Fly Blog

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Inc Custom Fly Rods - 12/21/2009  There is nothing quite like coating guide threads with color preserver to create an exciting finished product.  Color preserver really brings out the color of the thread and creates an elegant finish to a rod.  However, applied incorrectly and you will be ripping it out and starting over.

So, here is a small tip to get things right.  The first coat of color preserver is the critical one.  You will want to apply the color preserver very liberally ON THE FIRST COAT.  Here is why.  The first coat soaks into the thread and creates a seal.  Once the seal is there the second of third coats do not soak in except to fix small places missed on the first coat.  If you do not put enough sealer on the first coat to COMPLETELY soak the threads thoroughly, the additional coats will not make up for it.

When the Flex Coat is applied it will run in under the foot of the guide and below the thread.  If the thread isn’t sealed all the way through the Flex Coat will penetrate into the thread.  The thread will darken and you will have splotchy thread wrap.

by Mark Waldin, Flycatcher Inc. (custom fly rods) - With President Obama set to announce plans for a push in military build up in Afghanistan, it seemed it might be interesting to research trout fishing opportunities in the country.  Nothing could be more stress relieving than a fly on the water.  Of course Afghanistan has never been known for being a fly fisherman’s mecca (at least as far as I know) but nothing ventured nothing gained.  It turns out that there is excellent trout fishing in the Khinjan River and in the upper reaches of the Andarab River which passes by the city of Khinjan in the Andarab Valley of Khinjan district.   This section of Afghanistan is in the northern section of the country’s highly mountainous region.   Trout, both brown trout and rainbow trout, are found.  A subspecies of brown trout (Salmo trutta oxenesus) swims in streams north of the Hindu Kush. This is called locally mahi-e-khaldar, which means spotted fish.   Some rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, have been introduced by the Bulgarians into the Salang river.

Unfortunately the area is being targeted by the Taliban (Iraq Today) so unless you are military you are not likely to be participating any time soon. 

Best seasons trout are June and late-September - early-October.

November 11, 2009, by Mark Waldin

As I have done with rods in the past, I am collecting forum comments on this rod into a single place to make it easier for you to see what people are saying.  We are now carrying this blank and rod on Flycatcher custom fly rods.  Here is what people are saying:

 ”990-4 - My first impression was, ” Hey this rod is really stiff!”, but subsequent wiggling and casting altered that impression. The rod seemed to be very stiff in the region between the top of the cork and the middle of the rod, without being noticeably stiff in the top 1/3 to 1/2 of the rod. I know that may not make a whole lot of sense, but that was my gut “feeling” when I first picked it up. After I picked the rod up, I stripped off about 30-35 feet of line, flipped the line out in front of me, made a quick backcast, and let the cast go. The line shot forward like it came out of a cannon. It layed out in a straight line, tugged at the reel when it reached the end, and dropped to the asphalt. The end of the line (not including the leader and yarn) was only 70-80 feet away so it was not a huge cast (I was only trying to lay the line out to set up for the next cast), but with the wind in my face it impressed me nonetheless.

At first, I concentrated on casting with about 35 feet of line outside the tip and shooting the WF line without a double haul. The next few casts were equally impressive. I slowly lengthened the amount of line that I had out and added a double haul to see how the rod would respond. I was able to pick up about 55 feet of line and shoot it without too much effort. I was able to put the fly out at about 90-95 feet. Longer casts and casts started with more line outside the tip were more trouble. Some were okay, some piled up, and some had tailing loops. To tell the truth, I am not quite sure whether it was the wind, my poor technique, or the rod. If I had to guess, it was probably a combination of the first two; probably more of the second one than the first one. These distances are close to the max distance that I can consistently reach with my 10 w Xi2 on the water. (Of course these distances are estimates. I guesstimated the distances by measuring the casts against the number of “panels” on the adjacent sidewalk. Each “panel” was about 7 to 8 feet long- I measured this distance by laying my 6 foot frame down on one. The end of the sidewalk was 13 panels away - between 91 and 103 feet.)

My impressions are that this rod is a true cannon. It responded best to a quick but smooth stroke that wasn’t too forceful. Too much force or too much arc didn’t really add anything to the cast. Dropping the rod too far back made it hard efficiently load it.  With moderate effort it delivered good line speed and straight line tracking required to punch a fly into the wind with no wobble or bounce back. It picked up the line efficiently. It had good feel for a big stick, but not touchy feely amounts of it. After casting dozens of casts with it, my initial feeling of stiffness in this rod seemed to stem from something besides pure stiffness. It seemed as though the lower half of the rod was not really much stiffer than its predecessor, but rather transmitted more of the “feeling” down the rod along with the flex. Some rods transmit the force by not flexing, but all you get is the dead club-like feeling. It is hard to put into words, but this rod seemed flex a bit in the lower half of the rod, while still transmitting many of the details of the force through to the handle. I think it would serve well as a surf rod. If the impressions hold in real life I think it would cast all but the largest flies very well, and I would even use this rod in many of the conditions where I currently use my 10 wt.

