Other fun stuff... (1 Viewer)

[gregnash]

So after chatting with my BIL over the weekend I started to do some research but couldn't find a whole lot of information. As you guys know, BeBe is going to be meant for things like dog hauling, camping, mtn biking, fishing, etc. Well, we decided that as soon as the season opens up the BIL and are going to be headed over and getting our fishing licenses, however neither of us know anyone that fishes around here nor do we even know where we should go for what?

We both would LOVE to learn to fly fish but figure we will start out with just a standard rod/reel combo and then graduate to fly fishing later on. So I am looking to you guys for some of those "out of the way" places that we can take the Land Cruiser to get to.

Figure that there are tons of lakes up in Tahoe that would be only accessible with 4WD or possibly even our mtn bikes, but just have no idea where to look online.

Where do you guys fish (you don't have to divulge your best spots unless you want to) and what do you guys go for?

 

[spressomon]

I grew up hunting and fishing but never learned fly fishing. I have a great buddy that has been generous with his lifelong knowledge and experience with all things fly fishing and can only offer: Get in to fly fishing sooner not later! Orvis here in Reno offers free clinics that show you the proper casting techniques, flies, reading water, equipment selection, etc. Did I mention they're FREE?!

A majority of our time is spent via float tube on many of Nevada's (and NorCal too) smaller reservoirs for rainbows, cut-throats and brookies; 99% catch and release. I'd like to delve in to throwing flies in a stream but just need to 'get after it' I guess. And I've also taken a smaller 2wt fly setup on our Sierra backpack trips and have had a blast in the higher altitude lakes in August.

Go get a Benchmark map book of Nevada and you'll find all kinds of water for fishing in our desert state!

Pyramid Lake, from a ladder, is just a hoot in the late winter and through the spring . Camp on the shore, cook out and play with 10lb+ cut's from the back of a 5wt makes for some great fun! Although 10+lb'rs are not the "norm" I still catch plenty of fish in the 4-8lb range that also make for huge fun on lightweight gear.

Get after it!

 

[chicago]

I fly fish. Truckee river almost exclusively.

Discoveredlc is also a fly fisherman as well IIRC!!
If it were me (and is actually how I learned)... I'd start w/ a relatively in expensive fly rod set up FIRST and now that its winter, learn the basics of casting and practice off the water.
Read some books, take a class and start collecting the rest of the crap you need for when spring comes and the levels drop.
I caught ONE fish on a fly rod and never used a spin caster again.
Fly fishing on the river is something that keeps your mind occupied and is one of the biggest things that I love about it. You're continually reading the water, looking for places where the fish are likely to stay, flipping stones in the river to look for clues of what the fish are likely eating, looking at flows and currents and how to cast you fly(es) across and around them watching your line and how the flies are drifting... Then when it all comes together and you get a fish on a fly rod, its a delicate process of playing the fish and getting it landed all the while being able to feel every movement of the fish being transferred through the fly rod.
It's not just huckin a lure in the water and dragging it across the currents.

I LOVE it!!

I haven't been on the water in over a year since I was building my rig, but will change that this year!!

Cabelas will likely be cheaper for start up gear and info and they should also be able to get you started w/ a book, or point you in a direction for a basics class. Espresso mentioned orvis... They most likely have a class as well. They would probably be the closest to you in Carson. The most in expensive flies I've found has been at sports mans warehouse. Not the best quality, but they work.
Its something that CAN be very addictive!!! Just to warn you!!

 

[gregnash]

Thanks for the info guys and I completely forgot about going to Cabela's or Scheels for that kind of stuff. I will definitely have to hit them up. My best friend growing up and his family all fly fished (his parents and sister still do) and so I did learn the basics of it at one point in time and even had a really crappy fly rod. But it has been YEARS since I have been fishing and like I said, we just started talking about wanting to do it again.

So maybe after the Christmas holiday we will head over there and check everything out. I still have my old spinning rods so we are set there. The next step will be getting ourselves out and trying the casting methods for the fly fishing. (oh and my friends dad still ties his own flies to this day. Even took a pic to show me that he has a small station setup in their RV now that him and the wife are retired...)

