Three weeks ago I was in Panama City Beach shark fishing with a massive big game rod and a 16/0 Penn Senator spooled up with 1.2 miles of 200 pound braid and backing. That rig tipped the scales right at 18 pounds. I managed to beach a 14' Tiger shark and posted about it in the Fishing Antiques and Collectables forum. 3 weeks from today I'm traveling north to Grayling, Michigan to fish the Au Sable river and stay at the Ox Bow Lodge. I'll be using a split bamboo, 3 wt fly rod with an old vintage reel. That rig is going to weigh about 12 ounces. We'll be fishing for trout and I'm told catching a 14" fish is doing pretty good. I've never caught a trout before so I'm really excited to give it a try. I'm wondering if we have any fly fishers on here and has anyone been to that neck of the woods?
The only fly fishing I do is with those sticky glue strips, but for some reason the fish just dont seem to stick to them when wet ::) Bill
(https://i.imgur.com/xs2YZDP.jpg)
I do some, here in The Rock River....mostly poppers....for small mouth. I have done a bit in Colorado, for trout, but have never been in the area you are going to....have fun !!
.... and a hush fell over the crowd. Did he say fly fishing?
-steve
Have a single fly rod & reel; have never trout fished in MI; drove thru the UP some years ago & down thru Michilimachinaw (sp.) along E coast of Lake Mich.; promised I'd go back but never made it.
I'm an amateur fly fisher; there are few streams in my neck of the woods & only one I know of that has trout, so fly fishing is on lakes & ponds. I like to tie flies, work on my gear, etc. It can be rewarding, learning all the "stuff" that other kinds of fishing doesn't deal with.
Frank
Quote from: oc1 on September 23, 2017, 07:50:24 PM
.... and a hush fell over the crowd. Did he say fly fishing?
-steve
You got that right Steve. I'm not on any fly fishing forums so I thought I would throw it out here. I've fly fished since I was a kid in Kentucky on ponds and creeks but never anything serious. I've since learned fly fishers are a serious group of people. And they get top dollar for their stuff. An entry level, custom bamboo fly rod can set you back $1000. As I'm preparing for this trip I'm starting to catch a mild case of fly fishing fever. I think I'll post about it here as it develops if you gentlemen don't mind.
since the only water I've seen is in my coffee pot, yes, Mike please post!!!
Spent last week in Wales, on the River Wye, fly fishing for trout. Plenty of fishing but no catching. Lots of rain was pushing the water through too fast and heavy - but it was a break :)
Something I didn't expect a new (to me) fishing rod - An old Hardy Palakona 10ft split cane - 'The Gold Medal' Rod. Not sure of the line weight but looks like a 6 weight ;D Serial no. E 18479 which dates it to 1930 - for that age it's in excellent condition and still dead straight. If I can find the line weight I will fish this at least once ;D ;D
Definitely not going to excite you with screaming drag runs. The excitement comes from tricking the little buggers into hitting the fly you picked out.
The most fun you can have catching breakfast in a Sierra stream.
That's pretty much all my knowledge. ;)
Apparently the Au Sable river and the Oxbow lodge are well known throughout the world in fly fishing circles. I believe Hemingway fished there and wrote about it. The lodge was built in 1919 and has quite a bit of history behind it as well. I'm also going to be hunting grouse and woodcock for a magazine article I write for. I'll post things here as they develop. If I slip up and throw in a short hunting narrative please forgive me.
Can't wait for the story Mike. I have taken up fly fishing three times, each about twenty to thirty years apart. Never fell in love and never got to first base with it. All of my fly rods end up being converted to UL baitcasting.
-steve
How's yer casting technique "Great Maudu", takes most people lotsa practice. I equate it toa golf swing: lota body control and timing.
This sounds like a technically difficult fishery, so don't get discouraged if you don't succeed, especially immediately. The fun will be be in the learning. Lotsa observing of others, asking questions. Onea my beginning flyfishing techniques was to cater a bit to the ego of the people that I saw succeeding. You know, the guys that hook up, then look around to see who's watchin 'em. Ask 'em questions spiced with admiration, 'bout how they did it.
One thing about "educated" trout, they'll refuse alota presentations that aren't perfect, esp. if everyone's been throwin the same stuff at 'em for a while. Sometimes then a novice, like me, shows up does something slightly(mistakenly)diffrent than everyone else and "YES"! "I hooked up, everyone watch me now"! No better feeling than that, for someone like me.