1090-4

It provided strikingly similar performance to the 9 weight. Moderate effort and quick steady application of power (with 30-40 feet of line outside the tip) generated very high line speeds and laser-like casts. Additional line was easily picked up and carried in the air, until my bad technique kicked in. I simply have no business trying to carry 70 feet of line in the air. Between the tailing loops, the wide loops, the (mistimed) dumped casts, and backcasts that overlapped with casters behind (and 90 degrees) to me, I was glad that I was only casting yarn. I was able get casts out to past the 100 foot mark, which I normally only reach with shooting heads (even at the casting ponds). Who knows how much of this distance will translate to on-the-water situations.

As I said, this rod was strikingly similar in feel to the 9 wt, but with more power and slightly more weight. For those that prefer a lighter weight rod, it won’t change your mind For those that prefer a 10 weight. This will cover all the same bases as previous 10 wts, but with a little less fatigue than most. It is a true saltwater rod, not just an inshore rod. It will be just as at home in an offshore situation as on the beach.

890-4
Given the similarities of the 9 and 10 wts, I expected this rod to exhibit the same characteristics. I was quite surprised when I first made a cast. Though it looked identical, the performance was quite different. Whereas the 9 and 10 wt rods had some flex deep into the rod, the majority of the flex was in the top third of the rod, whereas the 8wt had noticeably more flex deep into the rod. I would like to say that it fled well past the halfway point and possibly two-thirds of the way down the rod, I think that this was more of a reaction to the big difference between it and the other rods than reality. The difference was substantial, though; almost like they took the 9 wt and peeled of a couple wraps of graphite off the bottom and on off the top. It was different enough that I had to lengthen my casting arc and slow down the cast a little. It did seem to lack that feeling of stiffness in the middle that others had, which gave an overall impression of more “feel”. (If you are not sure what that means, I am not exactly sure either. Maybe it means hat I have lived in Kah-li-for-ni-yah for too long)

My first two casts with it produced tailing loops (I swear it was the rod and not me). After that I managed open loops that dumped at 60-70 feet. Finally after a dozen casts, I started to get dialed in. The casting style that worked best was still a smooth steady application of power, but over a little longer time and a little longer arc. It seems that the recovery speed of this rod is a little slower than the other models. At the end, I was able to reach out the 90 foot mark regularly. I have cast the 890-4 Xi2, but that was several years ago, when I bought my 10 wt, so it is hard to compare the two. I currently own an RPLXi 8 wt and an XP 8 wt. This rod has an action that seems to be a blend of those two rods. It had a flex similar to my RPLXi (maybe a little less) with more feel like the XP. Throw in better fish fighting capabilities and there you have it.

1290-4
I never have cast a 12 wt, but thought that it would be fun to see how it went. they had two rigged up - one with a foregrip and one with a standard grip. I chose the latter for no apparent reason at all.

This rod was very similar to the 9 and 10 wt rods. It is noticeably heavier, thicker and stiffer than those two, as was the fly line, so I expected much different. Again, my first cast was simply a quick one-handed cast with no haul just to get the line out in front of me and prepare to start casting. The line seemed to leap forward. For some unknown reason, I thought that a 12 wt rod would require a bit more effort, but using about the same amount of effort that I used on my first casts with the 9 and 10 wt rods yielded a laser sharp 70 foot cast.

It responded to the same relatively short arc, smooth techniques that the other two responded two. It was noticeably heavier, though not oppressively so. I am not saying that it is a rod that I would want blind cast all day long, but the relative length of time that I could cast it versus the time for 10 wt would likely be closer to 1:1 than 2:1. It had a little less feel than the 10 wt, but since I have never cast a 12 weight rod before I was not sure whether this was a function of the heavier rod wt, the particular rod line, or the fact that I was not loading it efficiently. If I were a betting man, the latter reason would be closest to even odds.

This rod was also a cannon. I was able to reach out to distances around 110 feet, which is in the neighborhood of my longest cast ever in a pond or on the water. Next time I will bring a tape measure!

Overall Impression
My overall impression of these rods is quite favorable. They have many of the same qualities that led me to buy a 10 wt Xi2. They are relatively light for a heavy-duty fish fighter. They have a good amount of feel without sacrificing line speed or (perceived) durability. Most importantly, they seem to generate tremendous line speed with a minimum of force, which makes it easier to cast them for long periods of time. The line speed seems to be a little more than that generated by the Xi2, but since I fish mine with a lot of heavy sinking lines and these all had rated floaters, it may have little or nothing to do with rod designs.

