Skips Loose Threads: My Spinning Rods for Trout Skip’s Loose Threads, Layton James
Boo! Hiss! Spinning rods for trout? Where’s your flyrod? Let me explain.
Over the years, I have fished for trout in places where a flyrod is not the “tool of choice.” My first spinning rod was a 3.1oz number by Shakespeare, 6 ½ feet long, 2-piece, with those white spiral wrapping marks called the Howald process. The catalog called it a “Sporty.” It was part of a pair of light rods, the other being a 6 ½ foot flyrod that weighed only 2.5oz. I still have that one. I had asked for the pair of rods for my 16th birthday, and my dad came up with the spinning rod. I bought the flyrod later with my own money.
With that spinning rod, my boyhood friend Billy White and I caught our first Rainbow trout in a park lake that had been stocked the week before. It also was used for trout in the brook trout streams of New Hampshire, where my former wife’s family lived. It acounted for plenty of fish from the White Mountains streams, particularly the South Branch of the Pemigewassett River. All those fish went for a Number 0 Mepps Aglia spinner with no feathers. The same combination fooled trout in the Big Sur River south of San Francisco.
That rod was replaced later by a Fenwick FS74 in the mid ’80’s. I used to play the harpsichord at a festival in Petoskey, Michigan, for several Summers. That’s on the East side of Lake Michigan, and I needed a rod that would cast far out into the lake to fool the trout. That one was an 8’ 3” two-handed rod that could heave a ¾ oz Little Cleo from here to eternity, it seemed. That rod was just fine for the big browns that were cruising the waters around Ephraim, WI in the Fall. But I found that when Linda and I went up to the North Shore, I needed an even bigger rod for Lake Superior. That was an 8’ 6” two-hander that threw a 1 oz Little Cleo.
All of these rods were equipped with Mitchell reels: a 308 for the lightest, a 300 for the middle one, and a 306 for the biggest. Now don’t get me wrong. To my left, as I sit at my desk, is a Sage 389 fly rod, the original 2-piece version, and a LRH Lightweight Hardy reel loaded with a 3-weight line is within reach. Maybe I’ll request that that rod be added to my casket. Or is that a little too Egyption a request? That sounds like something a Pharaoh would do.
Skips Loose Threads:One of those last of season, beautiful Fall days on the Rush, my dog Java and I had enjoyed fishing tiny imitations to dainty sippers for an hour or two. Java had fun trying to swim upstream with branches in her mouth, until she picked one that was just too big. Her four legs and tail just weren’t equal to the task.
I had released three browns, and I was appreciating the superlative action of my Sage 389LL, matched with a Hardy LRH Lightweight. My tippet was a twelve-foot 6X.
Just above the run we were fishing, was a stretch with a large boulder sticking its head out of the water. I knew, from past adventures there, that there was a deep hole behind that rock, the lair of one of the biggest Browns in the creek.
As I approached, there was a clatter of grasshopper wings from the surrounding foliage, and one of the unfortunate ones fell into the current a few feet above the boulder. As I watched, a dark form rose from thebottom of the pool and the unlucky hopper became lunch, in a showy, splashy rise.
As my heart beat faster, I corralled Java away from my backcast space, retrieved my fly, and opened my chest pack to find a suitable imitation. One of Bob Mitchell’s original ‘Jolly Green Giants,’ size 10, presented itself for duty, and I hastily tied it to my tippet.
After one false cast, I delivered my offering and the fly landed in the current two feet upstream from the rock. As I watched the fly on the surface, I again saw that dark shadow of the hungry trout rise out of the gloom behind it. All of a sudden, therewas a terrific splash as my Jolly Green Giant disappeared in the fish’s mouth. I set the hook with much too much enthusiasm, and my line and leader came flying back to me, without the fly, and without the fish.
I had a word or two to say at that point that I was glad no one else was around to hear, but the lesson I learned, and that I should have learned much earlier, is that you don’t fish a size 10 hopper on a 6X tippet! But alas, what a thrilling way to end the season and knowing that same fish will still be there next May, when everything is green, fresh, and new.
Leyton “Skip” James
Editor’s Note:Skip informed me that Java died on March 19th, 2012 at age 15 and her ashes are buried under a beautiful dogwood in his back-yard.
My favorite trout fishing partner for many years was Merrimon Hipps, known to all as Mike. Like me, he was a professional musician, a trumpet player in the Minnesota Orchestra. We traveled out West many times together, and took our share of fish from local waters. Now retired, he lives with his wife in Eden Prairie.
One evening, after dinner in Preston, MN and a fine day fishing the South Branch of the Root River, we were heading home in the car, windows open, listening to the Twins game on the radio. The reception wasn’t particularly good, and Mike tuned to Minnesota Public Radio instead. In those days, the mid 80’s, there was only one station, not three as there are today. A familiar piece of music was playing, Franz Schubert’s “Trout Quintet.” Based upon a song that Schubert wrote a year before, it tells the story of a trout caught by a fisherman. The music is full of slippery chromatic phrases in the piano accompaniment. Atypically, the quintet is set for piano, violin, viola, cello, and double bass. The composer wrote it in 1819 when he was twenty-two, but it wasn’t published until after his death. The radio performance that evening was excellent, and our conversation ceased as we listened.
After the final movement, we discussed the possibility that those of us who enjoyed sophisticated classical music might also enjoy the art of fly fishing, and that fly fishers might find that a refined taste in music might develop in those who knew how to handle a flyrod.