Gfish
This fly and in black ,,,run a small sinker 2 foot or so above it with a indicator 2 foot above it,,,side drift it 6ft to 18ft from you when you get a bite slowly pull the rod tip up ,,,Dewayne showed me that trick and it works :D good luck!!!!
The gentleman I'm going with as his guest will be more than happy to advise me on casting, presentation, netting and anything else I lack expertise in. For me it's about the challenge of something new and being surrounded by nature in a beautiful place. I may not catch anything and if I don't well, it won't be the first time that ever happened. I've used fly rods going back to when I was about twelve. It was on farm ponds and creeks mostly. Popping bugs and streamers are what I had. This trip is going to be a higher level experience. I just got a copy of Hazen Millers book, The Old Au Sable, to get a feel for the history of the place. I'll post some pics later of the gear I'll be using for the wiley Trout.
Quote from: Gfish on September 25, 2017, 08:44:07 PM
How's yer casting technique "Great Maudu", takes most people lotsa practice. I equate it toa golf swing: lota body control and timing.
This sounds like a technically difficult fishery, so don't get discouraged if you don't succeed, especially immediately. The fun will be be in the learning. Lotsa observing others, asking questions. Onea my beginning flyfishing techniques was to cater a bit to the ego of the people that I saw succeeding. You know, the guys that hook up, then look around to see who's watchin 'em. Ask 'em questions spiced with admiration, 'bout how they did it.
One thing about "educated" trout, they'll refuse alota presentations that aren't perfect, esp. if everyone's been throwin the same stuff at 'em for a while. Sometimes then a novice, like me, shows up does something slightly(mistakenly)diffrent than everyone else and "YES"! "I hooked up, everyone watch me now"! No better feeling for someone like me.
Gfish
If I may, I find your writing style unreadable. Too bad because I think your comments when you write normally are astute.
I have dabeled a bit with fly fishing here and there. Mostly fishing, with a little catching. I fished some lakes with popers, and nymphs for Largemouth, and panfish. I fished steelhead with wet nymphs, and egg sac imitations along the North Shore of Lake Superior in college, but when the fish were really running, I switched to the spinner, on a long steelhead rod to improve the action. I also fished some of the upper streams for Brookies, and Rainbows, but again I did better with an ultralight spinner and spinners/spoons. I caught a few Mahi, hardtails, and Bonito on my fly rod with streamers from a boat in the gulf (almost landed a line class world record Mahi). I mated in Mexico in a multiday Sailfish fly fishing tournament. Really interesting approach, teasing the fish right up to the back of the boat, then shooting a large streamer straight back, when pulling the bait n switch. More recently (the last few years), I messed around with sightfishing the flats for bonefish here in HI, and caught a few Papio, and Oama. The flats fishing for bonefish is probably the tiniest of the bunch, but also has been one of the most challenging. Basically, I have only dabbled a bit in fly fishing, and never really grew proficient at it. It really doesn't suit my typical run and gun and cover a lot of ground approach. It is much more laid back, finesse approach to the game. I guess I have always liked the idea of fly fishing more then the actual game.
John
Quote from: Rancanfish on September 26, 2017, 12:04:11 AM
Quote from: Gfish on September 25, 2017, 08:44:07 PM
How's yer casting technique "Great Maudu", takes most people lotsa practice. I equate it toa golf swing: lota body control and timing.
This sounds like a technically difficult fishery, so don't get discouraged if you don't succeed, especially immediately. The fun will be be in the learning. Lotsa observing others, asking questions. Onea my beginning flyfishing techniques was to cater a bit to the ego of the people that I saw succeeding. You know, the guys that hook up, then look around to see who's watchin 'em. Ask 'em questions spiced with admiration, 'bout how they did it.
One thing about "educated" trout, they'll refuse alota presentations that aren't perfect, esp. if everyone's been throwin the same stuff at 'em for a while. Sometimes then a novice, like me, shows up does something slightly(mistakenly)diffrent than everyone else and "YES"! "I hooked up, everyone watch me now"! No better feeling for someone like me.
Gfish
If I may, I find your writing style unreadable. Too bad because I think your comments when you write normally are astute.
whether difficult to read or not, i very much enjoy the reports! ;D
Quote from: Rancanfish on September 26, 2017, 12:04:11 AM
Quote from: Gfish on September 25, 2017, 08:44:07 PM
How's yer casting technique "Great Maudu", takes most people lotsa practice. I equate it toa golf swing: lota body control and timing.
