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Custom Fly Fishing Rods by Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker

Lang's Outdoor Sporting Show & "Discovery" Auction

7/26/2012

Lang's will be holding their "Discovery" auction on Friday & Saturday August 10 & 11, 2012. The auction will take place at the outdoor sporting show at Cider House Showfield in Bouckville, New York. The auctions start at 11:00am both days with previewing items starting at 9:00am.

This is the world's largest live audience attended fishing tackle & outdoor sporting auction, with more than 2,500 lots covering every category of fishing & hunting collectibles.

Along side the auction area, Lang's will be holding their Outdoor Sporting Show. This is a venue for collectors to buy & sell. Spaces are available for vendors to set up. There's no telling what you might find here.

Both of these events are part of a larger multi-show event that takes place in central New York. These events feature just about every type of antique imaginable, taking place over 10 days. There's something for everybody here & these events draw many people from around the country.

Lang's is a first class operation & an enormous resource for angling collectors. If you're going to be in the central New York area in early August, take some time to check out these events. There will most certainly be something for any angling collector there & you'll have a chance to meet many nice folks & make new friends.

For more info on Lang's Outdoor Sporting Show, click HERE.

For more info about Lang;s "Discovery" auction, go HERE.

Bamboo Rod Available: 8ft, 2/2, 5/6wt.

7/23/2012

The other day I added another rod on the "Available" page. It's a bamboo, 8'-0" 2 pc / 2 tip, 5/6wt fly rod. What makes this rod different is that the two tips are different from one another. One tip has a dry fly action, while the other has a wet fly action. That's not something you see very often. It's based on a Paul Young taper, from his parabolic designs. Young's rods were renown for both their power & delicacy. I believe this rod follows suit. The two different rod tips help make this a very versitile rod.

Those of you looking for a good trout &/or small mouth bass rod, I think you will enjoy this one. It's one of the few rods I know of that will cast dry flies & streamers with equal ability. All in all this is a good opportunity to get a nice rod at a nice price. If you have any questions about it, please contact me.

Fly Fishing in the Heat...

7/17/2012

I thought that with the heat wave we've been experiencing lately, this would be a great time to touch upon this subject.....

For many anglers in the East & Mid-west, the hot summer months can mean an end to our fishing for trout. But summer is long & not fishing in summer means going a long time without catching a trout. Winter, being as long as it is some years, can drive an angler crazy. Hanging up the rod in the summer, too, doesn’t sound like something I want to do.

Obviously, if the water conditions are too hot for trout fishing – either the trout are not surviving, or catching one would kill it – than the best way to get your angling fix is to pursue other species of fish. Bass, carp, bluegill, crappie, etc are excellent fish to catch with a fly. While the traditional fish to catch on a fly rod is trout, don’t overlook other types of fish. There is as much to learn about fishing for these other species as there is for trout & so is a larger subject than the scope of this article.

But, what if you’re a “purest” & only pursue trout? What do you do in the heat of summer? Here are some thoughts on catching trout in the heat:

As I said earlier, summer can be long & hot making fishing difficult at best in some situations. Let me state here & now that there are times when fishing for trout should not be considered at all. These are times of heavy drought, especially during periods of prolonged high temperatures. When conditions are like that, trout die & it’s all some of them can do to survive. The last thing they need is to be overly stressed by an angler who should be home in the air conditioning.

Since the heat & lower, less oxygenated waters of summer do weaken trout it would be a good idea to adjust your tackle. In the summer, play & land trout as quickly as possible. This isn’t the season to let the trout take long runs on you. Bring them to hand as fast as you safely can. If this means using a heavier, longer fly rod than you did in the spring, so be it. A prolonged fight with a trout in the summer can kill the fish. Besides, the fun in summer fishing isn’t the adrenaline rush of fighting powerful trout; it’s in finding where they are & fooling them into taking your fly.