The Phipps Center for the Arts was still in its old building, but just out the door and across the street was the Hudson park and bandshell. I asked four string players from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra to join me in performing the “Trout Quintet” on the main stage, and Mike got volunteers from both Kiap-TU-Wish and Twin Cities Chapters of TU to tie flies in the lobby and give casting lessons on the lawn afterwards.
We set up our concert and demonstrations on a sunny Sunday afternoon in June, 1985. At 1pm, we played the quintet, and at 4pm there were still people fly casting on the lawn and watching talented fly tiers work. Neither one of us took attendance and the concert was free. Perhaps a few of you who read this might remember the event.
A Minimal Arsenal of Flies for Fooling Fish in Local Waters All Season Long. By Skip James
I know fishermen who carry every fly they own in their vests, and others who carry only those that imitate the prevailing hatch. There are flies that work well, casting to fish you can see, probably feeding close to or in the surface, and others that you use when you are searching for promising water. Here are the six I wouldn’t ever be without, whether here in Wisconsin or on a big western river. I provided enough material info so you can tie them yourself, and, if you have questions, call me. 715-690-4503 Tight lines!
This is my number one ‘nymph’, for fishing in streamy water, near undercut banks, in deep holes. Back in 1971, I was catching trout in a pool on the Kinni that now is under the Hwy 35 Byway, and another angler, coming downstream, who identified himself as Andy Miner, asked to see my fly. When he looked at it, he said: “What a ‘mother’ that one is” and the name, though pejorative, stuck. This is the same Andy Miner who bred Blue Andalusian roosters for their neck hackles and was the original supplier to Buck Metz in Pennsylvania. I tied flies for Andy, in exchange for necks, for several years.
Weighted “Mother” #8-10
Thread: Gray, 6/0
Hook: standard dry fly, down eye
Weight: lead-free wire on the front half of the hook, under the dubbing Dubbing: Dubbing: Muskrat, complete with guard hairs, well picked out
Rib: Gold flat tinsel
Hackle: Grey Grouse soft hackle
This Caddis imitation is my number two ‘nymph’, for riffes particularly.
Caddis Pupa #12-16
Thread: Dark green, 8/0
Hook: Curved, pupa down eye
Bead: Copper
Dubbing: Medium green SLF or other similar, well picked out Rib: Medium copper wire
These two I use as dry flies, fished to risers, sometimes dead drift, sometimes ‘on the swing.’ I owe a debt of thanks to the author of “Designing Trout Flies”, Gary Borger, for his concept of a ‘wet-dry’ fly. Early season, use the green one. When Sulphurs appear, use the yellow one.
Little Green Thing: #16-18
Thread: Light green, 8/0
Hook: standard dry fly, down eye Dubbing: Medium olive SLF
Hackle: Light grey Grouse soft hackle, sparse, same length as hook shank
Little Yellow Thing: #16-18 Thread: Yellow, 8/0
Hook: standard dry fly, down eye Dubbing: Medium yellow SLF
Hackle: Light grey Grouse soft hackle, sparse, same length as hook shank
On our local waters, you need a great Trico imitation, since that hatch occupies so much of the season. The advantage of this one is that you can see it from forty feet away in riffes, where the trout are rising. The Badger hackle’s black center gives the impression of a solid thorax, although with no additional bulk or weight. The gold edges show up very well in morning light.
Skip’s Trico #22
Thread: Black, 8/0, wrapped over the entire shank Hook: standard dry fly, down eye
Dubbing: none
Tails: 3 strands clear Microfibetts, spread wide.
Hackle: #22 Badger (black center, cream edge) wrapped from middle of the hook to the eye, and clipped flat on the bottom. Whiting Farms sized hackle packs is a good source.
Your favorite Grasshopper pattern, #10, long shank.
My favorite, probably because it was invented by Bob Mitchell, is the “Jolly Green Giant.” But if you have confidence in a different hopper pattern, use it.
Tie your own leaders, to your personal specifications, and save money to boot! Here’s my system. A typical 9’ tapered leader costs around $4.00-$6.00 and usually the cost is the same regardless of tippet size, 0X-7X. Most commercial leaders are clear with a perfection loop tied onto the butt end with a typical butt section diameter being around .020 inches .
I have made my own leaders for years using the most basic monofilament, Berkley Trilene XL. I purchase four inch spools of clear mono in several sizes and have a special spool box made by Plano called a ‘Line Spool Box’ that I store them in.
The little black objects are grommets through which you can thread the leader material, and with the box closed, you can measure out any amount of material you want for your leader. The box is currently available for about $14-$17.
I personally don’t think that a trout, even one with glasses, can tell the difference between a 5X and 6X tippet, so I carry only two spools, in 2lb and 4lb Trilene XL, in my chest vest. The 4lb is a fat 4X, and the 2lb is a slender 5X. The latter works great with a size 22 Trico or small nymph, and the 4 pound delivers a streamer or a grasshopper with precision and authority. The four inch spools in my box are: 25lb, 17lb, 12lb, 10lb, 8lb, and 4lb. I also have a spool of 30 pound test that I nail knot to my six and eight weight bass fly lines. The 25lb is just fine for three to five weight lines. There are lots of leader formulas out there, even a few books. Experiment and find out what works best with your equipment. If you’re afraid you might fumble a blood knot, tying one leader will provide you with six to eight chances to practice. And, there are many videos on YouTube to remind you how. Generally speaking, you’ll want about a third of your leader to be the butt section, another third to be the tapered portion, and the rest tippet. I love long tippets. Fill that box with four inch Trilene XL spools, and the cost, with the box, is less than $50, and you can make more leaders than you can ever use in a lifetime.
