Stamp Out (my) Ignorance, Please....

In my continuing efforts to teach myself how to catch fish with some
semblance of regularity, a few questions have arisen. Any help that the
denizens of ROFF could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't laugh -- well, OK, laugh, but laugh with me, not at me.
Remember, I'm a self-taught semi-newb backpacker. And, just for fun, they're
in completely random order.

1) "Knotless" leaders... huh??? I buy these things, nip the loop off, and
tie up. WTF is the loop for?

2) Stream ettiquette -- I was working a pool this morning, and a guy just
waded right the hell thru it. I didn't say anything, but wanted to drown the
sumbitch. Am I wrong?

3) Should the fly land first, or should the line? Why? I've caught fish when
either has happened, but that's just an idiot's luck, I'm sure. I can
usually make either happen, but I have no idea which I should be trying for.

4) Tossing a nymph -- I try to toss it well beyond the fish/area I'm
targeting (with varying degrees of success), but doesn't that "plop" spook
the fish?

5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

More questions will certainly come as I realize just how stupid I am.

Awaiting the berating,

Thanks...
Dan

On 6/7/05 6:03 PM, in article
, "Daniel-San"
wrote:

In my continuing efforts to teach myself how to catch fish with some
semblance of regularity, a few questions have arisen. Any help that the
denizens of ROFF could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't laugh -- well, OK, laugh, but laugh with me, not at me.
Remember, I'm a self-taught semi-newb backpacker. And, just for fun, they're
in completely random order.

1) "Knotless" leaders... huh??? I buy these things, nip the loop off, and
tie up. WTF is the loop for?

Nipping off.


2) Stream ettiquette -- I was working a pool this morning, and a guy just
waded right the hell thru it. I didn't say anything, but wanted to drown the
sumbitch. Am I wrong?

You are so right, it's wrong.


3) Should the fly land first, or should the line? Why? I've caught fish when
either has happened, but that's just an idiot's luck, I'm sure. I can
usually make either happen, but I have no idea which I should be trying for.

Hm. Looking forward to reading the answer to this myself. With the recent
tippit size thread, you might get some interesting answers. My thought is
that the leader should roll the fly out so that the fly lands (softly) last.
That said, you might throw a different kind of cast (pile cast?) in which
the fly wafts down first with the leader and line following.


4) Tossing a nymph -- I try to toss it well beyond the fish/area I'm
targeting (with varying degrees of success), but doesn't that "plop" spook
the fish?

In some cases, it might attract him. But yes, in most cases, get it
upstream so that the plop and sink can occur well before the feeding
monster.


5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

I always deploy the dagger looks from beneath the brim of my hat. But then,
I'm a small, timid librarian. Were I fishing with Thor (Roger Ohlund), I'd
be a bit more brash. Might even sling middle English poetry at the bastid.


6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

I don't know Madeline personally, but it seems like a good idea.

(I'm not familiar with this knot. I use a surgeon's knot for that
connection.)


More questions will certainly come as I realize just how stupid I am.

Awaiting the berating,

NEXT!

Bill

Daniel-San wrote:
...
1) "Knotless" leaders... huh??? I buy these things, nip the loop off, and
tie up. WTF is the loop for?

Some folks like to use loop-to-loop connections to make
switching leaders easier. The loop on a knotless leader
is a perfection loop and if you've ever tried to tie one
that small you'd appreciate that someone else had done it
for you. The "knotless" in knotless leader refers to its
continuous taper from .021" or .019" at the butt down to
3X, 4X or whatever at the tip. This is relatively recent,
used to be you had to tie different size pieces of mono
together with blood knots to achieve the same taper as
what modern extrusion techniques can produce. But when
you tied all that mono together you had ... knots.

2) Stream ettiquette -- I was working a pool this morning, and a guy just
waded right the hell thru it. I didn't say anything, but wanted to drown the
sumbitch. Am I wrong?

Pricks happen. Don't let them ruin your day.

