ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 1, 2021 20:35:12 GMT -8
I bought a box of 24 #12 Kebari flys. I also bought a new hemostat and a small nipper. My kit came with 4x tippet but after getting a fly stuck in the tree I was thinking of getting some 5x. Easier to break when need be. I don't know if fishing-wise if either is better. I have been considering some cheap waders for early season fishing this year.
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TrailElder
Trail Wise!
Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 2, 2021 6:14:15 GMT -8
My kit came with 4x tippet They sent 4x? Huh. You won't need that, and safer for that rod to go 5x. Don't know why you'd need chest waders unless you are going after big water or want them for warmth. (They can be HOT.) Cheap hip waders might be more functional. Oh, one trick for your practice flies (like in your backyard) is to just nip the hook off an old fly. You will get plenty of practice getting unsnagged on the water!
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 2, 2021 6:30:24 GMT -8
They sent 4x? Huh. You won't need that, and safer for that rod to go 5x. Also I was thinking 4x is overkill for the size fish I'm after. 5x it is. Also while I am at it I guess I should pick up some level line. Any recommendations? Don't know why you'd need chest waders unless you are going after big water or want them for warmth. (They can be HOT.) Cheap hip waders might be more functional. I am looking at a pair of river shoes/camp shoes and possibly neoprene socks or something like that. I am very resistant to cold but water temp has to be respected. I didn't even know hip waders existed. I have just seen the chest waders in the movies/videos. The waders would be more for learning this spring. The end goal is a trail set up.
Edit: I just did a quick look up on hip waders. Lighter, less expensive and more what I need. Thank you for that.
Oh, one trick for your practice flies (like in your backyard) is to just nip the hook off an old fly. You will get plenty of practice getting unsnagged on the water! Actually I might consider bending the hook tip all the way to the shaft to close the loop. That would keep the weight the same.
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TrailElder
Trail Wise!
Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 2, 2021 7:13:29 GMT -8
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TrailElder
Trail Wise!
Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 2, 2021 7:20:12 GMT -8
I am looking at a pair of river shoes/camp shoes and possibly neoprene socks or something like that. This is a great approach for you. Lots of my buddies do this. I am not resistant to the cold much at all, and don't like to wet wade much, particularly in the high mountains or shoulder seasons. I can dig up some recs on wading shoes that can also serve as camp shoes, which is awesome!
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TrailElder
Trail Wise!
Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed
Posts: 507
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 9, 2021 16:18:26 GMT -8
ErnieW a delightful new Tenkara and backpacking video for some winter inspiration! www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnjvX9MH4yg(He fusses way more with his flies than he needs to. Those fish would hit about anything he got to them without spooking them. But he had a bad day and still had a blast!)
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 9, 2021 20:57:23 GMT -8
I have to get out west some more. So beautiful. I have been watching this guy: www.youtube.com/channel/UC6H-jR0umy_v5sfkMynB_eAAlso the backyard practicing has been going well. When it is relatively still I have taken to aiming to land the fly on a leaf as target and getting pretty good. When there is wind it is an interesting exercise. I come from a background of disc ("Frisbee") sports so the flying / judging wind part is actually interesting. A buddy of mine's motto is "The wind is your ally". Not sure if most Tenkara fishers feel the same.
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Post by bluefish on Jan 10, 2021 4:40:39 GMT -8
Behind my bike in the New Years thread is great water for your gear. Some of it can only be reached by bike and hike- I'm going back to fish it in May. I was a licensed NYS fishing guide and a casting instructor and caught my first trout on a fly in the mid-60's, but other than using the same technique when I was a kid, I have no knowledge of your chosen method. I liked my choice of the Parachute Adams was seconded for wild trout, though. I tied hundreds of those commercially. Other than the Croton and the Ramapo, I know nothing near the city. I do know quite a bit about northern NJ, though. Personally, I'd prefer chest waders for early season. First, because the water's high and cold, second because if you fall in or step in a hole, filled hip boots can drown you. I know from experience. After May, you can wet wade. If you only fish very small streams, hippers are OK, but those type of streams are getting rarer close to NYC. Delaware Water Gap National Rec. Area is better, quick shot up Rt. 80, but you'd need a NJ license. Lots of good water in the Catskills, watch some videos on high stick nymphing, or euro nymphing. Fly rods, but the same deadly technique can be applied to Tenkara. Reading water is a key factor. Look up some of the Orvis instructional material. i have given classes in small water fishing at their flagship store. Too freakin' old for you tube, though. A few examples of why I use a fly rod rather than Tenkara. Different mind set. I wouldn't get those cheap Amazon waders, they will leak very quickly and likely be a poor fit. Take a trip over to Ramseys Outdoors on Rt. 17 and try some on with some advice. Apples to apples.
