Finally bit the fishing bullet

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gregnash

gregnash

Anal Retentive Analyst
10 Year
Joined
Nov 3, 2011
Threads
176
Messages
12,365
Location
Carson City, NV
So I finally broke down and picked up a rod and reel combo that KWalkerM had recommended. I got a 5wt 9' Redington Crosswater setup for $100 from Sierra Trading Post.

So the next thing is to start learning to cast and then find somewhere to go and fish. I stopped by Orvis and picked up a few nymphs and dry flies that the guy recommended for the general Tahoe area.

Think as a first place to "try" is on the truckee on hwy 89 between Truckee and Tahoe City.
 
gregnash said:
So I finally broke down and picked up a rod and reel combo that KWalkerM had recommended. I got a 5wt 9' Redington Crosswater setup for $100 from Sierra Trading Post.

So the next thing is to start learning to cast and then find somewhere to go and fish. I stopped by Orvis and picked up a few nymphs and dry flies that the guy recommended for the general Tahoe area.

Think as a first place to "try" is on the truckee on hwy 89 between Truckee and Tahoe City.
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I recommend joining a local fly club... as many have mentoring programs... at least the High Sierra Fly Casters does... we meet in Garderville Ranchos... and have fish outs all over the Eastern Sierras. Our next fish out is on the Truckee near Truckee, CA. I did a trial run yesterday... caught a couple of wild rainbows on EC caddis flies (#14 brown). There's clubs in Reno, Carson City, ...
 
Thanks Kurt! Where do I find info in the clubs? Kyle (KWalkerM) is a guide and he has been giving me some good info. I am going to schedule something with him soon.
 
Well finally picked up a cheap(er) hard case with reel pouch this weekend while at Scheels on the recommendation of a neighbor who used to be an avid flyfisher. Trying to get my schedule together for the next couple weekends so that I can hit something like Hobart, Marlette, Truckee (outside of Reno) and then hook up with Kyle (KWalkerM) for a guided trip up in the mountains.

Also got signed up for a 101 class at Orvis on Aug 25th (if anyone else is interested), so that I can get some more technique down and slowly buy more "stuff". However, as my wife feared, I am going into this pretty much like I do everything. I have been researching the crap out of all my components and planning my next step, looking for stellar deals and whatnot. But in my own defense, I have been trying to get her to do the things I like; tennis, soccer, golf, mtn biking, etc. with me for some time now and she really only has picked up golf (which she played before anyways). So when I mentioned to her if she would like to give flyfishing a try she said "Well I am a water junkie so with this being around/in water I will probably like this better than the other stuff we have tried. :bounce:

So hopefully it will be off to the races soon for fishing.
Speaking of doing other stuff, Keith and Dan (RustyShackleFord) we need to get together to do some mtn biking (and anyone else that does in the group). I did Mt Rose Meadows to Marlette and then down to Tunnel Creek this weekend and what a blast of a ride!!! If any of you guys are interested my FIL and BIL want to do that exact ride (shuttle style of course) and any of you that are interested let me know and I will keep you informed.
 
hi!

lol I am not yet licensed and bonded as a guide but I will be for the spring season of 2014 :)
funny enough I just picked up a spare reel so I gotta try it out on some lakes as its got my siking line setup. so we gotta set something up Greg
 
LOL. I know dude. With all that has been going on with my family I am booked just about every weekend. I have been itching to give it a try and finally picked up my NV license with trout stamp. Only weekends I "think" I have open are next weekend and the weekend of the 24th. Otherwise we are gone every weekend into Sept.
I am in sac right now and hoping that I have enough time to hit the local pond in the morning tomorrow.
 
Well I hit Hobart Reservoir this morning about 7am and what an experience.
First the road up there is pretty narrow but I have ridden a good portion of it on my mtn bike so it wasnt to bad. Got a couple of NV pinstripes out of it but nothing bad.
Got up to the lake a little after 7:30 and wow what a pretty lake, had never been up there but definitely something I am going to want to see when the colors are changing.
There were fish rising everywhere and so I set out to try my hand at fly fishing and fishing in general seeing as I haven't been since high school.

Since I am new to the whole fly fishing thing I missed 3 or 4 strikes just being to slow on the trigger, however I did get two. The first was a nice little 7"ish rainbow trout that pick up my dry fly right after it hit the water. Unfortunately, he wiggled out of my hand before I could get the phone out to take a pic. The second was probably a good 20 minutes later after I missed a couple of strikes. This one was different, fought a little differently and I actually got to watch him rise and swallow the fly (not good in the end). This guy is pictured below, a nice little 7.5" Brook trout. However, while I had intended on only taking pictures home he did not revive because the fly was lodged in his gills. After spending 5 minutes trying to revive him it was pretty apparent he wasn't going anywhere.

All in all it was a fun trek up to the lake, beautiful venue and lots of fun fishing. I am hooked on this fly thing!

Fishing Hobart lake 8/5/13 by renofizz, on Flickr


Fishing Hobart lake 8/5/13 by renofizz, on Flickr

And since I have Wednesday off this week for a family reunion thing at Sand Harbor I am pretty sure I am going to hit Hobart, then do some mtb riding at Emigrant in the morning and meet up with everyone in the afternoon.
 
Yeah, that's a nice lake... been meaning on getting up there sometime soon myself. Pretty brookie!

With the water temps high, the oxygen levels drop. In these conditions, I try to bring the fish in quickly and release without taking it out of the water. If slack doesn't do it, I usually just grab the bend of the hook (or any other part of the hook) with my hemostats and lift. With barbless hooks, fish should come off without even having to shake the hook.
 
