Manchester Fly-fishing & Gear Recommendations Options

[Gren]

Hello -

Living in Manchester, I'm fairly limited as to the fishing spots I can sprint to after work for some fun and practice..

Places close to me:

Center Springs Park pond - SMB, Panfish (opportunity to stand on the edge and flycast poppers, I suppose)

Hockanum River (Laurel Marsh Trail) - Trout, Not owning waders, I'm a bit limited.. but there are some spots I can cast from the shore for now.


Does anyone have some recommendations on a additional locations within/around Manchester where I can throw some flies?


Regarding gear - I'm looking for a good all-around rod/reel combo to cast dry flies/euro nymphing for a novice.. What I have now is a good budget rod, but I was a bit spoiled during a nymphing class on the Housatonic this past weekend, using a borrowed Hardy rod (I believe) and a waterworks reel..

I'm certainly not looking for anything in that price range, but I am looking for a fast, longer rod (9'6" or so) in the 4# or 5# arena, suitable for nymphing/general fly fishing.

I've looked at St Croix Legend Ultra (just a bit higher than what I want to spend at $300), Orvis Clearwater, Sage Vantage, etc for Rods..

I'm not as concerned with reels, tbh - my budget for those might be $75 to $150.

Looking for waders/boots - any recommendations on those would be great.


Thanks much!

-Drew

[JohnB]

Drew; I have had a couple brands of waders but recently while tying at LL Bean I purchased a pair of their waders because if for some reason down the road they leak you can bring them back and replace them so.. you only buy them once. As far as rods go check out J.T.'s flyshop in Union they have a nice selection and also Grady at Upcountry in New Hartford may be able to help you out he has some used high end rods at reasonable prices and in excellent shape I'm talking about Sage, Scott, Winston etc. also a good investment and reasonably priced is Temple Fork they are a nice rod and keep in mind that all of the rods I just mentiioned come with a lifetime guarantee you just pay shipping and they repair or replace them.

[Gren]

Thanks John -

I found Grady's website: www.farmingtonriver.com some good gear to look at there.. Another site I found was http://www.tradenstuff.com


Regarding these 'specialized' nymphing rods with the extremely fast action, and long length (10') - are these ok as crossover rods? http://flyfishingreporter.com/euro-fly-rod-review

In other words, are these so specialized for one purpose, that long casting is impeded? Nymphing is certainly fun, but I'd like to ability to do "conventional" longer casting with dry flies as well.

Yeah, regarding the waders - I had tried on some Simms waders, and they may be a bit cost-prohibitive at this point.. I'm very close to the South Windsor LLBean, I'll stop in and have a look..


-Drew

[JohnB]

To tell you the truth Drew, I have 9 foot rods, Sage, Scott, a couple that I made mostly 4 wts. one or two 5 wts. etc. I don't think I have a rod longer than 9 feet. I use those for everything, float tubing, fishing in rivers when I nymph fish I just throw a nymph on maybe change the leader and tippit don't care much for specialty rods. Besides if I bring another rod home I will have to hide it from the boss! You can ask the guys at Upcountry about your nymph fishing equipment they are very knowledgeble, Bruce Marino or Shawn Britton should be able to help you. You can get a nice set of LL Bean waders for half of what Simms cost I don't know yet if they are as good but I do know I can always bring them back and exchange them for a new pair.

[reelscreamer]

Drew, to find places to fish you can look in the 2010 CT Angler's Guide. If you did not get one when you bought your fishing license, they are available free at most fly or tackle shops. Every state stocked stream & lake are listed along with the regulations.

A couple of books are also helpful: "Trout Streams of Eastern CT" by Mike Goodwin, and "Trout Streams of So. New England" by Tom Fuller. These give access points and tackle tips. I think the CFFA's Goldman Library has these (next meeting in Sept.). The first one was printed by Thames Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited. I'm sure the So. N.E. one is available from book sellers. The fly shops may have them or check your town library for these - even if they don't have them, your local library can obtain books for you if any town library in CT has them.

John's advice about gear is great. It sounds to me like you are not yet ready for specialized equipment. It's not needed to nymph, regardless of what the manufacturers will tell you. Heck, with Euro nymphing you barely have any flyline outside of the rod tip anyway. Sure, a longer rod is helpful, but anything over 8' is fine to start. Spend your money on various leader/tippet materials, various nymph & wet flies, various weights, and various strike indicators to see what you like. Practice knots, making multiple fly rigs, dead drifting and being stealthy. Just get out there with the gear you have and become a nymphing fly fisher. You'll know when you reach the point of really appreciating special gear.

