The Fly Fishing - And Now All Types of Fishing Thread!

[Bonefish Blues]

One Amp Andy said:

Bonefish Blues said:

Just remember that they are fishing rods, not just casting cannons (latest ultra-mega-super-galactic-faster-than-the-fastest-nano-carbon-mega-sticks) Leave that for the saltwater boys who (allegedly) need that capability

That's why I'm leaving the buying 'til tomorrow! Genuinely made me laugh that.

If you're looking premium, then imvho, of the big brands I think:

Hardy. Living on past glories.
Sage. Sort of the Specialized (assuming you know bikes?) of rods. Marketed brilliantly.
Loomis. Cannons, designed by Rajeff. Think my view may be a bit out of date, but prejudice is hard to shake
Scott. Proper fishing rods, money spent on the nuts and bolts. My favourites.
Orvis. See Hardy.

Others will give wholly different views, I know, and be equally right That said, my favourite bonefishing rod was a Lamiglas 8ft 10" blank I built up myself. Killed it high-sticking a rumbustious fish on Inagua so really good performance is available at much more modest cost.

These guys tests are good, definitely worth a read (but they have access to stuff it's hard to get over here):

https://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-review/2020...

Edited by Bonefish Blues on Friday 26th June 23:07

[nigelpugh7]

otolith said:

Just to illustrate the difference between basic and serviceable and high end, these are perfectly usable, just not as nice.

https://www.fishingmegastore.com/fly-rods/shakespe...

https://www.fishingmegastore.com/fly-reels/daiwa-w...

or if you want interchangeable spools

https://www.fishingmegastore.com/fly-reels/greys-g...

Keep in mind that fly lines are expensive - I like these;

https://www.snowbee.co.uk/webshop/fly-fishing/fly-...

But you can get serviceable ones for less.

There’s some great advice here!

Oh and interestingly I recently bought that wader and boot combination that’s their deal of the week.

They only arrived on Thursday so not had a chance to give them a maiden outing yet. But for just over £100 they seem excellent value for money.

[nigelpugh7]

Bonefish Blues said:

If you're looking premium, then imvho, of the big brands I think:

Hardy. Living on past glories.
Sage. Sort of the Specialized (assuming you know bikes?) of rods. Marketed brilliantly.
Loomis. Cannons, designed by Rajeff. Think my view may be a bit out of date, but prejudice is hard to shake
Scott. Proper fishing rods, money spent on the nuts and bolts. My favourites.
Orvis. See Hardy.

Others will give wholly different views, I know, and be equally right That said, my favourite bonefishing rod was a Lamiglas 8ft 10" blank I built up myself. Killed it high-sticking a rumbustious fish on Inagua so really good performance is available at much more modest cost.

These guys tests are good, definitely worth a read (but they have access to stuff it's hard to get over here):

https://www.yellowstoneangler.com/gear-review/2020...

Edited by Bonefish Blues on Friday 26th June 23:07

I can’t comment on the very Sage ( not intentional! ) advice here from BB, but I am sure he is bang on with this view.

Personally I’m the type of person who is happy with most products as long as they feel they are good enough for my needs, and work well enough to do the job they were designed for and meet the budget.

That being said of course we all have our “ Holy Grail “ , lottery win purchase, and for me it’s the G Loomis Asquith. Which now sadly cant be found in stock anywhere, but at over a £1000 they remain something I can dream about,

For now I am more than happy at my inexperienced skill level with my Greys rod and Shimano reels.

As I said a lot of my dads old rods are almost vintage now, split cane types mostly, which don’t seem to have been used hardly At all!

As we are so close to Redditch where a lot of fishing products, including Shakespeare I believe were manufactured, a lot of those rods are labelled “ Hand made in Redditch England” , so I expect they were my dads pride and joy.

Edited by nigelpugh7 on Saturday 27th June 07:15

[coppice]

There's more snake oil peddled in fly fishing than any other type of angling except carp . Crazily priced rods ? Check - I use 200 quid or less Greys and they just work, Reels - oh my word , you can pay a bloody fortune on stuff you don't need and whose potential you never exploit (remind you of anything ? ). I use old Hardys which cost me 60 quid 30 years ago and Vossler - a German firm who make beautifully simple, well made reels for sensible brass . Lines ? I use the cheapest . as most of my fishing is short range stuff involving serial line abuse .

Leader material - you can spend 20 quid on a small spool of premium, narrow diameter US stuff . Or buy 100m of the same diameter and breaking strain Reflo Powerline for a fiver from the tackle shop .

And don't get me started on the great con of 500 quid breathable waders which leak if they see a thistle .

