Greetings

[harryhh]

Hello folks,

My name is Harry and I've just re-taken up fishing after many years.

Joined your forum because you have a lot of members to get help and advice from, and there looked to be a lot of good information here.

[albinotrout]

Hi Harry, welcome to BFT! Where do you hale from?
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[harryhh]

I'm from Wyanet Illinois. A small farm town about 8 miles west of Princeton, 40 miles west of LaSalle, 30 miles east of Kewanee.
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[albinotrout]

Great, what fish do you like to chase?
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[harryhh]

I kind of got away from fishing and have done very little in the past 20 years. But, I go after largemouth almost entirely.

One of the ponds near me has some smallmouth and I plan on giving them a try. I've only caught one or two in my life. Also Johnson Sauk State Park has some pike and musky that I will try for. I have a design for a lure that I want to try, if I can make it by hand.

Just bought my first fly rod and have played around losing lots of flies in the bushes and weeds behind me, but caught a few bluegill and a couple of 7 inch bass. So far the fly rod has been fun except for the bushes and weeds. Need a good bit more practice at keeping the fly higher in the air I guess.
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[albinotrout]

To keep from losing the flies try using the roll cast. There are a couple of good videos on you tube that show how to do the roll cast. Up until I learned the roll cast I too lost a lot of flies to tree fish[].
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[harryhh]

In truth, there was enough room behind me. I think my problem is an improper cast and timing. Not keeping the fly high enough. But the roll cast is a good idea and a good chance to practice it. I did watch some videos, with the 'D' loop behind you and the anchor point in front or to the side of you. I'll have to try it.

What do you know about tippet material? I posted a question titled 'tippet question' in the fly fishing gear and equipment section. Perhaps you could take a look at it.
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[albinotrout]

Tippet is tippet, I just go by the number on it. I have sizes 0x all the way to 5x. Leader material I do the same.
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[harryhh]

Thank you. It's the only one I saw saying anything about sub-surface use, and it me.
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[albinotrout]

Yeah the only thing I pay attention to is stuff dealing with the leader material when it says trout and bass. Another good material is fluorocarbon. Last year I was using 0x tippet (15 lb test) with a steel leader on pike. I had a good hit that broke the tippet. I switched to 12lb fluorocarbon as leader and landed the next one.
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[harryhh]

Congratulations on the pike.

I plan to buy Fluorocarbon. Probably 6X since the 50 fly Southbend fly kit I bought is all small dry flies. That's good enough for me to practice with.

The end of the tapered leader that came with the fly rod outfit is really small. My guess is less than 2 lb. test.

I have on hand some 2 lb. Trilene XL that I've decided to try as a tippet for a while. Then I will get some actual tippet and see if I can tell the difference. Although I don't use Trilene line, it seems to me that it is a little stiffer than most monofilament.

Seems I read that tippet is suppose to 'turn over the fly' better than regular mono. Also more consistent diameter, breaking strength, and abrasion resistance.

I wonder though if casting regular mono might develop some bad casting habits for a beginner.
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