Fly Fishing

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

I was fly fishing the other afternoon with a couple friends and walking through a fairly tight trail in the woods. We had just finished fishing and we were walking back to the car. Every 3 minutes or so I kept having to stop because my rod would get hung up on overhanging branches. I put the rod with the tip forward and got hung up and then put the rod with the tip facing backwards and still got hung up in the bushes. And, of course, I'd have to stop walking and actually go back a little bit to get my rod and line untangled from the bushes .. because a good yank on the rod wasn't good enough to get the little snags to come free ... So, then I said to my friends, "That has to be one of the most annoying little things." ... Which led me to think of all the little annoying things that happen in both freshwater and saltwater fly fishing environments .. I'd imagine that there are a lot of things that everyone experiences as "pet peeves" ... So, what might be some of your pet peeves? Here are a couple of mine to get the ball rolling.

1. Walking in woods and rod keeps getting snagged on overhanging bushes.

2. When nymphing .. cast, get hung up .. lose entire rig. Then take 10 minutes to re-rig, make the same cast and get hung up on the same log and lose everything again.

3. Fly box open and big gust of wind blows small dry flies into water

4. When stream flies fowl every 3 rd cast

5. When fishing streamers in salt and fresh without a stripping basket .. and the slack line at your feet gets hung up on little roots or sea weed or barnacles etc.. and your cast only goes 20 feet or so.

Curious to hear others ..

greg · Posted: Sun 11/01/09 6:43 pm Post subject: I Like This Subject!

The following examples usually are followed by loud and obnoxious behavior but not limited to profanity, waling and gnashing of teeth.

1. Buddy....have you got any 4x tippet, caddis, split shot, batteries, leaky wader cement, extra rod, ad nauseum ad infinitum! Haven't met this guy yet? you will and he is never, ever prepared to fish. Avoid this guy, he is the fisherman from Hell!!

2. The plants that are stream side are made by DuPont or Goodyear! They enjoy any defoliant, like being sawed down and pop up the following year!
These plants have no empathy for the new or practiced fisherman and do not discriminate in any way. The road to madness is decorated with these plants from Hell! Once they have your fly, rod, leader or line your on your way to psychosis. The best thing to do is do not struggle it only gets worse. Be glad you bought a rod that has a guarantee and just cut your line, break the rod and reclaim the balance of your sanity.

3. Chubs, I know someone is saying "they give a good fight" A person wearing1200.00 worth of gear they not looking for Chubs!! I DO NOT FISH FOR CHUBS!! I would rather go Golfing, Chubs are fertilizer not game fish! When you loose 20.00 worth of flies to Chubs, let me know how much fun it was.

4. The guy you have taken fishing for years and he has caught 3 fish. You know him, he stands in the middle of a nice pool full of fish, 30 feet of line swirling at his feet and is staring at the Sun. He is Mr. no motivation for the sport! and all you can do is wonder why you take him. Loose this guy, run, use caller ID and never say you are going fishing! This guy will suck the life out of you. Tell him Copernicus called and come to find out he is not the center of the universe!!!!

I have more, lets see if this thread has life.

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

Classic topic...A few more:

1. Wind at your back or limited room fishing a heavy streamer or rig with a lot of weight and the fly or weight nails you in the back of the head...*#%*!

2. When casting a lot in wind and the ferrules get loose creating probability of breaking the rod or the tip actually casts off. I know you can use wax but I always forget and taping the ferrules makes it too difficult to break down the rod.

3. When you mis judge the distance on a cast and your fly lands right on top of the 23 inch trout or 30 pound permit that you spent the last 30 minutes or so stalking spooking the living s*** out of it.

4. When you make the perfect cast to the fish mentioned above, he eats and you are so amped you cracker it off instantly

Those are a few of my favorites...