Fly fishing success is 95% technique (including casting and watercraft) and 5% tackle

[nigelpugh7]

coppice said:

There's more snake oil peddled in fly fishing than any other type of angling except carp . Crazily priced rods ? Check - I use 200 quid or less Greys and they just work, Reels - oh my word , you can pay a bloody fortune on stuff you don't need and whose potential you never exploit (remind you of anything ? ). I use old Hardys which cost me 60 quid 30 years ago and Vossler - a German firm who make beautifully simple, well made reels for sensible brass . Lines ? I use the cheapest . as most of my fishing is short range stuff involving serial line abuse .

Leader material - you can spend 20 quid on a small spool of premium, narrow diameter US stuff . Or buy 100m of the same diameter and breaking strain Reflo Powerline for a fiver from the tackle shop .

And don't get me started on the great con of 500 quid breathable waders which leak if they see a thistle .

Fly fishing success is 95% technique (including casting and watercraft) and 5% tackle

I think that underlines my point exactly, especially as I bought my favourite outfit of the Greys Rod and Shimano reel for less than half of the retail price, and it was like brand new, in fact still is.

I too was amazed at the cost of some of the waders, there are plenty that are £600 up, and I can’t see that they will be any better than the set I have just bought with Greys boots for just over £109 all in.

My opinion on this was let’s try them, see how we get on and if they keep me dry, all is good.

[Bonefish Blues]

coppice said:

There's more snake oil peddled in fly fishing than any other type of angling except carp . Crazily priced rods ? Check - I use 200 quid or less Greys and they just work, Reels - oh my word , you can pay a bloody fortune on stuff you don't need and whose potential you never exploit (remind you of anything ? ). I use old Hardys which cost me 60 quid 30 years ago and Vossler - a German firm who make beautifully simple, well made reels for sensible brass . Lines ? I use the cheapest . as most of my fishing is short range stuff involving serial line abuse .

Leader material - you can spend 20 quid on a small spool of premium, narrow diameter US stuff . Or buy 100m of the same diameter and breaking strain Reflo Powerline for a fiver from the tackle shop .

And don't get me started on the great con of 500 quid breathable waders which leak if they see a thistle .

Fly fishing success is 95% technique (including casting and watercraft) and 5% tackle

Pretty much this.

Except saltwater reels, rods to a slightly lesser extent, and leader material, again saltwater, where things are just way more demanding.

You forgot to mention Maui Jims, Costas et al - which don't justify their price tag IMHO.

[pequod]

nigelpugh7 said:

coppice said:

There's more snake oil peddled in fly fishing than any other type of angling except carp . Crazily priced rods ? Check - I use 200 quid or less Greys and they just work, Reels - oh my word , you can pay a bloody fortune on stuff you don't need and whose potential you never exploit (remind you of anything ? ). I use old Hardys which cost me 60 quid 30 years ago and Vossler - a German firm who make beautifully simple, well made reels for sensible brass . Lines ? I use the cheapest . as most of my fishing is short range stuff involving serial line abuse .

Leader material - you can spend 20 quid on a small spool of premium, narrow diameter US stuff . Or buy 100m of the same diameter and breaking strain Reflo Powerline for a fiver from the tackle shop .

And don't get me started on the great con of 500 quid breathable waders which leak if they see a thistle .

Fly fishing success is 95% technique (including casting and watercraft) and 5% tackle

I think that underlines my point exactly, especially as I bought my favourite outfit of the Greys Rod and Shimano reel for less than half of the retail price, and it was like brand new, in fact still is.

I too was amazed at the cost of some of the waders, there are plenty that are £600 up, and I can’t see that they will be any better than the set I have just bought with Greys boots for just over £109 all in.

My opinion on this was let’s try them, see how we get on and if they keep me dry, all is good.

Agree with both of you. I haven't paid full retail price on any rods or reels as they were end of season discounted new and my breathable waders (snowbee, again!) were purchased second hand via DiverDave who offers an excellent repair service as well as warranty repaired, as new, waders from a variety of manufacturers. Definitely worth bookmarking his website IMO;

https://sites.google.com/site/wadersrepairs/

[Bonefish Blues]

Having wet waded for donkeys I started doing it in the UK, too. I'd not fancy it early season, but on days like these it's lovely.

I remember commenting on FF Forum how low people's expectations were of even super-premium waders (as in you pay that for a product you're pleased if you get a couple of years use from...)

[coppice]

I used breathables for about 8 years before realising they were an heroic con . I went through 4 pairs costing between £ 150 and £400 before it sunk in - they are totally useless if your fishing involves rough terrain , lots of walking, brambles and so on . Every pair leaked within 3 months .

I returned to PVC and use Vass chest waders. A hundred quid , tough as ...er..old boots and easy to repair if you are as good at finding barbed wire as I am . The only thing I miss is the ankle support of my Simms wading boots.

'But breathables are so much lighter ' they say . Another myth -my last breathable pair. with boots weighed just 10% less than PVC...

