Candor moves me to admit that I don’t always follow the advice offered in these brief paragraphs. Most years I follow my own advice but some times I forget. And after reading these suggestions you might decide that it isn’t necessary to pay attention to these rather obscure details. However, if you follow the advice I offer you will be rewarded; your expensive equipment will last longer and perform better.
Some years ago Dick Schwartz offered this advice to a young person new to the sport of fly fishing. Dick said, “Spend your money on the rod and the line because they’re the things that do the work.” True that, and that’s why we want to take good care of them.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a $70 Cortland rod or a $700 Sage rod, we put them through unimaginable stresses. We bang them against brush and trees and rocks. Sometimes we step on them, We reef on them whether on a big fish or a hook up in the weeds. We bang bead head nymphs and heavy shot against them. And we strip dirty lines through their guides while casting. Now that the season is over, go to your quiet spot, assemble your rod, put the tip on the floor and flex the rod with a gentle but firm downward grip on the cork. Don’t bend it between your hands, Dummy! If you hear or feel a soft click it’s likely that you didn’t fully seat the ferrule. Or, perhaps the ferrule is cracked. Check it out.
Next, take the rod apart and with a damp soft cloth wipe down each section. Dry it with a dry soft cloth and then if you feel like it spray a little Pledge on a paper towel or put a couple of drops of lemon oil on the paper towel and polish your rod. Don’t do this this with a vengeance, just make it look nice. Now use a magnifying glass or a hand lens to examine your guides. (They’re lines guides, not eyelets. Jeez.) You’re looking for cracks and flat places on the guides. Find a nylon sock or a piece of acrylic yarn and run it through the guides. If it gets hung up or leaves a little fuzz on the guides that’s an indication of a crack or sharp edge. The flat spot and consequent sharp edge is caused by a dirty line sliding through the guides, effectively sanding the inside of the guide. If you find a cracked ferrule or a guide that is cracked or has the sharp edge, pack up the rod and send it back to the manufacturer for repair because these are warranty issues. There will be a charge for shipping and handling. If your rod is in good shape, put it in its bag and slip it back into its tube. Next season you’ll want to wax the male end of the ferrule with a little candle wax or paraffin.
Moving on to the line, let’s assume that you fish quite a bit. If so, your line is dirty. Strip the business end of your line (30 or 40 feet) off the reel and put it in the kitchen sink. Examine the line for cracks. You can use the magnifying glass or the hand lens but cracks are usually pretty obvious. Think about the past season. Was your line sinking? That could be caused by a dirty line or a cracked line that’s allowing water to soak the core. Now dampen a paper towel and put two drops of dish washing liquid on it. Squeeze it around the line and pull the line through it. When you open the paper towel you’ll see two dark lines (that’s the dirt) and a pale color that matches your line. Give the paper towel a quarter turn and repeat the process. Rinse the line in the sink, dry it and put it back on your reel. If your line is cracked you’ll need to replace it before the next season. Even a cheap line is better than a line that’s damaged and sinking.
Now we get to your reel, your line storage device. Pop the spool off the frame and look at the inside of the frame and the back side of the spool. How much dried mud and sand do you see? Rinse the frame in a stream of water under the tap. Use a tooth brush on the back side of the spool. Dry the frame. Do not spray it with WD-40! A modern reel doesn’t really need lubrication, but if there’s a moving part you think needs a little help (like the release mechanism on the spool) here’s a safe method of doing it. Put one drop of reel oil or “3 in 1 Oil” on a piece of wax paper. Dip one end of a toothpick in the oil and apply it to the piece. Don’t overdo it. Pack your beauty away in a safe place and put your feet up.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 virus, we’ve decided to take a chance and conduct another Fly Fishing for Trout clinic in River Falls. We will make every effort to ensure everyone’s safety by providing masks and hand sanitizer, but it will be a challenge to conduct hands-on casting instruction. Even so, we need your help as volunteers to act as guides, mentors, and instructors.
This year’s Fly Fishing Clinic, sponsored jointly by Kiap-TUWish and River Falls Parks and Recreation, is set for Saturday, June 4, from 1:00-9:00 in Glen Park. We’ve been conducting this clinic for years and we know that it’s always popular; we expect about 20 students. The clinic will cover casting, knot tying, entomology, fishing strategies, and wading safety.
Kiap-TU-Wish will provide supper during a break at 5:00, and guided fishing in the evening. Our chapter members are invited to join us as instructors, mentors, guides, and supper servers.
Mark your calendars for June 4 and volunteer by contacting Mike Alwin at mikealwin@gmail.com or Brian Smolinski at brian@lundsflyshop.com. I guarantee you’ll have fun.
Let’s begin by recognizing that Trout Unlimited is not a fly-fishing club, it’s a conservation organization dedicated to trout and cold water fisheries. It’s motto could be, “What’s good for the trout is good for the trout angler.” Founded in 1959, TU accepts any trout angler who wants to help conserve and protect trout and the cold-water habitat they rely on. Angling methods, whether bait, fly or spinner, are less important than your desire to protect and conserve.
