Michael Gracie

You can be gratuitous too

I’ve had a pretty darn good September so far. For some odd reason more than a few folks have been abnormally kind to me - I hardly deserve it, but I’ve had a chance to do some much needed gear upgrading … engage in more frivolous purchases … contribute back what I can to the local fly fishing economy as a result. And in not-so-grand fashion, I’m now getting rid of a few things.

UPDATE: My excess gear is gone, so I’ve removed the portions of this post dealing with it (particularly since the pictures were such fine examples of my piss poor photography skills). Onward…

Second to last but still not least, Tom Chandler is cleaning out his closet too. From the sounds of it, he has enough gear to outfit every commenter on his blog for a solid decade, but the George Maurer Bamboo he’s seeking a good home for deserves attention that the average brownliner simply can’t provide.

And lastly (there is no “least” in fly fishing - the joke’s on you), Jason Puris of The Fin fishing social network nabbed a cap in my little Drift trivia contest. But instead of taking the goods and heading for the hills, Jason decided to return the favor - I received a fine t-shirt in the mail today that reminds all fly fishing folk to…

Thanks Jason!

Email me (or comment) with any questions - my contact information is here.

Adieu.

I whipped this rod around for ten hours straight, just like I said I would. I’m anxious to describe how I feel about its performance, but I think a little primer is due first…

Roughly ten years ago, one of my fanatical fly fishing friends booked a trip to the Bahamas and stuck me with half the bill - so I went, if only to make sure he didn’t bullshit about all the bonefish he caught. We were out on the skiff day one, and he won the flip for first on deck. A few cruisers were spotted, but my buddy couldn’t reach them. Then I stepped up to the plate, and my bat was a rod (sorry - different brand) I had picked up in Miami just a month before during a secret Biscayne Bay practice session. It was a rocket launcher - nearly impossible to load without half the spool in flight, but when she did the bend right it was sayonara Crazy Charlie. Anyway, my buddy sits next to the guide watching, in awe that quickly turned to disgust - finally he gives, and we spent the rest of the day using one rod. When we returned to the dock, I picked up the gear and he sprinted back to the hotel - when I arrived he was on the phone with outfitters on the mainland, looking for that stick. He finally found one, in California, and had the shop do a FedEx Priority (yes, to the Bahamas).

The Orvis Zero G 906-4 Tip-Flex 10.5 may well find itself in a similar predicament. All I have to do is wind up on someone else’s big trout trip - I’ll demand we fish streamers, and then I’ll pull this puppy out. We’ll make sure there’s a company FedEx account handy.
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There are several people in the world who were tired of my incessant research on a new streamer rod. I’d been searching for months, read reviews until my eyes were sore, and cast at least a half-dozen different models. Sure, I already had a decent rod for streamers (the Sage 690-3 SP), and my short casting stroke and obsessive use of sinking lines and 6-inch pieces of dumbell-ed rabbit strip was pushing it - nonetheless I was pretty satisfied with its performance. I’d been lucky too - no multi-ounce flies had yet knocked a tip off - but I was in need of a backup quarterback just in case. Instead I wound up with what may be a starter - the Orvis Zero G 906-4 Tip-Flex 10.5.

Like my last ostentatious and frivolous purchase rod review I’ll being doing this one in two parts: paint and trim, and track acceleration (reels do the braking). I purchased this beauty from (where else?) Orvis - specifically from the Cherry Creek location. I’d hinted to the folks there that I was in want of a rocket launcher, and a few days ago Kerry Caragher said I had to cast this one. Fast forward to this afternoon - I was back in the shop, BYORL (bring your own reel and line) and out on the grass for a test drive. I’ll have more to report in regards to performance later, but I can say I was false casting 30+ feet of 5 inch/second sinker with barely a twitch of my elbow and some short tugs on the line - you guessed it…I was sold.

Following is the first half of the review, and some pics, of the latest addition to the quiver…
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I’ve been fly fishing with Lamson reels since early in the “Sage days” - as a matter of fact I don’t own anything but Lamson reels, at least when it comes to freshwater equipment. And thankfully, I’m hard pressed to say one has truly failed me yet. However, once in a blue moon, something does go wrong with one of them, but I’ve never been much to worry - Waterworks-Lamson’s warranty service is as fine as fine can be.