The 9wt, 10wt, and 12wt all had similar feel and performance, while the 8 wt seemed to be aimed at slightly different target. I would be curious to see if the 7wts and 6wts feel like the 8 wt. My guess is that 8wt was designed with a more all-around usage in mind. While 9-12 wts will be primarily used in the open ocean, be it on the beach, inshore, or blue water, an 8 wt will likely be used on the flats, in the back bays and sloughs, and on tidal rivers and sounds as well as on those other conditions. A slightly softer rod and slightly slower action (though far from slow) might have been deemed more appropriate. I like a little faster, lighter rod for the flats (hence my 8wt XP), but for an all around saltwater/brackish rod it would be a good choice.

I would not ditch my Xi2 for an Xi3, but if I were in the market for a good saltwater rod, these would definitely be near the top of the list.”   — stripersonline.com

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“Here’s what we thought of it.

• The Xi3 is noticeably faster than the Xi2. Jerry Siem at Sage says that the midsection of the rod in particular was sped up a bit. It feels faster overall, with a more consistent bend throughout the rod than the Xi2.
• The new Fuji stripping guides are giant! We’re told that they’re lighter and more durable.
• The reel seat is great - the lock rings have a very deep pattern that makes it easy to crank ‘em down.
• We buy the claim that these rods are more accurate. Cutting-edge rod building technology is a bit beyond us, but we can tell you that the fly tends to land where you want it to land.
• It hucks! Maybe it’s just the faster action, but your line sails, and the difference is more noticeable when you’re dealing with some wind.”  –blog.deneki.com

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“Finally got to cast a few of the different  the new Sage X I 3 when the Sage Rep stopped by the shop Monday.  Thanks Ben, now I’ll have to get all new Saltwater Rods before my next trip South.  Besides the price $695+ the rod is definitely an improvement over the X i 2 rods.  I’d have to say the rod seems to be lighter and more powerful.  It wasn’t a windy day outside the shop but picking up a whole line and shooting it the whole length took less effort than my other rods.  I really like the blue finish, guides and rod case.  All in all, if the rod going to help me cast a crab 10 more feet to catch that permit, it going to be worth the investment.”  — nomadanglers.com

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“One word - CANNONS.

Got the 7-10wts in and they’re absolute rocket launchers.  I’m a big Xi2 fan (own 2 9’s and a 10) and am having a hard time trying to convince myself that I don’t need the new rods.

Butt section is a little stiffer, tip section is a little softer, making it more castable all around, but still able to pick up 50-60ft of line, redirect, and put it right back down.  Lots of power deep down in the butt section of the rod.  Nice hot Pacific Blue colors too…”  –flyfisherman.com

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“The butt section felt stiffer, while enlarging the “timing sweet spot” and becoming more “castable at shorter distances. I was able to quickly pickup lots of line (50ft-60ft depending on the line wt) and quickly get a cast off. My favorite was the 9wt. It was the perfect blend of power, accuracy, and feel. It had enough power that I would use it in place of my 10 wt Xi2 for many applications.

The 8wt felt substantially different than the 9wt and up rods. It seemed to bend deeper and have a softer butt section. It didn’t feel bad, just different. If looking for a rod in the 8wt-9 wt range, I would cast both before deciding.

 All of these rods were setup with full floating lines, which I don’t use much on my Xi2, but I still felt that I could cast the lines a long ways, as long as my shooting head distances in most instances.  It was quite windy that day, and I chose a location where I could cast directly into the wind to get a feel for the worst case scenario, which you usually don’t get with test casting. The rods performed well; punching into the wind, even with my flawed casting style.”  –flyfisherman.com

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“I met a Sage rep the other day and had the chance to cast the nine weight XI3. Its a really nice, super fast, extremely light fly rod. If you thought the 2 was too stiff though, you won’t much like the 3. Definitely reminded me of the TCR.

Excellent rod for long distance work, not my cup of tea though. I’ll stick with my Legend Elite’s.” –southeastflyfishing.com

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods  - When building a fly rod you want the guides to follow the contour of the rod.   You’ll want to place the stripping guide as close to the butt as possible so that you gain maximum effect of the rod energy on the line.

BUT, you want to be able to easily strip line with your opposite hand.  You’ll want as much line as possible unencumbered by the guides so you can strip the most in a single motion.  Also, you want the lowest possible angle from the reel to the stripping guide.  As a result, you want to place the guide very far away from the butt.

These two goals fight against each other and you have to find a comfortable solution.  For my money, I want to place the stripping guide for maximum stripping ability.  The only time I might violate this is when using a short progressive taper rod, where the rod bend extends far down the rod.  In most cases, the butt section of the rod is very stiff, bends little, and holds only a small amount of casting energy.

