Archive for April, 2009

Your rod and reel are the most important parts of your fly fishing gear. There are a few simple things you can do to make sure they give you years of great service.

Reels

There’s really not much to say about maintaining reels, other than … lubricate them as per the manufacturers’ instructions! As with anything that has moving parts, friction develops. The heat caused by excessive friction will cause wear and tear that did not have to happen if the part was properly lubricated. The best lubricant to use is lithium grease – don’t be trying to squirt 10W-30 inside your reel!

For the most part, today’s reels require very little maintenance and you shouldn’t have to do to much to keep them in good shape. One thing that is very important, especially if you spend any time at all on saltwater is to rinse your reels completely and thoroughly in fresh water. It’s a good idea to give your reels a quick rinse after each fishing trip anyhow, to remove any dirt and grime.

Check for bits of dirt between the spool and the reel. Today’s reels usually are constructed with very close tolerances, and a bit of grit can cause the reel to not perform well.

You might also want to consider cleaning the cork drag system. Wipe it clean with a paper towel, being sure to remove any dirt or grit on the surface.

Fly Rods

Most anglers spend more money on their fly rods than any other piece of tackle. They also expect it to perform optimally all the time, yet many anglers forget that a fly rod is in fact a tool that is made from several different parts. If one of those parts is defective or worn, it could dramatically decrease the performance of the rod. Be sure to take a look at the following parts of your fly rod, and if you find anything that seems amiss, take it in to the closest competent repair shop, or contact the manufacturer to determine whether the problem is covered by warranty:

Guides, or ‘eyes’ as they are sometimes referred to, ensure that your line is properly carried along the rod and is acted upon during the force of casting. There are different types of guides that are now used on fly rods, however traditionally, and probably still the most common, are what are known as ‘snake’ guides. Most snake guides are made from hard chrome. One of the most important guides to take a good look at is the one at the very tip of your rod, known as the ‘tip top’. This guide bears the most pressure of all, and consequently, is the one most prone to wear and tear.

If you are at all dubious about the amount of friction that a fly rod guide puts up with, try this experiment: Have someone hold a piece of fly line against some part of your body. Ask them to pull it back and forth over your skin with some force and speed. I guarantee that in a few moments, you will be asking them to stop as the heat builds up and your skin begins to wear off!

With this experiment in mind, check that tip top for signs of grooving. As the tip top grooves, this causes even more friction against your lines as it travels through the guide. As well, small microscopic burrs can develop which in time will damage your fly lines and decrease their life. If your tip top has any signs of wear, have it replaced, or try replacing it yourself. If you have a professional repair done, you shouldn’t expect to pay anymore than $5.00 to $10.00 for a simple chrome tip top.

The rest of your guides are actually held onto the rod with thread that has been wrapped around the guide feet. Modern rods have an epoxy coating over the thread wraps. Sometimes, the epoxy can develop cracks with the constant flexing of the rod. The cracks themselves are not unexpected nor will they cause any decrease in the performance of the rod. However, over time, the epoxy can weaken and the guides may loosen away from the blank. So, check the guides and ensure that there is no wiggling from them underneath their wraps. There is no need to use a great deal of pressure – just a very light tug to ensure they are still secure. Again, if you find one that needs attention, a good rod builder should be able to rewrap the guide for you. Better this than have the guide come loose all together and impede your casting performance!

Ring type guides are becoming more popular on fly rods, rather than snake guides. The inner ring that contacts the fly line is usually made of Silicon Carbide (SiC), a very hard and smooth material that provides great heat disipation and less friction than chrome. These rings will not groove like chrome will, but you should still give them a quick check. For one thing, on guides that are not of the best quality, the inner ring can come loose from the guide frame. If this happens, you will want to ensure the complete guide is replaced.

The next thing to check is the reel seat. There is the possibility that the bond between the reel seat and the rod blank has weakened and the reel seat is not solidly attached. This is more true with older rods but it is always a good idea to check anyhow. If you do find a reel seat that is need of repair, this is best done either by the manufacturer, who will probably replace the whole butt section, or by a competent rod builder, which could be a bit more costly. Some rods simply wouldn’t be worth it.

Finally, why not give that cork handle a nice clean-up? You probably have forgotten how much brighter it looked when it was first new! Over time, cork can become very dirty, but this is easily removed with a good scrubbing using a damp, fine soap pad such as Scotch-BriteTM or an S.O.S.® pad. When you’re done scrubbing, give the handle a final rinse with water. You will be amazed at how good that cork handle will look.

Now, that you’ve got your fly fishing equipment all tuned up, you’re ready for the season! Go catch some fish.