The few problems I have had have always been with clutches. A Lamson LP 2.0 was long my go-to trout winder, but about the same time I started fishing the G2/Velocity combo and pushed the LP and it’s six-weight rod friend over to streamer duty the clutch gave out. The LP reels have been off the shelves for some time but Waterworks-Lamson still had a few clutches left, which they sent me forthwith (yes, spares too). That’s a good thing, as I still own the 2.0, have a 1.5 on the Sage LL, and also keep a 3.5 (and spare spool) for windy bonefishing days.

Within the last year and a half, I’ve begun a little change up (although friends say it’s nothing but retail therapy since I never ever go fishing) - the LPs are slowly being replaced by later and greater (note - I didn’t say “latest” and “greatest” because I still look around for deals). I started with the mid range Velocity, and the LP 2.0 with the brand new clutch has just been replaced with an older model Litespeed (which I found brand new in a local fly shop, covered in grime and dust in the back of a display case). The move is mostly because the newer reels are generally an ounce plus lighter than the LPs, and because I like the sealed simplicity of the newer Waterworks conical drag system.

Lighter reels = more fun, although I’ll add the new drags are not without their faults (or at least “were” not without their faults). After a year of use the clutch in the Velocity started sticking, and despite my frequent breakdown and drying after trips. I noticed it was starting to corrode, so I called the company. Sure enough, they’d already solved that problem - the new clutches are now stainless steel (and slightly lighter) than the original steel ones. I got a new one in the mail, less than a week after being on the phone.

No reel is perfect for every fly fishing situation, and no reel will remain without fault forever (even if you are a reel cleaning fanatic such as myself). But it is nice to know the company that makes your gear is willing to back it up with great service. And I’m certain that having a critical part in hand before Saturday rolls around is the equivalent of great service.

Thanks, Waterworks-Lamson.

Started off chasing dinks, and still rolling!

I guess it’s my dirty little secret - I haven’t been trout fishing all that long. I held my first fly rod when I was maybe five or six (a bamboo something) and remember catching plenty of bream out of a South Florida canal that day. I was certainly “hooked”, but didn’t buy a fly rod with my own money until I was like ten - and I don’t know what ever happened to it. The bottom line is I grew up on bass and bonefish, and didn’t actually catch my first trout until I was twenty-something.

When I first took up the pursuit of Salmoninae, I purchased a Sage 6-weight DS2 after checking it out in the shop. It felt good in the hand, had a comfortable weight, and stiff action. But my tutor laughed hysterically the first time they saw me with it on this little East Coast tailwater we were fishing. “You should take that rod to the bass pond,” they noted. Up until that time all I’d ever cast was 7’s, 8’s, 9’s and 12’s, and soon after the exchange I was pulling the jaws off of 12 inch rainbows. “Maybe I need a lighter rod,” I thought.

That inkling became a Sage 389-3 LL, which I got a decent deal on (including a good price for my ‘overweighted’ trade-in).

Why did I buy this rod? I knew diddly about trout rods, but this one came highly recommended. And I think because it was so beautiful - the finish was that glossy deep blood red, and the reel seat was an excellent mahogany tint with silver hardware. I put a Lamson LP 1.5 on it, and fished almost every afternoon for an entire summer with the rig. Since that time I’ve built up my trout quiver, and this little gem sees much less use. It last saw action on the Arkansas River during the Mother’s Day caddis hatch, winding up being the perfect compliment to #18 elk hairs (as well as morning nymphs). The rod/reel couple remains together until this day, and the rig remains one of my favorites.

And why did I bring this up? Tom Chandler of Trout Underground fame has been bragging profusely about his seemingly never-ending trip to Montana, and the latest of his jaunts was to yet another untouched small stream. While reading Tom’s blow-by-blow I heard a rattling in the closet - it was the LL wanting to get out. The poor thing wants some attention, and of course Mr. Chandler immediately volunteered to assist through the freshly chartered non-profits The Underground Home for Underused Sage LL Rods and the Underground Rod Rescue (A Home for Under-appreciated fly rods).

So where does that leave me? Well…I’m about to get hauled in for rod neglect, and I’ve got other fishing folks queuing up for adoption. I better get this baby wet, and soon. So I guess I’m now frantically searching for some small Colorado streams. Please don’t call the authorities on me - provide venue advice instead.

