Emerger

I had a bit of a wander around the shore line for a couple of hours last night.Wasn't hoping for much, and thats what I got. That a couple of fish blew up on my fly was more than I had expected.

While going through some archived files, I came across a vid I shot several years back, but never posted. So. here it is now. Apparently made during the Cahill emergence of that year. I caught a lot of fish of nice fish using that fly.

Esten.

It was overly hot yesterday afternoon, so I decided to cool of in the lake, and dragged the pontoon up to Esten Lake. Not my best idea. For fishing that is. Worked great for cooling off.

In the few hours I was out, I had to work hard for the few fish I caught. I try to avoid that these days. I searched the lake from top to bottom looking for fish. I eventually did land some bass, though this was probably due to the later hour than my changing of flies and techniques.


I suppose I can take some solace in that one of the bass was a decent fish that fought well above his wait class. I had hooked him deep, on a clouser, so I initially didn't have any look at him. Most bass come to the surface for me fairly quick, regardless of size, seemingly willing to duke it out on top on their terms. This fish went deep, tried runs, and circling the boat. For a while I was wondering what it was I had hooked. It was a bass, just one with his own ideas on how to combat a fisherman.

Top.

I was out on Esten Lake for a couple of hours tonight. Loads of fun. The recent cold front has passed an the rising temps brought a good number of fish to the surface. Didn't land near as many as I enticed into striking, but it was still fun.

Would have had some excellent footage of the endeavour, except it seems my cam has died. I'll be replacing it, but we'll see how long that takes.

The fish I landed were on the smaller side for up here. Hooked, and got nice strikes of some larger fish. My head wasn't really in the game. It was my first night on Esten this season, and I spent a lot of time puttering about. I was so busy checking things out that I was always a bit late on my hook set.

I started off with a full sink, as thats what had been working lately. After a half hour or so I decided they weren't really bottom hugging, though I did manage a fish this way. They were definitely hanging much higher in the water column. Makes me happy. Looking forward to more surface fun soon.


So, no video from tonight ( or for the next foreseeable future ), but here's the last time I got them to be playful on the surface. :)

Clip.

Echo Solo Review.

I recently purchased an Echo Solo 4pc 8wt. The rod it was replacing...................had issues. I decided on the Solo for a couple of reasons. First, was price point. When researching other rods in the same dollar range, the Solo seemed more appealing. I suppose this might be because of Echo's, and Tim Rajeffs respective reputations.

So what does Echo say about this rod.

Creating a travel rod that helped more people get into the sport of fly fishing was high on Tim's priority list. Thus the ECHO SOLO Series. This series blends performance and durability into a great looking, four piece design that will turn more than the fish's head. A beautiful gloss brown blank and premium components wrapped around a forgiving Medium Fast action will help every new fly angler get the feel that will stay with them for a lifetime. We have added five new models for 2014 giving the ECHO SOLO series six trout sizes as well as three large fish models that cover salmon, steelhead and saltwater species. Awesome sticks, nothing in this price range compares.

SOLO Rods feature:

• Four piece travel design
• Half wells cork handle on the 4, 5 and 6 weight models
• Full wells cork handle with fighting butt on the 8 weight
• Carbon fiber reel seat with anodized components
• Rich brown gloss blank
• Hard chrome single foot snake guides
• Rod sock and cordura travel case
• Echo lifetime warranty

I purchased it from amazon.ca, through a vendor called Fishwest. They offer 9 rods from three to nine weight, all in 4 pc. They start at 99$. When I bought mine online it was for that, though I see they are now selling them for 129$. 

My impression on opening the tube? Pleasantly surprised. Entry level rods have come along way. The only component that immediately stood out as something somewhat less than a more expensive rod was the cork. Nothing wrong with it, but certainly not the highest grade I have ever seen. However, keep in mind what we are talking about here. Its an inexpensive build. I was expecting the components to all be of a much lower quality than they are.

Its a pleasant enough rod to look at. Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I can't say the brown blank thrills me. However, it is a better looking rod than some in my staple. Overall, I'd rate it as a pretty decent looking rod.

It cast nicely. A casting champion I am not, I do have a lot of experience though. The rod casts nicely. No issues with it whatsoever. In the time that I have had it I have nothing but positive experiences with this rod. I would called it a medium fast rod. Maybe on the faster side of the scale.

Would I purchase this rod again? Absolutely. In fact, I think I would default to this rod. Excellent bang for the buck. I have paid a lot more for rods, and got little more to show for it.

Would I recommend this rod? Highly.


First fish caught on the Solo

Bottom banging.

I decided to take a full sinking line with me tonight. The fish have been hanging down deep. Today I found them in a little shallower water than the last few outings, but they were still hugging bottom. My floating line setup with a Clouser just wasn`t doing the trick.

In the few hours I was out, I managed a few bass. One was fairly decent. I tried the floating setup to no avail. All the fish were deep. The perch to. No interest in flies at the mid to high part of the water column. Down deep the flies would get a fair amount of attention. I managed a good number of perch. Also on the clouser.

As of Late.

Sorry for the lack of posts. I have been out, though I do not know how much you would all want to hear about it. Mostly I ( and my mother ) have been doing the shore thing for perch. Until the last outing, that had been good enough to get us some for the pot every outing. It has slowed up, and now I am back to the pontoon to get at them.

New toys.

So, as I mentioned, I picked up a new rod the other day. I ordered it online from Amazon, sold by Fishwest.com. The reason for the Echo? Easy. The company has a great reputation. So when I was searching around for rods that would fit my low end budget, it was hard to pass up the Solo for 99$. Well, thats what I paid. When I ordered, I was contacted by Fishwest to say they had recently run out of stock. No biggie, I wasn`t in a hurry and I was very interested in the rod. I noticed that after my purchase, the price of the rods went up a few bucks. When it shipped  it became a debacle. No fault on the seller. USPS managed to somehow hold onto the parcel for almost 2 weeks before it even entered their system. Incredible. Even better, when it did finally arrive, one end have the tube had been completely removed. The rod ( in its protective case ) was free to slid in and out of the shipping container at will. In the end, it is a wonder that USPS an CanadaPost managed to get it here at all.

So, whats the Echo Solo like? Well, I had the same reaction to it that I did with the White River Hobbs Creek reel from Basspro. I was shocked that such a nicely made, and appointed rod could be had for so cheap. The low end entry level gear has come along way since I first started in this sport.  I have paid a lot more, for a lot less. I`ll likely do an in depth review of it some time in the future.

The second two is a Classic Accessories Roanoke Pontoon boat. This is also an entry level model from the manufacturer. I had it out for a bit this evening. Impressed with it so far, though there are a couple of minor complaints I maybe able to make. It was fairly easy to assemble. Again, a more in depth review will be forthcoming when I have used it more.

Vid Clip

I took out an Echo Solo 8wt I had recently purchased. Here's the first fish.

Well........

....................as much as I profess the whole " you don't know till you go." bit, its like this. Cold front. Fuck it. Been waiting for a positive change in the weather.

Some times you win........

..........and sometimes you lose.