Retail rod manufacturers use an “average” person to set the distance, typically 30 inches.  A better way to do it is to place it at a point where the guide is at a comfortable hand reach distance and no more.  You find that by ‘feel’ with an existing rod you have.  The taller you are, the longer your arm reach and the further out you can place the guide.  I have built a table to convert height to stripper distance that is on my web site for people ordering custom rods to use.

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods  I ran across this article today on the advantages of short fly rods.  It is really a great piece and I wanted to excerpt it so you could get the essence.  To read the entire piece go to Shallow Water Angler here.

“A shorter rod excels in small-water situations where short casts are the order of the day. If an 8- to 8 1/2-footer is stiff enough, I find that I can create tighter loops with less line outside the rodtip than with a 9-footer. I did cast a friend’s 8-foot custom rod a while back, but it was built from a moderate-action blank, and just did not create the line speed needed to shoot a tight loop. Tight loops greatly aid in general accuracy and tucking a fly under overhanging structure. Speaking of shoreline cover, you can keep an 8-foot rod out of harm’s way a bit better when time comes to move into tree branches to retrieve a snagged fly, or a hooked fish that has hung you up. ”

“The closer you get the rodtip to your hand, the more accurate you can be.” Holt says a short rod provides a lower trajectory, or casting plane, for your line in the air for easier line and fly placement beneath cover along a shoreline.”

“A short rod also helps you punch out a tight loop and deliver more accurately into a headwind to a fish close by.”

“Lastly, canoeing or kayaking fly fishers will find that short fly rods are not only easier to store in cramped quarters, but they are less fatiguing to cast. Seated, you do not have the luxury of shifting body weight from foot to foot. If you don’t think this could be an issue, the next time you are fly casting from a standing position on a skiff or ashore, force yourself to plant your feet firmly and not shift weight. In time, you’ll feel a bit more strain in your forearm and wrist.”

Rod manufacturer’s like G Loomis, Winston, Sage, and St Croix have tended toward standard 9′ rods, especially in heavier weights.  Remember that if you build a custom rod or have one built you can always have a longer rod blank cut down to make it shorter.

I think these are excellent comments and contribute greatly in rod length selection.  What do you think?

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods  About the hardest thing to undo when done wrong on a fly rod is the reel seat.  Once it is epoxied in place and dried, chances are you aren’t going to remove it without damaging either the rod on the reel seat.  Uplocking reel seats like the Struble and Bellinger reel seats I use in building custom rods have a fixed pocket for the reel that sits in an inset into the cork grip.

It is important that the pocket line up with the spine of the butt section of the rod.  I Zero Balance all my rods to find the spine, but you can do it less accurately with manual methods.  Aligning the butt section spine may be more important than any of the other sections (depending on the rod) because it can hold a great deal of the power of the cast.

Make certain you don’t forget to align the pocket with the spine because once the epoxy dries you will be living with a misaligned rod without much recourse.  I always put a reel on the rod, align the spine to the reel and let the whole assembly dry that way.  In this way I am certain that the spine is aligned and the extra step of putting on the reel means I never forget to do the aligning.

by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods by Flycatcher  - Small detail but adds to beautiful results.  If you have selected a metal winding check (what’s a winding check you ask: a ring of metal or rubber that covers any gaps between the grip and the rod blank and makes it look nice) for your new rod be careful.

Usually your rod component supplier will have matched the winding check diameter to your blank and you will be fine.  However, if you are trying to size a winding check to your blank you could cause a problem.  If the check is too small it will drop part way down the blank and lodge there.  If you weren’t careful loosening it and sliding it off will cause small scratches in the blank’s finish.

My advice is to start with a ring you are pretty sure is too big.  Slide it down slowly, and don’t drop it on.  If it looks like it isn’t going to go all the way down then move up a size.  Once you get one on see how loose it is and move down in sizes one step at a time until you get the right one.

No scratches and a perfect fit.  You’re set.

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods  You ordered all the parts.  They look great and the rod will be wonderful.  Uh oh, you ordered an uplocking reel seat to go on the Flor grade western cork grip you had in your arsenal and now you realize you have to create an inset in the cork to slide the hood of the reel seat into.  What do you do?

Well, it takes a couple of tools but nothing too expensive.  First thing you need is a drill and a hole saw.  You want to get a hole saw that is 3/32  to 1/8 smaller than the diameter of the reel seat hood.   The hole saw has a drill bit in the middle.  You want to tape the bit so that it just fits nicely inside the hole that runs down the center of the grip.  This will be used to guide the hole saw and keep it true.

Wrap tape around the hole saw just above the depth you want to stop drilling to.  This will keep you from going too deep.  Now, drill out the grip butt.  Once you have done this, you will have a cork ring inside the grip butt that you will need to break out.  You can easily do this with your fingers.