3) Should the fly land first, or should the line? Why? I've caught fish when
either has happened, but that's just an idiot's luck, I'm sure. I can
usually make either happen, but I have no idea which I should be trying for.

If you cast just right your fly will be the last thing to
gently settle to the surface of the water.

4) Tossing a nymph --

Blech.

5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

Pricks happen. Don't let them ruin your day.

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

No reason not to use it. I use nail knots on both ends of
my fly line.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Daniel-San wrote:

5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

:-)

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

I've never heard of an Albright knot used for that purpose, except with
wire or heavy mono bite tippet. Use a surgeon's knot.

More questions will certainly come as I realize just how stupid I am.

Awaiting the berating,

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Daniel-San wrote:

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

After many years of fly fishing I just learned the Albright a couple
years ago when I first went fishing in the Salt. I like the knot and now
use it for a number of connections including tying on tippet sections
when I'm tying together two pieces of nylon that differ widely in diameter.


Willi

Daniel-San wrote:
In my continuing efforts to teach myself how to catch fish with some
semblance of regularity, a few questions have arisen. Any help that the
denizens of ROFF could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't laugh -- well, OK, laugh, but laugh with me, not at me.
Remember, I'm a self-taught semi-newb backpacker. And, just for fun, they're
in completely random order.

1) "Knotless" leaders... huh??? I buy these things, nip the loop off, and
tie up. WTF is the loop for?

Nip it off and use a nail knot, needle knot, Eagle Claw connector
thingy, or Zap-a-Gap connection to attatch your leader to your line.


2) Stream ettiquette -- I was working a pool this morning, and a guy just
waded right the hell thru it. I didn't say anything, but wanted to drown the
sumbitch. Am I wrong?

When this happens to me, I usually ask the offending party if I am
invisible. In reality, the damage done depends on where you are
fishing. If it is for wild trout in a small stream, it's a disaster, if
you're on a crowded stream fishing for stockies, wait a few minutes,
and they'll normally resume feeding. In any case, don't let it spoil
your day....you'll meet assholes everywhere, not just on a trout
stream.


3) Should the fly land first, or should the line? Why? I've caught fish when
either has happened, but that's just an idiot's luck, I'm sure. I can
usually make either happen, but I have no idea which I should be trying for.

The line and leader should lay down gently, followed by the fly.


4) Tossing a nymph -- I try to toss it well beyond the fish/area I'm
targeting (with varying degrees of success), but doesn't that "plop" spook
the fish?

Probably not, but try to get the fly well upstream of your target fish
so it has time to sink.



5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

Perfectly normal reaction. Once again, don't let it spoil your day.

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

No reason not to use it. I prefer a blood knot, but it's simply a
matter of preference.

More questions will certainly come as I realize just how stupid I am.

Awaiting the berating,

It will come....eventually. Here's a hint - ask lots of questions about
nymphs and strike indicators, and occasionally refer to Budwieser as
"horse****". {;-)


Thanks...
Dan

Daniel-San wrote:
In my continuing efforts to teach myself how to catch fish with some
semblance of regularity, a few questions have arisen. Any help that the
denizens of ROFF could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't laugh -- well, OK, laugh, but laugh with me, not at me.
Remember, I'm a self-taught semi-newb backpacker. And, just for fun, they're
in completely random order.

1) "Knotless" leaders... huh??? I buy these things, nip the loop off, and
tie up. WTF is the loop for?

Nip it off and use a nail knot, needle knot, Eagle Claw connector
thingy, or Zap-a-Gap connection to attatch your leader to your line.


2) Stream ettiquette -- I was working a pool this morning, and a guy just
waded right the hell thru it. I didn't say anything, but wanted to drown the
sumbitch. Am I wrong?

When this happens to me, I usually ask the offending party if I am
invisible. In reality, the damage done depends on where you are
fishing. If it is for wild trout in a small stream, it's a disaster, if
you're on a crowded stream fishing for stockies, wait a few minutes,
and they'll normally resume feeding. In any case, don't let it spoil
your day....you'll meet assholes everywhere, not just on a trout
stream.