This sounds like a technically difficult fishery, so don't get discouraged if you don't succeed, especially immediately. The fun will be be in the learning. Lotsa observing others, asking questions. Onea my beginning flyfishing techniques was to cater a bit to the ego of the people that I saw succeeding. You know, the guys that hook up, then look around to see who's watchin 'em. Ask 'em questions spiced with admiration, 'bout how they did it.
One thing about "educated" trout, they'll refuse alota presentations that aren't perfect, esp. if everyone's been throwin the same stuff at 'em for a while. Sometimes then a novice, like me, shows up does something slightly(mistakenly)diffrent than everyone else and "YES"! "I hooked up, everyone watch me now"! No better feeling for someone like me.
Gfish
If I may, I find your writing style unreadable. Too bad because I think your comments when you write normally are astute.
Yes hoss you may! Ok,... Grammer's my own style, mostly it's how I talk, sometimes I do like my ESL wife and make up my own words, but ah, I 'm really concerned about my spelling and syntax? - NOT!
If it's "unreadable" and "too bad"...then...guess what?...
I'll be writin like this here in the future, 'cause this'er style's MINE!
Live long and prosper, Randy
P.S. Didn't see Allen's post, 'till I finished and posted this'n here.
P.S.2: Hope that wasn't too obnoxious, hada bad day at work today, but only got real obnoxious with the bosses once in retaliation. Then(surprise!) they were extra nice thereafter. The only thing they didn't chastise me for, before that, was the way I talk! Ah yes, the older I get...
Gfish
P.S.3: Randy, you need a couple of commas in your last sentence. KIDDING!
Ha! I've been accused of using too many.
Literary Ebonics all your own. Carry on,,,,,,,,.
I had an English teacher in school who said "write like you talk". One wise guy wrote his next paper in Tex-Mex Spanish but the lady let him get away with it.
-steve
Here is one of the outfits I'll be packing. The Reel is stamped S. Allcocks Reddington. It's solid brass and made late 1800's early 1900's. One thing I've learned is it's good to use a reel that's a little heavier to balance the extra weight of the bamboo. I put the quarter in the pic to give you a sense of the tiny scale these things are. It's probab one of the reasons many bamboo rods come with 2 tips, lol.
I learned to tie flys in Boy Scouts long before I could fish them. I really enjoyed building up the bodies with various hair, feathers, beeswax, and silk thread. A few years after learning to tie, I got into fishing them. By far, my most effective fly was a tiny hook with yellow string wrapped tightly around it in a ball, fished on opening day. What made it effective was that it resembled the food that those hatchery trout were accustomed to eating. I called it the "corn fly." ;D
I read lots of books about insect life in streams, and how to fish insect imitations in various life stages, but most of my action was in the armchair. It is fascinating stuff if you can manage to find a clean, cool stream.
Saltwater flies can be very effective, and I'd like to give that a try sometime.
I grew up fishing streams in Michigan, including the Au Sable. You shouldn't have to do much distance casting-mending your line to have the most natural presentation is key. The big browns will be finicky, especially there where they see a lot of fishermen. In those cases, I usually went to the extremes-either tiny finesse flies to match the hatch or something big and juicy looking they couldn't resist. The standard patterns never worked well for me in the heavily fished streams. Good luck!
The reel you have is a S Allcocks, Redditch, England - A crank wind model.
You may find this page a good read:
http://www.inthenetuk.com/pages/VintageRods_AllcocksTheCompany.asp
Thank you sir for that link. I will definitely read it. I have another all brass Reel and neither have that darkened patina you would expect. Do you think they were cleaned at some point? I've had them a few years and they're still shiny.
Chris I read the article and it is fascinating. It gives me a whole new perspective on the Allcock brand. Is their any specific info on my Reel?
I'll keep looking, but I haven't found anything yet. There are several on ebay as I write - most have been polished - originally they may have been blued :-\
No info on the date , I think the crank wind were made over a few decades.
I just got in to fly fishing ,,,if there's one around you there's a orvis 101 class it's free it helps and it's funny,,, the guy said there's stripers in the lake that go up to 15lbs ;D lol
That's a beautiful rod and reel Mike. Is that rattan on the fore grip?
-steve
Steve, that is a rattan handle. Very grippy and durable.
I don't believe the Reel has been affected in any way. There are no polishing mark or residual coloring around the rivets. How do you blue brass?
The same as you would steel. I just use ordinary gun blue/black chemicals.
