In 2006, I was living in Reno, NV and was invited to fly with a guy up to Johnson Creek. I had only fly fished once before but knew it would be a good opportunity to try it again, so I marched down to the local Sportsman's Warehouse ready to buy some gear.

At the time I was a freelance software developer/ski bum, and paychecks were sometimes a few months apart, so I selected what seemed at the time like not too big a stretch financially: a W.W. Grigg 9 foot 5 weight 4-piece rod. I picked out an Okuma reel, grabbed a Scientific Anglers weight-forward floating line, some leaders, and had the shop dude wind some backing on the reel spool and attach my leader. I was ready to go.



...err, ready to spank the air anyway. Anyone who knows fly fishing knows that procuring a rod is the easiest part. I slapped some water, fought some tangles, and lost my small supply of pre-tied store flies in tree branches or bushes before we left JC.

Fast forward a few years and I was living in Portland, Oregon. At some point my interest in fly fishing was reignited and I practiced, getting a pretty decent cast nailed down. I would fish local rivers and lakes for trout and steelhead and salmon with marginal success on the larger fish. I could slay browns in the Deschutes though. Lighter gear just appealed to me and tossing PMDs for half-pound brown trout was all I wanted.



I acquired a few different rod setups: A 9' 8wt for the steelhead/salmon, a 8' 6wt for...I dunno, it was just fun to try something faster and stiffer, a 7' 6" 3wt for small stream stuff. Last summer my daughter showed some interest in chucking bugs so I assembled a 6'6" Eagle Claw Featherlight with a cheap Chinese reel from Amazon and a 4wt line. I have spent hours and hours casting that thing from the end of my dock here in northern Minnesota. It's slow and a little distance-challenged but it's small and cheap. My kid is still coming around, but she loves it too.



But after 20 years, I still pick up that cheap W.W. Grigg 5wt and it is like going home—so comfortable and easy to cast. I take it out with me on my paddleboard and catch largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill here in the northern swamplands of Minnesota (sorry, still getting used to these Great Lakes fish.)



I enjoy dry flies so I have yet to try to land a pike or walleye on a streamer or fish below the surface at all, really (that's what the spinning setup is for.) The Grigg still has the same fly line I bought that day at Sportsman's, I just cleaned it with soap once when it wouldn't float so well, that did the trick. The rod has been assembled and hung in my boathouse since we arrived in MN 4 years ago—I need a reason to break it down and go on an adventure somewhere else.

Who else has an old favorite they always throw in the rig?

Not much better than your favorite fly rod. Mine is a 30ish year old Orvis HLS 8 1/2’ 5 wt. given to me by one of the Perkins brothers after taking him out for a day.

Pete

It was the summer of 2000 when I got a chance to throw my first fly. My uncle taught me the basics on the dock in front of his place on Lake Crescent in Washington State. The lake is crystal clear with nearly unlimited visibility. I would lie in wait for trout as they finned their way along the drop off, sight cast for them and hold my breath as they inspected my offering, or curse as I dumped a pile of line and spooked them.

Eventually, I graduated to standing in an 18’ Grumman canoe and casting. Working at the edges of the lake. Mesmerized by the sound an aluminum canoe makes on a silent morning.

When my uncle passed away I flew back to Washington for that fly rod and that canoe. My old man and I dragged it back across the country. I don’t fish as much as I used to but every fall I make sure to go paddle that canoe and take a few casts.

You’ve got a nice tight loop on your cast. Well done.

Awesome write up Zane! Awesome thread!

Kurt

Grew up in Pennsylvania fly fishing for trout. Moved to Portland so I thought I should get into salmon fishing. Took my trusty Eagle Claw 5/6 weight to the Trask river. Saw this huge king salmon sitting in a pool. I had put on some pretty stout leader. After what seemed like 100 casts to the fish he finally took it. Upon realizing he was hooked he blasted out of the pool stripping all my fly line off the reel. I watched my fly line proceed up the river not connected to the reel anymore. Didn't need backing on a reel for little trout in PA. As the captain in jaws said," we are going to need a bigger boat ". Learned a lesson that day. Got fly rods now that I have landed 200# fish with.

Somewhere in my hundred thousand or so pictures from over the years, there exists one of you swinging your best buddy around the air, in an effort to lure a Kokanee on to line out of the Stehekin River back around 2013 or 2014.

Scolopax wrote:Somewhere in my hundred thousand or so pictures from over the years, there exists one of you swinging your best buddy around the air, in an effort to lure a Kokanee on to line out of the Stehekin River back around 2013 or 2014.

They were spawning and wanted NOTHING to do with any of it. That was a great trip!

Coyote wrote:Grew up in Pennsylvania fly fishing for trout. Moved to Portland so I thought I should get into salmon fishing. Took my trusty Eagle Claw 5/6 weight to the Trask river. Saw this huge king salmon sitting in a pool. I had put on some pretty stout leader. After what seemed like 100 casts to the fish he finally took it. Upon realizing he was hooked he blasted out of the pool stripping all my fly line off the reel. I watched my fly line proceed up the river not connected to the reel anymore. Didn't need backing on a reel for little trout in PA. As the captain in jaws said," we are going to need a bigger boat ". Learned a lesson that day. Got fly rods now that I have landed 200# fish with.