Classic, seasoned, and pristine - needs owner that won’t leave me in the closet all the time. Loves throwing double-taper lines and #20 Adams’s. Email sage389-3LL@lonelyflyrods.com with pictures of habitats frequented and potential partners (reels).

Not really, but it’s helpful for forming opinions on three sets of wading boots

Spring is here, and everyone will be out shopping for new gear. My purchase tendencies are usually on a desperately as-needed basis, which is why my lunch breaks are spent almost exclusively in fly shops. One of those recent excursions resulted in a new pair of wading boots - I’ve got three pairs of them now, which means it’s about time to state some opinions on said footwear.

The Newfangled

First up are the latest and greatest - Korkers Streamborns - so new they’ve only been wet twice. I took these babies in because my old boots were in a sad state - yes, I actually needed them. Discount Tackle hooked me up (I just happened to be in there…wink wink), and I’ll have to say that so far I’m pretty happy. The boots are quality built and quite comfortable. Notwithstanding the fancy removable sole inserts they come with, they seem to perform pretty well too - I’ve felt well balanced and firmly footed while standing in moderately heavy flows, and short hikes in them (with felt soles) were no sweat.

As far as fitting goes, I’m an 8 1/2 to 9 in most shoes and I picked up a 10 in these. There was room for a heavy sock and the wader neoprene, with space to spare for cranking down the laces if I so choosed. The swap-able sole bit still has to prove its usefulness - extended hikes up to some backcountry lakes this summer will take care of that, and I’ll report back thereafter. I’m giving them the thumbs up for now, noting they are a good buy (I think I paid around $130) and according to the shop might run a tad small (although I’m not sure about that so make sure you try them on “as you’d wade in them”).

The Old and Decrepit

My go-to daddies for the better part of a decade have been the Simms Freestone Studded. I’ve heard some folks call these “brogues” - to me that term means business dress shoe (a.k.a. wingtips) but I’m going to take their word for it. I’ve run the studded version long enough to break off some lace rings, go through a set of soles (felt and carbide), and have even seen them crack across the area which would otherwise be “the break.” A bit of duct tape (good for any repairs) covered the cracks for a while, and then I resorted to the fishing-specific standby, Aqua-Seal. In other words, they’ve served me well. The best thing about these boots is the rough and tumble build - they feel like they are steel toed, and rise high above the ankle. When you’re wading, you can kick rocks in the stream bed and you don’t feel a thing; and their height precludes the need for gravel guards (something I now need with the Korkers).

Originally I chose these for the price (which ranges between $80 and $100), and I only have one complaint about them - despite being a size 10 (like the Korkers) the sole is roughly an inch longer in comparison. They’ve always felt slightly clunky to me - I personally thought I was just a wading goof. Now I know why - they just run a bit large in the length department. The conclusion is they are great value, particularly for the novice as well as self-proclaimed wading lackeys that have a tendency to stub toes and/or fall in all the time (i.e. me). They are not going to the glue farm - despite their age they are still quite functional - now resting in the spares/loaners bin.

The Somewhere In Between

The Patagonia Riverwalker (now called the Canyonwalker) is pretty much my wet wading boot. Once daytime temperatures climb into the eighties, I’m very unlikely to be wearing anything but a pair of nylon pants and a t-shirt. Part of that mantra comes from a Florida childhood spent wading flats and lake edges for bonefish/largemouths (actually that would be lost mutton snapper and the occasional bluegill, but the time was spent unsupervised so I lied a lot), and part of it comes from the fact that when I first started fly fishing for trout the location was Maryland and the time was summer - it was just too sticky to wear anything but shorts.

Anyway, I’ve been running with these Paddies for closing on four years, and generally wear them over nothing but a heavy woolen sock. An old friend once told me to wear ragwool gloves in the winter - when they get wet your hands will stay warm. He was right - but, while I don’t use that type of glove because it’s kind of like wearing fly drying patches on both hands (i.e. flies stick to them like they’re smeared in SuperGlue), I’ve found that wool on thy feet does trap the warmth in thy foot, especially when wet. So that’s how I roll in the summer.

The boots have held up very well - in fact there is still little sign of wear on the un-studded sole. The uppers show some scratches, but nothing that would make me think they aren’t going to hold up for at least another five years. Even the laces are still in decent condition. Much like my everyday shoes, I’m in a size 8 1/2 - the fit is perfect, but if the day was any colder and I decided to go the waders route I likely wouldn’t be able to get my feet into them. All told, I’ve been very happy with the Patagonia product for my purposes, and I see no reason why I won’t continue to be for many warm weather seasons to come.