 

[psreno]

I fly. IMO you need 2 rods, a short and light setup with floating line for the rivers and streams of which there are many, mostly overgrown. And then a 9' medium action rig with a shooting tip, possibly a sinker, for the lakes and reservoirs. You need the distance to get to the fishing channels (or a tube!) and stiffness for casting in the wind. Going cheap is better than going without when it comes to fishing gear.
Practice casting now so you are ready for spring! Get your arm and wrist in shape

That all being said, I keep a breakdown spinning (flueger) setup with some #14's with me in the trucks and can usually dig up a worm or two as needed. Let the mosquito's be your guide....or just go up to Hobart Res.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks for the recommendations guys... Any particular brands that you find are better than others, not looking for anything expensive as this is going to be a basic starter setup and then I will step up to something better when I start getting the hang of it and find the need.

 

[chicago]

Thanks for the recommendations guys... Any particular brands that you find are better than others, not looking for anything expensive as this is going to be a basic starter setup and then I will step up to something better when I start getting the hang of it and find the need.

Cabelas should have a complete set up for not too much dough.
Their brand will likely be a blank rod from one of the major manufacturers. Reels... There's not much to em. All they do is hold line. Most of the work is done by hand on a fly rod, so there, most of it is aesthetics IMO.
I like a fast action rod as it will (as mentioned above) throw line easier.
I use a 9 ft 5 wt., two piece, but have been thinking about getting a 3 or 4 piece for the landcruiser.
I spent some cash on decent boots and waders...I like to be comfortable a sure footed.
If you go to a place like cabelas, they should be able to set you up w/ everything to get you started.
I started w/ a 60 dollar rod and reel set up and learned on it... Once I got into it, I bought a NICE sage rod and have fished that ever since (15 years or so).
I need to start up grading some of my gear, come to think of it.....
Waders have hole and the boots are just flat getting worn out. I've had the same gear that whole time!!! WOW!!!!

 

[rusty_tlc]

In terms of places you can check the NDOW web site which has a nice feature that lets you search fish-able waters by species.http://www.ndow.org/fish/where/by_water/index.shtm

A short list of cool 4WD accessible places;
Onion Creek / Knot Creek reservoir
Wall Canyon Reservoir
Illapah Reservoir (Not necessarily 4wd but pretty darned remote with a ton of great places to explore in your Cruiser when you aren't fishing.)
The Carson River via Barney Riley


And I'm not even a fisherman,

 

[rusty_tlc]

Actually there is one place I love to fish and I left it off the list. The Ruby Marshes have incredible small mouth bass action. I've never use a fly rod there but spin casting top water lures on light gear (3-4#) produces some awesome strikes.

Back when I went to UNR I liked to fish the Kokane Run on Stampead with ultra light spin gear too. It was as close as I've come in Nevada to the salmon fishing I grew up on in Oregon.

 

[gregnash]

See now I grew up in the central valley fishing mostly farm ponds for black bass and the striper in the delta. I fished up until my senior year of high school and then have had my old spinning rods up in the rafters ever since.

Looks like the BIL and I may be taking a trip up to cabelas after the holidays.
Thanks again for the info guys and keep it coming.

 

[spressomon]

This is a shot of my buddy Steve holding the Cutthroat I caught at Pyramid a few years ago on a 5wt. Biggest fish I've ever caught on a 5wt! And I've seen bigger ones caught out there. He was 20-minutes of pure fun I'll tell ya.

The season out there is just around the corner...

 

[chicago]

This is a shot of my buddy Steve holding the Cutthroat I caught at Pyramid a few years ago on a 5wt. Biggest fish I've ever caught on a 5wt! And I've seen bigger ones caught out there. He was 20-minutes of pure fun I'll tell ya.

The season out there is just around the corner...

DAMN!!!!