The cheap cold bluing you can buy off the shelf does not work very well on gun steel, but puts a nice finish on brass and german silver. It makes a shiny surface look antiqued. In you case, it really is antique but the bluing will make it look its age. Degrease the area with naphtha or other solvent and paint it on. Don't freak out because it will turn black immediately. Then wipe with fine steel wool until you get the desired effect. The longer you wait and less you wipe the darker it will be.
Gun smiths say that cold bluing does not provide much corrosion resistance. But, I would rather the first thing to hit raw shiny brass be bluing instead of saltwater. Patina is protection.
-steve
Steve - I'm not sure about the protection aspect - but it does make it look 'period' :-\ imho - chris
I'm not sure about the protection aspect either Chris, but hope to find out.
-steve
Since we're talking extremes, here's an all brass, aluminum and german silver Reel that is brand new. Made by a local craftsman it is number 4 in a series of only five made. This outfit is making the journey north as well.
That's a sweet looking rig !
"Warning" some fly fisherman are very difficult to get alone with,,,,just letting you know,,I want you to have a good time ;D
Cold blue bought off the shelf does not provide much surface protection. But is fine if you like the look & care for it.... Jeff
Quote from: Benni3 on October 02, 2017, 03:00:48 AM
"Warning" some fly fisherman are very difficult to get alone with,,,,just letting you know,,I want you to have a good time ;D
Thanks for the warning Benni. I'll be on my guard. I wonder what it is about fly fisherman that would make them like that?
As to the bluing of brass, I think I'll just leave it alone. I'm not doing any saltwater fishing with the little reels so I'm not worried about that. I kinda like the bright look. What application makes brass bright?
Many products for shining up brass. Flitz & Brasso are 2 that Ive used & are generally safe & well accepted... Jeff
http://www.flitz.com/flitz-polish-paste-1lb-jar/
https://www.amazon.com/Brasso-76523-Multi-Purpose-Metal-Polish/dp/B00BILDIU4
I started fly fishing in the early 70's I happened to live near a spectacular fly fishing only lake. It was some of the most memorable fishing I have ever done. I keep a 12wt on my boat at all times when I'm tuna fishing with the sole purpose of casting a fly into a school of albacore. In the past eight years I have had opportunity to make one cast into a top feeding school, unfortunately in my excitement to cast I didn't wait for my boat to come to a complete stop and I ran over my line cutting it off. By the time I tied a new fly on the fish were gone. But It will be ready next time I get a chance and hopefully I will be a little more patient. I'm no purist and have only a few fly fishing friends and none of them is a purist either. I can't stand those "people" who think fly fishing is the only true fishing method. I like whatever works!
Quote from: The Great Maudu on October 03, 2017, 07:43:28 AM
Quote from: Benni3 on October 02, 2017, 03:00:48 AM
"Warning" some fly fisherman are very difficult to get alone with,,,,just letting you know,,I want you to have a good time ;D
Thanks for the warning Benni. I'll be on my guard. I wonder what it is about fly fisherman that would make them like that?
As to the bluing of brass, I think I'll just leave it alone. I'm not doing any saltwater fishing with the little reels so I'm not worried about that. I kinda like the bright look. What application makes brass bright?
'Cause, we're morally superior to all other non-purist, non-flyfisherman. We're better 'cause we purposefully make our type of fishing harder to succeed at, thus enjoying the difficult-to-overcome challange. We're better educated, make more money, and live in a higher socio-ecnomic class than other fisherman. Yes, compared to 'them", we are discriminating individuals that have class.
Also, don't try posing, 'cause there's always something about your lower class status that'll give away what you really are.
Just messin with you dude!
Last time I's at onea "those places"(Silver Creek, Idaho) onea "those" guy's was askin me about what was hatching earlier. When I mentioned blue-winged olives, size 16, I noticed he's lookin closely at my rod/reel/vest/waders and then he corrected me:"Do you mean Batis?"( the genus for those bugs), pronouncing every syllable in that exacting, irritating - I'm better than you -way. Just stared at 'em for a second, smiled and walked away shakin my head.
If I sound bitter, probably not as much as you think, people like that are actually pretty comical.