Among Great Lakes steelhead anglers there’s a technique that calls for a fly rod fitted with a fly reel loaded with monofilament. The advantage of this rig is twofold: the fly rod, generally longer than a spinning rod, extends the anglers ability to lengthen the cast and control the drift, and the thinner mono allows the spawn sack, egg, or fly to sink deeper faster because it is less subject to the vagaries of the current.
Years ago, there was a debate in the Fly Shop about what actually defined fly fishing. At that time a veritable hoard of guys would crowd the shop every Wednesday to drink coffee, trade the same old stories, and debate various issues, one of which was what defined fly fishing. We called them “the Lost Boys.” Gordy was the one member of this unofficial club whose life had purpose; he fished every day, no excep- tions. While he had explored every method of catching trout on a fly and was an excellent caster, his favored method of trout fishing was with mono because he recognized its advantages. With a weighted nymph or two, split shot, and a wood strike indicator, Gordy relied on the weight of his rig to make the cast. The Lost Boys rejected this method as “spin fishing” with a fly. And therein lies the debate.
If you want to practice your spin casting you need your rod, reel spooled with mono, and a lure or plug because it’s the weight of the lure that pulls line from the reel. If you want to practice your fly casting you need your rod, reel, fly line (which supplies the weight), and something that could pass as a leader. You wouldn’t need a fly because a fly weighs nothing. So, what defines fly casting, as well as fly fishing, is the fly line.
Bruce Maher and Bob Trevis wrote an excellent article in the January RIPRAP about Tenkara and Euro Nymphing as trout fishing techniques. Tenkara relies on rods that are long and willowy and a short “line.” What they describe is either level fluorocarbon or braided or furled nylon. Both are described as roughly the length of the rod, 10′ to over 14′. Approximately 3′ of tippet is attached to the end and a fly attached to that. I’ve frequently thought that Tenkara, because the rods telescope to 20″, would be an ideal lightweight outfit for backpacking into those small mountain streams I love. But to make a point, the authors admit that the “line” rarely touches the water and in fact is not cast in the traditional sense. Likewise, in their description of Euro Nymphing, they explain that the fly line, usually only a foot or two beyond the tip top, also rarely touches the water. With a 20′ leader and heavily weighted nymphs the angler is actually casting the weighted nymphs, not the fly line, copying Gordy’s tech- nique. If you think a 20′ leader is kinda long, brace yourself; I found a leader formula that was 45′.
Both of these methods, Tenkara and Euro Nymphing, are legiti- mate and excellent fish catching techniques. Maher and Trevis should be applauded for introducing us to these techniques, and we could all stand to adapt some of these ideas into our fishing repertoire. Absent a fly line, however, is it fly fishing or is it spin fishing with a fly? Therein lies the debate.
UPDATE! Due to the insidious nature of the COVID-19 virus, we made the decision to cancel this year’s Fly Fishing for Trout clinic in River Falls. Originally scheduled for June 6th, we’ll make another run at it next year. Thanks to the many folks who volunteered to help; it’s a huge source of pride for me to know that Kiap-TU-Wish steps up. Thanks for you patience during these weird times. —Mike Alwin
This year’s clinic, an all-day affair that K-TU has been running for a couple of decades, is scheduled for June 6th. Sponsored by River Falls Parks and Recreation and Kiap-TU-Wish, the clinic invites citizens in the immediate area to learn to fly fish for trout on the Kinnickinnic River. The River Falls parks and rec department does all of the marketing for this event, and all we have to do is show up and teach it! We teach the students casting, some entomology, a little knot tying, stream strategies and wading safety. Plus, we feed ’em supper and take them fishing in the evening. It doesn’t get any better.
We usually have about a dozen volunteer guides/mentors from the Chapter but the cast is always changing so there’s always an opportunity for you to get involved. Contact Brian Smolinski at: brian@lundsflyshop.com or Mike Alwin at: mikealwin@gmail.com. Mark your calendar for June 6, and I promise you’ll have a good time. —Mike Alwin
Every year our Chapter gives away dozens of flies for various events. We include flies at our Fly Fishing for Trout clinic in the spring. We offer flies at the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo. We give away flies at almost every membership meeting. Last year Bob (the Fly Wrangler) Trevis told us we were tapped out on flies so we organized the first TIE-A-THON with the goal of replenishing the Chapter’s fly library. We were successful beyond our wildest expectations as the assembled tiers churned out hundreds of wet flies, nymphs and dries. Plus, we ate well and had a load of fun.
How much fun you ask? Last year we had nine or ten tiers and seven of them have already signed up for this year’s events. And the dates for this year’s TIE-A-THON are Saturday, February 22 and Saturday, March 28. The meeting place is Lund’s Fly Shop in River Falls and the meeting time will be from 10:00am until sometime in the mid afternoon. Lunch and coffee will be provided. The emphasis in this first session is on nymphs, wet flies and damp emergers. Tiers should bring their tools, hooks and materials; you’re donating your results to the chapter. If by chance you’re short on something (a hook, beads, a tool) rest assured Brian probably has it. . .it is a fly shop, after all.
Interested? To register for the seats still available contact: troutchaser@msn.com — Mike Alwin
