Mike G

Let's keep it here then.

You may be able to tell that I am looking for the perfect rod grip. It has these features. Comfort, sensitivity, and economy. The first rod I built had a cork Tennessee grip. I have used that simple round shape ever since. Comfort achieved. Cork rings from Herter's were cheap too. As you mentioned, cork falls down on sensitivity. So this Graphite Tennessee grip, highly touted for sensitivity, has cork bushings that defeat the purpose.

On Mud Hole I found a number of offering, but the EVA foam caps and trim pieces they. offer have the same weakness as cork bushings. Bushings of a more rigid material are needed. My search continued but ended in a dead end.I found a Tennessee Sensor grip with graphite bushings. The site that it is on seems to be abandoned and functions poorly. I cannot get ordering or pricing information.

So there is where I stand. do you have any thoughts.

TJ,

Sorry, I seem to be hijacking your thread. Do you want to continue here? Or should I start my own darn thread?

TJ That is a good point about the feel of wooden grips. Supposedly the best Tenkara rods have wooden handles custom made by the owner. How much would a suitable lathe cost? Or should I just buy premium cork rings?

Like.

What material did you use? Over the years I have examined fly rods with wood grips. They were beautiful works of art featuring woods like cherry, maple and walnut. They seemed heavy compared to traditional cork and the gloss finishes seemed like they would get slick when wet. So I made no purchases. Cork and EVA seem better to me. I used to build rods and currently am considering putting grips on some economy Tenkara Rods. I considered cork; but to build a 10" grip, the rings alone would cost more than the rods. My dirty secret is that I like EVA. In your pursuit of your art, have you come across EVA or Korkalon grips that might work on a fly/tenkara rod? Thanks.

I should explain the pic. I call it my basic 4 for bass. (I do not do Carp.) They are from the top, surface, diver, deep, and shallow.

1. Foam Spider #6 or 8. Easy to pack and good to have around when bass start acting like trout. The size is close enough when fish are on mayflies or hoppers.

2. Stealth Bomber #4. At 3" it is easy enough to cast with a 6 weight. Depending on how you work it, it will slide, pop, or dive giving you a 3 for 1 fly. PS it does not really need legs.

3. Whodat Fodder #1, 4". This is my take on Craig Riendeau's classic Hairy Fodder tied to celebrate the Saints Superbowl win. I sub Gilt Eyelash for the bunny wrap on the body so it is not so soggy. You do not see that there is a rattle in there. You do see the ringer on the front end that allows you to button in different sized dumbell eyes to get to the depth you want.

4. Lefty's Red and White, #2, 4". This is a good shallow running streamer. Lefty sez you can tie this fly in various color combinations but red and white catches the most fish.

I might add a Blockhead or another similar popper or an articulated streamer, but not here.

I like the froggy look of the popper. It might also pass as a dragon fly. I might have to ask your permission to imitate it.

They look good.

 

It looks like craft fur is a good material to practice on.

 

There is advice about gluing eyes on the fleye at 7:41 in the video.

Cigar!

Do you use them?

Thanks Bart,

Your suggestion of "craw" gave me a keyword to search on. I moved closer, but still no cigar.

Culprit's Incredicraw has the same appendages, though its body is different.

Still searching

I found the remnants of this creature on the banks of my favorite lake. Well, it is only part of a creature. But it is very interesting because it has appendages on its appendages. Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks for putting that up, Tom. We still have a lot to learn from Lafontaine. I hope you had a chance to look at

LaFontaine’s Legacy Fly Patterns

The last unpublished flies by the master angler, Gary LaFontaine.

This book was adapted from the original hard-cover book published in 2007.

By Gretchen & Al Beatty

Copyright © 2017 by GAB Publishing. All Right Reserved.

Here’ the fine print. You need to have a Kindle or the Kindle reader app (free from Amazon). The book is a free read for Amazon Prime members. Otherwise the EBook is a reasonable $7.99. (Original hardcopy $24)

Get it at

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6HK3SX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482583904&sr=8-1&keywords=lafontaine%27s+legacy

PS When is the Caddis season?

Wouldn't the biggest fish (smallmouth, trout etc.) also possibly be the hardest to catch? The logic being they got that big because they were wary, difficult to fool/catch etc.

 

Kevin,

Often they are one and the same. But I see a difference between the Smallmouths I used to catch in the Quetico and the ones I catch in Illinois waters. In the day Basswood Lake was a Mecca for big Smallmouths. I beat the Brutus mark once there. I haven't done that in Illinois, but I consider several 19 inchers from local waters greater accomplishments. Someday perhaps I will catch a monster Florida Strain Largemouth that dwarfs anything I have caught so far. The 20+ inch Largemouths I caught from DuPage County Forest Preserve Lakes are still better fits to level 3.

"When he studies to catch the most difficult fish he can find,

requiring the greatest skill and most refined tackle,

caring more for the sport than the fish."

I always liked this old man's goal:

"The ancients wrote of the three ages of man,

I propose to write of the three ages of the fisherman.

“When he wants to catch all the fish he can.
When he strives to catch the largest fish.
When he studies to catch the most difficult fish he can find,

requiring the greatest skill and most refined tackle,

caring more for the sport than the fish."

Edward R. Hewitt, A Trout And Salmon Fisherman For Seventy-Five Years

The sun behind Terry Dodge is brilliant in many of his fish pictures.

It is called a halo or aura.

I like the RWs. Might just be me. How do they produce for you?

I send my regerts that I will not be able to make the Season Premier Tipoff of the ISA NW Region 2017 season. I hope to make future events. I hope you all have a good time and, more importantly, a successful season.

Thanks rich. I am glad you found an independent review.

Sorry for the double post stupid sensitive phone lol...the answer is Ronald Reagan talking about the redwoods in California...

Wrong!

I've been watching the news. Is Cherry Valley safe?

I just got a notice on this from feather craft-Faux Bucktail. Anyone try it yet?

https://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.php?store=feacraft&action=display&target=TU084

When a democratic party is in office, natural resources tend to get a break. When a republican party is in office, they typically are not getting a break.

5 pages summed up in one sentence.

This isn't news to anybody.

Just the same with other issues people vote their party into.

Partisan lines are pretty clear.

multiple choice question:

"A tree is a tree. How many more do you have to look at?"

The author of this quotation was:

A. A Republican Governor at the time.

B. A Democratic Governor at the time.

Hint: this was before Twitter.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery definition. To imitate someone is to pay the person a genuine compliment — often an unintended compliment.

For the record, I just saw this method of tying an extended chenille body on Mid-current. But rich showed us this a while back with the shannon minnow wrapping chenille over the tail material to extend the body. Here's the example of using the technique on a smaller fly.

http://midcurrent.com/videos/how-to-tie-a-get-it-down-pats/?utm_source=MidCurrent+Fly+Fishing+Email+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c9ff0fe00e-MidCurrent_March_1_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8efbf3b958-c9ff0fe00e-18956357

Not even a photo to tease us with?

 

We are dying to see one, rich.

Take one more off my bucket list.