Gfish
Ya "trout unlimited " I had 4 of there members come up to me and make fun of my cheap saltwater gear that I was using,,,so that's why you see me using a torque 5,,, trout fishing :D but some of the fly fisherman are the best people you could meet ;D
Fishing in the aptly named "Holy Water"(really, looked up the regs, indeed they stated: barbless single hook flies, cast with a flyline only, i.e. No mono. line from a spinning reel with a bobber, etc. Indeed, holy and sanctified from the "regular" fisherman). I saw a license plate "HAWK LAW" on the lone other fisherman's vehicle. Turns out he was the appointed attorney to defend California migrant farm worker, turned serial killing mass murder: Jaun Corona, from back in the 70's. Fasinating stuff, and without the attitude or the legalese talk(as in: I'm the professional, too bad if you can't understand it, layman). Just two flyfishers talkin story.
Gfish
And having been a fly-fisher at one time:
Heaven Forbid: if you use anything as heavy as a 5-wt; never touch anything but a single action; never fish with anything weighted (dry fly only); only use a double taper floating line; and are astonished at the term (let alone know what it is), "double haul".
I love these "Fly Fisherman" charactizations. I am getting some good pointers though. I guess I should leave my foam grip, fiberglass rod with the Southbend automatic fly Reel spooled with straight mono at home?
And don't mention that your favorite presentation is the "garden hackle" (earthworm)!
Quote from: The Great Maudu on October 05, 2017, 08:36:55 PM
I love these "Fly Fisherman" charactizations. I am getting some good pointers though. I guess I should leave my foam grip, fiberglass rod with the Southbend automatic fly Reel spooled with straight mono at home?
but if you really want to have a lot of fun :D grab a really big penn spinn reel and some big lures that work great on trout,,,take the last hook off the rapala and put a gamakatsu on it,,,,light drag just enough to set the hook and when you hook a 4or 6lb trout the drag well scare the the fly fisherman and thay will get mad and run away ;D lol it really does work
My fly fishing was limited to my teenage years, used an 8-1/2' Goldenrod South Bend rod with a vintage Pflueger Progress reel that l still have. Still got the reel but broke the rod on a rainbow trout. Mostly fished small panfish poppers for freshwater bream and largemouth bass in ponds.
l still fly fish with a spinning rod, however, much simpler, lol.
Festus you're a genius.
Since this thread is titled Extreme here's my third fly outfit I'll be taking. The rod is a 6'6" LL Bean 4 pc pack rod. The reel is made by Abel. I'm going from bamboo and 100+ year old brass Reel to this.
Quote from: The Great Maudu on October 07, 2017, 12:21:01 AM
Since this thread is titled Extreme here's my third fly outfit I'll be taking. The rod is a 6'6" LL Bean 4 pc pack rod. The reel is made by Abel. I'm going from bamboo and 100+ year old brass Reel to this.
that Abel reel is very nice :D
Quote from: Rivverrat on October 03, 2017, 11:28:05 PM
Many products for shining up brass. Flitz & Brasso are 2 that Ive used & are generally safe & well accepted... Jeff
http://www.flitz.com/flitz-polish-paste-1lb-jar/
https://www.amazon.com/Brasso-76523-Multi-Purpose-Metal-Polish/dp/B00BILDIU4
Flitz is OK. Brasso, because of its abrasiveness, is not recommended.... the idea being that after years of using an abrasive polish you will eventually lose enough brass for shallow engravings and stampings to disappear and also lose other fine detail present in some more ornate reels.... which is something to be thinking about when you're dealing with something that can last centuries if properly cared for....
Sid
Thanks for the input Sid. I think I'm just going to let them Age and acquire patina.
Well, I got in one day of fishing. Early we waded, casting dry flys size 22 I believe. I caught one brookie. They told it was a nice one. Then we we boarded the Hyde Drift Boat and nymphed our way down the river. Fishing was slow but I had a great time. I'm going to be doing more of this in the future.
Glad you're having a good time. Interesting country.
Frank
Mike,
I hear ya!! Most of my serious fishing early on was on the San Juan river in Northern New Mexico...
Learned how to tie flies and use my Sage rods to catch fish on something I created...still amazed today how many big rainbows and browns I could land on a "little" rod and 7x tippet if you just learned how to play them and set the drag propperly! Pulled all the fly tying stuff out last year and had my daughter's tie their own flies for our trout fishing "daddy/daughter's"trip...what a blast... couldn't have been prouder, and gave them a sense of accomplishment!!
Of course now, they want to go after 1/2 day Calicos with their Papa's "Sal- in- ized" 155 Beachmasters...lol...but that's okay too, cuz I get to go with them😁
Brett
Congratulations ;D and that fishing trip looks like adventure