Clouser Madness!!!

Time/Date: 2200 CST, 21-May-11

Location: An undisclosed top-secret saltwater fly-tying training facility above 57° North (Canada). Nowhere close to saltwater.

Alternate title: I have no friggin' clue. Apparently I have the rare case of writer's block known as Title Writer's Block. #Lame

Also, this is not a rant. Well, maybe a little bit...

I was swiping through an article in a back issue of Fly Fishing in Saltwaters magazine I downloaded through the Zinio app on my iPod last night.

The publication is great; they have a contributing editors list that has, by my calculations, roughly 3,457 years of fly fishing experience. The fact I can carry 9 or so issues of the mag on my iPod is pretty damn awesome, too.

I read an article about year-round angling opportunities in the Fort Myers area. It was a really good article and was simultaneously entertaining & informative.

Then I stumbled upon their little FFSW Tackle Bag sidebar for angling in Fort Myers and read this:

REELS: Any of the reputable brands, such as Tibor or Islander, that have smooth drags and large-arbour designs.

For fly rods, the author wrote "8- or 9-weight for redfish, snook, tripletail and Spanish mackerel; 11- or 12- weight for tarpon and cobia." No mention of brand names. Same for lines, leaders & polarized sunglasses.

Any old rod, line or sunglasses will do. But for reels, any of the reputable brands, such as Tibor or Islander. I mean, nothing against Tibor or Islander, but why the plug for them?

I know a smooth drag & large-arbour design is pretty much needed for those species. I also know Tibor & Islander, and others (Nautilus, Hatch, et al.) are among the best for providing those. But they're the top of the line.

Suppose some newbie (aka, me, 8 months ago), just trying to figure this whole fly fishing in saltwaters (ha! got that in there!) thing out, reads that, hops online and sees a $700 price tag for a reel.

Do you think that's going to bring more people into the sport (and lifestyle) of fly fishing?

This goes back to an earlier post (rant?) about $800 fly rods vs. $250 fly rods, and something Dylan over at Skate the Fly has written about as well.

Too many people semi-interested in trying out fly fishing are intimidated by the (supposed) money & skills required. And some companies & publications & people in and around the industry perpetuate this, whether purposely or not.

Simple math:

More people fly fishing
= more money for shops/manufacturers/publishers
+ (hopefully) more people involved in conservation
+ a happier society in general (& less focus on shit like reality TV and the like)

Getting into fly fishing ranks in my top 5 things I have done with my life. Yeah, there are still lots of skills I need to learn. But they're not that hard (except whip-finishers...bastard tool of the devil, those things are). 

It hasn't left me in the poorhouse, either. In fact, for the price of one of those reels, I could outfit a person with TWO of my rigs. Possibly three, if you tossed in my 3-weight set-up.

So here is my edited version of that section of FFSW's Tackle Box for Fort Myers, Florida:

REELS: smooth drags are highly recommended. Reels with large-arbour designs are an asset, as they retrieve line quickly. 200 yards of 20lb backing for 8- or 9-weights or 250-300 yards of 30lb backing for 10- or 12-weights.

See? Not being a corporate shill, and not scaring potential anglers away with $700 price tags for reels.

By the way, I caught redfish last fall on a reel that retails for $125 and did just fine, thank you very much. Even got my saltwater fly line off of ebay for $36.

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This is what I tied up tonight. I find my very limited materials here are keeping my options for tying, well, limited. But I like how this one came out.

I have a fever, and the only cure is more Clouser!

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Just because I was humming this song all day:

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Choices (An opinion piece about fly fishing gear)

Time/Date: 1320, 31-Mar-11
Location: F'ton, NB

Imagine this scenario:

Two friends are fly fishing the fall salmon run on the Miramichi River in early October.

The weather is absolutely shitty: windy, rain & sleet, temperature is about 7° above freezing.

Fishing isn't great, but it's ok; there are fish rolling over the flies & are taking often enough to keep things interesting.

Fisherman A has a rod worth $800 paired with a $350 reel and the best fly line available. He's wearing a $30 PVC rain coat, and underneath his $60 PVC/rubber waders he bought at some nameless large global box-store he has a pair of jeans on.

Fisherman B has a $250 rod, a $150 reel and a decent mid-range fly line. He decided to spend some extra money on waterproof-breathable waders and a gore-tex wading coat. He also wears good-quality synthetic and Smart-Wool base & mid-layers.

Who is going to want to fish longer?

Yesterday at the shop, I was showing a client some of the good-quality mid-range rods from Temple Forks, St. Croix and Redington. He claimed he didn't fish all that much, maybe 5-10 times a year.

I mentioned that though I fish a fair amount, I personally wouldn't purchase one of the high-end rods because it would be similar to me owning a Ferrari to go to the corner store.

The client's friend came over, said something about showing him "the rod he really wants" and led him over to the $800 rods.

That's when I had to open my big mouth and mention the online post about Dorks, Doctors & Dudes. Take a minute to click over and read it. You might hate it. You might agree with it. Either way, it's entertaining.

OK, you're back? Good.

I don't mind selling someone an $800 fly rod. Trust me. In fact, I like it. A lot. So does Chris, who owns the shop.

But...

Unless your name is Kreh, Curcione or Fernandez, I'm pretty sure you will not notice a major difference in casting a $300 rod vs. casting an $800 rod.

I would rather people drop good money on quality waders & clothing and buy a good-quality mid-range fly rod and be able to enjoy fishing, no matter what the weather is.

Good weather doesn't always mean good fishing. And spending time on the water increases your chances exponentially.

You can't catch a fish while sitting in your vehicle with the heater running.

HOWEVER...There is a difference in casting between a rod found at the nameless large global box store and a good quality fly rod. If anything, the people working at your local fly shop fish. Usually a lot. I'll be surprised if your typical nameless global box store employee has ever touched a fly rod before. So support your local fly shop. 


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