[themadison]

I have a 10', 5wt., TFO that I use for euro nymphing - works like a charm.
I also picked up a Lamson/Konic reel which I am very pleased with.

As for waders - I favor Simms products, have been using them for years now.

Korkers are my choice for boots.

[JohnB]

When I lived in Washington a lot of my friends were buying 14 foot spey rods for steelheading I used a 9 foot 6 " Courtland 8 wt. rod because at the time it was all I could afford I caught steelhead the guys with spey rods didn't catch more than me didin't catch bigger fish than I did either. I think all of this specialty rod stuff is hype, smoke and mirrors,Madison Avenue, it's magic. What catches fish is you the fisherman, your style, your flies and your skills. You talk to some of CFFA's best fly fishermen and I won't get into names but I will bet you they don't have any specialty rods and they catch fish, a lot of fish! Just my humble opinion for what it's worth. Now go out there with your fly rod and catch some fish! Send us pictures maybe an article or two also. Good luck, and stay safe. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Gren]

Thanks everyone for the insightful advice!

I currently own an 8' fiberglass Shakespeare rod/reel; and while it's good for practice, it doesn't have the action of a graphite rod. Additionally, the 1094 series reel has no adjustable drag

That being said, I need something a little better...

My budget doesn't facilitate the purchase of a Sage Z-Axis rod/Sage Reel, so I'm looking for something capable of a being a good all-around rig but not breaking the bank while offering a really good warranty.

I was eying the TLS Power Matrix Rod/Battenkill Large Arbor Orvis combo for $395 (9' 5 wt rod/reel) but even that might be just a touch out of my budget..

I found this very helpful:

5 wt Rod Comparison


Based on reviews, Temple Fork Outfitters appears to do pretty well, and has a lifetime no-fault warranty. $150 for a 9' 5wt Pro series rod and then $180 for a 3-5 wt large arbor Lamson Guru reel.

A pair of llbean $99 wading pants, llbean gray studded ghost wading boots for $140, a Fishpond vest for $140 and I should be good to go.


Out of curiosity, does anyone see any harm in wearing jeans/socks under waders? I keep hearing fleece is the way to go, but is it really necessary?

[JohnB]

I wear underarmor under my waders but I have worn jeans under them if it gets real cold then I go to my under armor and neoprene waders. TFO pro series is a very nice rod in fact I think any graphite rod that you try will cast easier than a glass rod. But for the money I like my TFO I also have Sage rods, Scott and St. Croix I like them all, St. Croix isn't a bad rod for the price either. If you go to J.T.'s in Union or UpCountry in New Hartford they will let you cast the TFO rods before you buy them, you need to make sure you are going to like the rod you purchase. So make sure you get to cast it before you buy it and I know J.T.'s and Grady will let you do that. In fact if you go to J.T.'s on a Friday night Stanley is usually there and he is very helpful and won't try to sell you the store he's a great guy and a great help so try to go there when he is there.

[Gren]

Thanks John - Maybe I'll swing by J.T.'s and have a look... I've never casted anything other than my fiberglass rod (technically I have, but it was nymphing) I'd venture a guess to say I wouldn't have the touch to discern great differences between two given graphite rods anyway at this point. I can cast the fiberglass rod pretty well out about 40 feet with a well-defined loop on the backcast, certainly no expert, but suitable for presenting a fly - I'm just looking to pickup something graphite that I can develop a feel for and use for a while.

I'm curious to see how different the cast will feel between my fiberglass rod and a graphite rod.

Underarmor might be a bit of a luxury for me at this point.. I might have to settle for going to Walmart and getting some cheapo fleece pajama bottoms (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Out of curiosity, aside from the obvious depth advantage - why get chest waders vs pants waders? How often do you find yourself that deep? Perhaps more necessary for float tubes?

John - do you live in EH, or just have your location set to that because the clubhouse is there? If you do indeed live in EH, are there any spots in the vicinity you like to fish?

Thanks,

-Drew

I wear underarmor under my waders but I have worn jeans under them if it gets real cold then I go to my under armor and neoprene waders. TFO pro series is a very nice rod in fact I think any graphite rod that you try will cast easier than a glass rod. But for the money I like my TFO I also have Sage rods, Scott and St. Croix I like them all, St. Croix isn't a bad rod for the price either. If you go to J.T.'s in Union or UpCountry in New Hartford they will let you cast the TFO rods before you buy them, you need to make sure you are going to like the rod you purchase. So make sure you get to cast it before you buy it and I know J.T.'s and Grady will let you do that. In fact if you go to J.T.'s on a Friday night Stanley is usually there and he is very helpful and won't try to sell you the store he's a great guy and a great help so try to go there when he is there.

