Dave, I saw the 7"Titanium Van Staal’s for sale at Bass Pro for a mere $314.00 and of course,immediately thought of you. I’m still offending bluefish with my $16.00 Shimano and $20.00 Manley’s, but they are very tough fish…so they will get over it. I really appreciate the tips on saving a buck or two while still obtaining quality gear, whether it is Wiss palming clips for tying or Vanish Flourocarbon for leaders… Just thought I’d throw that out there. Jim
Jim, if you don’t get the abel pliers with the fancy paintjob, you aren’t a real fly fisher. At least that’s what I hear from the tackle manufacturers…and if you saw what went into making those pliers you wouldn’t think they were so expensive!
[This message has been edited by D. Micus (edited 20 May 2005).]
WOW! COOL!
I’m gonna run right out & buy a pair! I’ve been looking real hard for a pair of pliers that cost more than any of my fly rods…now I’ve finally found 'em!!! The only pair I found near that price had a “guide” using them, & you could only rent 'em as a package deal!
Mike
Ohio Tuer,
You must be very dedicated and RICH! We do boating when we want to catch fish in the salt, but shipping, WOW thats big. How much does shipping cost. If Boat = Bring Out Another Thousand than Ship = Sure as Heck Its Pricey!
If you go shipping for fish I am sure that it will be large enough for a FAOL Fish-in. Invite Dave and he wil bring a keg or two of Rum!
the abel edition–a cadillac escalade painted like a trout (actually that would be pretty cool…man, i just handed abel a multi-million dollar idea on a silver platter)
[This message has been edited by D. Micus (edited 20 May 2005).]
A lot of dealers are offering a new service for the SUV owners. A weekly “Re-Mudding” so you can impress your country club, hunt club or fishing club with your ability to go “Off Road!!”.
Dave, you are SO generous! But “Splash” would be more distinctive, don’t you think? Let’s see, $150 for about 8 square inches… we’re talking serious bucks on a tricked out Escalade. And you WOULD want your ride to match your reel, right? Think of the profit potential! Are shares traded publicly?
Is Eddie Bauer really hooked in with GM? I thought just Ford?
Makes me want to go test drive an Escalade, if it’s got that purty trim like the Navigator.
You know, Jim, I was watching a fly fishing program on OLN and the feature fisher was using the splashed paint abel, and, sorry, but here I go again, I thought, “who in the hell would pay an extra $150 for that??? It’s outrageously priced and ugly to boot.” But then the fisherman dunked it in the water, and bonefish started magically appearing!!! so maybe there is something to these $600 rods and $500 reels.
Micus, If they freeze up, I’m going to Ocean State Job Lot and getting me a can of WD-40. I picked up a new wading staff on a trip to the Westfield River recently, hand made by one of the locals. I pulled it out of a blown out beaver dam after the spring runoff. I hope that the bucktoothed rodent that carved it doesn’t see me with it at the Rainbow Pool and try to snatch it back… (I already invested in 4’ of decoy cord to customize it.)
I think thats a federal offense, dredging altering or filling a wetland. That was altering or dredging when you took that stick. How did it go? If I rememebr correctly it rained last year when you visited the westfield. I still haven made it out there this year. I had to visit the Holyoke Shad derby this weekend. It is always quite the show. I even brought my spinning gear.
Dave, It says in the description of the Van Staals, that they are “indispensible”; so I guess I really do need them. Will they clash with the Abel Lube, and more importantly, do you think a custom shop can paint them or anodize them into some really cool color? I kind of like the of the Realtree camo pattern Maglight and wallets that Cabela’s and Bass Pro sell…so when you lay them down in the field you can begin what amounts to an Easter Egg hunt trying to find them (which may explain Abels “loud splash” pattern- if not the $150.00 price). Hey Jed, I tried sending you an email prior to last weeks TU Mass/RI Council meeting and outing at Indian Hollow Campground, but never heard from you. My son and I attended and had a blast but in all honestly it was more a social gathering and camping trip than a hardcore fishing trip for us. I had never fished that section of the river, and by the time we hit the water it was pretty well pounded. My son had a tough time with allergies so we didn’t push too hard. The river was pretty low, very light hatch activity-Hendricksons I think. I didn’t see any rises except for a couple down at the rainbow pool, where I did see a few nice fish taken on a soft hackle fished in the film. There was a ton of dace in the campground section of the river, so I tried quite a few streamers with only one small fish hooked that leaped once and threw the hook. I still struggle with my indicator nymphing technique, but I put some time in trying that too. They had recently stocked, but I don’t think the fish had spread out and acclimated yet as anglers reported seeing them ‘stacked up’ in small areas. I had picked up the beaver wading stick on the main branch 3 weeks ago, near B G sports, the week after they let the water go for the canoe race. The remains of the beaver dam was 10’ up the bank and there was debris in the trees higher than that, so I guess I’m ok there. That trip was a little better, Matt and I still each fell in once each (40 deg. BRRR…) and I fell on bedrock in the gorge and smashed up hands, knee, elbow; but at least I managed 5 'Bows to 17" before I got banged up. This “quiet, gentlemanly sport” is kicking the crap out of me… The river should be fishing well for you with the new shot of fish- and rain might actually help. What a great group to camp with though…lots of laughs, great people. Mr. J. Jones and the local EPO, I think his name was Don, were really friendly and had some priceless stories. Wish you could have been there…Jim. P.S. Maybe someday we can share the same water, I’d like that.
