 hours a day. And when you finally strip set on a fish... you get it. Wear a stripping glove or stripping guard lycra sleeve thing.

I have not fished the SA streamer express sink line. I have the Orvis Hydros 3D Depth Charge 450grn textured line and it is super limp even in the cold and shoots like a champ! I love it

BVKs are mostly nice. The 10 is stiff rod I reserve for distance casting or chucking giant flies. I was glad to see my beloved Orvis Helios 2 in the #2 spot. I personally think it's nicer than the NRX on several measures, but at #2 it still beats out tons of supposedly high end rods by known makers. If you can swing for the H2, get it.

Sorry can't help out but I will be manning the Orvis table at the Schaumburg show everyday except Friday--please stop by and chat. I hope to see some familiar faces there.

Thanks Tim for mentioning about Drew Chicone. But funny, the article that I read he said the opposite of the first sentence in your quoted.

 

Extracted from "Shining a Light on UV Materials" by Drew Chicone

"So what are you seeing when materials light up in the dark when you shine a UV light on them? These are UV reactive materials. UV reactive materials shine, radiate, incandesce, or fluoresce when you hit them with a UV light. Typically this means they have been dye with UV reactive dyes. Highly UV reactive materials can be checked with a UV light. They gather light and fluoresce or luminesce in the dark. Materials that appear fluorescent in daylight absorb UV and reflect or radiate, with a brighter intensity."

 

 

It's not the opposite, because he is drawing a distinction between UV-reflective and UV-reactive materials. In fact, the quote you pulled from the article is pretty much verbatim the last part of the quote I posted from the book. You can check UV-reaction but not UV-reflectivity with a light--in either case, we still can't see the UV part with our human eyes.

He goes on in the book to theorize (underwhelmingly) that these materials may imitate blood (which is UV reflective, not reactive), appearing gray or black and that maybe these materials enhance silhouetting. I know, it's weak.

A quote from Feather Brain (2013, Stackpole Books) by Drew Chicone:

"UV reflective materials do not react under a UV light. This means that particles of light in the UV specturm that hit the material will be reflected and become more visible to predators that can see UV light. If no light is present, then there is no UV light either. If there is no UV light, then there is no UV reflection form the materials.

If birds, fish, and insects can see UV light, and humans cannot, materials that claim to be UV reflective cannot be tested with a blue light or a UV light since they simply reflect UV light, which we cannot see.

Most, but not all, feathers are UV reflective. Some feathers reflect more UV light than others, such as jungle cock, peacock, and iridescent exotic bird feathers. However, birds in the ostrich family, owls, and hummingbirds have no UV reflective feathers at all...

White or lighter colored feathers are highly UV reflective, while darker or black feathers reflect far less UV light. White has the highest UV reflectivity, followed by blue, yellow, green, red, brown, and then black. Highly reflective UV colors like fluorescents are not typically found in nature, but they work well to get the attention of fish.

So what are you seeing when materials light up in the dark when you shine a UV light on them? These are UV reactive materials. UV reactive materials shine, radiate, incandesce, or fluoresce when you hit them with a UV light. Typically, this means that they have been dyed with UV reactive dyes..." (pp. 11-13).

I recommend the book. And I wouldn't be surprised that UV reflective materials were not advertised as such. They simply reflect more light, and UV light is part of that spectrum. It's not a perfect parallel, but it's akin to how most shirts do not advertise their UPF rating, but those marketed toward comfort in the sun or "performance wear" boast UPFs in the normal range.

Fishy.

Good article. Thanks for sharing, Ryan.

If you're going with a gurgler, tie in two grub tails, one on each side, like a twin-tail grub or hula grub, and retrieve with hand-over-hand technique as Tom said.

http://www.caddisflyshop.com/fly-tails.html (or just cut them off your spent grubs)

On the whole, I'd say the buzzbait is one of those lures that emphasizes things that flyfishing is really not meant to do--cover water very quickly and make a ton of commotion. I'm not saying it's not possible, but it's one of those, "Well you might as well just fish a real buzzbait" kind of things.

That reminds me--I meant to say unscented Chapstick. It's worked a few days for me so far this season. My rod also has Recoil snake guides which are titanium based--I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

You can rub some Chapstick between your thumb & index finger then thoroughly rub onto guide. Repeat for each guide & again after a few hours of fishing.

L'chaim!

Misfit aka Lund's Fly Shop sent us some of these over the summer to demo at our Chi-Tie bar flies event. We thought they were pretty cool. Definitely something to have a few of to make a unique pattern. It won't go on all or most of my flies, but I think it's a neat option. I'll have to dig up a picture of one of the streamers I tied with it.

Great vid! Thanks for sharing this, Tom

Tim:

 

I sent you a PM, but have not heard back. Is your inbox full?

I just replied.

Sorry for the hijack, Ryan. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

I am not just talking about smallmouth, either. Smallies are one of the more aggressive and less picky fish, and in the midwest often live in less than clear water (big exception is Great Lakes), and so may be less requiring of stealthy presentations in many situations. So I'm talking about something beyond just our beloved smbs.

 

Again, this.

And someone please tell Tom L. that finesse presentations aren't good in the warmer months. That's why he's doing so poorly.

It looks great. It would definitely catch more fisherman.All this talk about skulls reminds me that I have some heart shaped beads that would make great heads. I need to get around to using them.

Mike, I'm sorry to hear that whatever project you had in mind with the heart-shaped beads didn't work out As they say, "There are more fish in the sea."

Ryan, the fly looks awesome. What size is that one? I agree about the masks though--I think they're kinda silly. It makes a little sense on the giant flies where you'd otherwise waste 1/2 a $20 tube of CCG filling in the area around the eyes.

most of my 20 inch plus smallmouth came on 17 lb test trilene xt or mccoys mean green. many of them where caught in the much clearer water I get during the winter on the river. the only time I use leaders is when I fish for bowfin or pike and use a wire leader.

 

I spooled fluro on my reel for two different seasons just to see if I caught more fish. I did not.

But you are using a somewhat transparent monofilament. To clarify my earlier post, I am not specifically referring to fluoro leaders. The decision to use fluoro over mono as leader material depends on several other factors not discussed here.

Using a leader to top off braid or other superlines is a common practice in the contemporary fishing world. I'm not an outlier in this bunch. I am not just talking about smallmouth, either. Smallies are one of the more aggressive and less picky fish, and in the midwest often live in less than clear water (big exception is Great Lakes), and so may be less requiring of stealthy presentations in many situations. So I'm talking about something beyond just our beloved smbs.

Here's two more reasons to use a leader:

(a) Easier to break off on difficult snags (anyone who has used braid stronger than 8-10# knows what I'm talking about) without sacrificing fish-taming abilities.

(b ) With the looped knot system (handshake knot, loop-to-loop), you will almost never need to cut into your expensive superline (which can go for $20 a half-filler spool) because the leader-side knot will typically break first.

Mike G., the regular uni knot has slipped on me with this line, although it is my favorite knot in every other situation including with regular braid. When using it on braid, I typically use twice as many wraps as I would with mono/fluoro. The palomar might hold--haven't tried it.

That is an awesome hook, Jonn. I've looked at it several times in the store. It's just so darn expensive...if I could only get on the Gami pro staff

Also, his "Low Fat Minnow" is a cool little shad pattern.

Cool fly. Thanks for sharing.

It's funny how the back half of most articulated trout streamers is just a flashy wooly bugger.