Many of us in Canada (and elsewhere) know of Ian Colin James. If you don’t you should. I’ve mentioned Ian before in previous posts. This is the link to his website http://www3.sympatico.ca/ianjames/ – he’s got a great sense of humour and a true passion for fly fishing. Check him out.
I think Ian is brillant – definitely love his sense of humour. He has a very refreshing take on all things fly fishing. He’s a great fly tier too.
Yes, Mike, I agree with you. I’ve seen 2 fly fishing shows he hosted and he seems like a great time. On one I believe he was fishing on the White River in Arkansas and it was a fun, informative show. I saw another and I think he was fishing near Guelph University in Canada. Both shows were well worth watching.
Can’t quite see casting a size 16 dry on 9 feet of 4x or 5x (let alone a size 8 hopper). Not saying it can’t be done, just saying I’ve never had the guts to try.
I’ve used his leader system and won’t go back to using anything else, I especially like the fireline- in a way it mimics a furled leader of sorts at a fraction of the cost.
ian’s a great guy and a wealth of information (and laughs).
dave
Steven
I have to agree with Dave (mr.bones) – I’ve tried Ian’s leader system – especially lately for steelhead – the fireline does seem to mimic furled leaders and is a lot cheaper – I’ll still fish with tapered leaders out of the pack from the store but I see the point in Ian’s system – and will use it too
Cheers
Mike
I was fortunate enough to be taken underwing by Ian a few years ago. He mentored me for a few years and was and still is always available to answer my endless questions. I used to fish with him two to three times a week, until I was ready to fly on my own. We still meet for coffee, chit chat and tilting windmills. I learned to fish from the start with his leader system, and I still use it for the most part today. It works just fine, and it’s a lot cheaper than tapered leaders. I have crept over to the dark side for small dry flies and use a tapered leader for them. (shssss…don’t tell him I said that) I like fishing the trico,BWO, micro caddis and midge hatches. Ian fishes 95% of the time under the surface for all species of fish. It was well into year two before I ever fished a dry fly.
He also lives on the same warm water river and fishes the same rivers in Ontario, that I do. I don’t think I’ve ever pulled out a dry on this river (Thames)…oh wait…one time, I did get a carp on a caddis style Usual on the surface when I saw it sipping the popcord hatch (kids feeding the waterfoul). The rest of the time we fish below surface on the Thames. He does fish caddis dry patterns on the local trout waters but that’s still pretty rare. I will also add that his level leader will often get a smaller diameter tippet to match the hook size and fly, bit it still stays very simple and works quite well. You don’t need to worry about not enough slack on a drift and if you want more you just add some tippet.
He does talk a lot, had a great sence of humor and has a very sharp wit. I used to have sore abdominals at the end of the day, every time we went fishing. I’m used to him now and don’t need to clean the computer screen or change the Depends quite so often. I’ve learned to see it coming.
He has a heart of gold and a strong sence of responsibility towards conservation.
“Bring your own lunch and eat it on the riverbank. I don’t do lunch! The people I guide want to “learn” and they want to “fish.” If you want to have a picnic with someone in the flowers and fauna on the bank … look elsewhere.”
That depends…and he doesn’t always use fireline…just strait mono or fluorocarbon. (he has an endless supply). Depending on what, and were, and what fly… its usually a straight level 6 lb but he may add a tippet if the fly or conditions warrant.
I usually start out with 6 or 8 lb level leader. (mono or Braided). If you use braided you WILL need to add a mono or flouro tippet. My personal favorite knot for this is a blood knot and make one more twist with the mono tag then you do with the braided tag. If I need to downsize the tippet I just ad it to the tippet that’s already there. The knot comes in handy for holding the splitshot in place. I also start with 8 or nine feet as the level leader and ad about three feet of tippet, depending on conditions.