[nigelpugh7]

One Amp Andy said:

OK, that rod is in my basket, what do we think for a reel? May as well get them from the same site. Now on to reels....say £200 limit on a reel? Or is that a bit overkill to start with?

So did you order anything then Andy?

Or were you wise and held off to see what might be around closer to home as a good second bargain?

I was thinking about another trip out today, but it’s totally lashing down here again, and I don’t think I’m that keen a fly fisherman to stand on a river bank getting soaked all day!

[One Amp Andy]

nigelpugh7 said:

So did you order anything then Andy?

Or were you wise and held off to see what might be around closer to home as a good second bargain?

I was thinking about another trip out today, but it’s totally lashing down here again, and I don’t think I’m that keen a fly fisherman to stand on a river bank getting soaked all day!

I was wise ( for once!) and didn't order anything. Slim pickings locally for second hand stuff, but found a job lot of pretty much brand new Snowbee tackle. Three or four rods of various weights, four reels, bags, landing net, jacket, pretty much everything for £300. The one snag is that he's in Exeter!

Might be a good excuse to take the C63 for a blast, though it will possibly cost me the same again in fuel

[pequod]

One Amp Andy said:

I was wise ( for once!) and didn't order anything. Slim pickings locally for second hand stuff, but found a job lot of pretty much brand new Snowbee tackle. Three or four rods of various weights, four reels, bags, landing net, jacket, pretty much everything for £300. The one snag is that he's in Exeter!

Might be a good excuse to take the C63 for a blast, though it will possibly cost me the same again in fuel

Good choice to start you off (ok, I'm biased) but I'm sure you'll have a chance to waste invest more money in the future!!
Can't the seller pack it all up and courier to you as it's not that large/heavy a consignment, or did you need an excuse to exercise the C63??

[nigelpugh7]

One Amp Andy said:

I was wise ( for once!) and didn't order anything. Slim pickings locally for second hand stuff, but found a job lot of pretty much brand new Snowbee tackle. Three or four rods of various weights, four reels, bags, landing net, jacket, pretty much everything for £300. The one snag is that he's in Exeter!

Might be a good excuse to take the C63 for a blast, though it will possibly cost me the same again in fuel

Ah good man, repent at haste and all that!

That Snowbee job lot sounds like a bargain, as you say though it’s a long way from your part of the world to Exeter.

Perhaps keep looking over the next few weeks?

[One Amp Andy]

This lot:
I usually have a regular customer collection in Plymouth, so could've picked it up on the way, but with the current situation I've no loads to go down with!

[nigelpugh7]

So I have been looking at my Rods to see what I have actually got.

The smaller 7ft rod I was fishing with earlier this week is a Normark Gold Medalion Rod.

It looks like it was from around the era of the 1980’s which would been about the time my dad would have bought it.

It’s seems like it’s Glass fibre build, but may be Carbon composite too.

As I said it’s a lovely little rod to fish with on small rivers like the Alne I visited this week.

The other rod is a Lathkill Tackle The Riverkeeper #5, which is also a 9ft rod.

This was a hand made rod built my Lathkill Tackle, built using a custom Harrison blank, which seem to be highly regarded, for their strength as well as Lightness.

Lathkill tackle are still a fishing tackle supplier, but don’t seem to sell rods any more, seems they concentrate on Fly tying equipment these days,

So with those rods and my trusty Greys as in the pictures previously I seem to have a good range of choice for different situations,

[nigelpugh7]

One Amp Andy said:

This lot:
I usually have a regular customer collection in Plymouth, so could've picked it up on the way, but with the current situation I've no loads to go down with!

Wow that’s just what you need right there Andy, and more besides I’ve no doubt.

I would say get it bought, it seems like a bargain.

And yes it’s got to be fairly easy to put that lot into a long but fairly thin cardboard box and pay the courier fee surely.

And a lot less than what, 4 tanks of gas in the C63 on the M6/M5 return trip too!

[One Amp Andy]

nigelpugh7 said:

Wow that’s just what you need right there Andy, and more besides I’ve no doubt.

I would say get it bought, it seems like a bargain.

And yes it’s got to be fairly easy to put that lot into a long but fairly thin cardboard box and pay the courier fee surely.

And a lot less than what, 4 tanks of gas in the C63 on the M6/M5 return trip too!

I'd be the archetypal 'all the gear, no idea' bloke

[nigelpugh7]

One Amp Andy said:

I'd be the archetypal 'all the gear, no idea' bloke

No I’ve got you beat on that one bud!

I’ve always been the type to have all the gear, and my so called mates are always keen to point out that I have no idea too!

[One Amp Andy]

Bloody sold already. Bugger. Not surprising really though!

[otolith]

That’s a good deal!

RE Harrison blanks - I haven’t used their fly rods but I used to have one of their 11ft Canal Special float rods, which was lovely, if excessively fragile at the splice.