[PWGUNNY]

Each Spring I make a few visits to Caleb Smith State Park for some trout. It's a very pretty place and somewhat exclusive. It's flyfishing only and by reservation only. They have about 14 sites for trout fishing. You can wade the stream, but I always choose the pond so I don't have to bother with waders. The park gives you the feel that you're up in Vermont rather than Long Island. Since I bought my FZ in January, I've been waiting to make the 1 hour trip by bike rather than SUV. I ordered a new travel Flyrod from Cabela's that has 5 sections and packs down to a 2ft. travel tube. Today was the day I got to enjoy 2 of my favorite things-biking and flyfishing. The rod secured easily to the back of my seat with a bungee net. Everything else I needed went into my backpack. I arrived at the park at sunrise and fished till 10:30am. I caught about 10 trout but nothing big enough to bother getting out the camera. I released them all back in the pond. Here's some pics of the bike and gear and another of the pond. I took the scenic ride home.

 

[skeleton]

I have just started flyfishing myself. I plan on incorporating some fishing in all of my upcoming tours. Very exciting.

I got a similar rod; it telescopes down to 18". Rod, reel, and tackle comes to 1 lb weight. That is light enough to always carry, eh?

These are a few issues that I haven't figured out yet. Obviously I can't bring any wadders or water boots. My intention was to fish off the shoreline of small rivers (50 - 150 feet wide) where the mountain fed water is freezing. That means my back cast will be onto the shore rocks or grass.

Q1: Is this maneuver commonly done? Is there a frequent risk of loosing the fly/hook as it snags on the back cast?

Q2: Will this grossly limit my ability to target the fish?

 

[Pretender]

GUNNY, that looks like a great place to fish and a fun way to get there for sure. I need to devise a travel setup to do the same. I like to wade in the creeks in the Smokies, tho, so I'll have to pack my waders and boots down to a manageable size somehow. I usually drive my pickup truck up there.

skeleton, if there are trees behind you, or even a tall riverbank, you will lose some flies if you use a normal cast. You can use a "roll" cast or "bow and arrow" cast to get into a lot of places. Your range will be more limited with those. A roll cast is not hard to learn. I can't do a bow and arrow, but I am no expert (at flyfishing or motorcycling!). A casting book, some friendly local instruction, or searching the web for tutorials will help a lot more with learning these casts than I could ever tell you here. Of course, if there aren't trees or other obstacles sticking up high behind you, a normal backcast won't touch the ground and should be just as productive as if you were wading. Just make sure you practice your casting a few days before setting out for the river. You can cast with a line and leader and no fly and get the same action as if you had a fly and were on the river. Practice is your best friend when it comes to casting. :cheers

 

[sdm1177]

.... I caught about 10 trout but nothing big enough to bother getting out the camera. I released them all back in the pond. ....

How do you know you didn't catch the same fish 10 times?? nfloor
I have in-laws in Northport. LI is nice, but expensive. I bet you'll be doing a lot more fishing this year (as an excuse to go riding, of course).
Thanks for sharing.

 

[PWGUNNY]

Skeleton,
If you are going to flyfish, get a pair of packable waders(light weight). You really can't fly fish effectively from shore. Wading is actually enjoyable, give it a try. If you don't want to wade then get a spinning rod. It is extremely rare that you can flyfish from shore and not have brush and trees to interfere with your cast. On the pond I fished today, there are finger docks to walk out onto, which allow room for a backcast. I still lost 2 flies when I went for too much distance and nailed the tree branches behind me. My favorite flyfishing in the world is coming up. In 2 weeks I visit Florida and I flyfish the ponds on the golf course in my Father-in-law's community. Great bass fishing. Another rare instance where waders are not needed.
Next flyfishing trip for the FZ is to the legendary Catskills. About a 2 hr ride to Roscoe,NY known as "Trout Town USA" I'll have to strap on my Cortech Tail Bag. I think it will hold my waders.
Good Luck

 

[PWGUNNY]

How do you know you didn't catch the same fish 10 times?? nfloor
I have in-laws in Northport. LI is nice, but expensive. I bet you'll be doing a lot more fishing this year (as an excuse to go riding, of course).
Thanks for sharing.

Ever since I got my FZ, I am constantly looking for excuses to get out on the bike. "OOOps need something from Home Depot", "I'll get the hamburger rolls", "I'll return those books to the Library", "I'll bring the videos back to Blockbuster"
I am so helpful to my wife. LOL

 

[SnapRolls]

Flyfishing without wading just means you catch more squirrels. They really hurt when they slam into your back after you hook 'em on the back cast.

Nice pics Gunny.

 

[pitts]

I havn't done it on the fz6 yet, but I used to strap my salt water rod to my backpack and go up the coast fishing for stripers on my old bike. It's a blast.

