Not alot of Fly fishers here?

Just got bike from work to find my first two hander waiting for on the porch 

Beauty 

Just got home from work to find my first two hander waiting for me on the porch 

WTT2HM! Been throwing 2 handers for about 5 years and it's totally changed how and where I fish for steel. What rod did you get?

Just got home from work to find my first two hander waiting for me on the porch 

WTT2HM! Been throwing 2 handers for about 5 years and it's totally changed how and where I fish for steel. What rod did you get?

picked up a tfo 711 switch used five times off spey pages

Only used a spey rod twice, how does it change the water you fish? I guess you roll cast so trees aren as big of an issue? Can you cast farther? Noob to the spey thing.

Hey all you fly fishers. Sitting in camp at Slough Creek in Yellowstone, just back from slaying the cutts in the first meadow. Hoppers and ants! Awesome weather right now, but it's changing fast. Lots of wildlife too. Spotty cell service, I'll try and post some photos. 
Jim and Naomi(troutgirl).

Hey all you fly fishers. Sitting in camp at Slough Creek in Yellowstone, just back from slaying the cutts in the first meadow. Hoppers and ants! Awesome weather right now, but it's changing fast. Lots of wildlife too. Spotty cell service, I'll try and post some photos. 
Jim and Naomi(troutgirl).

Livin' the dream, right there.

Can't wait for the fotos.

ruben

Only used a spey rod twice, how does it change the water you fish? I guess you roll cast so trees aren as big of an issue? Can you cast farther? Noob to the spey thing.

Modern spey rods and skagit heads allow you to cast with almost no room behind you. They also cast heavy sink tips and 1/2 chickens with no problem. With trees or rocks 5' behind me I can still blast out a 4" lead eyed leech 70-80ft consistently. I use skagit heads in winter mostly, lower water in summer/fall I use a scandi type head.  Other benefits over single handers are it's less tiring, easier on you shoulder if you have physical problems, no false casting and it's more fun to cast. 

This all relates to swinging flies, when I put on the indi-bobber I use a single hander or maybe a switch rod.   

There are some very excellent fly fishers in this group including Ted and Bill whom I have learned so much from.

From Bill I have learned to catch rockfish, halibut and ling cod down to 100 feet deep and now pretty much fish the ocean exclusively by fly only.   Of course stripers and surf perch are all good fly targets.

And with Ted I am now getting into the insanity of swinging flies with the 2 hander.     It is is so much fun I wonder how it could be legal.   I just looooooove casting that 2 hander.

It would be fun to hookup a group of fly fishing kayakers.   We could either hit the ocean or yuba river.   There was earlier discussion of a group going to Yuba.   I would definitely be up for that!

It would be fun to hookup a group of fly fishing kayakers.   We could either hit the ocean or yuba river.   There was earlier discussion of a group going to Yuba.   I would definitely be up for that!

What's your schedule like, Flyaker?

There are some very excellent fly fishers in this group including Ted and Bill whom I have learned so much from.

From Bill I have learned to catch rockfish, halibut and ling cod down to 100 feet deep and now pretty much fish the ocean exclusively by fly only.   Of course stripers and surf perch are all good fly targets.

And with Ted I am now getting into the insanity of swinging flies with the 2 hander.     It is is so much fun I wonder how it could be legal.   I just looooooove casting that 2 hander.

It would be fun to hookup a group of fly fishing kayakers.   We could either hit the ocean or yuba river.   There was earlier discussion of a group going to Yuba.   I would definitely be up for that!

I would really like to learn more about fly fishing the ocean from my kayak. I've had some success with stripers in the bay, and have spent plenty of time throwing flies from the beach. But I'd love to put my skills to use on rockies, lings and whatever else. Would be very interested in a meet up both ocean and yuba.

Lately I haven't been able to  get out as much as i like but I usually try to fish on Saturdays but can sometimes go weekdays.   

I live right next to the bay and have wanted to catch stripers by fly but so far haven't succeeded yet.  (Mostly because I haven't much fished it.). I guess it's a confidence thing.    But it would sure be nice to figure out how/where to catch stripers in the bay, particularly near San Mateo.

Fishing the ocean by fly is also a confidence thing.   Most don't do it because of doubts.   But there are plenty of times when flies will catch better than anything else.     And catching ocean fish by fly is such an incredible rush.   I just can't go back and do it any other way.

I fished the Yuba many many years ago but not by kayak.   Let's get a trip and shuttle together some time.    Or as Ted mentioned, there is a guy there that provides shuttle service for a small fee.

Happy to hook up too for the ocean.