To get the most out of summer trout fishing you’ll have to adjust the time of day you go. Most anglers hit the stream in the evening & that’s fine, but what you’re after is to be on the stream when the water is the coolest. Since trout activity very much depends on water temps, I would recommend wetting a line in the early morning hours until about mid-morning. As the dog days approach & the water temps rise higher, move your start times back even earlier, so you are fishing in the pre-dawn hours. During the hottest weeks of the year, night fishing will be your best bet. Folks may think you’re daft for heading to the stream at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, but this is when you’ll have the longest window of cooler water temps to fish.

While fishing at night, you’ll have a chance at catching some of the biggest trout in the stream. Trout will grow to a point where feeding on insects alone doesn’t provide them enough nourishment to survive. When they get that big, they begin focusing their feeding efforts on larger prey like other fish. They become stalkers & hunters & do their best work in the cover of darkness. To target these monsters, use a large sub-surface fly that will make some noise as you move it through the water. A muddler minnow is a perfect choice.

To find the coolest water in the summer, look for the most oxygenated water: riffles, water falls, & anywhere you see faster water broken up by rocks. One of the best places to try would be just down stream of where a feeder creek or a spring dumps into the stream, as this will mean cooler water.

Look for shade as well. Streams that flow through wood lands will stay cooler longer than meadow streams. Also, stand in the shade while making your presentations to the trout. Summer conditions usually mean low, clear water making it easier for the trout to see you. Likewise, the trout will be thinking along these same lines, too, so think about targeting areas of the water that are in the shade.

Deeper water is cooler than shallow water, so be sure to fish the deepest pools of the stream. Get your fly down as close to the bottom as you can & make sure your fly drifts through the pool as slow as possible. Summer trout won’t be moving as fast as they did in April. Give them a chance to strike your fly. When you see a deep pool, add weight to your line & fish it thoroughly.

It should go without saying, but if you’re fishing in the heat, stay safe. Remember all those things they told you when you were a kid: drink plenty of water, don’t over exert yourself, wear a hat & sun screen, tell someone where you’ll be fishing, etc, etc. Also keep in mind that if you’ll be fishing at night bring along a flashlight – just in case - & only fish areas of water that you know very well. It would also be a good idea to wear a life jacket. That could save your life, should you fall into the water in the dark & not able to see what’s around you.

Overall remember that summer trout fishing is a slow, easy going activity. It’s not meant to be a circus of adrenaline. The real joy of it is finding a well hidden trout that other anglers have given up on finding & then having the skill to fool this wise trout into eating your fly!!!

Book Review: "Fishing Flies"

7/13/2012

Maybe it's me, but when I see yet another book on the subject of fishing flies, I want to roll my eyes. At times it seems as though anyone who ever tied a fly has written a book about it. So when I picked up a copy of "Fishing Flies, A World Encyclopedia of Every Type of Fly" by Malcolm Greenhalgh & Jason Smalley, I was skeptical. But as I began to flip through the pages of this book, I found that it is a very useful & informative book; & one that I think any fly angler would like to have.

The book's title doesn't lie - it truly is an extensive encyclopedia of flies. Starting at the beginning with the flies of Cotton & Walton, the books is divided into chapters dealing with the flies designed for catching various fish. Here's a list of the chapters:

"Trout & Grayling Flies"
"Streamers & Bucktails"
"Flies For Salmon, Sea Trout, & Steelhead"
"Flies For Freshwater Predators"
"Saltwater Flies"

Each section, or chapter, gives background & historical info about the flies & an overview of how they're tied.

The usefulness of this book is that it gives the recipes for each fly shown & discuss their uses & mentions other flies that are related along with some variations that can be made to the fly for different reasons. I find this very helpful. I enjoy fishing with the old style soft-hackle wet flies & this book gives not only background info about them, but many different patterns to try. The old wet flies aren't as popular as they used to be (maybe one reason why I like them so much) & some general books about fishing flies today don't even mention them while others only discuss them briefly. This book takes the time to cover them.