 

[PWGUNNY]

I havn't done it on the fz6 yet, but I used to strap my salt water rod to my backpack and go up the coast fishing for stripers on my old bike. It's a blast.

In the next few weeks, our bays and harbors down here start to fill up with the schoolie stripers. I flyfish for those from my boat. I call it the "poorman's bonefishing". You can catch about 50 of these in a day. No keeping them, but that's ok, I never do anyway.

 

[FAZR6]

I guess the theory of needing to be quiet to keep from scaring away the fish isn't true at all because you arent' sneaking up on anything with your bike and those Devil pipes. Maybe you only scared the older, wiser ones away.

 

[Fazer6PA]

Cabelas sells a Tackle Pack which you can strap your rod to it. I haven't used it on the bike but it works great when hiking in to those off-the beaten path hot spots.

Check it out.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...parentType=index&parentId=cat20327&id=0017144

I have one and it works great. You will even be able to use the rod tube that you bought.

Good Luck and Tight Lines!

 

[PWGUNNY]

NIce, that will work perfect. I love Cabela's. I'll buy it with my points from my Cabela's Visa Card :banana

 

[Fazer6PA]

Me too. I am 15 minutes from the one they built in Hamburg. Damn place. I love that they give you free stuff. I have spent very little of my own money there.

I like the plastic compartments in the bottom. I have ones for different types of fishing (crankbaits, plastics, terminal tackle, catfish rigs, panfish jigs). Then all you have to do is put in the ones you are gonna use and off you go. Pretty cool.

 

[04Fizzer]

Me too. I am 15 minutes from the one they built in Hamburg. Damn place. I love that they give you free stuff. I have spent very little of my own money there.

I like the plastic compartments in the bottom. I have ones for different types of fishing (crankbaits, plastics, terminal tackle, catfish rigs, panfish jigs). Then all you have to do is put in the ones you are gonna use and off you go. Pretty cool.

Having a Gander Mountain nearby is almost/just as bad. It's WAY too easy to spend WAY too much money there. I guess it's a good thing to take the bike there. Can't buy as much that way.

 

[Fazer6PA]

Yeah I know. These places are popping up all over the place. There has been a Gander Mountain up near Williamsport for awhile now though I have never been there. They just put in a Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg last year. Haven't made it there yet either. Cabelas is bad enough. Their aquarium us sick! The size of the fish in there is amazing. My brother had gone over to the Schuylkill River on lunch breaks with a bunch of guys to catch fish to stock the tank before they opened. He worked in the Marine department. He took me in the back one time to see the tank from above. Pretty cool to watch them feed those monsters. 4-5" creek chubs get eaten pretty quick.

 

[04Fizzer]

Yeah I know. These places are popping up all over the place. There has been a Gander Mountain up near Williamsport for awhile now though I have never been there. They just put in a Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg last year. Haven't made it there yet either. Cabelas is bad enough. Their aquarium us sick! The size of the fish in there is amazing. My brother had gone over to the Schuylkill River on lunch breaks with a bunch of guys to catch fish to stock the tank before they opened. He worked in the Marine department. He took me in the back one time to see the tank from above. Pretty cool to watch them feed those monsters. 4-5" creek chubs get eaten pretty quick.

My brother-in-law and his dad and a couple family members made a trip specifically to go to the Cabela's...a good 4 hours away.

 

[PWGUNNY]

Hamburg, PA is about 2 1/2 hrs from me. I've made the trip to Cabela's twice just for the hell of it. Great store, Great company. When they built the store in Hamburg they said it would become Pennsylvania's #1 tourist attraction. I'm not sure if they achieved their goal but it's up there on the list.

 

[FZ1-KEP]

Yeah I know. These places are popping up all over the place. There has been a Gander Mountain up near Williamsport for awhile now though I have never been there. They just put in a Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg last year. Haven't made it there yet either. Cabelas is bad enough. Their aquarium us sick! The size of the fish in there is amazing. My brother had gone over to the Schuylkill River on lunch breaks with a bunch of guys to catch fish to stock the tank before they opened. He worked in the Marine department. He took me in the back one time to see the tank from above. Pretty cool to watch them feed those monsters. 4-5" creek chubs get eaten pretty quick.

Bass Pro Shop in Harrisburg is pretty awesome. I like Cabela's, but I like Bass Pro shops better. Last time I was in Cabela's, it was elbow to asshole. Nice place though.

 

[04Fizzer]

Hamburg, PA is about 2 1/2 hrs from me. I've made the trip to Cabela's twice just for the hell of it. Great store, Great company. When they built the store in Hamburg they said it would become Pennsylvania's #1 tourist attraction. I'm not sure if they achieved their goal but it's up there on the list.

That's a pretty big order when you consider the fact that PA is home to Hershey.