Don't Hate Me, Fly Fishermen

[Paladin]

This past weekend I attended a fly fishing show outside of Denver, signed up for a drawing, and ended up winning a Sage ZXL rod---8'6", 4-weight, a dead-solid perfect Western trout stick. I'm still in shock about winning such a primo piece of equipment; I've had it out in the back yard a couple of times so far, and it is beyond sweet--- practically casts itself. Google the Sage site if you like and check out how much one of these rods costs---a lot more than I'd probably ever fork over, myself.

Needless to say, I'm ready to hit the water with it, ASAP. Now...if it'll finally stop snowing every few days around here, I'll head to the South Platte and see what the rainbows think of my new acquisition.....

[bmbmd]

1. Nice stick. Congratulations.

I've got a Sage five-weight that I use for smallmouths. Makes me look good.

[Paladin]

2. Trust Me.....

....this rod has capabilities far in excess of my intermediate-level grasp. But it's going to be fun learning....

[bmbmd]

4. I believe the old saying is

"it's not the size of the wand-it's the magic of the one who waves it".....

[Redneck Socialist]

3. Sweet!

That's a hell of a score. I have a Sage, different model, 5 weight. They make a very nice rod.

[Paladin]

5. bmbmd, Redneck Socialist, Let Me Ask You

Where do you live, and what do you fish for?

As I said, I'm in Colorado now (after a lifetime in Texas), and I have good intentions of doing some serious trout fishing for however long I'm up here. The S. Platte River is only about an hour from where I live; it's a world-class trout stream, but it's really tough, technical fishing. The river is so close-in to the Denver area that it's very heavily fished, and the trout have had every fly known to man thrown at them, so they're very smart. You have to resort to things like 15'long 6X leaders and damn-near microscopic #22 flies to do any good. Quite a challenge for an amateur such as myself.

Things are kind of on hold for the present, though---there's a huge amount of run-off from all the mountain snows, and the rivers are running very high, very fast, and very dirty right now. Great for the white-water rafters, awful for fly fishing. Some people are saying that things may not get back to normal until sometime in July. Which is OK---I can use the interim period to practice my casting, get better at knot-tying, all sorts of things.

Thanks for the good wishes on the new rod. I still can't believe I won it....

[Redneck Socialist]

6. NH, primarily bass

I use to fly fish for trout quite a bit, now, not so much. The trout fishing just isn't that good in my neck of the woods. My sister lived in Montana for a time and later one of my friends went to school there so I was fortunate enough to be able to get out there from time to time and experience some western trout fishing.

[Paladin]

8. Nothing Wrong With Taking Bass On The Fly

Back when I was in Texas, I bought my first fly fishing rig, an 8-weight. I got it with the intention of using it down on the coast for redfish and speckled trout; never utilized it as much as I should have for those salt water species. Did have some fun with it on the bass in small lakes in my neighborhood, though....

[bmbmd]

7. I live in Denison, Tx

I have had the privilege of fishing in lots of interesting locations=Florida, Bahamas, Montana, New Mexico, Colorado. Canada. Mostly, now I fish the Red River for stripers, Little Mo in Oklahoma for trout, tarpon and reds once a year in the Banana River/Mosquito Lagoon. My favorite pastime, though-bluegills from a tube.

[Paladin]

9. I Think A Tube May Be In My Future

Fly fishing with tubes is awfully popular up here---many nice lakes where such equipment makes a lot of sense....