6/21/09

Trials and Tribulations

Well, I have been doing the fly thing now for three years. I have amassed rods, reels, lines, flies, a vise, loads of feathers and stuff and a love for this sport. I have now done it just long enough to have overcome most newbie mistakes, had grand experiences with beginners luck and have moved to a point I am disappointed in my perceived lack of progress. My last trip to a mostly meadow stream environment in New Mexico, the Rio Penasco, has left me more questions than answers.

My Questions Center around:
1. Knots
2. Droppers, kinda related to number 1
3. Breakage of tippet
4. Wet Flies.

Knots: I have been using clinch and improved clinch to tie files to tippet. Mono tippet, I use the clinch. Fluorocarbon tippet I use the improved clinch. I need a better knot for the fluoro. Prior to my conversion from being a dreaded bait guy, I used the Palmor knot with fluoro, it worked well. However, as y?all know, aint no way the eye of a size 20 fly will allow a double pass through of the line. I am using Frog Hair 5X fluoro tippet and perhaps that is the problem. My fluoro knots are just not holding. I am losing some fish to knot slippage.

Droppers: We do a lot of two fly nymphing. Have a larger nymph over a dropper in say size 20-22. I have been typing the dropper line to the bend of the upper flies hook. This has become a painfully slow process. This is kinda two questions. Where do you tie your dropper line and what knot do you use?

Breakage: I have been using Cabala?s four packs of 5X trout tapered leaders. This trip I experienced a great deal of breakage. Did I get a bad batch, or have y?all experienced that?

Wet Flies: When do you use them? Found a very deep, swift, turbulent pool dropping from 3? rock ledge. There were many feeding trout. Used a parachute hopper. Water was so turbulent it would only float a little while and then would need drying. One time I got distracted and it was under. I made a strip to see if I could spot it, and bam, fish on. I tried this technique some more and caught 8 in a row on a submerged (wet) hopper. I have never fished wet, have not read about wet. When do y?all go to wet flies? There are not many shown in fly selections, is that because they are seldom used or what?