Fly Fishing For Trout

Topics 
Fly Fishing For Trout
Trout Rod Review
New Simms Vests
Midge Larvae
All pictures are Mouse-over.

Sunlight + nutrients = life.  The Pacific Northwest has had an extraordinary amount of sunshine this winter.  Southern California got our rain and we got their sunshine.  On top of that, our mountains got very little snow.  Our rivers were very stable all winter and there won't be any spring run-off.  Because of these unusual climatic factors bringing earlier plant growth and less insect mortality, there are denser than usual aquatic insect populations in many of our rivers this spring.  Certain species have prospered more than others.  Continuing hatches of March Browns and Baetis Mayfies and low, clear, warming water  has got the dry fly

  The Fly Shop Guy’s Trout Rod Review  To Top
   J. Morgan Jones

Winston LT 3 wt 5 piece. This is a medium action rod with a soft tip. The action itself is best described as that “classic Winston action”. Small loops almost seem to form on their own (sic). The handle is comfortable and fits the action of the rod well. Casts very well at most fishing distances. This is a rod that excels in many areas. About the worst thing you can say about the LT series of Winston’s is that they could ruin your taste for other rods. If you don’t think so, ask another Winston owner.

          Winston BIIx 9’ 4 wt - 4 piece (BIIx 490). This is a new offering from Winston, involving Boron technology. This is a rod that casts well at almost any given distance. If you are prone to showing off by making long casts with light rods, this is one you should look at. This rod will throw a whole fly line easier that you might think. If you are like most people, you will keep looking at the weight rating on the rod because it feels like many 2-3 wt rods. It is that light in your hand. Really!  It is an extremely accurate rod at all distances. Casts one or two weighted nymphs as well as it casts a dry fly. This rod casts the heavier lines better.
         In addition, the BIIx rewards those who are able to make rod stops smoothly, rather than the accepted method of a more abrupt stop. Doesn’t really like a great deal of power on the final stroke. This is fast action rod, but it is so smooth you might fail to notice this at first.

          Sage XP 9’ 4 wt - 4 piece (XP490-4). This is a rod that you need if you are in a hurry. It’s fast! It will cast and shoot line as well as any rod made. This is not a delicate, sensitive spring creek tool for flicking size 24 dry flies around 18’. 70’ might be better. The XP likes heavy lines (difficult to overload) and will cast large heavy flies as well as many larger rods. Sage makes some of the finest fly rods around, and this is one of them.

           Sage TXL 7’10” 4 wt - 3 piece (TXL 4710-3). This is a new rod from Sage for 2005. As I said earlier, there is no winner or loser in this review. But the fact of the matter is that I am really struggling with finding a good description of this rod. I do not think it is a rod for everybody, but everybody that cast this rod kept looking at it. I cast this rod last year (before they were available) and was not really impressed. I think that I was using a weight forward line that we had spooled up on one of our “parking lot” reels. This rod felt like a nice little dry fly rod (but, we have a good number of “dry fly rods” in the shop already). Late last year I had a good customer (only knew him through our internet site) call and ask about this rod. I sold him another brand  (I won’t say which one, but I felt it was one of the best rods I ever fished with) even though he asked about The TXL. After I gave him my reasoning for not getting the TXL, he bought the “other” rod. About a week later he called and asked to return the rod and get the TXL. It seems that he had gotten a chance to cast one of the TXL’s and really preferred it. The customer is always right, regardless. Well, I had to try it again, so I spoke the George Cook (Sage rep.) and he sent me a rod and the line that matches this rod. Just so happens that the line was also from Sage, a Quiet taper double taper 4 wt line. The difference was simply amazing! Every now and then a rod company will come up with real surprise for the discriminating fly fisher and that is what Sage has done. Every time you cast this rod you keep thinking that it just is not going to be up to the task. It feels too light to have any power, and at 7’10” it’s a bit short. It easily throws any distance you care to fish at, up to 80’. You keep looking at this rod and thinking “no way”, but then you cast it again. The TXL really like a strong power stroke. This rod does not like a variety of lines at all, but when you string it up with the right line, it comes alive. One of our experienced testers used a Cortland Sylk line and swears it’s even better (while I know it could not get any better, I will be out there soon with the Sylk line). This is not like any Sage rod built before. Four of our testers say they are going to buy this rod soon, and three already have (this rod could be hard to get for awhile).

