Saturday, February 22, 2014

Testing Out Some Gear!

I would really like to thank all of you that read my blog, since I started this blog almost two months ago I have had over 3,000 views and have reached over 15 different countries, I'm blown away needless to say and I hope that there is something for everyone as I progress through different topics over the next few months. As promised I was able to get out on the water this last week and test out some of the new rods and reels that I've picked up over the last few months. The narrows is one of my favorite places to fish when the river flows are ideal, usually between 350-550 CFS makes for good clear water and plenty of pockets for the fish to stack into during the colder months.
Looking Down River
With it being a holiday I wasn't surprised to see people in some of the holes I like to fish, I stopped in a couple spots that I haven't fished for years and managed to scrap a couple little fish out of them. One of my favorite spots had a few guys fishing in it, so I decided to sit and watch them and see if they was having any luck, with it being cloudy and windy it made for some cold conditions and I could tell they weren't enjoying it much, another 10 minutes rolled by and they made their way up to the trucks and down the canyon they went. I wasn't to fond of getting out of my own truck so I decided to sit there myself and enjoy the warmth of the heater and the sound of the river and some Dwight Yoakam. While I was sitting there I was contemplating what bugs to try, I've always had good luck on Hare's Ears, Pheasant Tails and Copper Johns, along with black and maroon Beadhead Leach's. Within a few minutes the sun had started to poke its way around the edges of the canyon and the warmth was felt immediately, so I hopped out tied on a maroon Leach and a Copper John dropper
FISH ON!!

12" Bow

Little Guy

Catch and Release
It took me a little while to find a strike but after switching to a Hare's Ear I had several hits and landed a few fish nothing real big but typical of the Narrows, I was trying out  new 4wt. 9'6" St. Croix High Stick Drifter (Made specifically for nymphing), this rod is paired with the new Allen Trout II reel and Scientific Anglers Mastery Textured Nymph Series line. I was extremely hesitant about this whole setup, I know everyone is going to extremely long rods for nymph fishing. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised, in fact this is probably one of my favorite setups that I have. The rod is very light and balances extremely well with this reel, it has a great backbone and nice soft tip. I couldn't believe how good it felt in my hands, it could easily roll cast a double rig, split shot and strike indicator 40-50 feet. The thing that I really like is this rod would be equally suited for dry fly fishing too! Hands down an awesome rod, it is available in 4-5-6wts and retails for $460, definitely a great price considering its other competitors have rods made for the exact same tactics that run close to $1000! Now the Allen Trout II is another surprise, for a reel that runs $140 bucks this thing blew me away, I have a couple Lamson-Waterworks reels that cost upwards of $400 and this thing is every bit as good!! Super light, amazing drag, high line capacity, quick line pick up and it just looks damn good, it comes in many different colors and two different sizes for rods ranging from 3wt clear up to 6wt.
St. Croix High Stick Drifter

Allen Trout II

Another Setup I configured over the last couple months is the Echo Ion in a 9' 7wt rod and the Allen Alpha III reel, any one that fly fish's knows that the bigger the rod the more work that is involved to get things moving. I wished I could say I've found the mother of all rods with this guy, but thats not the case. It does however do exactly what is suppose to, chuck big weighted flies with heavy sinking lines. This rod loads extremely well and shoots line with authority, I had no problem throwing every ounce of fly line I had spooled up, several times when the wind was not blowing I made it into the backing, something I haven't done with very many rods. The rod is super stout and has a great back bone and it carries it's strength all the way to the tip, I'd have no worries about rigging this rod up for the biggest trout, steelhead or even salmon in the lower 48. The really great thing about this rod is it's price tag, $190 for all this rod has to offer is a really great price, and if you want to see some brutal rod testing search for Echo rod testing on Youtube, I don't think any normal fishing conditions could break one of these rods after watching some of the videos of them using forklifts to break their test rods.  Another Allen fly reel surprise, the Alpha III is a touch heavier than its smaller cousin the Trout II but that is to be expected with a reel that has a 200 yard capacity of 30 lb backing, definitely a beast made for big fish and long runs, it has the same silky smooth drag as the Trout II but is a hair bigger, great looking reel in a variety of colors to suit your fancy and another great price tag of $150. This reel paired with any single or two handed rod could easily handle some of the largest fish there is whether its fresh or saltwater. I look forward to catching some large fish with this rod over the next few months.
Echo Ion

Allen Alpha III
Both these rods were paired up with some of Scientific Anglers Mastery Texture series lines, these are slowly becoming my favorite lines to use, they have dimples kinda like golf balls that reduce friction in the guides and helps trap air pockets when they land on the water, this really does help the floatability of this series of lines, Scientific Angler has a series called Sharkskin that is even more textured than the Texture series, its extremely noisy when casting and can really chew up your hands when fishing it all day, it reminds me of a round file used for woodworking and I haven't enjoyed these lines as much as the Texture series even though they float even higher on the water and cast a little quicker through the guides. The great news is they are coming out with a new line called Sharkwave and it blends the best of both of the series lines into one. I was lucky enough to get a couple spools of some prototypes and I gave one of them to a friend, hopefully between the two of us I'll be able to get some good info for those of you that are anticipating the release of this new line. There are so many different tapers and several different series's to choose from when it comes to Scientific Anglers fly lines that I'd probably never catch up in reviewing all of them, I've had many of them and they all worked flawlessly for the situation they were created, top shelf stuff and it's worth it to me. Thanks for taking the time to read some of my reviews, in the next few months  I'll be talking about building a custom rifle on a budget, a big review on the Mystery Ranch Metcalf backpack and a pretty substantial review on some of Kuiu's new ultralight hunting clothing.

Until next time get outdoors and god bless.

Looking down the Canyon



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