Hex Mayflies
Hexagenia limbata
The famous nocturnal Hex hatch of the Midwest (and a few other lucky locations) stirs to the surface mythically large brown trout that only touch streamers for the rest of the year.
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This specimen appears to be of the same species as this one collected in the same spot two months earlier. The identification of both is tentative. This one suffered some physical damage before being photographed, too, so the colors aren't totally natural. I was mostly photographing it to test out some new camera setting idea, which worked really well for a couple of closeups.
Troutnut is a project started in 2003 by salmonid ecologist Jason "Troutnut" Neuswanger to help anglers and
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Oldredbarn on Aug 25, 2015August 25th, 2015, 8:57 am EDT
Just opened the "New Best Gear" catalog from Feather-Craft and saw a page of "Arc" line, leader, and tippet...Anyone know anything about this line? I've never heard of them.
Spence
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
Martinlf on Aug 26, 2015August 26th, 2015, 5:16 pm EDT
Well, to silence those crickets. . . I did a little Googling, and it appears that Arc has just shown up on the radar. They have some interesting products and ideas, but I'd have to see some glowing reviews and solid tippet strength tests to lay out real money for any of their products at this point. I'm getting pretty settled in to the lines and tippet that seem to work best for me, and not eager to experiment.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Catskilljon on Aug 26, 2015August 26th, 2015, 6:11 pm EDT
As far as tippet goes, I am full-on in love with Trouthunter's stuff. Not just because they make them in 1/2 sizes (5.5X, 4.5X, etc) but because the stuff is as strong as the flyline!
No kidding, here is what happened...I get hung up on the bottom like I have a million times, I try the upstream jiggle, the slack mend, the sharp tug... it is stuck for good. I never just start "setting the hook" on a hung up fly, but rather I point the tip at it and walk backwards pinching the line against the grip. I finally end up playing tug of war with this hung up fly, and when it finally lets go it straightened the hook out, on 5.5X!
Its just super tough. I keep going down in size to see when it will finally break, and haven't experienced it yet. CJ
No kidding, here is what happened...I get hung up on the bottom like I have a million times, I try the upstream jiggle, the slack mend, the sharp tug... it is stuck for good. I never just start "setting the hook" on a hung up fly, but rather I point the tip at it and walk backwards pinching the line against the grip. I finally end up playing tug of war with this hung up fly, and when it finally lets go it straightened the hook out, on 5.5X!
Its just super tough. I keep going down in size to see when it will finally break, and haven't experienced it yet. CJ
Martinlf on Aug 27, 2015August 27th, 2015, 5:34 am EDT
Yes, I've heard a lot about the Trouthunter, especially the fluorocarbon, and I'm going to give it a try next season. For nylon, I've been using the Stroft GTM. It is very strong as well, and in small sizes such as 7X for Tricos, I have found it to even be stronger than Puglisi's Powerfull tippet, my previous choice. Rio Powerflex, another good nylon tippet, is more supple, but not as strong, so I just use a slightly longer Stroft tippet to get a good drift.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Feathers5
Posts: 287
Posts: 287
Feathers5 on Aug 27, 2015August 27th, 2015, 5:54 am EDT
As far as tippet goes, I am full-on in love with Trouthunter's stuff. Not just because they make them in 1/2 sizes (5.5X, 4.5X, etc) but because the stuff is as strong as the flyline!
No kidding, here is what happened...I get hung up on the bottom like I have a million times, I try the upstream jiggle, the slack mend, the sharp tug... it is stuck for good. I never just start "setting the hook" on a hung up fly, but rather I point the tip at it and walk backwards pinching the line against the grip. I finally end up playing tug of war with this hung up fly, and when it finally lets go it straightened the hook out, on 5.5X!
Its just super tough. I keep going down in size to see when it will finally break, and haven't experienced it yet. CJ
I must have gotten old Trout Hunter tippet. My 5x constantly snapped and the 4x didn't seem much better. JMO
Catskilljon on Aug 27, 2015August 27th, 2015, 4:40 pm EDT
The thing I do with tippet is [5X and smaller] retire it at the years end. Its cheap enough to throw away, and just not worth losing a good trout over because its old or sun damaged. I kill at least 4 spools of the good sizes every year anyway and use the rest for ribbing or lawn casting.
Its true, some fly shops have the same spools hanging on the wall for years...you cant trust it. CJ
Its true, some fly shops have the same spools hanging on the wall for years...you cant trust it. CJ
Bnorikane on Aug 28, 2015August 28th, 2015, 11:20 am EDT
I must have gotten old Trout Hunter tippet. My 5x constantly snapped and the 4x didn't seem much better. JMO
I have had the same problem with a spool of Trouthunter 6x. Very low knot strength, often broke when testing my knots. I've had good success with other spools of TH 6x and other fluoro.
Martinlf on Aug 28, 2015August 28th, 2015, 1:19 pm EDT
Yeah, one can get a bad spool of tippet from time to time. I do try to test it, and I think Catskilljon's habit of retiring old tippet is a very good one, especially for nylon.
"He spread them a yard and a half. 'And every one that got away is this big.'"
--Fred Chappell
--Fred Chappell
Oldredbarn on Aug 28, 2015August 28th, 2015, 4:40 pm EDT
The thing I do with tippet is [5X and smaller] retire it at the years end. Its cheap enough to throw away, and just not worth losing a good trout over because its old or sun damaged. I kill at least 4 spools of the good sizes every year anyway and use the rest for ribbing or lawn casting.
Its true, some fly shops have the same spools hanging on the wall for years...you cant trust it. CJ
I use to take the 6x at the end of the year and wind it on to my ice fishing reel...:) I need to get back out there this winter.
Thanks for the replies. I was curious cause I've never heard of it.
Spence
"Even when my best efforts fail it's a satisfying challenge, and that, after all, is the essence of fly fishing." -Chauncy Lively
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
"Envy not the man who lives beside the river, but the man the river flows through." Joseph T Heywood
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