Hahahaha!! That is a great visual. I always silently scoff at myself when putting backing line on these little reels, but I guess it's a form of optimism.

My favorite is a second generation Fenwick HMG 8 1/2' 6 weight that I built up from a blank back in the '80s. It's slow compared to more modern graphite, but still throws a long line and with nice precision. While I have several longer and shorter rods, I still think 8 1/2' long is the Goldilocks length for a fly rod.

The slower action is such a pleasure to cast. It works a short line better than the stiffer 9 foot sixes, and the more relaxed tempo just seems to sync with my soul. It reminds me of the action of the nicest bamboo rod I ever cast (owned by a friend who let me try out his collection in the park one day).

I hadn't fished the Fenwick for many years because it's a 2 piece (less portable) and because I'd worn out the guides to the point where the line was hanging up too much in them. Then I bought a Scientific Anglers sharkskin floating line and it sails through the guides like it's greased. The only shortcoming I've noted with the rod is when I had really big (3+ pound) fish on the Missouri river last summer. It was really fun casting midges to monsters, but I needed more strength in the butt of the rod to fight those fish to the net faster. That's also why I didn't take it to Alaska this last month.

To me, a good fly rod is like a fine musical instrument or a favorite pair of boots. It's not just what they are, it's how they fit and where they take you that makes them so special. I often think that I can be completely happy with those three things, if and when the time comes when I can no longer fly.

Coyote wrote:Grew up in Pennsylvania fly fishing for trout. Moved to Portland so I thought I should get into salmon fishing. Took my trusty Eagle Claw 5/6 weight to the Trask river. Saw this huge king salmon sitting in a pool. I had put on some pretty stout leader. After what seemed like 100 casts to the fish he finally took it. Upon realizing he was hooked he blasted out of the pool stripping all my fly line off the reel. I watched my fly line proceed up the river not connected to the reel anymore. Didn't need backing on a reel for little trout in PA. As the captain in jaws said," we are going to need a bigger boat ". Learned a lesson that day. Got fly rods now that I have landed 200# fish with.

That’s awesome! Had a similar experience with a seal fishing for Stripers a few weeks ago. Had a fish on - could have been a Striper or Shad, not sure - about 20’ from shore a seal came from out of the depths and hammered it. I briefly thought I could slow it down. I realized that was stupid after about 2 seconds and 50’ of line. Broke it off before I lost my new Rio line.

Pete

skyward II wrote:You’ve got a nice tight loop on your cast. Well done.

That's a sweet boat. Clackacraft?

I hear you on sinking some streamers. It's the only way I'm catching anything bigger on this lake. But I'll just wait until I hit some moving water.

We had a mayfly hatch here and only 2-3 weeks after it was over, I can't pay them to take a mayfly adult.

Get some poppers or sliders if you want to keep catching them on top.

Pete

Zzz wrote:

skyward II wrote:You’ve got a nice tight loop on your cast. Well done.

That's a sweet boat. Clackacraft?

I hear you on sinking some streamers. It's the only way I'm catching anything bigger on this lake. But I'll just wait until I hit some moving water.

We had a mayfly hatch here and only 2-3 weeks after it was over, I can't pay them to take a mayfly adult.

It’s a feeding frenzy while it’s on. I’ve casted on a boil and couldn’t get them to take my presentation until I matched perfectly. Then, it just shuts down and they swim away. In the sierras the fish work on the clock at times. Crazy.

Clackacraft HS. Bombproof boat.

I watched the paddle board fishing video. It wasn't until the end that I realized you had a hook on that fly. The whole time I figured you were just throwing out a hookless fly to watch them eat it but not have to deal with bringing it in while on the paddle board. I thought, "that's brilliant". Then, you hooked it. Too funny.

20 years ago, I bought an Orvis StreamLine 8 1/2 foot 5 wt fly rod. I still use it today. In fact, I might have to take it out this afternoon.

Squash wrote:I watched the paddle board fishing video. It wasn't until the end that I realized you had a hook on that fly. The whole time I figured you were just throwing out a hookless fly to watch them eat it but not have to deal with bringing it in while on the paddle board. I thought, "that's brilliant". Then, you hooked it. Too funny.

Ha! I release 99.99% of the time but I still like ripping their lips.

Beautiful spot! Is that AK or PNW?

Zzz wrote:
Beautiful spot! Is that AK or PNW?

Agree. Magical place. AK.

Zzz wrote:

Scolopax wrote:Somewhere in my hundred thousand or so pictures from over the years, there exists one of you swinging your best buddy around the air, in an effort to lure a Kokanee on to line out of the Stehekin River back around 2013 or 2014.

They were spawning and wanted NOTHING to do with any of it. That was a great trip!

I remember flying over to Stehekin many years ago in late september,
and walking the trail down toward the lake.
The river was just FULL of red Kokanees on their spawning run.
A buddy of mine tried fishing for them, but like your experience, they just weren't interested.