You now have a roughed out hole you need to clean up.  To do that, you will need a dremel  tool.  You can get one for about $20 which is less than the cost of the cork grip that you will ruin if you don’t get it.  Use an abrasive stone cutter on the dremel and slowly increase the diameter of the hole.  Test the diameter frequently as you are going by trying to insert the reel seat hood.  Take your time and you will have a great result.

One other thing, get a reel seat that has a flange on the hood.  This will cover any slight imperfections you create and give you a nice finish.  This usually means a slightly more expensive reel seat, but it will be worth it.

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - Psaros Fly Fishing of Sweden introduced a new fly reel today that is extremely different.  THE main benefit of the design is the ability to have left and right hand retrieval at the same time.  Indeed the reel comes with handles on both sides.

A secondary benefit of the design is that you can much easily palm the reel to add drag.  That said, palming is the only way to add drag.  The reel has no built in drag system.  I’d really love to try this reel to see just how comfortable and managable that is.

For those who are curious Psaros does this by putting the bearings on the outside and not having a center hub.  In other words this is a cage inside a cage with roller bearings between the cages.  The inside cage is reel spool and the outside cage is the frame.  Breaking is done by palming the roller bearings which are exposed.

Price for this unique design: $750!  Is it worth it?  Let me know what you think.

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - I took an order for a custom fly rod yesterday from Dennis of Colorado.  Really nice fellow.  He was interested in maniform fly rod grips and what I thought about them.  I do offer them on my custom rods but don’t have a lot of personal ‘use’ knowledge of them.  I have read some reviews and comments and I could offer that as advice.

Dennis is wheel chair bound so his fly fishing is a bit different than other folks.  I think a maniform my actually be useful to him.  I think the pistol grip style can help with keeping rod control and I have seen many positive comments.  I cautioned him that fit to the hand could be an issue.  I plan to send him a grip and let him decide if the fit is good.  If it is, I’ll build the rod with it.  If not we’ll go with the reverse half well.

In any case Dennis going to get a beautiful rod.  He ordered a Winston IIx 9ft 5wt.  It will be outfitted with a nickel silver Struble reel seat with Fiddleback maple insert, REC recoil guides and tip top, and japanese silk thread wraps with trim.

Anybody have any insight into these maniform grips?

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods 12/1/08 - There are a number of small gotcha’s when you build a fly rod.  They are often the result of ‘boy was I stupid’ actions.  Trouble is they are easy to do, hard to fix, and nobody warns you of them!  So, here is the first one: Forgot to align the reel seat arbor in the reel seat assembly.  If you’ve ever done this, you will remember it.  Most things in building a fly rod can be fairly easily fixed.  This one is one of the hardest.

Many reel seats come with an arbor that has a cut-out notch along it’s length.  This cut out is where the reel nestles into the  reel seat steadying it.  It is not so hard to epoxy the reel seat in place and forget to align the cut out with the reel pocket on the reel seat.  Once the reel seat epoxy hardens it is next to impossible to remove the reel seat.  About the only way to do it is to cut off the reel seat with a hacksaw (very carefully).  If you can avoid damaging a $300 rod blank you will still have destroyed a reel seat that probably costs $30 to $50.

Geez I hate that.  My advice is to create a checklist for assembly of your rod and add a visual check for this in the checklist.  Have you ever done this?  How did you fix it?

by Mark Waldin, Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - I spoke with a major fly rod manufacturing company a week or two ago about where they are going and what they are doing to improve the company.  One of the things they are looking at doing is putting a major push on branded apparel.  Branded apparel is a huge market but it is also a fashion market.  There is a lot of road kill in this market, such as Eddie Bauer.  I think they are looking at brands like Under Armour and Nike and thinking that if they can turn their brand into a ‘have to have’ for a certain demographic, then they will rake in the cash. My assumption is that they will want to leverage their position among fly fishing enthusiasts and extend the brand to people that associate with that life style, whether they fish or not.

This leaves a lot of interesting and odd questions:

•   is there a apparel style that fits fishermen?
•   are fly fishermen all cut from the same cloth?
•   will going after apparel damage their fly rod  brand?
•   will a focus on apparel impact the quality of their fly rods?

I’m not so sure that fly fishermen can be so easily classified into a group of people that fit into a certain style.  My guess is they would be going after the backwoods, log cabin kind of feel like LL Bean.  I’m not certain there is space in the market for another LL Bean either.   Plus, my experience with fly fishermen is they’d rather save their money for the next great piece of fly equipment and tackle than put it into a new outdoor triple cord, nylon wrapped, fibrecore enhanced vest with zip in hood, velcro sleeve guards, and double stitched grommet enforced cell phone holder.

What is your take?  Do we need another super brand like Nike?  And can you build it off of a fly rod brand?  Let me know.

