Fishin "Close" - Help Needed

Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own.

My problem - There are many small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?

Thanks ROFF
~TR
Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face

wrote:
Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own.

My problem - There are many small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?

Thanks ROFF
~TR
Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face

Bow-and-arrow cast.

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

rw wrote:
wrote:

Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own.
My problem - There are many small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?

Thanks ROFF
~TR
Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face


Bow-and-arrow cast.


Also, carry your rod butt-first through the brush, with all your
terminal tackle tightly snugged down. If you get hung up, don't fight
it. Carefully free it up right away, and be more careful. Twenty-eight
grams of prevention is worth about .45 kg of cure. :-)

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

In article , rw
writes
wrote:
Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own. My problem - There are many
small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.
Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?
Thanks ROFF
~TR
Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face

Bow-and-arrow cast.

Try dapping!
--
Bill Grey

On May 18, 10:42*pm, wrote:


Are there any SHORT fly rods made? *Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?


While there was a company selling a 3' fly rod a few years ago, I have
no idea if it's still around. However a fly rod that short is off
little use even in tight quarters because of the inability of the
average (or below average) fisherman to mend, roll cast, or even
nominally cast with it.

I use soft action 7'-8' rods in tight quarters and often use the
tecniques mentioned by RW or Mr. Grey as well a few others little
things. Soft action because they often load with only a few inches of
fly line out.

Most of all it takes practice and experimentation with what works for
you. A good primer for fixing your basic cast plus some specialized
casting techniques is Jaworski's "The Cast."

On May 18, 10:42*pm, wrote:

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? *Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?


I made a couple of 5' one-piece bamboo rods way back when as an
experiment. I gave one to Waldo and put the other one in my attic
(where it still sits unused to this day). I have no idea if it is even
a fishable rod, but I suspect it's not particularly practical. I've
been meaning to try it out sometime but inasmuch as time on the water
is a rare commodity for me these days I invariably jump right to my
best gear when/if I find myself on the stream, not willing to risk
dicking around with a potentially incompetent rod (if you'll pardon
the pun).

--Steve

wrote in message
...
Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own.

My problem - There are many small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?

I have a 4 ft. fiberglass rod I made out of an old tip section found in an
abandoned building. It is eminently fishable but, surprisingly perhaps, the
4 or 5 ft. difference in length doesn't present much of an advantage in
tight quarters, except in a very limited set of circumstances. Practically
speaking, in most instances you've got enough room to swing a fly rod or you
don't......the length of the rod (within reasonable limits) just isn't a
major factor. As others have mentioned, you're better off finding out what
kinds of tricks the rods you already have can do, and then master them.

Wolfgang

On Sun, 18 May 2008 19:50:58 -0700, rw
wrote:

wrote:
Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own.

My problem - There are many small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?

Thanks ROFF
~TR
Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face

Bow-and-arrow cast.

Never heard of that one - Anywhere that I can find photos or a
tutorial?


Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face

On Sun, 18 May 2008 20:06:39 -0700, rw
wrote:

rw wrote:
wrote:

Ok, first, I am not the greatest fly-fisher there is. In fact,
"Mediocre" just might be a compliment. But, if given enough room, I
can usually (sometimes) hold my own.
My problem - There are many small steams - some no more than 2-4 feet
wide - that I would like to "fly" on, but clearances are very tight -
even trying to walk through the woods with a 6-8 foot rod is nearly
impossible, never mind trying to cast once the water is reached.

Are there any SHORT fly rods made? Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?

Thanks ROFF
~TR
Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face


Bow-and-arrow cast.


Also, carry your rod butt-first through the brush, with all your
terminal tackle tightly snugged down. If you get hung up, don't fight
it. Carefully free it up right away, and be more careful. Twenty-eight
grams of prevention is worth about .45 kg of cure. :-)

Thanks rw - When in those conditions, I always have to carry
butt-first ... some of the surrounding brush can be so thick that you
cannot see much more than 6-8 feet in front of you anyway.

Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face

On Mon, 19 May 2008 08:19:29 -0700 (PDT), Wayne Knight
wrote:

On May 18, 10:42*pm, wrote:


Are there any SHORT fly rods made? *Something in a 2 or 3-weight, in
the 2 to 4 foot range that would allow a person to work in close
quarters, casting maybe 10 or so feet or even allow a person to "flip"
or roll-cast a fly this distance?


While there was a company selling a 3' fly rod a few years ago, I have
no idea if it's still around. However a fly rod that short is off
little use even in tight quarters because of the inability of the
average (or below average) fisherman to mend, roll cast, or even
nominally cast with it.

I use soft action 7'-8' rods in tight quarters and often use the
tecniques mentioned by RW or Mr. Grey as well a few others little
things. Soft action because they often load with only a few inches of
fly line out.

Most of all it takes practice and experimentation with what works for
you. A good primer for fixing your basic cast plus some specialized
casting techniques is Jaworski's "The Cast."

Wayne, thanks for the reference - I'll check the library and my local
Bass Pro for it.

Never met a fisherman that couldn't lie his ass off with a straight
face