Fly Tying

More articles from the COAF Field Team. This category is about fly tying. Do check out the articles and let us know if a particular pattern worked for you!



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Kastking Zephyr | Checkout Our First Impression Fishing With the BFS Reel | Liking It!

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Kastking Zephyr BFS Reel delivered yesterday. Was able to take it fishing to the local pond. After a few tweaks was able to cast a 1/16 oz Rooster Tail without issue, even caught a little Bass. Here’s to more fish caught using this BFS reel. More to come from an Average Joe’s perspective on BFS fishing! PS: In keeping with our “Learn to fish by our trials and errors” motto, here are thoughts for this round. LEARN BY OUR TRIALS AND ERRORS Adjust spool tension so the line does not overrun the spool when the lure hits the water. Adjust the magnetic brake to reduce a backlash and shift the casting release point left or right as desired. Windy conditions will impact the cast more than a standard bait casting reel. Be aware when casting into the wind and against the wind. Make adjustments as you change lures and when using lures that soak up water like a Rooster Tail, make them after they have soaked in water. Practice “training your thumb” but take it one ...
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What Kind of Spinning Gear and Do We Use a Swivel?

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Received two questions from a Reader in response to our post on “How we fish a Super Duper”: “What kind of spinning gear are you using (rod length & power, reel size & make)?” “Do you use a swivel with Super Dupers or Kastmasters?” Below are the answers to the questions and pictures added for ease of reference. Thanks again for your questions! Sincerely, The Field Team For the first question, “What kind of spinning gear are you using (rod length & power, reel size & make)?”, the spinning gear we use are: A 4′-8″ Ugly Stik Ultralight Rod with a Shakespeare 20 Ultralight Spinning Reel (USP225A) 6′-6″ Berkley Medium Light Lightning Rod with a Pinnacle Tiny Deadbolt Spinning Reel(DUL20). Lately, when using fluorocarbon, we have switched the reels between the two rods, and mainly been using the Berkley Medium Light Lightning Rod and the Shakespeare Spinning Reel. The Pinnacle Spinning Reel tends to uncoil while casting ultralight lures after 5-10 casts. Shakespeare ...
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How To Switch a Martin Fly Reel's Retrieve?

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Video snippet showing how I switch the Martin Fly Reel from left to right hand retrieve. Works for similar click-pawl drag single action, fly reels. For more details, see the full video Try These Two Modifications for the Martin Fly Fishing Combo !
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Fly Casting with a Three Foot Fly Rod and no Reel... Hand Hold Revisited? #orvis #practicaster #demo

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This video answers the mail – a YouTube Viewer requested we show the hand hold we used in the video One Rod, No Reel. The intent of the One Rod, No Reel was to show quality fly line was more important than the fly reel, and the suggestion was to focus more on a quality fly line, followed by the fly rod, and then the fly reel for most fishing situations. In One Rod, No Reel, we used a premium but old 5wt WF Fly line that we have since retired… keeping about 8 yards of the forward portion of the fly line, attaching it to a short section of dacron backing, and a rubber band. We then attached the rubber band to the rod handle, and then demonstrated casting without a fly reel as well as catching a trout or two at a local pond. To answer the mail, we removed the 4wt fly reel that was zip tied to an Orvis Practicaster, and used the heavy “rope like” practice line that came with it to show the hand hold used. And since, we still had the fly line used in the One Rod, No Reel vi...
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Five Tips For Fly Fishing in a Kayak #kayaking #flyfishing

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Made the run to the local lake for some fun fly fishing fun for White Bass. Took the kayak and made it to a fishing area that had lots of opportunity to catch a fish or two. From past trips, made a few adjustments to make this trip go much smoother when fishing from a kayak in a seated position. Here are five tips for fly fishing in a kayak: OPST Commando Head and Coated Running Line made for ease of casting from the sitting position. Much easier compared to the traditional weight forward setup we were using. Minimize Clutter in the Kayak Cockpit. Lots of chances to foul your line; keep things stored in your lifejacket or tucked under it like your nippers and forceps will reduce line fouling while still at the ready when needed. Line Management. May need to take up line and fight the fish on the reel, else allow the line to float on one side of the kayak. Do risk the chance of the fish running into the line. Be prepared to fight on the reel. Railblaza Rod Holder or other rod holder tha...
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When You Can't Go Fishing, We Can Talk Fishing...!

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Rain and cold has me indoors. No worries, can always talk fishing. Meaning making preps for our next fishing trips. This time it’s about review past videos, current videos, and online scouting. In particular, Senkos for Bass, EmmRod for a commuter fishing rod, and current action on bass and white bass in the area! Of note are playlist mentioned in the video: Senko Fishing EmmRod – Ponds and Commute Heritage Kayak
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How Many Fish...? 🤔#shorts

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Out and about for a quick trip fly fishing a pond... One-Handed Spey Fly Fishing style! Using a 175grn OPST Commando Head on a 4wt, 8ft fly rod and fishing a Betts Hand Tied Popper. No need to cast far but was good to know a distance cast was at my fingertips! How many fish this round... three! One-Handed Spey Wish List OPST Pure Skagit Commando Head https://amzn.to/2X83dF0 OPST Commando Smooth (Integrated) Skagit Shooting Head https://amzn.to/2YQKM8L OPST Pure Skagit Commando Micro Tips https://amzn.to/3htb2fE OPST Pure Skagit Lazar Line https://amzn.to/3hmH2lG
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How Do We Clean and Cook Trout?

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Question from one of our Readers asking, “How do we clean and cook trout?” In answer to the question, we provide a summary of the different ways we clean and cook trout! Depending on the size of the trout, we clean and cook them as follows: Stocker size trout (9″-13″ in size) : We cut their heads or remove the gills (“gilling”), and then we remove the guts. Not sure why we opt to cut the head off versus “gilling” them; just seems to go one way or the other from trip to trip. When cooking the Stockers, we season them with salt and pepper (sometimes add Season Salt), and then pan fry them in oil for about 5-8 minutes each side. For larger trout in the 14″ – 18″ range: We clean them like the Stockers but will split the fish (butterfly). We then cook them on a cedar plank (see Grilled Plank Trout Recipe ). For trout going 19″+ in size: We gill them and remove the guts, leaving the head in place. Then, we stuff with lemon slices, onions, butter, and sprinkle Rosemary in the body cavity. Nex...
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