Too much tying not enough fishing

greenie-slayer

As the title suggest doing one way more than the other. I should have added the berry flies (lures) to the other discussion on do they work. Either way looking forward to using them some more. Those carp are pretty fun to watch eat. Hell I might even put one of these other flies to use this weekend if the tarpon and snook decide they want to end their game of hide and go seek with me. Maybe next post i'll actually have some fish pictures for once. 

lemaymiami

These days I'm dividing my time between re-fitting  my skiff (finally, after 20 years I once again have a trolling motor...) and filling lure orders (caught up on orders taken back during spring when I was on the water continuously) so I know the feeling.  With some bookings coming up I finally made it down to Flamingo yesterday for a solo trip exploring (that's my excuse..) and was very pleased with the new setup...  Now, all that's needed is a new motor and I'll be ready to go for the coming year. 

In a few more weeks I'll be coming back to fly tying to stock up in that direction as well.  A good bit of time will be devoted to re-cycling flies that still have good hooks - but are a little too chewed up to be of much use... Forgot to mention I also have a half dozen rods that need to be re-wrapped with new guides and other small items... so I won't lack for things to do.  In my 24th year full time as a guide and it just never ends - the things that need doing...

Hang in there - the longer you go between trips - the more you'll appreciate time on the water (at least that's how I look at it...).

greenie-slayer

20 years with no trolling motor dang. If my buddy goes 15 minutes without using his to chase the tarpon around (away) he cries. A lot has changed in 20 years. Spot Lock and working the motor from a little remote.  I guess down where you fish  its not needed near as much as up here in Stuart.

troutbom

Greenie, it's needed, Bob's just old school.On the pole for hours. I was in one of same area Bob frequents, working a shoreline by myself for snook thinking how the hell did I do this 50 years ago?!. Answer, not nearly as well. 

greenie-slayer

Ya you’ll never seeing anyone poling in Stuart. Of course we don’t have grass flats anymore so no reason to flats fish at all. 

lemaymiami

Happy to report that the new troller is an ace... On Saturday we got four tarpon to the skiff - three small ones (20 to 40lbs...) and one big girl in the 90 to 100 category... Every one of those fish bit and hooked up within 80 feet or closer - while the troller was in anchor lock function - not one sign that they were in any way bothered by the motor... and it holds us in rivers when the current is cranking....  I just added a line tamer from Joe at Carbon Marine so I'm also set for when some fly anglers come my way again... 

Nothing without cost though... one of my anglers high sticked one of my favorite rods with a small tarpon - and now I'm adding a new rod to build to go with all the re-wraps that I need to get after...

troutbom

What no warranty!? 2 Orvis endorsed guides that I took snook fishing both , on different nights high sticked my TFO 8 weights and SNAP. Both blamed TFO, not their own pointing rod at the stars. What do you expect from trout guides? Not to mention how long it took me to get them to strip strike.  

greenie-slayer

Sounds like you like the new motor. I don’t think it bothers tarpon unless you chase them with it or constantly go from high to low and back again. Nice thing about the push pole you could bop clients on the head who high stick or trout set

lemaymiami

I've been building rods since 1971 and broken my share (one way or the other...).  I quit building rods for folks after the second time someone took a brand new rod I built them, knocked the last two or three inches off while waving it around (under a ceiling fan...) then wanted me to replace it ("under warranty")....for free...   I still build all the rods on my skiff and do a fair amount of repair work in my down time (what there is of it...) but I'm long out of the rodbuilding business. 
Great hobby but making a buck rodbuilding - not this guy...

There is a lot of satisfaction, though, in making something with your hands... whether it's tying a fly (or one hundred of the same pattern), making a bucktail jig, or building a pair of rods that match perfectly in every way... Speaking of that, my usual routine when I need a rod is to make two of them (at least as far as building and gluing up the handles...) that way the next time I need to replace a broken one all I have to do is wrap and finish the guides into place and I'm back in the game...  Just as easy to glue up two matched handles and reelseats as one of them....

troutbom

Greenie-slayer, thanks for push pole suggestion. I'll keep it in mind for for times when loudly profane verbal abuse doesnt get the job done.