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods - I’ve sold a lot of IMX blanks and complete fly rods.  The IMX is not the newest rod (blank) on the market but over the years it has generated one of the largest followings I have seen.  But because it is not a ‘new’ rod, there is not a lot on forums and web sites about this rod.  One thing to note is that it is a mid-priced rod and most typically a 3 section (told you is wasn’t new to the market!) rod.  If you want a quality rod with a good feel many people will tell you, you can’t go wrong with it.  Here is what I could find on the forums:

When Loomis started messing with their rod classifications ( GL4, etc.)and than got out of the rodbuilding blank business they lost a lots of customers and people who would recommend their products. Made no sense to me to completely change everything and leave their customers with zero knowledge base to work with if they wanted to continue to sell product. When they started selling blanks again they were less than a premium quality product, Angler’s Workshop and others were doing a heck of a return business if they weren’t first checking the blanks before they went out. Loomis and others are having a hard time now selling a premium priced product in the market today. Everyone associated with them is feeling the pinch right now. All this said I have always likes the IMX series when I could get a straight one to work with. Blanks like the Rainshdow RX8+ is what I use now to fit the same market. –Rodbuilding Forum

For rods, I own a Loomis GL3 and a Loomis IMX. The Loomis are expensive but are hard to beat. –www.salmoncrazy.com

When I was running my charter boat I was on the Loomis pro-staff…We provided Loomis IMX fly rods 10wt mega, to 17wt prototypes. Many of my customers brought their own Sage rods on board. I have had alot of experience with both. Pick ‘em! You can’t lose with either one. –www.fliesandfins.com

My Fly outfits for Bass are a 10′ 4wt IMX Loomis and an 8′6″ 5wt IMX Loomis. –www.tacklebox.com

I have fished with a Lami 96ls, Loomis GL2 and GL3 and IMX (9′6″) and the rod I use the most now is a custom rod from TH Custom Rods that is a Rainshadow 9′ 6″ 1042 blank with a carbon fiber wrapped handle. It is a medium light action and I like it better than any of the others I have tried. I would put this Rainshadow up there with the Loomis IMX only for half the money. –www.fishingnw.com

I put G. Loomis’s IMX rod up against St.Croix’s Legend Elite, and I have to say that I was really impressed with the St. Croix rod. It has a shorter handle which is easier on the wrist for the day of fishing 10+ hours. I was using a six foot, medium, fast action rod. It was great with Lindy rigs and also jigs. It is now my favorite rod. The IMX from G. Loomis is a great rod also, but not quite the top of their line as that would be the GLX. Still I liked the Loomis but thought it was a little stiffer than the St. Croix when it comes to finesse walleye presentations. The IMX model I have is a 6 ft. medium action rod. –www.nodakoutdoors.com

I can also support the Dan Craft blanks. I have built a Sig V 8′9″ 4wt and it is my go-to and favorite trout rod. I also have a 9′ 6wt FT and it is a great rod, but I like my Sig V so much better. I also like the Loomis IMX line. I built a 9′ 4wt that is a very nice rod. –www.washingtonflyfishing.com

Lefty Kreh, the guru of fly fishing and master of the universe has finally penned an autobiography, “My Life Was This Big”.  As you may or may not know, Lefty is considered one of the, if not THE,  masters in the fly fishing world.  Here is a description of the book from the publisher.

“Lefty Kreh takes his readers on an angling journey through the last half-century, when water was big and fishermen were bigger (maybe). But, despite all that’s changed since the fifties, when Lefty began his career as a professional fly fisherman and writer, fishing is still just fishing. In My Life Was This Big, he relates tales of fishing expeditions with Fidel Castro and Ernest Hemingway, as well as solo battles with some of the scrappiest, most elusive fish in the world. Lefty also takes the reader through the development of his world-famous “Deceiver” fly style, and takes on the issue of conservation through catch-and-release.

This is a glimpse into the heart and soul of Lefty Kreh—a man who has written for nearly every outdoor magazine in the U.S.; a man who has fished some of the remotest parts of the globe; and a man whose books and articles have taught thousands of people his techniques for hooking and landing more fish. For fans both young and old, these are Lefty’s stories.”

By Mark Waldin, Custom Fly Rods - For perfection in trout fishing head for Steamboat Springs Colorado at the end of August.   This is the peak life cycle of the grasshopper, in plentiful supply in this area of the country.   This is when the trout rise to feed on these delectable creatures and fly fishermen go bug eyed.

From Steamboat Springs you can take aim at the Elk River, the North Platte, the Canadian or the Yampa.

Best to use a classic hopper/dropper set to catch these buggers.  Match a hopper size and color to what you are seeing and drop a nymph below.  The hopper will take rising trout.  The nymph will take the bottom feeders and the hopper will act as a strike indicator.

By Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - I recently had an exchange with Bruce Richards at Scientific Anglers about overlining for heavy flies and thought I’d share it with you. SA markets a fly line that is 1/2 weight heavier than a standard line. So, their line for a 4 weight rod is actually 4.5 weight. One of the things they note is that it improves casting of heavy flies like nymphs and streamers. I asked Bruce why this would be the case since putting a heavy fly with a heavy line would overweight the rod more rather than less. If anything I would have thought that underlining the rod would be in order. Here is Bruce’s answer.

The best solution to throwing a heavy fly on a line that isn’t capable of casting it properly is to use a heavier weight rod with a line that hefty enough to swing it. If you are in a situation where doing that is not possible then increasing the fly line weight and over lining the rod is the next best solution.

According to Bruce “There are a couple good reasons that using a heavier lines makes casting bigger or heavier flies easier. First, the mass of the line is responsible for carrying the mass of the fly, the heavier or more wind resistant the fly, the more power it takes to drive them and a heavier line does that better. Also, for most casters,using a heavier line on a rod will tend to make the loop a little bigger, and slower. Bigger, slower loops are better for throwing bigger flies.”

My interpretation of Bruce’s comments is that you want the fly line to carry the fly. You don’t want the fly dragging the fly line behind it. If the fly weighs too much for the line you are casting, the fly will drag the line along and your fly line loop will be too tight and the action will be compromised. So, you might think you want to cast a lighter line so that the total weight matches your fly rod but you will wind up casting what amounts to a rock tied to a string…no loops, no turnover, no subtle presentation.

Going to the heavier line will cause you to lose some effectiveness of the rod by having the line weight unmatched to the rod and you will have to adjust your casting rhythm accordingly. But you will have a better loop and better presentation. Of course, moving to a heavier weight rod with a matching line weight is the best solution.

By Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - Streamers are good to use in early spring and in the fall when the hatches are light and far between. In the spring the water is cold and high and the fish are sluggish. In the fall the fish are starting to move to finding food on the bottom rather than the surface and big fish are starting to migrate. Streamers can also be used in mid-summer especially in certain conditions. A summer thunderstorm that makes the water turbid lends itself to a streamer. In silted waters where insect hatches are sparse, minnows are often prevalent and spinners work well. And in low clear creeks along deep pools, heavy runs, and undercut banks, streamers can be the best solution.

Streamers can be a critical part of your arsenal any time of year, under the right conditions.

by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - I built a new fly rod last week. This rod is truly sweet. The rod has a Batson RX-7+ 8′ 6″ 4wt blank. It is a medium fast rod in a beautiful carmel color that I paired with deep cinnamon thread and yellow trim. I decked it out with the usual…a gorgeous cocobolo insert Struble nickel silver reel seat, a flor grade half well grip, and a nickel silver winding check. For guides I used single foot Fuji guides; titanium alloy frames with silicon carbide inserts. These are extremely lightweight, extremely slick, and hard as nails.

Today, I took the rod out on the North Fork of the Snoqualamie river (western Washington in the Cascade mountains for the uninitiated). The rod performed beautifully. It was effortless to cast and doing all the work for me. The Fuji guides were phenomenal..no kidding. The line flowed through the guides like butter as if their were no guides there at all. I was in heaven. Caught two nice cutthroats.

That’s when it happened. Deep, fast water. One mis-step, lost my balance. On regaining my footing, I dropped down a small slope which increased the force of the water and pull me off my feet altogether. Moments later I was floating down a 50 degree river, lost my hat, lost my prescription glasses,  broke my rod and lost the top three sections.

Well, that rod was so awesome, I’m going to have to rebuild it.   Whoa, a good day, a bad day, an ugly day.

by Mark Waldin Custom Fly Rods - today I am posting user comments from various forums talking about the Sage VT-2.  Personally I really like the VT-2 for several reasons.  First it is a Sage which means it has the best finish and construction of any rods I have built.  Second, it is Sage’s value rod blank so it can be had for a lower price but being a Sage, even their value rod blank is exceptional.  It has a sweet action and is more of a mid taper rod with a good feel.  Enjoy the reviews below.

The sage VT-2 is an excellent rod for multi-species fishing. I know first-hand how it compares with the Orvis T-3, another excellent rod.

Kevin Mihailoff www.snookin.com is an endorsed Sage Guide and carried a Sage VT-2 9-weight aboard for me to use.

In the two days I fished with the VT-2 I enjoyed its easy loading and Tip-sensitive accuracy. More often than I expected, I had compliments from my boat mate and surprisingly from Kevin himself ( Kevin rarely compliments anyone’s casting). There is hardly ever a perfect cast. Maybe a perfect retrieve….but rare.