How do you get the fly down in deep water? I usually take my fly gear out on the yak but have yet to bust it out mainly because I don't know how to fish it deep and in current in the ocean.

How do you get the fly down in deep water? I usually take my fly gear out on the yak but have yet to bust it out mainly because I don't know how to fish it deep and in current in the ocean.

I've been using intermediate sinking line. Cast it and wait about 40 sec. It will go down about 15- 20 feet. Usually pick up blacks/blues and lings. Been tying White and pink clouserrs with weighted eyes. Seems to be producers for me.
Most importantly  you have to be over fish!!

How do you get the fly down in deep water? I usually take my fly gear out on the yak but have yet to bust it out mainly because I don't know how to fish it deep and in current in the ocean.

T14 is your friend. Heavy shooting heads will get you down and there are heavier lines them t14.


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**** Warning - highly opinionated content follows. Scroll down to lower Yuba trip info if desired *****

I just don't see the point of using fly gear to target fish 100 feet down. I've been out with folks off of Kodiak that were doing that, but honestly, it was a more than a bit of a farce. When you need the heaviest integrated head lines available, plus lead eye flies, plus additional weight just to get down to 20 fathoms with a drift angle of 45*, you kind of aren't really fly fishing. You're more like using a 1:1 reel and mooch-jigging.  Things only got fun for the fly anglers when those of us using conventional gear attracted blacks and duskies to the surface. These also brought the the occasional small ling that followed, looking for a score. At least then they were fishing near the surface, and not needing minutes to get down to depth (end of the line/beginning of backing). Fly fishing (implying you're actually using the weight of the line to load the rod) to fish within ~20-25 feet of the surface seems a lot more reasonable.

As for fly fishing being a more intellectual activity, well I have to agree. I'm not saying you need to be a rocket surgeon in order to be a fly fisherman. Nor am I saying that only dolts use bait or conventional gear. But, in general while fly fishing, I think you really do need to be a bit more focused/attentive/thoughtful. More of your head is in the game so to speak. And while I've already confessed above to using conventional gear, I'll hereby confess to being a bait fisherman. Yep, that's right. If I catch a legal length greenling, you can ferdamsure bet it's getting hooked on to a big jig head, and turned into a yummy ling cod Snickers bar. So it's not like I'm some sort of elitist, I just honestly feel that fly fishing is more mentally stimulating.

Now as to bobicators and nymphing being just as easy as bait fishing - hogwash. Here's a little tale: Once upon a time, my boys and I were on the bait-legal portion of the South Platte downstream of Deckers, CO. I go to work,  indicator nymphing  a pool, and get blanked. Now, the boys were along, so I rigged up there spinning rod with a bobber and worm (on a barbless circle hook). The idea being that I could hand off the rod to the kids if we get bit. I kid you not, we hooked either identical 16" rainbow triplets, or we hooked the same fish 3 times in the span of less than 10 minutes. The first two times the boys couldn't land the fish (darn barbless hook). The last time I managed to bring it in. An educated fish can spit out an artificial nymph in about a second, and your bobicator will never signal a take. That same fish just isn't going to let go of a nice  juicy crawler. No less an authority than Ralph Cutter estimates that 70% of the times a fish takes a fly, either the indicator doesn't move, or moves so minimally the angler can't detect it. Which leads to high stick/EU/tightline nymphing...

***** End of highly opinionated content *****


I fish the lower Yuba a fair bit. In fact I was just out about a week ago. A few fish to hand, some LDRs, and all in about 3 hours before dusk. I even managed to not step on a juvenile buzzworm that forgot to rattle politely.  I've got a Frontier 4x4 with Thule racks that can carry 3 kayaks, maybe 4 even. I've also a drift boat that I wouldn't mind using as a mother ship (think big cooler filled with frosty beverages/food). I could even  put a couple kayaks in the drift boat for transportation to/from the river. My issue is with the shuttle. I'm just not ready to pay $25 for just shuttling myself, so I've been banking it save for one boat ride with my boys last November.  Still, I started floating the lower Yuba in 2004 or so, and have a fairly decent knowledge of where to pick up fish at least to where the road on the south side is washed out. From there down to Sycamore, I can fake it. I will be on the lower Yuba in October and November no matter what. Some weekdays, maybe a Sunday. You want to try fly fishing? I've got tackle you can borrow for the day. Want to try out a two handed rod? Same deal.

Scott

P.S. Even more so than the lower Yuba, I'd like to float the Feather, starting yesterday. Maybe side drift some water, and get out and swing in other spots. I'm just looking for a shuttle partner.