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 10, 2021 7:52:11 GMT -8
I went cheap with hip waders: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0784X28S2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Before I get too deep in $$$ I want to find out how much I am into this. I just want to get my feet wet and perhaps it will be literally with these cheap waders. I did consider the drowning thing with the hip waders. From researching chest waders the safety belt feature of them was there. These hip waders do have a cinch at the top but it doesn't inspire confidence. Ages ago wearing a butt pack and falling in a high flowing stream in NH I got beat over rocks and managed to traverse to the flow to safety just above a 30' waterfall. The pack effect was big. So I take this factor seriously. Water is very powerful and has to be respected. I run very warm so I think if I really get into this I will pop for a nice pair of bootless wading pants. But I am open to experience tempering any plans.
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 10, 2021 7:56:33 GMT -8
P.S. For a while now I have been looking at any water and asking how would I fish that. Here in the NE most banks are heavily covered in bush so it seems like fishing from a bank is unlikely. This seems to indicate getting into the stream and using them for both the clearance to fish and path to move.
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Post by absarokanaut on Jan 10, 2021 9:22:43 GMT -8
I am not a fisherman but have family that own a fly shop and guiding business as part of their Guest Ranch outfitting business. When I was living and working on the Ranch I heard several times that CONNECTICUT has some of the "best" fly fishing in your area.
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 10, 2021 10:49:54 GMT -8
I had considered getting a CT license. Out of state with a trout stamp is $60. CT is covered with rivers and streams of all sizes. The geography is great for that. Near Long Island Sound they are brackish like the Hudson. This is a map of the major rivers but they have many tributaries.
In the NE the AT runs along the Housatonic and is a very pretty section of the AT I have hiked.
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,876
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 10, 2021 11:01:49 GMT -8
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Post by absarokanaut on Jan 10, 2021 11:50:32 GMT -8
About 25 years ago I made a trip out east to see my relatives in the Boston and New York areas. My brother and I drove down to Rocky Neck State Park, CT to camp with a bundle of our NY Irish cousins. It was a great time and at midinght under an almost full moon we went to the beach where all kinds of folks were surf casting with flies and catching LOTS of Striped Bass, when beautifully blackened my favorite protein on earth.
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Post by bluefish on Jan 12, 2021 5:59:32 GMT -8
Not much of a difference , but this year it's 68. I looked because of the year round section on the Housy I like by Cornwall Bridge. In the past, I've gone there to break the winter blues and do something different than drive out to Lake Ontario's steelhead rivers. If you plan to fish the upper Housy, or freestone streams in general, those hippers won't cut it. If you read the description, the soles are designed for sand and mud. They will put you down in a hurry on wet rock. You can maybe get away with them by screwing in some aluminum hex head sheet metal screws. Boot foot hippers made for streams use to have felt soles, but they are hard to find, as felt spreads invasive species , especially the Didymo algae. Some states have banned them. They work well on rock, with care they are environmentally fine. www.sportsmansguide.com/productlist/boots-shoes/mens-boots-shoes/waders?d=113&c=11&s=450&utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Men%27s%20Boots%20and%20Shoes&utm_term=hip%20boots&msclkid=259063c4255e1131abb63c398c8d6792scroll down the page to the Frog Toggs felt hippers on sale. The west slope drainages of the Taconics also have some fishing, accessible from the Taconic Parkway and Rt.22. I've only fished a few, but I've seen some good water, much like up by Mt. Frissel . NY license counts. parks.ny.gov/parks/83/details.aspx This would be a fun family trip and it's about the same distance as the upper Housy. The streams are gorgeous. I biked along the Ashokan Reservoir in Nov. and looked at the amazing trout water I fished years ago where the Esopus flows into it. I also fished the Neversink and the Schoharie. Not a bad plan to fish the Catskills. Once again, that water behind my bike on the West Branch of the Delaware is primo if it's not running high. Look at the picture- it runs through farm fields with little casting obstruction. When I was guiding, I could get clients 40-50 fish on an evening hatch right in front of their faces on the Battenkill River where I live. May and June are prime ,Ernie. A place where Tenkara would be cool is Flat Creek on the National Elk Preserve where Absarokanaut lives. Requires great stealth and concentration to fool the large cutthroat trout that inhabit the slow moving stream with no bank cover whatsoever. I was lucky to fish it in grasshopper season and have a famous flytyer in Jackson give me some weird flies that worked like a charm. One very scenic and wondrous place.
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