If you have ever experienced a day where the fish were hitting the fly but you had problems setting the hook, then it is likely that the hook you were using needed a few good strokes across a sharpening stone. It can be quite frustrating to know that you have tied the right fly pattern to the end of your line, but every hit comes with only fleeting joy because that hook simply won’t set.

Do yourself a favor and invest in a hook sharpener. You can purchase a sharpener that will fit neatly inside your vest or shirt pocket for just a few dollars. Believe me, those few dollars will pay off handsomely in solid hook sets.

It’s pretty easy to take the edge off the point of a hook. If you have ever had the hook strike against a tree branch on a back cast, or smack against a rock, you’ve probably dulled your hook. Either tie on a new fly soon, or simply hone that point with a few strokes from the sharpener.

To sharpen the hook, hold it point facing toward you, and simply angle the sharpener, making 3 or 4 strokes. Turn the hook about 90 degrees and again, 3 or 4 strokes should be fine. Repeat this step two more times, and you should have a hook that will set nicely.

There are a couple of other things worth thinking about when you inspect your hooks this spring. Let me relate a frustrating experience I once had:

Last year, while fishing for some very nice smallmouth bass, I tied on a Muddler Minnow. Sure as I expected, it caught the interest of a nice fish. I felt that tell tale tug and then heard the splash of a bass beginning its fight as the hook set. Well, the fight was on, but only for a few seconds. My first thought was that it was just one of those times when I hadn’t set the hook well. I didn’t even bother to check the fly – I was too excited about the prospect of enticing another bass to hit the muddler.

The next cast, the same thing happened, only this time, I could feel the fly come loose in a weird kind of way. I decided to change flies, and when I went to remove the fly on my line, I discovered that the whole point of the fly was missing. Because I was fishing some very fast water flowing over a lot of rocks, I initially figured I had been fishing with a defective hook that broke when it struck a rock.

I tied on a second Muddler. As it drifted down through the rapids, I again had that excitement of ‘fish on!’ as another nice smallie took the fly. The excitement was short-lived for a second time as once again I discovered that the point had broken off.

I went through about 5 of these muddler minnows, all with the same experience. It was only a bit later that I realized that what had probably happened was that whoever had tied up those flies had used way too much pressure on the hook in the vice, and it had weakened it at the bend enough that the point simply broke off every time a fish hit the fly.

The moral of the story is make sure you don’t over tighten that vice when you’re tying up fly patterns for the coming season!

There is another way you can cause your hook to weaken and possibly break off at inopportune times, and that is by improper removal of the barb. Often, I have seen anglers remove the barb by placing a pair of needlenose pliers across the point, and squeezing down over the barb. A better way to do this is to have the point of the hook between the pliers, with the pliers extending beyond the barb before squeezing down and removing the barb. You’ll spread the pressure over the length of the point rather than risking weakening a smaller area of the hook.

There are an almost endless array of fly lines available, some which cost extraordinary amounts. If you have invested money in a quality line, you will want to ensure that it lasts for as long as possible.

The single most important thing you can do is keep it clean. After each trip, take a little time and rinse your line with soap and water. Stay away from detergents and use a mild handsoap. Detergents tend to dry out the line and could result in your line developing cracks in the outer layer. This of course will hasten damage to the inner core of the line.

For some years, there has been a debate about the use of Armorall® and other similar products. Fly anglers who have used it discovered that it seemed to make their lines slicker. Others I have talked to have suggested that this is just a short term advantage and over time the chemicals in Armorall® will damage lines with regular use. I am not a chemist, and neither have I conducted any personal studies on the matter so I can’t advise you one way or the other. Bob Kloskowski of the International Fly Fishing Association interviewed Bruce Richards of Scientific Anglers and asked him specifically about using Armorall®. Here is what Richards had to say on the matter:

“Armorall and 333 contain some plasticizers and lubricants and will lubricate the lines surface, temporarily. They also contain a small amount of detergent that theoretically would reduce line life, but the affect would be minimal. These products can be used without noticeable negative affect, but the positive affect of lubrication is very short term as the product washes off quickly.” – 1997 Interview on NBC

Before you do head out for the first time this season, you might want to inspect your line for signs of cracking or even cuts. I remember some years ago, while casting on a windy day and getting into one of those cursed tangles where my leader caught my line and discovering that the leader had actually cut through the outer layer of the line. I was still able to fish the line that day, but replaced it before the next trip out.

Regardless of what sort of dressing you use on your line, the main thing is to keep it clean! Your fly line(s) is a very important part of your fly fishing equipment