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Yeah I tried to keep in the water and for the pics I pulled him out quick because the water was surprisingly warm. Hook was deep inside his mouth to the point where if I hadn't gotten it out pretty quickly I was just going to nip it and leave him to coughing it up. Since I am just starting out I need to get a pair of hemostats (on my list of things to grab next time I am at CAL Ranch) as I probably could have gotten it out while he was still in the water.

If you ever feel like going up hit me up and I am happy to join. My casting and what not is much like I played tennis, ugly but effective. :flipoff2:
 
gregnash said:
If you ever feel like going up hit me up and I am happy to join. My casting and what not is much like I played tennis, ugly but effective. :flipoff2:
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I wouldn't mind going up just before the close (30 September)...

With casting, focus on accuracy over distance. Distance will come with time. Practice on grass, place targets about (anything will do), tie a bit of yarn to the end of your leader, walk about and try to hit the targets with minimal false casting. Also, watching instructional vids can help understand the mechanics... sorry, no online recommendations (anyone?).
 
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Thanks Kurt I have been watching everything I can find on Youtube and the Orvis videos. Even signed up for their 101 class on the 25th so that will help. I have been practicing out at the middle school track field while my wife runs so if you have driven by that way and seen someone out there that was me. It is weird I feel like I can cast 40-50' pretty accurately on the grass but get me on water and I am lucky to make an accurate 30' fast. Will definitely try the targets exercise.
 
make sure your hands are wet when picking up the fish otherwise it takes protective slime off of them and can kill em later.

I might be able to do something this weekend since I have weekends off now, i cant do the weekend of the 24-25 since ill be in the bay area for some family stuff. shoot me a text or FB me.
 
gregnash said:
Thanks Kurt I have been watching everything I can find on Youtube and the Orvis videos. Even signed up for their 101 class on the 25th so that will help. I have been practicing out at the middle school track field while my wife runs so if you have driven by that way and seen someone out there that was me. It is weird I feel like I can cast 40-50' pretty accurately on the grass but get me on water and I am lucky to make an accurate 30' fast. Will definitely try the targets exercise.
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don't worry about casting a long way as most fish are caught within 10-20 feet especially for creek fishing. i do the target excercises occasionally too when im bored but i also fly fish on my colleges football field to teach others. you have to practice off the water, that is how you get better and don't pick up bad habits while on the water
 
Thanks for the help Kyle!

So I went out this morning since I was off on furlough. Hit the trail about 6:15 and was on the water by about 7. Trail up there is cool and now pretty easy to navigate. It was pretty windy so I hit the opposite side from Monday as that was the only place I could cast without the wind killing the cast and the only place fish were rising.

I actually pulled a few out of the water but wasn't able to get them to myself before they popped off the hook. I finally found a weeded area that I decided to try just flick casting out a few feet from the edge of the weeds. Missed two there and then for this 11" guy!!

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to cast into the wind you need tight loops and a fast line without whipping your tippet to the point where it snaps. a heavy weight rod is alos nice for that. awesome fish and BeBe is looking good! ill try and make it out to your neck of the woods one of these days
 
gregnash said:
Well finally picked up a cheap(er) hard case with reel pouch this weekend while at Scheels on the recommendation of a neighbor who used to be an avid flyfisher. Trying to get my schedule together for the next couple weekends so that I can hit something like Hobart, Marlette, Truckee (outside of Reno) and then hook up with Kyle (KWalkerM) for a guided trip up in the mountains.

Also got signed up for a 101 class at Orvis on Aug 25th (if anyone else is interested), so that I can get some more technique down and slowly buy more "stuff". However, as my wife feared, I am going into this pretty much like I do everything. I have been researching the crap out of all my components and planning my next step, looking for stellar deals and whatnot. But in my own defense, I have been trying to get her to do the things I like; tennis, soccer, golf, mtn biking, etc. with me for some time now and she really only has picked up golf (which she played before anyways). So when I mentioned to her if she would like to give flyfishing a try she said "Well I am a water junkie so with this being around/in water I will probably like this better than the other stuff we have tried. :bounce:

So hopefully it will be off to the races soon for fishing.
Speaking of doing other stuff, Keith and Dan (RustyShackleFord) we need to get together to do some mtn biking (and anyone else that does in the group). I did Mt Rose Meadows to Marlette and then down to Tunnel Creek this weekend and what a blast of a ride!!! If any of you guys are interested my FIL and BIL want to do that exact ride (shuttle style of course) and any of you that are interested let me know and I will keep you informed.
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I'm down for that kind of ride.
I've been riding whites and Thomas creek 1-2 x per week. Eff'd up my shoulder in a bad turn that I've been re habbing for the last few weeks.
Tied up the next couple weekends, but would love to ride somewhere new.
Keep in mind... I'm 230 lbs and thus. Not the best climber!!

Keith
 
No worries Keith I am no rocket by any means and just love getting out on the trail. If you are interested one weekend, Emigrant Trail out in Truckee is a great trail with not a whole lot of climbing. It is an out and back though.
 
gregnash said:
No worries Keith I am no rocket by any means and just love getting out on the trail. If you are interested one weekend, Emigrant Trail out in Truckee is a great trail with not a whole lot of climbing. It is an out and back though.
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ill follow you guys in my truck blasting "eye of the tiger" :lol:

I also have no issues doing a group fly fishing trip for the club so you all can pick a state and we can set something up to fish. I know nothing about NV regs though or prices
 
LOL I am not a fast climber by any means. Just try to diesel my way slowly up the hill.

That would be cool to get a few of the group together and hit a bit larger stream. Something semi secluded would be nice so that if there are a handful of us we can easily spread out.

Any takers in Sept?

I am headed back up to Hobart tomorrow morning. Going to try and be up there by 6am.
 
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