3) Should the fly land first, or should the line? Why? I've caught fish when
either has happened, but that's just an idiot's luck, I'm sure. I can
usually make either happen, but I have no idea which I should be trying for.

The line and leader should lay down gently, followed by the fly.


4) Tossing a nymph -- I try to toss it well beyond the fish/area I'm
targeting (with varying degrees of success), but doesn't that "plop" spook
the fish?

Probably not, but try to get the fly well upstream of your target fish
so it has time to sink.



5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

Perfectly normal reaction. Once again, don't let it spoil your day.

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

No reason not to use it. I prefer a blood knot, but it's simply a
matter of preference.

More questions will certainly come as I realize just how stupid I am.

Awaiting the berating,

It will come....eventually. Here's a hint - ask lots of questions about
nymphs and strike indicators, and occasionally refer to Budwieser as
"horse****". {;-)


Thanks...
Dan

George Adams wrote:
Daniel-San wrote:
snip
Awaiting the berating,

It will come....eventually. Here's a hint - ask lots of questions
about nymphs and strike indicators, and occasionally refer to
Budwieser as "horse****". {;-)

.. . . and say lots of nice things about Ronald Reagan, like "Ronald
Reagan exemplifies the essence of fly fishing."
--
TL,
Tim
---------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/

"George Adams" wrote

The line and leader should lay down gently, followed by the fly.

in heaven, all the time, and once about every 25 casts or so on earth,
they all three arrive on the water's surface simultaneously.

and you could learn far more than you would ever want to know about the
mistake you make by fishing directly in front of someone, if you were to
ever walk through a run or hole being fished by james macdonald roberts,
late of pitt county, north carolina.

yfitons
wayno

"Daniel-San"

1) "Knotless" leaders... huh??? I buy these things, nip the loop off, and
tie up. WTF is the loop for?

I use a nail know with a perfection loop, about 6 inches long with a
diameter of 60 percent of my fly line to allow me a quick change of leaders
(when necessary - by tying on a fresh piece of tippet a leader can last a
very long time) The leader should attache to the llop to loop connection
with a perfect clove knot.

2) Stream ettiquette -- I was working a pool this morning, and a guy just
waded right the hell thru it. I didn't say anything, but wanted to drown
the
sumbitch. Am I wrong?

No. but beausdad and I were coming up a stream, fishing to the next pool
(typical mountain stream wading) and we plowed into a pool that a gent was
working from the bank. He was invisible, well hidden. He immediately got
huffy and left before we could gather our wits to apologize. typically in
theose mountain streams you are fishing the next pool up , not the one you
are wading in.

3) Should the fly land first, or should the line? Why? I've caught fish
when
either has happened, but that's just an idiot's luck, I'm sure. I can
usually make either happen, but I have no idea which I should be trying
for.

I prefer the fly landing first, many times the fly gets busted as soon as it
hits the water and not after the line has collapsed.

4) Tossing a nymph -- I try to toss it well beyond the fish/area I'm
targeting (with varying degrees of success), but doesn't that "plop" spook
the fish?

spook/attract, nymph needs time to sink - go figure....

5) I really wanted to drown that sumbitch -- I had two decent strikes in
that pool before he destroyed it.

Yes, it is a real ****er . . . I usually try to say hello before the other
gent disrupts my fishing...and should I be the gent, well I didn't see you,
allow me time to apologize...

6)I've been using an Albright to connect the leader to tippet. Seems good
to
me, small knot, fairly strong, easy to tie. Good? Bad? I know knot choice
is
a personal thing, but is there any reason "not" to use it?

I prefer a nail knot with a loop to loop connection

More questions will certainly come as I realize just how stupid I am.


"A man who knows he knows, knows nothing. A man who knows he knows nothing
really knows, " Mott the Hopple......but I think he was paraphrasing
Socrates....'I' dont' know.

Awaiting the berating,

Careful, it gets to be a habit and you will spend the rest of your life
delving into the useless knowledge at the bottom of a bottle...

Thanks...
Dan

.....I'll drink to that.....

john