Archive for the ‘rods, reels and lines’ Category

A Nod to G. Loomis

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015

During a moment of frustration a while ago on Beaver Island I horsed a carp with a little too much gusto and in the process snapped a customer’s favorite G. Loomis 9 weight. Thinking of the old saying, “It isn’t the mistake that matters, it’s how you recover that make a difference”, I insisted on handling the rod return.

Other than having plenty of Loomis rods in and out of my boat over the years, I have never owned one. Having no experience with the company I filled out the proper web form, put the rod in a tube and shipped it off. In just over a week there was a new rod on my doorstep.

Props to the G. Loomis customer care. Efficient and hassle free warranty service is very much appreciated.

20151009-g. loomis fly rod 11215

Hardy Two Handed Days at FlyMasters, Part I

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Ian Anderson from FlyMasters of Indianapolis sent the following:

FlyMasters of Indianapolis had the pleasure of hosting a Two Handed casting clinic this past weekend here in Indianapolis. Hardy USA came along to provide rods and Steve Martinez came down from Michigan to instruct everyone. Normally, for this sort of event you do not want dozens of people signing up because it is just too much for one instructor. We set the limit at eight and were pleasantly surprised that we had seven students register. Two of them were actually clients of Steve’s that came all the way from Cincinnati to work on their two handed skills with him.

From the moment that we opened Saturday morning Steve was busy talking with customers and getting to know the students as they arrived. He even helped a few on their single handed casting before the clinic started. Steve was a total professional throughout the entire clinic. His introductory instruction in the classroom was very clear and concise. His organization and instruction on the stream was thorough and attentive. On top of that for 2 1/2 hours he did nothing but walk up and down the line of people helping each person get a firm introduction to the Double Spey, Circle Spey and Snap-T two handed casts.

If you are a shop or a club thinking about bringing in someone to help you, your customers or members get a good solid foundation in two handed casting I highly recommend Steve Martinez. Steve is knowledgeable, professional and has a great sense of humor. Everyone will not only learn something but have a great time in the process.

Thanks to Dave at Pile Cast for the photo.  Dave also posted about the event and has a bunch more photos.

TFO large arbor fly reels

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Jeff sent the following email:  “I really liked that TFO reel that we were using last Sunday. The model number that Dave got off the reel is not making any sense when I try to look it up. What is the size and model number of those TFO fly reels.  Thanks again for the pics. We both had a great time and we both learned a lot.”

I have an actual pile of the Temple Fork Outfitters, Large Arbor Reels and these are the reels Jeff is referring to.

Some of my reels are now over six years old and they have been dropped, stepped on, filled with sand, used in hot weather and bitter cold, the list of abuses could go on and on.  Their guide reels, meaning that they get used and abused day in and day out.

I have never done any repairs or maintenance to these reels and they are all still in service.  They are the perfect guide reel for me.

If I had to nitpick two shortcomings in these reels it would be that they are heavy and ugly.  Though I understand that heavy probably means durable and I wouldn’t trade these reels toughness to make them lighter.  TFO has already fixed the ugly issue.  They don’t make the plain flat gray anymore but now offer the reels in three much sharper looking colors.

Fly fishing rods and reels.

Streamer fishing for Michigan steelhead- gearing up

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Over the next few weeks, Kevin will be putting together a series on his method for catching Michigan steelhead on streamers. Kevin isn’t saying he’s the grandmaster ninja of steelhead streamering, but over the years he has developed a straightforward and efficient method that puts chrome in the net. The series will include: gearing up, streamer patterns, reading water with a thermometer and calendar, reading water and finding patterns, presentation styles, fishing basics, and ways to make sure you’re getting the job done.

Rod- Temple Fork Outfitters 13’0″ 7/8 weight, 450-700 gr. Of course you can effectively streamer fish with a single-hand rod, but it is a lot more work and not as effective in many situations. I use this relatively big rod because it has no limits as far as the west Michigan rivers I fish are concerned. I can cast a large fly the distance I need to with enough weight to get the job done, I never have to compromise because I’m never “under gunned”.

Reel – Temple Fork Outfitters LA425. I own a dozen reels of different sizes in this series. I have owned them for years. I never service them. I have never had one repaired and they are all still working and working well. They have plenty of drag to handle even the hottest fish and because the drag surface is synthetic/stainless they don’t freeze up in winter.

Backing- 20lb Dacron.

Running/Shooting Line- I’ve used a lot of different running lines over the years and while it’s not the most important part of the rig for me, a coated running line like Rio’s Powerflex will result in fewer tangles than something like Amnesia.

Fly Line- Scientific Anglers Mastery Series Spey Skagit Deluxe 550 gr.

Sink Tip – 12 to 24 foot of Rio T14. In the lower Pere Marquette I have been using an eighteen foot section this entire season. I like the Rio T line of sink tips for many reasons, but particularly because you can tie a knot in them. I end the T14 with a 4 wrap uni-knot tied to a large two-way swivel.

Leader – 3 to 4 foot of 20 pound Maxima fluorocarbon. Tied to the large two-way swivel with an improved clinch knot. This section of leader ends with another medium sized two-way swivel. I feel that knots to swivels are faster and more secure than line to line knots and I like having the swivels to eliminate line twist.

Tippet – 2 to 3 foot of 12 pound Feather-Craft fluorocarbon. For all my tube flies I have tippet sections pre-snelled on my favorite hook and keep them in a leader keeper. For streamers on traditional hooks I simply add a few feet of the same tippet material to the second swivel.

Hook – Gamakatsu octopus 02408 in size 4. This is the finest tube fly hook I have found for Michigan steelhead.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Kevin’s series: streamer patterns.