Colorado 2020, the gear
This past trip to fish in Colorado was primarily to get away and distract. But I can’t go fishing and not have gear on my mind. It’s literally impossible. Sometimes I go fish just to test out new ideas whether it’s trying a new hand tied leader, a new line, new rod design or a different way to cast or approach fishing.
Fly anglers seem to be universally addicted to gear. I guess it’s part of the fascination with the sport. I think it’s also a turnoff for some folks. I know it was for me at the very beginning because I didn’t have the disposable outgo to spend on something that wasn’t absolutely necessary. It took a second job to support my hobby. That’s a topic for another time though.
During this recent trip to Colorado I had planned on testing out several new lines and 3 new rods I had been working on. To be honest, testing gear brings me joy. It’s fun to problem solve and determine what I like what what needs improvement. It’s fun to succeed with an idea and it’s fun to learn from failure. Succeeding the first time around on a prototype rod is great and speaking from a business aspect is very satisfying. But it’s not nearly as fun as working through the process of developing an idea, executing the idea, learning that something needs to change and going through the process over again as many times as it takes to be comfortable with ‘calling it good’ and ready to move forward to put in full production. That means a whole lot of fishing and is one of the main reasons I started building fly rods to begin with. One of my favorite musicians/songwriters is Charlie Parr and the way he writes songs, as I understand it at least, is that he will write a song from an idea or story he’s written. Then he’ll develop the character as well as the music. He says that he’ll keep playing a song at live shows as long as he’s feels like it’s not done. Working on it musically and lyrically and that if he ever feels like that song is finished then he’ll stop playing it live or on recordings. That’s not the way rod building is for me. I want a rod to be as good and consistent as it can possibly be when I release it to the public. Rod building and song writing are totally different things. Duh.
The rods I used were some ideas I’ve had for a while now. A 6’2” 3wt 4 piece, a 6’4” 4wt 4 piece (totally different than my previous 64p though) and a 7’ 3wt 3 piece. There are other ideas I’m working on but I was motivated to come up with some ideas that are suitable for fishing small water for native Cutthroat trout in southern CO.
The 7’ 3wt was a rod I worked out a year or more ago and was very pleased but wanted to hold on to the idea until the time seemed right. Recently a good friend overseas bought an original early 1970’s Winston Stalker 7’ 3wt 2 piece rod and had the seller send it to me first. As soon as I opened the tube I knew this rod was something special. I took it out and cast it and thought ‘wow, now this is something I have to try to recreate’. I remembered my previous 7’ 3wt design and made just one or two tweaks and built this rod out. I copied it down to the handle/seat shape and styling as well as guide spacing. It’s not an exact replica but that wasn’t the point and I’m happy with it enough to call it final.
The new 703 prototype with a nice little native Rio Grande cutthroat.
The 6’2”3wt. I wanted a light rod with a light action sort of similar to my 6’ 2wt but a little longer and a line weight heavier. The 6’2” idea was then borned. I wanted it to excel at very short casts under tight cover like on my favorite local Notellum Creek. I also need some help with my bow and arrow casts. I figured fishing small brush, willow and downed tree lined cutthroat streams in Colorado would be a good test. I have a new butt and lower mid section coming in as a result of the trip to try to change different aspects of the action. I wanted to give it a little more butt strength and hope to test it out again soon. More news on that one soon, after I tweak and fish it some more.
The 623 with a Danielsson Midge reel. Nice pair.
The 6’4” 4wt. I’ve missed my 64p that I made a few years ago. There’s something magical about a 6’4” 4wt rod. It feels like it should be a 2wt, fishes 4wt flies, is short enough to clear overhanging branches and nimble enough to hook a big native fish and still be able to guide it to the net on a crowded stream. I tweaked the taper and sections before the trip and I couldn’t be happier. It is finished.
Speaking of nets. I brought three along. Dave brought a few more. I had my trusty net made by my friend @ffkozou (his IG handle). This one is a sexy little net that is nearly as delicate and beautiful as the fish. Hand knotted silk net bag, figured Japanese woods and is the finest piece of functional art I own.
The second net I had with me was one made by my friend Masatoshi Okui of the Kineya reel and machine shop. It’s similar to the old Shimano spring nets but about 10,000x more elegant. with a hand turned handle, hand knotted silk net bag and fine brass hardware. The hoop folds up to a quarter it’s size and fits in a hand made leather pouch the size of a back pocket. Occasionally I get these in for sale.
Kineya spring net.
I also used (shared with Dave actually) a new net made by my friend Dustin at Heartwood Trade down in Texas. I’ve been using his small Poquito net for several months and love it. This new, yet to be named, net is even better. I love the shape of the hoop and depth of the net bag. The handle is just right too! On the way home from the trip I ordered one of my very own and plan to text him every day until it’s finished. Just kidding, sort of. I’m excited about this one.
Speaking of lines. I have recently had the opportunity to test out some Scientific Anglers lines and have found some favorites that I can now suggest good pairings with my rods. That’s always fun. I used their new Creek line. I think it’s a replacement for the previous SBT line. It’s a little less aggressive than the SBT line and like the SBT it is a full weight heavy. I guess these lines are more meant to load faster graphite rods on small water so I used a line weight under what the box says and I absolutely loved it. Incredible casting of all kinds (roll, underhand, overhead, spey style and everything in between that’s needed in technical small stream situations), line handling on the water and in hand is just about perfect. I also used the SA Amplitude DT in 2-4 line weights. This is THE premium double taper available. It does everything as expected and honestly feels closer to traditional silk lines than anything else I’ve tried without the maintenance needed to keep a good silk line working right. I still love and am a dealer for 406 Fly Lines but it’s nice to be able to suggest several lines to try and always have a selection of them to used when all else fails.
And to close this out, one key piece of equipment that helped to keep my stuff organized was the Yeti Loadout GoBox. One thing that is frustrating on endless road trips is not knowing where my stuff is. A month or two ago when I saw Dave pull one of these things out I thought he was just Yeti fanboying but as I saw him use it on local trips I figured it’d be a great tool to help me keep organized and bought one. I stuck a fly patch on the front to distinguish mine from Dave’s and now it’s a permanent piece of gear that will hold all the necessities I need on a local or cross country trip. Make fun if you want, but I need all the help I can get! It also makes a great seat when taking off your boots after a long day.
This one is Dave’s. Those are Dave’s feet.
The Loadout GoBox has a divider that is also a cutting board. It came in handy when Dave whipped out the Traeger and made us a couple steaks.
Chef Dave prepping diner one night with his battery backup and Baby Traeger.
This is just a snapshot of a few pieces of gear we used. If you seen anything in the pictures or would like to know anything more please feel free to reach out to me.
I’ll plan to continue this series on our Colorado trip in a few days with more about the fishing and waters we fished.
Thanks for coming along!
Good fishing, Chris.