Month: April 2010

28
Apr
2010

More Fishing Quotes & Sayings – Apr 28, 2010

They just keep on keeping on – five new quotes, numbers 946 – 950. Enjoy!

A couple of picks to whet your appetite;

What is that saying, something about sparing the rod…

“And if a child has taken up the rod, he has shaken hands with nature, thus sealing an agreement to both understand and protect her many wonders. For fishing can be conceived in no other way.”
– Phillip Brunquell – Fly-Fishing with Children

Midge fishing or midge madness…

“As much as anything, the anglers will clue you in to the midge hatch. You will see them hunched over in concentration like herons. The better ones will be in as close as they can get to the dimpling trout. What you’ll notice is the rhythmic flicking of casts toward a porpoising trout and the lack of any other motions. The only exception will be the gentle tug that sets a very small hook attached to the leader by a very delicate tippet. The playing of the trout, if it is a good one, will be a cat-and-mouse sort of ecstasy.”
– Ed Engle

Posted by Tony Bishop in fishing quotes
18
Apr
2010

10 best ways to break your fly-rod

Over the fifty and more years I have been fishing and sometime guiding I have seen some truly inventive ways of breaking a rod, here are ten of the most common:piontloading

1. Hold the rod tip up to near vertical with the line running down parallel to the rod while trying to net a fish over three or more pounds – it’s called ‘Point Loading”.

2. While walking in to the river, hold the rod with the tip lower than horizontal to the ground – when you trip the rod turns into a javelin, and a four piece into a many more piece.

3. When your fly is snagged, heave back on the rod, with the rod tip behind your head – it’s called Point Loading’, again.

4. When pulling the leader and fly-line out to get ready to cast, pull the line near -parallel to the rod, yes, it’s “Point Loading” again.

5. Lay the rod on the ground, anywhere, anytime, taking a photo, changing a fly, eating a sandwich, staining the bank – you just have to know, you, or your about-to-be ex-friend is going to stand on it. Most effective in long grass.

6. Fail to make sure the rod joints (spigots) are firmly seated. Best outcome, the joint separates – annoying at worst. Worst outcome, the shortened overlap of the joint area breaks – heart break at best.

7. Forgetting to check if the motel has a ceiling fan while you gear up for fishing tomorrow has lead to many a long morose trip home.

8. Strongish breeze, open vehicle door, fly-rod in immediate vicinity – say no more.

9. Hook-up on the blackberries on the back cast again – rod rage – say no more, again.

10. Most spectacular fly-rod demolition? Two words – helicopter blades!

Would love to hear about your rod-breaking experiences.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing, fly fishing gear, fly fishing tips
06
Apr
2010

Rock Snot Cure-All – Not!

There is a growing trend in the USA for various states to consider banning felt sole wading boots. A couple have already taken the plunge and of course anglers are exhibiting all the angst that hit new New Zealand fly-fishers when the ‘no felt soles’ regulation came into being.

Some US sites are promoting ‘Uncle Jacks Didymo Killer’ because various test have shown it to be a an excellent rock snot killer, on contact with didymo.

In fact some sites are suggesting Uncle Jacks is so good it will negate the need to ban felt soles. Unfortunately this is simply not the case. Uncle Jacks is a good and effective surface spray, and works well on any didymo that it makes contact with. But it is the contact bit that hides the problem.

Tests conducted here in New Zealand and elsewhere have shown conclusively that wading on infested rocks with felt soles forces the didymo ‘spores’ deep inside the felt, so deep, that no surface spray gets anywhere near it. The spores can live in damp felt for weeks. And it only needs a tiny number of the minute ‘spores’ to infest a river.

There are two ways to ensure didymo is killed in felt soles:

  • Dry them for at least 72 hours in a dry, warm environment.
  • Freeze the boots for at least 12 hours.

As to the rest of the wading gear, waders, boots, laces, boot tongues, wading staff, landing net, etc., anything that makes contact with the river – go mad with Uncle Jack’s or any other sprays that do the business, there are a number of them. They will deal to didymo – but in felt soles? Afraid not!

Posted by Tony Bishop in environment and conservation, fly fishing how-to
01
Apr
2010

Five more fishy quotes and saying – Apr 1, 2010

Some more insight into the sport we immerse ourselves in – numbers 941 – 945.

My pick of this creel-full;

“If all the fish in the world suddenly disappeared, I know of many fly tyers who would go right on tying flies as if nothing had happened, myself included!”
– Jimmy D Moore – Outdoor Memories 1999
And I would be right there tying away too!

But wait there is more:

“But if the salmon and trout must be classified as elite in this mythical social structure then let the black bass be given permanent status as the working class of American gamefishes. He’s tough and he knows it. . . He’s a bass sax grumbling get-down blues in the bayou. He’s a factory worker, truck driver, wild catter, lumberjack, barroom bouncer, dock walloper, migrant farmhand, and bear wrassler. And if it’s a fight you’re looking for, he’ll oblige anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s a backwater at noon, a swamp at midnight, or dockside at dawn, he’ll be there waiting. He’s a fierce-eyed, foul mouthed, tobacco-chewing redneck who has travelled to every corner of the nation, paying his way and giving no quarter.”
– Pat Smith -Old Iron Jaw

Posted by Tony Bishop in fishing quotes