Monday D.O.A.
Good Monday Morning! How’s that time change treating you? Me? I will take that evening sun anytime I can get it — the longer the days reach into night, the better.
Around here this morning, we have rain nearby but just missing us, while I get loaded for a last-minute run all the way down to the Borderland’s South Padre Island, Texas. I haven’t heard anything else from my contacts yet, but apparently the conventional company D.O.A. is rolling out a new lure and my presence to write and photograph the new saltwater fish magnet is requested.
As you know, I am expanding my horizons just a bit in the name of “Prospecting” for fish to ply with a fly – once we find them with conventional methods. It’s an old practice, and one that puts fish on deck when the weather disallows. And I’ll remind you hardcore fly snobs; Lefty Kreh traveled with a spinning rod.
SPINNING RODS FOR FLY FISHERS
You know we know no limits to our tolerance for insane costs of fly rods, but what’s your budget for a spinning rod that doesn’t wear your arm completely down in an hour? I will tell you that a spinning rod tires my casting arm exponentially faster than a fly rod. Why is that? Well, we are using an entirely different set of muscles, and techniques – from the start. For myself, I also imagine my spinning rod casting technique is … extraordinarily flawed. I probably use too much arm by habit, and too little rod snap. But … that is just my uneducated guess.
A former glitter boat friend with bottomless pockets became a big fan of Diawa spinning for bass, and was restocking his lockers with $400-dollar spinning rods. A lot of fly fishers would not blush at that price for a fly rod.
Seeing as I have a soft spot for local companies, my first adventure beyond my two old TFO travel spinning rods will be a Falcon Rod for two reasons. Number one: The company is based in Oklahoma, and two: I am a bit obsessed over Flats Class TV and the successful marketing and videos of Captain CA Richardson (understatement).
So we will just have to play this out together, and see where it leads. It is a short step from a spinning rod-reel to a fly rod, so I would like to see if we can take a short step back to spinning rods from fly rods … and invite you to come along once again for the ride. As always, I think you will enjoy the ride, and maybe we can learn along the way.
GEAR REVIEW – Simms Shirts & Mountain Khakis Pants
The Best Keeps Getting Better!
Here is my take on why you should “invest” in better quality clothing, based on my years as a “shoe dog” for a huge men’s shoe company. The technical aspects of better fly fishing clothing, the better standards of quality for fly clothing manufacturers, and the better functionality is just the start …
SIMMS FISHING GEAR – MOUNTAIN KHAKIS GEAR
Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Casting, Prospecting Conventional Gear, Spinning Rods Reels, TECHNICAL, Technique, Texas Gulf Coast
