Rivers, tools for the job

[Severn Wolf]

I haven`t chucked a fly in years and then that was on stillwaters so I could do with some advice please.

 

Trotting away on the Teme Sunday I kept getting small brownies while hoping for a grayling and it got me thinking just how much I`d like to go and have a go at fly fishing this river in the close season. The only thing is that the trout rods have long been stripped down and turned into small stream chub rods!!

 

What sort of weight rod would you need for the river? For folks who don`t know the Teme, its not that wide. Also, leader length and strength?

 

If you`re on a small river it would make sense to me to use a floating line but with (if needed) a sinking fly. Is that anywhere near the mark?

 

Also, can anyone recommend a decent rod to consider, I`m not going to get out too many times so don`t really need a Loomis and Franklin!! Action wise, I always preferred a tip/middle action, some rods I`ve used bend down to the butt and they just feel awful.

[jim doyle]

glad to see your going to have ago, there are so many rods on the market its all down to personal choise. I would look for something at 9ft aftm rateing 5 , the floating line heavy fly is a sound approach, this out fit would also be of use if you wanted to try the odd stillwater day, my best on such an outfit is 13lb, so its not just a toy. The rods to look at are in no particulare order are greys grx scierra sfx orvis streamline all these have lifetime, or 25 year guarantees. When youve decided where and what you want to try for give me a pm and Ill Tie some flies to get you going!

[argyll]

I dont know the Teme but I would broadly agree with Jim, although I'd probably go for a 6 weight nine footer. It might be a bit overkill on small streams but if you're looking for one rod only, its a better rod in bad weather when the wind becomes a problem and there's very few waters that you cant tackle with a 6 weight.

[Severn Wolf]

Cheers for the advice

 

The Teme is pretty sheltered so wind won`t affect things too much (hopefully!!).

 

Rod wise, I`m not really looking for the top of the range stuff, its only going to be an occasional `fancy a change` trip out so am wondering if theres any decent gear out there that doesn`t carry a hefty price tag but has a good action.

 

Also, who makes good fly line these days?

 

Jim, thanks for the offer, I`ll definitely be in touch soon.

 

Martyn

[Paul Boote]

Severn Wolf:

Cheers for the advice

 

The Teme is pretty sheltered so wind won`t affect things too much (hopefully!!).

 

Rod wise, I`m not really looking for the top of the range stuff, its only going to be an occasional `fancy a change` trip out so am wondering if theres any decent gear out there that doesn`t carry a hefty price tag but has a good action.

 

Also, who makes good fly line these days?

 

Jim, thanks for the offer, I`ll definitely be in touch soon.

 

Martyn

The Greys of Alnwick GRX 9 ft. # 5/6 2-piece @ £79.00 from Glasgow Angling Centre

 

http://www.fishingmegastore.com

 

ain't a bad rod.

 

There are cheaper makes - Ron Thompson, Scierra etc - and very nice some of them are too, but they can go 'pop' if you overdo things with your probably rusty casting.

 

Lines?

 

The bottom of the range Scientific Anglers Aircel Floating @ £19.99 is good line. You could get a much much cheaper 'mill-end' line from one of several gamefishing mail order outlets, but these can be anything from pretty good to barely fit to truss tomatoes - you can never quite tell just what you are going to be getting. As you won't need to cast too far on a stream like the Teme (wade carefully if conditions permit), get a double taper line. This way, when the front half wears out after a season or three of use you can reverse the line and get another a season or three out of it.

 

Feel free to ask any questions - I know a fair bit about flyfishing on rivers.

 

 

PS, a little later:

 

Another way you could go - Snowbee's rods and VERY good lines:

 

http://www.snowbee.co.uk/classic-flyrods.html

 

 

- very good lines for the money - £37 but only in weight forward taper:

 

http://www.snowbee.co.uk/fly-lines.html

[jim doyle]

The other thing you could try on the teme is barbel fishing chech nymph style, Ive got an article on it some where.

[Severn Wolf]

I couldn`t fish for barbel in the close season !!!!!

 

Then again I wouldn`t want to catch grayling or chub on the fly either................

 

Whats the Greys Greyflex like??? Also, is the Lochmor reel any good, I`ve got a 4 piece spinning rod of the same name and its really nice

[jim doyle]

sorry didnt intend for you to fish for coarse fish during the close season, I meant the same tackle could be usrd at a later date for such things, any of the greys tackle is good value at the moment.

[Paul Boote]

Severn Wolf:

I couldn`t fish for barbel in the close season !!!!!

 

Then again I wouldn`t want to catch grayling or chub on the fly either................

 

Whats the Greys Greyflex like??? Also, is the Lochmor reel any good, I`ve got a 4 piece spinning rod of the same name and its really nice

The Greyflex?

 

Better still. A quicker, faster rod more akin to some of the £500 American rods that I have a small forest of. Easier to cast with, nicer to fish with. I prefer something a little nippy to a spaghetti stick - you probably will, too.

 

Reels?

 

Yikes. So many fly reels, now.

 

Very few of them are bad. Daiwa do good gear, so the Lochmor mentioned will probably be fine. When trout-fishing the reel is a secondary consideration, a good rod with a good line being around numbers 1 to 98 in 1 to 100 scale of trout-fly-tackle choice.

[Severn Wolf]

Jim, PM on the way.

 

Paul, thanks for that, I`ve got my eyes on one thats a 6 or 7 weight.

 

Reel wise I was originally going to go for Orvis or something similar as I need a bonefish reel but they may unbalance a small rod.

 

Lochmor it is then!

 

Oh, sorry to be the one with a million questions but.......backing?