          Thomas & Thomas Horizon 2- 9’ 3 wt. Here is a top level rod from a company that many folks don’t seem to know about. Perhaps it’s because it is an east coast company. Their recognition is growing, however. I included this rod because I wanted to try one of their faster offerings. While this a 3 wt rod, it really likes to cast a 4 wt line, and it does it well. The finish of the T&T rods might be the best in the marketplace. This is a rod with obvious quality, perhaps better suited to experienced fly casters. Like the Sage XP, the Horizon 2 is well suited to larger waters and long casts. This is a very nice Deschutes River rod. Many of us would like to have this rod in our quiver. You will be hearing more about T&T in the future.

          G. Loomis GLX Streamdance HLS 9’ 4 wt - 4 piece. The HLS stands for “High Line Speed”, and it is that. This is a typical very well built world class rod that that we have come to expect from this company. This rods quality is equal to anyone’s in this review. They have been doing some different things with fly rods. Just look at their reel seats and you will see they are all about innovative quality. This is a Northwest big river rod, fast and accurate. This is exactly the type of rod that Loomis made its reputation with. I fished with nothing else for many years.  It wants a heavy line to perform well. Faster rod fans are going to be happy with this rod.  Loomis has been around for a long time in the Pacific Northwest. They were bought up by Shimano Corporation quite awhile back, and I think that everyone assumed that big changes were going to befall the Loomis company. These folks have “stepped up to the plate” in the hopes of making a large impact in the fly rod market. With what we have seen (see our recent newsletter on the tour of the Loomis facility) lately, it’s already happening, and it’s very good. Loomis is making a HUGE commitment, and they seem to know what they are doing.

          Good rods do actually make you a better caster. Ask someone who has one. The bottom line from myself is this: I am in a position to use or have any of the best rods on the planet, and I own all but one of the rods that were tested (but I am thinking about the missing one!).

Simms G3 Guide Vest

Simms new G3 Guide Vest utilizes the most advanced material and design technologies available. A highly functional, great-looking vest.

Simms Vertical Master Vest

The design of this all-new vest allows quick access to fly boxes, tippets and tools. An ideal choice for the technical angler.

Walk along the shoreline of the Deschutes River and study the vegetation growing on the rocks in the splash zone.  A lot of it is yellowish, greenish, stringy stuff that looks like some kind of algae.  Fact is much of what you think is plant life is actually midge eggs; zillions of billions of them. Some species of midges lay strings of eggs on anything that is wet at the edge of the water.  This includes not only shoreline rocks but boats, oar blades and the waders of wading fishermen.  These eggs hatch into midge larvae.  Midge larvae are very simple worm creatures. You can imagine how many there might be in square foot of river bed.  That is a lot of food for trout and other fish. 
The following is quoted from: Hatch guide For Western Streams - "Midge larvae are found in all types of water, though those in stillwaters tend to be larger than those found in streams.  They live on, or burrow into, the substrate and feed on algae or decaying plant and animal mater, though a few species prey on smaller insects.  In streams the larvae are found in most water types, but bottoms where debris settles often have dense populations of midge larvae.  Because midges have several generations per year, larvae are present in streams all year and are constantly found drifting in the currents.  Even though they are small, the large numbers found in the "drift" offer trout a steady supply of food when other insects are not available.  In heavily fished streams, trout often feed selectively on midge larvae, even when other insects are hatching."
The flies below are effective midge larvae patterns for moving water.  Fish them dead drift along the bottom of any river, any time of year.