Boz · Location: Portland

1. Nymphing, hang up on bottom ... yank hard ... fly comes off bottom, overhead and hung up in a tree.

2. Fishing dry flies in cold.weather ... squeeze floatant, frozen.

3. Waders

greg · Posted: Mon 11/02/09 7:55 pm Post subject: Just One More

You and 4 or 5 people want to fish on a particular river section and you check the flows, perfect. You call the morning your going and its Noah's Ark water!

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

Ice Guides

joey · Location: Colorado

Stripping line off the reel and the spool falls off

Wearing korkers and the interchangeable soles fall off.

Go to put split shot on and it falls in the water.

rustayy · Location: Islamorada,FL

1. When a guy creeps up on you and wants to fish the other side of the same pool you are in even though there is no one else on the river

2. Watching a bait dunker slay fish and then leave his trash all over the river bank

3. Forgetting to zip up your pocket and bending over only to drop everything you own in the river

chromefinder · Location: Southeast PA

1. Litter left by anglers
2. Abuse of private property
3. Know it all holier than thou attitudes

Matt1515 · Location: Greensboro, NC

1. Getting your dropper fly stuck in your hand while getting the lead fly out of the fish's mouth. Getting your lead fly stuck in your hand while getting the dropper fly out.

2. Wader leaks

3. Forgetting to leave your cell phone in the car and getting a call while you have the "Big One" on your line... and its your wife.

4. "Where did you catch them?"

5. "I've pitched this fly to that fish (20+ inch brown) a hundred times and he won't bite it for nothin' (by the way its February and I look down at his size 10 parachute)

6. After watching you catch 10 on 10 casts at your most trusty hole for 10years, you hear him say "Those fish weren't here yesterday when I was fishin"

7. My cigarettes decide to take a swim.

Fisherone · Location: The Big Apple/ Catskills NY

1. Leaving my rod on top of the car in order to open hatchback then taking off waders and driving off with the rod on the top of the car. Ashamed to say that I've done that more than once. DUMBA**!!!!

2. Bats. Can't stand 'em. Cannot tell you how many times I've been in a pool FULL of rising trout only to be totally spooked by those f***ers flying inches from my face and getting tangled in my friggin' line! BLECH!!!!

3. Straining eyes in fading light to change to lighter tippet material. Sweating and trembling while fish rise around you only to have your barrel knot fail 5 times before you get it right. ( OF course this is also one of the BEST moments when the knot works and then holds while you bring in a nice fish )

4. Having to leave a productive spot to take a leak only to return to some other guy catching "your" fish.

But hey... isn't this stuff ALL WORTH IT?

Matt1515 · Location: Greensboro, NC

I'm going to second the bats. Ours in NC are know to carry rabies (sp?). A buddy was bitten in the spring and had to have 90 days worth of shots. Good call on that one.

lunchbox · Location: Utah

Great topic! Since I am so easily annoyed by many stupid things I could go on and on! Some excellent ones have already been covered...

-Frogs Fanny lids that always come off in your pack and coat everything inside your pack with an ultra fine, white powder than cannot be washed out because it is waterproof.

-Head cement in hook eyes

-Floatant lids that pop off and cover everything in greasy slicone

-Wind. Period

-Animals that jump in front of your truck

-Guys who literally run to a spot to beat you to "their hole". God forbid they learn to fish another run.

-wet lighters

-Leg braces and oaklocks that are extremely attracted to line.

-Foul hooked Senor Blancos

-Barbed Wire; both the stuff hanging around in the bank that has a target on your waders and boot laces and the stiff IN the water that is much more unforgiving to releasing your fly than any stick.

-When fishing in the winter and snow accumulates on the bottom of your felt soled wading boots that has to be kicked off every 7 or 8 step or you feel like you are walking on stilts

-birds that are more interested in your fly than the fish. Bats have been mentioned but ducks and swallows can be problematic.

-real time streamflow guages that are either not real time or inaccurate.

-Beavers that you don't see that randomly slap their tail against the water like an oar just to scar the hell out of you.