Tight lines (or in my case, tailing loops)!

Note: I might make this “gear bag” bit a regular item around here, even if the term used as the headliner isn’t particularly original. God (and everyone else) knows I’ve got plenty of gear, spend plenty of time making decisions about gear, and even more time tweaking my usage of the stuff. At the least, I’ve got a cool little thumbnail of what else…a gear bag…that I can slap on the pages over and over and over again.

Gold prices notwithstanding, this is unsolicited and extraordinarily well-deserved praise

I own a bit of Marmot gear, mostly outerwear, and it’s not because I’m spoiled or have money to burn - despite being twice the price of what you’d call “comparable” items, their stuff just seems worth it. Reasoning: it’s apparent when looking at their gear that the company pays attention to details - I’m an accountant…details are good. One of my favorite pieces was this Marmot PreCip jacket I’d had for several years - it served duty as a rainy spring/summer day protector, mostly on dog walks, but also the occasional misty hike. Never abused, its exterior still looked like new.

Unfortunately, on one of those rainy days I noticed my shoulders were feeling a little damp. After returning home, I further noticed that the interior waterproofing material had started to show some significant wear…more significant than should have been apparent with anything but everyday use in the Pacific Northwest (where I spend almost no time). I decide to send this precious garment off to see if something could be done about it. That was April 15th.

Yesterday, I received a warranty claim ticket, saying the jacket had been received and the estimated turnaround time was four to six weeks (while strangely saying “as of 2/08″). It only took one more day to figure out what that claim ticket meant. This morning a package arrived. It was sent priority mail. It contained this:

…a new PreCip jacket, in the package. Marmot must have figured that spring was well on its way, and that I needed this jacket back pronto. Smart, very smart, especially considering the fact that after I saw the prospective wait time the day before, I’d already started looking for a new jacket (and had even put a few bids on one in my size via eBay). Ridiculously good customer service - ranks right up there with my charming time at Orvis.

PS: Jeez…they even gave me a better color than the one from before. I think these folks should go into the fishing gear business and distribute through Orvis - I’d be like a walking billboard for that deal!

The other day, I was standing by a clear river tying on a fly when a colleague commented that I was carrying two fly boxes. Yes, I used to be a one-box fisherman. It was all about being minimalist - carrying as little gear as possible - and it extended to flies and boxes as well.

Unfortunately, I’ve grown older, and despite not feeling all that much wiser I’ve at least figured out that trout do not need to be handed any advantages whatsover. Now I carry two boxes…sometimes three. Gotta assume the weather might change, or that I will get lost and be forced to strip big streamers until sun-up (darn, that would suck, eh?).

My primary below deck box, usually found lashed to my lanyard and stuffed in a front shirt pocket:

Yea, there are a few dries in that one, but you get the idea.

Now, half dry, and half big and fast (but generally big):

People look at me funny when I tell them I have dries and streamers in the same box - they also carry like 12 boxes with them everywhere they go.

This one doesn’t follow me everywhere, but you must be prepared for monsters lurking in the shadows:

The latter two are handled carefully, as I don’t have them secured around my neck like the first, and I’ve been known to drop full boxes in Class 4 rapids.

Sometime down the road, I’ll open up my salty set, but meanwhile the question remains…what do fly boxes say about a person?

In my case, self-analysis says I’m a neat freak, in need of glasses, and broke!

Are your boxes talking to you?

Can’t really comment too much about the performance of this rod, other than give it a big thumbs up!

The whole setup is light as a feather…so light that a colleague thought it was a 3wt when they gave it a try. And that is good, particular for a kid (me) who learned to trout fish high-sticking a small East Coast tailwater and still can’t shake the tendency to lift the rod.

Casting

I ran this getup through it’s paces long tossing streamers into the stream spillout on a local reservoir. It handled beautifully with all but the largest beadhead woolies, running in tandem at that. Then the rod showed me it wasn’t an 8wt designed to throw large flies 75+ feet. Despite being a medium-action rod, it still had the backbone to pick up 20+ feet of line, and get it moving in another direction - that felt good.