 

[chicago]

In terms of places you can check the NDOW web site which has a nice feature that lets you search fish-able waters by species.http://www.ndow.org/fish/where/by_water/index.shtm

A short list of cool 4WD accessible places;
Onion Creek / Knot Creek reservoir
Wall Canyon Reservoir
Illapah Reservoir (Not necessarily 4wd but pretty darned remote with a ton of great places to explore in your Cruiser when you aren't fishing.)
The Carson River via Barney Riley

And I'm not even a fisherman,

YES!!
When you can combine wheeling, camping and fishing.... That is a PERFECT combination!!
There are GOBS of places that we wheel where my fishing gear would have been GREAT!!
Deer valley creek is one place that I had actually brought my gear and ill tell you, I caught so many fish it was ridiculous. I was up there for the 45 run. Perfect opportunity.
Rusty mentioned Barney Riley.... That would be an awesome place for you to go w/ the 60 and fish the river down there.
Last time I was back there and we all camped... I DID NOT bring my fly gear, and I saw a WHOPPER rise on the far bank across from the camp spot.

 

[rusty_tlc]

YES!!
When you can combine wheeling, camping and fishing.... That is a PERFECT combination!!
There are GOBS of places that we wheel where my fishing gear would have been GREAT!!
Deer valley creek is one place that I had actually brought my gear and ill tell you, I caught so many fish it was ridiculous. I was up there for the 45 run. Perfect opportunity.
Rusty mentioned Barney Riley.... That would be an awesome place for you to go w/ the 60 and fish the river down there.
Last time I was back there and we all camped... I DID NOT bring my fly gear, and I saw a WHOPPER rise on the far bank across from the camp spot.

There is a warm spring right under the rock ledge by that pool near the old crossing place. I've seen a couple of whoppers pulled out of there over the years. Maybe the same one since it's catch and release?

 

[rusty_tlc]

This is a shot of my buddy Steve holding the Cutthroat I caught at Pyramid a few years ago on a 5wt. Biggest fish I've ever caught on a 5wt! And I've seen bigger ones caught out there. He was 20-minutes of pure fun I'll tell ya.

The season out there is just around the corner...

Big fish on light gear is what I call fun. As a kid I'd fish for salmon with trout rigging and a salmon lures. Lost a lot of lures but had a ton of fun. Lures were basically free since we salvaged them from brush piles during the summer when the water was low.

 

[chicago]

There is a warm spring right under the rock ledge by that pool near the old crossing place. I've seen a couple of whoppers pulled out of there over the years. Maybe the same one since it's catch and release?

That would make sense...
It was further down from the crossing an there was a cut away under the bank and a small tree on that bank just a bit down from our camp site there...
That sucker was huge!! Easily 20+ in fish!!
I saw him rise and he rolled.

 

[gregnash]

Ok so here is a question for you guys.. I was looking at some combos on the Cabela's website and saw that many of the 5wt combos have multiple lengths (7', 8'6", 9') so would the 8'6" be a good compromise? Thinking of using something that size that would easily fit in the truck and could stay there..

 

[chicago]

Ok so here is a question for you guys.. I was looking at some combos on the Cabela's website and saw that many of the 5wt combos have multiple lengths (7', 8'6", 9') so would the 8'6" be a good compromise? Thinking of using something that size that would easily fit in the truck and could stay there..

8'6" would be fine.
You get a bit longer cast distance w/ the 9 ft. Being new to it, that really won't matter that much and if you spend a lot of time on rivers and streams, you really won't have opportunity to use it. On the lakes is where you'll be launching the line out. This is where a stiffer/ faster action fly rod is nice. You can get the line out faster and easier.
I generally prefer a fast action rod for pretty much everything, though.
If you get a 3 or 4 piece rod, they will store in your cruiser nicely. My 9ft 2 piece is obviously not easily stowed in a 40.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks again... Yeah it seems like Cabelas has some pretty nice combos on sale right now and I figure they will be for the rest of the year. Probably head up there around Christmas with the BIL and take a look and possibly grab something. There is middle school track with a grass infield just down from my house too so looks like I will have a good place to practice some.

And thanks for the reference link Rusty, finally got a chance to dig in a little today and there is some great information there! Now just to get the equipment, grab my BIL and fishing license and head out!