If you were planing a trip somewhere to pursue fish that are strange to you, this book would help you out tremendously. Say you're going saltwater fishing for the first time. This book can help you figure out not only the flies you'll probably be using but, if you're an experienced fly tier, how to tie some up before your trip.

Published by Firefly Books Ltd. in 2009, the book itself is beautiful. Every fly discussed (over 1,300) is shown in a detailed color photograph. The paper in the book is heavy, glossy, & white so that the photos really stand out & makes it easy to see all the details of the flies photographed. Because of the thicker pages, the book is a little heavier than most books made today of the same size. I like to feel the heft of a book when I pick it up. It's one way to know it's a quality item.

Keep in mind that this is not a "how-to" book. It will not teach you how to become an accomplished fly tier. However, anyone who knows the basics of tying flies will be able to use most of the patterns in this book. There are some very intricate patterns shown that would challenge even the most experienced & skilled tiers, too. With all that being said, though, I would highly recommend this book to any fly angler. You'll never wear out it's usefulness.

HERE is a great place to buy this book.

Fly Fishing & Wild Fires

7/3/2012

If I had a personal motto, it would probably be this: the fishing's always good somewhere. Yesterday, NPR reported on the fishing conditions out west - specifically Colorado. It seems (according to NPR) that the current drought conditions they are dealing with out there right now & the low snow pack from last winter have lowered the water levels to near-perfect conditions for fly anglers. The fishing there, it seems, is fantastic right now.

However, as any angler knows, conditions don't stay perfect for long. Without rain, run off, etc we know that the rivers will eventually be too low to fish. Oh yeah, & those wild fires that our friends in Colorado are fighting probably could do with some rain, too. After all, even the most dedicated angler would probably not be overly concerned with fishing conditions when their house is burning down. Please take a moment to think about the folks in Colorado (& other places) who have lost their homes, etc in these wild fires - wish them luck & say a prayer for them.

The NPR story was amusing in that it had a great quote from a fellow angler that was being interviewed while fishing the Fryingpan River. He said :
"You know, people pay so much freaking money to take meditation courses and stuff like that. I'm like, man, just go fish. Go spend a lot of money fishing instead." (Cameron Scott)

That about sums it all up. I might even make that quote my new personal motto!!

To read, or listen to, the entire NPR report click HERE.

Helping Out Project Healing Waters

7/2/2012

Earlier this year, I was honored to make & donate this rod to Project Healing Waters. It's a 5 weight, 7' - 6", 2 pc / 2 tip wood mortised bamboo fly rod, custom made for Project Healing Waters. It features a cork grip & a small feather inlay where the wood splicing begins just above the grip. Chrome line guides, a down-locking twelve strip cap & ring reel seat, & light brown silk wrappings all help give this rod a distinguished look. In addition to being inscribed for PHW, this rod also came in an embellished rod bag & a custom square rod tube inscribed in ink with the group's name on it. The custom rod tube featured wooden end caps with leather embellishments & a leather strap & buckle closure. I was very proud of how the rod turned out. I not only enjoy making & fishing with them, but also the historical aspects of wood-mortised bamboo fly rods.

(click on any of these three photos below for a better look)

This rod was auctioned off at the group's annual 2-fly tournament this past April to help raise funds for all the good work they do. I was very proud & honored to be able to help this fine organization.

If you're not familiar with Project Healing Waters, they are a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings. I'm proud to have been helping this group out since early in it's existence & am in awe of how fast it's grown through the dedicated, selfless work of so many good people. Please, if you have the means, help PHW in anyway you can.

the pliant rod:

Lang's Outdoor Sporting Show & "Discovery" Auction

Bamboo Rod Available: 8ft, 2/2, 5/6wt.

Fly Fishing in the Heat...

Book Review: "Fishing Flies"

Fly Fishing & Wild Fires

Helping Out Project Healing Waters

The Pliant Rod

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