I also tossed some attractor patterns up against some far banks one morning. Despite still not having a very good feel for the set up, and snagging a few times behind and to the right of me, it didn’t take long to figure out how to tighten up the loops and start dropping dries within inches of dirt. As a side note, I also found the tip just soft enough to mend away without shaking the leader in the slightest.

Catching (the important stuff)

I generally brag a lot about the fact that a lose very few fish post-hookup. But over the last three days I lost plenty. I am not going to blame the rod for this - it is a medium action - it’s just that the user is “over action.” I popped a lot of small tippets, and I think that was a trust issue. Enough said. Still, it is capable of catching fish, and I suspect it could catch a lot more in more capable hands:

I’d really love to sandbag the rating here to keep Scott on it’s toes, but I just can’t. I’ll get very use to this rod much sooner than later, especially as a result of it’s overly comforting weight factor.

I’m giving it a 9 out of 10 in the performance bracket, subject to further review and a possible upgrade.

Cheers.

UPDATE: Fly Fishing Insider just posted some benchmarks on 5-weight rods - the Scott G2 was not included.

Every fishing fanatic needs some new gear every now and again, and I’m no different. My present quiver was purchased between 1997 and 1999, so I thought the time had come.

My choice was a trout rod, slightly lighter than model I presently carry for general duty. After a few weeks of research and a bit of touch and feel, I chose a Scott G2 in a 5-weight…the 4-piece job. Everyone said I made a good choice, but then again, the ones talking were either selling me the rod or going fishing with me this weekend, so I thought I’d throw in my own two cents.

This review is coming in two parts; the first will be aesthetics, which many people find very important (if all the gear everyone wears on the river is any indication), and the second will be performance on water (which is not really what I care about - it is all about looking good - but I’ll humor you).

The rod was ordered last Sunday from Western Rivers Flyfishers in Salt Lake City, Utah (a damn fine bunch of folks over there, IMHO), and arrived on my doorstep yesterday. So here we go (and keep in mind, this review is not being done by a pro - I am a rank amatuer and plan on staying that way)…

Part I - Build and Finish

The rod comes in a nicely constructed tube, which will take a place in the back of the closet when I stuff this puppy in my homemade multi-rod bag. I did note that the tube cap screws on nicely, as compared to the old Sage tubes I ditched long ago:

The cloth is pretty sweet too (as if anyone cares about tubes OR cloth):

Now, for the rod - four fine pieces:

I found no blemishes anywhere on the finish of any of the sections. It is a natural finish, meaning heavy on graphite ribs and very light on epoxy. All the guides were set in place very nicely, with smooth, tight wraps; error free and epoxied flawlessly as well. The corked was initially covered in plastic wrapping, which is of course now in the can - the cork was epoxied over the top quarter-inch, I guess for protection - a nice touch.

The ferrules are the internal kind, and are designed for long wear. This means you don’t need to try jamming them completely together; instead they come out of the womb with a quarter-inch or so gap intended when you put the rod pieces together. Over time, the fit will likely become a bit less snug and the sections will draw ever closer together, but I suspect that will be a long time (unless you are prone to leaving fly rods in door jams). I wax my ferrules every now and then to ensure smooth put-together and breakdown, and on this rod it was no different. The ferrules were dry, and now they are not.

Overall, this little joker is a beauty, but I did find one little flaw. The reel seat was slightly misaligned from the fly eye (or whatever the hell techies call it), and this carried on to the first alignment dot on the butt section:

The above pic was taken while holding the rod, with reel seated and upright/perpendicular to the floor.

A minor issue, for me in particular, since I don’t pay much attention to those little alignment dots anyway (and the alignment was fine on the other three sections). Inclusive of this “tropical depression,” the rod gets a 9 out of 10 for build quality and appearance.

By the way, this addition to the rod bag was married to a Lamson/Waterworks Velocity 1.5 wrapped with an SA Mastery WF taper (Trout, to be exact, in olive).

Seated, the whole setup is very light and feels well balanced in my hand:

I found the exact balance point three-quarters of an inch below the top of the cork, if that makes any difference to anyone.

And here is a close-up of the bride, pre-ceremony:

I did get this rod out in the yard, after the nuptials. A few false casts, with tissue-laden leader end barely touching the tree across the street, and a nice loop carrying over the top of the car parked in the driveway next door. Feels smooth so far, although keeping that new line from landing on the blacktop and/or the windshield was a chore.

Part II, the real meat (or fish) of the issue, is coming up at the end of the weekend.