So I can say that the VT-2 has everything the T-3 has and maybe it’s a tad smoother. My T-3 is a tip-flex 10 and I can punch it into a wind and deliver the fly with my thumb….neither rod is for wimpy deliveries and casual casters…this VT-2 cut the mustard! One back cast at 50+ feet. –posted www.fliesandfins.com

I have been curious about these (Sage VT2) new rods, so I bought the 905/4 blank assembled one. I fished it with a RIO classic WF 5 line and was very impressed. The rod is very light and has a wonderful medium fast action. The rod tracks very well and with two false casts shoots 70 ft. of line with ease. The blank is a thinner wall and larger diameter than the SLT or XP series. It also cast great at 20 ft. 40ft. and out to 70 ft. I could feel the rod digging into the butt section when trying for 70 ft. but had plenty of power to punch out the line. The blank color is a blue green that is one of the best looking I have ever seen. As with all Sage blanks the ferrules fit perfect and the surface finish was flawless. The blank was also very straight. Without a doubt Sage produces the most consistent blanks as far as fit and finish go, of all the rod makers. A very user friendly rod, that will make a wonderful trout and bass rod. This rod feels so smooth and fluid when casting that throws very tight loops with ease. In my opinion a much improved action over the VPS rods /blanks that were the old RPL series. –posted www.flyfish.com

my buddy has one (Sage VT2) and really likes his. 9ft 5wt. I’ve cast it and it is a cannon. good for the wind. i would not describe it as a delicate rod if that means anything. my 5wt Winston Biix feels like a 4wt. The VT2 feels like a 6wt. It would be a great nymph rod and good all around rod for the money. –posted www.washingtonflyfishing.com

I am very happy with my VT2(9ft, 5 wt.). It is a very fast action rod which is great for my casting style. I have the FLI 8 wt but like the VT2 a little better. –posted www.washingtonflyfishing.com

Have fished and still fish the VT2s along with the XI2s and TCRs. We field tested the VT2 from 7 to 10 wt at Harkers Island and use the 7 and 10 in our charters. The final product survived Cape Lookout ablies with no worries and the 10 wt slung T-14 all winter. The 7 was the most popular rod in our spring fly school. Good rods and they are made in America. –www.stripersonline.com

I have a Sage VT2 9′6″ 6 wt. and a 9′ 10 wt. G. Loomis Cross Current and love them both. However, I don’t think that there are really very many “bad” rods around. You might also want to consider the Sage Z-Axis. Your best bet is to go and cast each of the rods, to find out which you like best. –posted www.fliesandfins.com

So back to the unsung VT2. The 590-4 is a great all-rounder that will fish everywhere you want to take it and I’ve always had a hankering to throw the 9’6”5wt too, just to see… The 8’6” 3wt is a great low water rod for the tailwaters, and we have had a lot of fun with the 8-weight. … The 379-4 ( 7’9” 3 weight) is a gem, crisp delicate yet throws a Sage loop, that we really like. The 691-4 we mentioned earlier is another exceptional rod for tossing streamers on the White River tailwaters, for chasing hybrids, white bass and walleye in the Ozark rivers and lakes, and even for sea trout, and smaller redfish in the salt. –posted moutainriverjournal.wordpress.com

The folks recommending the TFO rods are making a good suggestion as well, but having fished with both the TFO rods and the VT-2 in 8 weights, I found the VT-2 suited my cast better, I was more precise at longer distances, and still able to make short casts and have the rod loaded suitably. –posted www.talkflyfishing.com

Right now I am using my 5wt 9ft sage VT2, with okuma helios reel with orvis wonder line. I got the Sage 5wt from Lake City,CO. This rod is great, I love how it cast. –posted www.paflyfish.com

Max, I am quite satisfied with the Sage VT2 series. I own a 4 wt and it is quite impressive given that it is a “value” rod. –posted www.flyfishingforum.com

Another rod series that is hardly ever talked about is the VT2. This is the ’son’ of the VPS which again is a RPL with cheaper clothes. The RPL as you may or may not know is one of the greates successes of any flyrod. They have “modernised” the action a bit and given it a new look, but the legendary “Sage feel” is still there. I reckon it must surely be one of the best value for money rods out there at the moment. –posted www.flyshop.co.nz

by Mark Waldin Flycatcher Custom Fly Rods  - Ever wonder why you might want a longer fly rod?  Ever have people tell you that you can punch through the wind and cast further with a longer rod?  Ever wonder why?

The answer to this is simple physics.  The tip of an eight foot fly rod that gets swung between 11 to 1 o’clock is going to travel a distance of 3.7 ft.  The tip of a ten foot rod traveling the same arc is 4.7 ft.  That means the rod tip is going to travel 27% further.  If you keep your casting stroke constant for both rods, then your fly is going to be traveling 27% faster!  That, my friend, is a huge advantage when trying to buck the wind or drive some distance.