Welcome Goodentight to the Fly! Help

[goodentight]

After 2 serious years on the pin, with even more species than I could feasibly imagine.. It is time to explore this mysterious mythical elite fly world!

This is my story.

My brother is a pilot at an extremely remote tiny airport up on the boarder of NWT and Sask. One if their main functions is to access clients to Scotts Fishing Lodge (Which is really highclass, something like 10k for a week..)

To maintain top notch standards, they upgrade their gear annually. Given the quick turn around time and small populations, my brother was able to get his paws on some gear for me, and just brought it home.

He flew me back a St. Croix Imperial 1909.2 9ft 9wt. I looked it up, its a $220 rod. This thing is brand new was never used. I don't really know squat about fly gear but this sounds like it will hold up for the steel and nooks (which is primarily what I want it for, I haven't developed a raging rush for the whole 3 wt. 1lb speck fishing yet.. mind you I am sure that will come!).

Problem is, the top of the rod has been broken off. It looks like only a couple inches (including the last eye obviously) and the piece is probably up in Sask somewhere in a dumpster. I emailed St. Croix, just now, my problem to see what they say.

I was wondering first off, what advice you guys have on fixing this tip issue. Second off, any links for intro to fly. Like I said, I know the water and how the fish work, I have had an extremely successful year for steel and salmon. I just need to grasp the casting concept and then dive DEEP into the world of flies.

Thanks guys!

 

[iJay]

Amazing to read this, I like yourself was gifted a rod. My dad has some japanese customers who gave him a fly rod. I have approached another "senior fly member" in regards to learning the techniques, tips and tricks. We are a couple weeks away from our first outting. If you are interested in going out there send me a PM I am sure we can set something up.

 

[remyboy1]

YES BOYS...tight that rod has lifetime warranty..hitting lake tomorrow for some pike and basssss....text me.

 

[remyboy1]

welcome to the fly---the circle is complete HAHA

 

[Cody309]

Hey GNT,

First of all, my best suggestion for the tip would be to see if they can ship you a new tip section (assuming its a 4 pc.?). I just had the same thing happen to my pike rod - was casting a fly with dumbbell eyes, it hit the tip of my rod on the forward cast, and snapped it off. I was pretty bummed out, but I was able to have the company ship me a new tip section (although I wouldn't expect any deals - I have a 4pc. rod and essentially had to pay 1/4 of the original rod price). Either way, rod is as good as new, and I will most likely refrain from using flies with dumbbell eyes from now on

A great podcast for learning various tips and tricks for fly fishing is the Orvis podcast put together by Tom Rosenbauer (free on iTunes). Other than that, I watched a lot of YouTube vids on fly casting to get an idea - there are some pretty awesome ones! Another great idea is to drop by SAIL. I stopped in there in June to browse some of their flies (at the Etobicoke location), and the staff were very friendly! The one individual gave me an entirely free casting lesson, and taught me how to double-haul

There are a few key tips that I try to remember that help me with casting:

1. Think of your profile as a clock, head pointing to 12, feet to 6. When casting, I always try to keep to 10, and 2 on my forward and back casts.
2. When doing the above, try not to move between 10 and 2 at a constant speed - instead, ACCELERATE to 10 and stop, then ACCELERATE to 2 and stop, etc.
3. Loading the rod properly is also key - more often than not, you'll be able to feel when the rod is properly loaded on your back cast. Remember, we're casting the line, not the lure, so momentum is your best friend

Hope that helps to get you started!

Cheers,

Cody

 

[Madriverfisher]

Gt welcome to the club hope st croix gets back to you with some good news at least no matter what you will get a new tip as for fishing it's not to hard to get the basics ad I'm always up for helping or talk to Remy and a 9wt is plenty of rod for steel and salmon you set I use a 6 to 8 wts for steel

 

[coldfeet]

Another obsession to deal with now...Welcome. Flies work, was experimenting last weekend on the Magnetewan
using a spinning rod (broke my cheap fly rod) and an indicator, had smallmouth and rock bass hitting salmon flies and streamers, quite funny really. You can practice casting on land, like anything new it takes some time to get used to, but by no means difficult to learn. Last fall I would take the pin and fly rod and switch back and forth. I would be inclined to get a lesson or two, might do that myself because I'm sure I've got some bad habits from teaching myself. I cracked a line like a whip and the fly come right off when I was starting to learn :razz:

 

[Jacklake]

Hi Goodentight -
I have had up to 5 StCroix rods and now have 3. They are great for customer service and if you communicate well with them you will get a new tip - although it will cost a few $ it will be worth it, and nowhere near the cost of a new rod - actually about the same as a decent repair.
Your rod is good for salmon and steelhead - and pike, but is a little heavy for everything else. Eventually you will want a 7wt and a 5wt.

Fly casting is not hard, but is not like any muscle memory you have developed in the past - because I expect ALL the motions you have used in the past include a lot of wrist flex - and perhaps forward arm extension - and neither of these help the fly cast. Keep a fairly stiff rest - as above, keep the angle of the rod between 10 and 2. Bring your hand close to your jaw/ear on the backcast, wait, make a smooth forward cast with your hand extending forward only somewhat (your elbow does not need to move more than 4" forward) and stop your hand firmly at about shoulder height.
You can practice on the lawn with some yarn at the end of your leader instead of a fly.

 

[remyboy1]

tight text...weekend field trip

 

[RobH]

Hire an instructor. There is no quicker or better way to flatten the learning curve than with a professional that teaches on a regular basis. Watching video is pretty much a waste of time as the instructor on that video, no matter how qualified, cannot see what you are doing and show you how to correct it.

 

[goodentight]

I called st croix.... new top half of rod coming for 30$ no questions asked

 

[coldfeet]

Have a St Croix spinning rod, impressed with the quality. Read up on setting up i.e. leaders, tippet sizes, knots, and just get out there and do it. You don't have to be an expert to enjoy it and you'll learn as you go. Practice with yarn if you want or just jump in and start chucking. 9 wt is heavy eventually if you like it you'll want to lighten up if you want to throw lighter flies for smaller fish