Wondering if anyone can help me choose a good line. My first intention for my St. Croix is the South Branch, not for trout, not a 7 wt for that, but smallmouth bass, since there are some big ones I'm after. My second intention--it will come later--is the Salmon River in NY for steelhead. If I...

And lol! It sticks out about as awkwardly as it was for my to submit my full name, but I can't help being me...

Now I find that when I tighten the knob, it makes the reeling stiffer, but the spool still spins light as ever when I pull line. So I thought maybe I got right handed reels by mistake, tried that side & it's the same problem. Reeling IN is stiff--but pulling out remains loose. Both reels have...

I'm completely dumbfounded. I have two brand new Ross Flyrise 3's w/drags that don't seem to work. The way you describe is what I expected: tighten the knob, and the reel will resist when the line is pulled. (And yes, the handle will turn with it.) But even when I tighten it all the way down...

No directions w/our new Flyrise 3 reels on how the drag works, nor could I find any instructions online. Have never needed a drag fly fishing, besides once w/a guide. There's a knob on the right when the reel is positioned to reel from the left, loosens & tightens, but the spool does not give...

Didn't see any tailing, not many do this time of year. Very few. But we did see a huge school I wish didn't get spooked. My thought was that we should have just backed off & returned to that area, but we did find a lot of fish up a creek, next spot.

Yes, we went out with Jeremy Mehlhaff, excellent guy. We prepared, thanks to Oliver10 who lent me his 10 wt., but we each got plenty criticism, instruction, and feint praise too. I have to say getting it pretty right on a soccer field is far from fully adequate once you're out there. I asked my...

My son & I fly fished redfish behind Isle of Palms, SC, recently. The first one I hooked was more than 10 pounds, the largest fish I've ever had on a fly rod. Here the water was clear; I saw the fish approach with two others just as big. Since we had been practicing our double hauling on a...

I mean, I agree: we haven't had much rain; streams are low. If I thundered out what I meant, all it is, is that Neshanic River really is almost a trickle at that bridge, and Rockaway is, in fact, not a trickle. I readily agree it must be low. I don't suppose it is entirely spring fed. It is rain...

I really wouldn't know as well as you do, since I don't pass it by very often at all, but it sure was flowing a lot stronger than the Neshanic River. If you were to go look at the Neshanic River as it flows under 514 near Neshanic Station, then compare that to the flow of Rockaway Creek between...

I fished the Rockaway Creek Friday & found it had strong flow. I also noticed, same afternoon, that the Neshanic River had barely a trickle of flow. Does anyone have any clue(s) to the reason of the comparison? I don't know. I guess it's because the Rockaway has some real good springs feeding...

DSLR cameras feature remote control. You can set the camera up on a gorillapod, like on a good, flat-topped boulder, while you keep the trout in the water, enclosed in the rubber net. Then you can get a solo shot just as if someone else shot you with the fish. I bought my remote online for less...

Thanks Rusty. I'll see about getting in touch w/you on that sometime fairly soon perhaps. Right now the workload is still looming over me. I'll do some more reading first.

Very much appreciate Rusty's detailed information. Surely someday these dams may leave behind a few pieces of concrete like Iron Age relics you find in the woods. My sense, at least, is that they will have existed in an earlier historical age. Nevertheless, I take merely slight offense at...

I keep pointing out the Lake Musconetcong water quality is now a lot worse, not that it doesn't need to be for a while. Nevertheless, I raised an issue in my blog post that I begin to think was more of a good one, given all these assertions about hot, poor water from the lake and the like...

I would just have to enlighten myself on the issues. I can't promise I can make the time. It does make sense to me that removing the LM dam would slightly improve river habitat below; it also makes sense that the current bad condition of the water slightly affects the river well below.

Well, Rusty, you certainly stack up the amount of research I should do. How removing the Lake Musconetcong dam will greatly improve coldwater habitat, and yet the present rise in water temperature due to turbidity, instead of much better water quality with the vegetation state in 2009--I'm not...

Don't get it.

No, I really wouldn't be surprised if a referendum fell in favor of removing the dam. And I was saying as much in short order that I really don't think things should just be "decided" for the public, as if "better interests" might instead be pulled off by fiat. Spending a lot of money every...