ifsteve

Mike, I have a new R8 10ft 7wt sitting at home in Idaho for my trip in just over a week to Pyramid Lake. Can't wait to throw the OBS on it. I think its going to be a killer rod.

Ditto on the Angling Company. But just heads up. IF you find a guide you are not going to get a top notch guide at this point. Might get some young up and comer but that is peak poon season. Doesn't mean who you do get won't put you on fish but most decent guides are booked well in advance of poon season.

This

I don't particularly like the way shooting heads cast or fish but that is certainly doable and easier than respooling. But it still doesn't fix my issues I explained above. But if a guys typical fishing doesn't have those issues then shooting heads are certainly an option. Back when I float tubed a ton I used shooting heads as it was a bit of a pain to carry a second or third rod around. But got tired of having to switch lines on the water and finally just started carrying a second rod. Now that I have a small frameless pontoon instead of a float tube I carry 3 rigged rods. Just so much more effective.

That is certainly an option. However, it is not without its own drawbacks. 1. When I wade fish (and everybody's circumstances are different) it is common for me to switch between outfits numerous times during the day depending on the fishing situation (tides, wind, bait, fish attitude). Switching lines back and forth gets to be a pain and takes away too much fishing time IMO. And there have been lots of times when I am throwing topwater stuff at a pod of fish they aren't having it. I am able to switch rods to my intermediate line and sinking fly quickly enough to be able to get a shot off at that pod. No way I would have time to do that if I had to rerig. 2. And its never a bad idea to have a backup rod. Nothing like wading and being a mile from the car or boat and have a rod break.

And therein lies your problem. Always tough wade fishing and only having one rod. I would suggest a waterproof backpack then rig it to carry a second rod.

The later you can go the better. The Park itself should be ok runoff wise, especially some the upper stretches of the smaller waters. Ditton on Blue Ribbon Flies. Great source to check with.

Do you use flies and if so why? There are as good if not better baits to throw with conventional gear than flies if what you want most is results. If you can't get a shooting head to pass through your guides then perhaps a lesson in proper rigging is in order? If you can't deliver the fly 40ft within 3 casts using a fly rod then perhaps a lesson is in order?

Somebody's gotta say it. That isn't fly fishing its conventional fishing using a fly. Fine if that is what you want to do but beware where you are fishing. Many states that have "fly fishing" only sections specifically define that fly fishing means fly rod and fly line is the motive force to cast the fly. Now that said, those are some good looking bugs!

I tell friends that want to come down here to fish that 3-4 days is the minimum. Its so weather dependent. If you were here this week, for example, you could be here for a week and not fish a single day. If you hit the weather great then I agree 3-4 days is perfect. But from November through March you can figure on getting cancelled 50% of the time, on average.

Sent you a message.

Somebody has to have the flip side view so I take a shot....lol. Certainly improved distance is never a bad thing. If you can cast 80ft then you can certainly just cast 60ft if that's all you need. But so much depends on the actual fishing you are doing. In many saltwater applications distance is much less important than accuracy and really the ability to quickly deliver a fly to where it needs to be. Great if you can get that tarpon line out there to 80 ft super but I have had way more opportunities at much less distance and what was critical was being able (I am not....lol) to get that fly 50ft to a dinner plate with no more than 2 false casts. Now take my beloved redfish. Most of the areas I fish the water clarity is less than good. Most shots are going to be under 40ft and many literally right off the bow of the boat. Its hardly a "cast" as much as a flip of the rod tip. So while I agree that distance is important, I would encourage guys to get better at being quick and accurate first.

Just don't ever bring a ladyfish over the boat to unhook it.....they bleed like a stuck pig

Quality took a pretty good drop at Cabelas IMO. Can't speak to Bass Pro because I don't frequent there.

Sounds so nice, just like a marketing executive line. Time will tell but real world experiences with this kind of thing rarely work out well for the consumer. Look no further than the combining of Bass Pro and Cabelas. Exact same story line was made.

So tell me JR Do you have experience in the environmental arena? How much have you interacted with the EPA and USFWS? In my experience my interactions have shown a fundamental difference between an environmentalist and a conservationist. Both of them are interested in protecting natural resources. The former to totality. The later to one of intelligent useage. As an example, an environmentalist pushes for the closure of sensitive areas of the FL keys. A conservationist pushes to have special restrictions such as no motor zones. Of course any time you use labels there are always those that fall outside the label. But in my years working in environmental the two terms, out in the real world, are not the same regardless of what the dictionary says.

Environmentalists are not conservationists

Patagonia Stormfront waterproof backpack.

Wokagonia.....

True. However, if you build a product that lasts forever then your brand loyalty only goes so far. You aren't getting money from somebody that doesn't need (or want) anything.....lol

Lets break this down simply. 1. Regardless of the profit margin Simms has now the new ownership is going to want to increase that. How many times have you seen a company get bought out and the new management says "well its running great so we are just going to let it do its thing'? 2. So what are the ways you can increase profits? a. Increase market share. This is very very hard to do for a company like Simms. They are already at the top of their market. b. Decrease production costs. This is typically what happens. Like it or not this means more overseas production and a resultant lowering of quality. But customers may not see an actual drop in quality for awhile. c. If a company doesn't want to go b then the other choice is to raise costs. This one tends to get shot down by the customers as its too easily seen upfront. d. Expand the product lines to other stuff beyond fly fishing. This CAN help the company expand and grow profits without changing quality. But seems like most often this causes a company to lose its core focus on what made them good in the first place. So its pretty hard to imagine this will end up being good for us fly fishers in the long run.

Well great now I guess Simms products will go down the tubes. Don't know squat about Vista but most all of these fishing line company takeovers the last handful of years have led to a poorer product in the field. Maybe these guys will keep the product line and service as good as it has been under Simms.

Winner winner chicken dinner

What you are seeing is that common sense people have had effing enough of this nonsense and won't just sit by and take it anymore. We will stand up for what is right. No effing man can and never will be able to get pregnant and to even talk about this like its somehow real is a total joke.

I don't care if a person wants to live their life as a gender opposite of their biological birth. Knock yourself out as long as it doesn't impact me and the rest of society. Born a male but want to be a female. Fine. But you don't get to participate in female sports. You don't get to use the girls bathroom and showers. The fact that we have even a small segment of society that thinks this crap is ok just shows how far we have fallen.