[JohnB]

I do live in East Hartford, but I rarely fish in E.H. I like to float tube fish the pond P&F which is a private pond. But I will fish Bolton Lake or the Hockanum River or the Willimantic when I river fish which isn't very often. I like my tube and pontoon boat and I like stillwater fishing. But there are a lot of nice fish in the Hockanum which runs through Manchester and there are many spots that hold fish there. I rarely fish rivers up to my chest I usually won't wade any higher than my waist so waders or pants is strictly what you prefer I guess. There are a lot of novice fly fishermen that join CFFA probably more than you realize so take advantage of our classes which are very affordable and our meetings which are very informative not to mention you can meet and talk and learn from some seasoned anglers at the meetings. Everyone is wonderful and there is no shame in being new we were all new at one time or another.

[Gren]

Well, I just made my purchase - a TFO 9' 5wt and Lamson Konic 2 reel.. I came very close to getting a Grey's GRIXi reel, but it weighed 8 ounces... the Lamson has a better drag system and weighs less than half.. so for a little extra money, I figured it was a better buy; I don't get the 3 extra spools with the Lamson, but oh well. If I find myself switching between lines alot, I'll but another spool for the Konic for $62.

While I wait for that rod/reel to arrive, I'm probably going to head to Stratton Brook pond in Simsbury tomorrow for some stillwater fishing with my son.. Since it's been warm these last few days, am I going to have a hard time with pond trout coming to the surface?

[JohnB]

Trout usually don't feed on top in a pond too often, they do most of their eating in the surface film. I fish stillwaters with an intermediate line. Try fishing emergers, or nymphs anything with peacock herl in it should work. Look at the rises you will notice that they are feeding in the surface film and their backs are breaking the water not their mouth. I catch most of my fish in ponds and lakes in the surface film I use an intermediate line. They do occasionally feed on top so you may luck out. Have fun stay safe! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Gren]

I didn't make it out to Simsbury - I was a bit concerned about the impending thunderstorms (which STILL haven't materialized) - I used a white zonker streamer fly in Center Springs park, and while I had plenty of hits, no catches; I'm guessing maybe the size 8 hook was a bit big.

[JohnB]

It could be that your fly is too long, maybe you need to take a scissors and trim the tail a bit. Sometimes when I get a lot of strikes I carry a hook file in my vest and I will sharpen the hook a bit and that usually does the trick too. The other thing is if they are hitting your fly and you are not hooking them they want it because they are hitting it but they are getting rid of it before you can set the hook. Lift your rod tip the set the hook or you can pull on the line called a strip set but don't yank on the rod like the guys on the bass shows do you will rip the fly right out of their mouth. At least you had some action and that's always fun too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[Gren]

Didn't consider the fly might be too long, that's a good point.. The fish were smaller, that's why I mentioned the hook size.. and since it's a streamer, and I'm pulling it in like a lure by stripping line, I do try to set it with that.. The action on the streamer was awesome, definitely had the fish interested..

One other piece was trying to cast for distance with a hill behind me.. couldn't get the streamer out very far.. I could only false cast once or twice and send it 40 feet.. I think the weight of the streamer actually helped quite a bit.. otherwise it wouldn't have even gone that far.

One embarrassing thing to mention - I did at one point cast the top piece of my rod into the pond - lol.. didn't push the pieces together hard enough I guess (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Anyone else done that?

[JohnB]

I will never admit that I cast my rod tip into the water, notice I said I will never admit it. If the fish were interested in your fly and hitting it. then you were casting far enough you were doing everything right, casting, stripping etc. you may as I said before been yanking on the rod too hard to set the hook. The hook set is different with a fly than with live bait or lures, I usually just gently lift my rod tip and the hook sets most of the time that is. I hear from salt water people especially those that fish in Florida that you need to strp set in order to hook the fish or they get away so lifting the rod tip in those instances does not work either. Like I told you fly fishing is a constant learning experience and everytime you get out there the circumstances may be different from the day before. Be patient, take notes even mental ones and you will get the hang of it. I am still trying to get the hang of it, my problem hooking fish is with dry flies, either I set too fast or I set too slow and it's very frustrating for me but eventually I will get it, law of averages I guess.