Cardiff Park Pond Report

[Penner]

Well I have not been out fishing since last ice so I dearly needed to wet a line somewhere. With the so-so forecast for this past weekend I decided to stay close to home and I gave Cardiff Park Pond a go.

Fishing was insane for numbers not so good for size. I actually lost count of how many trout I caught but I’m certain well over 50 all around 6”-8” in an afternoons effort. No doubt the pond was just stocked not so long ago and even with the wind and being mid-day the trout were rising everywhere with a Caddis emerger being the ticket. I honestly caught two trout before the fly actually touch the water. Very cool. Not sure if this little outing satisfied the urge however?:cool:

Anyone wanting to get into fly fishing Cardiff would be a good choice right now.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Awesome thanks for the report, im thinking of going somewhere close tonight , maybe head to Cardiff or morinville depends on the wind . I am having no luck with the fly fishing i honestly am man enough to say I suck at it , I cant cast the darn thing out there more then 10 feet , and I tryed going for pike with it and i cant get it out far enough . Figured even with a couple split shots on to get it a bit heavyer thinking that was my issue nope that wasnt it ither , I think im to manly of a man to much power into my cast , ask some of the guys i fish with i have no issue casting 100 yards or more .with a spinning rod that is

[nekred]

BBJ... The idea of flycastng.. assuming you are serious about the split shot thing... get rid of all idea of spin casting where you are using weighted hook to pull line out of reel in cast.....

You are using weighted line to get your hook out there... the lighter the hook the easier it is to cast!..... 50 foot flycasting is not that hard once a person gets the knack!... The trick is to ensure rod, line, leader and tippet all match!....

i am far from pefect being a relative newbie to flyfishing..... but have had many a take on a fly rod.. and have landed a few including a 33" bow out of the Bow River!... I am guessing somewhere over the 10lb mark!...

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

hummmmmmmmm that could be it , I dont know ive been using 4 lb line as a leader , and using wolly buggers but cant get it out there except if i roll cast and that isnt even that good i get about a 10 or 15 foot from shore and then thats it , Might have to get another lesson or just stick to what I know best , no way im giving up my spining or bait caster rods but I think if I had more paitence id do better but the good lord didnt give me much for waiting and figureing out more like winging it :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Morph1]

LOL , yep lots of people think that casing a fly is something similar to spin casting but unfortunately it's not, it is totally different, I've been flyfishing from only 3 seasons ,and I can still feel it 1 out of 4-5 casts is the perfect one, usually is the one when you use the least effort and the most flawless movement , very tricky unless you have someone to show you how.
I learned to cast with my 8 weight up to 80 FT and I dont use a tipet,
I use instead a 8 feet long 6lbs vanish line tied onto my floating line,
from a professinal point of view that would be a nono, but works for me great.
I have yet to try catching a pike on a Fly rod :)

Cheers !

[Doc]

With a spinning rod, the weight of the lure pulls the mono off your reel.

With a fly rod, you don't cast the lure (fly), you cast the line.

The weight of the line will load energy into your rod and the line will be forced out through the release of this energy. The fly just goes along for the ride. The trick is to keep your fly line loops tight (close together like the letter "U" on its side. Large open loops like the letter"C" don't do well. The way to do this is to keep the tip of the rod traveling in a completely straight line from the start of your cast, to the end of your back cast, and then back to the starting point at the end of your forward cast. You must also wait for the line to straighten out on your back cast, if you start casting before it straightens out, you get a tailing loop resulting in wind knots in the leader. If you wait to long, your line will hit the water or ground behind you and your loops will be to open meaning you wasted the load (energy) your line has put in the rod and your cast will go nowhere.

Of course there is much more to fine casting but with these basic rules followed anyone can learn to cast a fly rod. It really is worth the money to take a lesson. Most instructors can have you casting in one day. Learning on your own will take quite a while and you'll learn many bad habits (like I did with my side arm casting).

Hope this helps,
Doc

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Is there anmyone in the city who teaches these lessons.

[Penner]

Doc, hit it bang on. It’s the fly line that's important. As well your gear must match as well rod, reel, line, fly, etc. Also casting with any wind can be tough for beginners so avoid it until you improve. A couple of quick tips...

- Generally the 10 o'clock 12 o'clock positions are as far as you need to move the fly rod while casting.

- Generally you want to wait a second or two for you fly line to straighten out on your back swing before you begin to cast forward. The fly line should remain almost horizontal at all times. You should watch your fly line through the entire casting process for the first little while until you get the hang of it.

- Generally you want to “false cast” a few time before you actually cast out onto the water. This will build up line speed as well as get out the proper amount of fly line for distance.

- When finally casting out, follow thru down to about 9 o’clock pointing out towards the fly and allow all of your fly line to spool out from your hand.

- Keep your wrist locked. You should utilize your entire forearm for casting. Many guys move their wrists while casting which is not what you want. Your hand should be just above your head while casting. Focus on this one big time.

- Always try to cast with the wind behind you even if it is just a light breeze.

- Keep your leader relatively short until you improve (6ft or so). You can extend your leader once your skills have improved.

- Also a tapered leader is best to assist with floating fly’s and ease of replacing tippets. For my set-up I use 3feet of 8lbs regular mono, then 3feet of 8lbs regular mono, then I use 4feet of 3x up to 6x fly tippet for the remainder depending how I’m fishing. Once the fly tippet needs replacing simply cut if off and re-tie to the mono. I use an Albright knot to attach the mono to the fly line and I use Blood knots for mono to mono and mono to tippet.

- Advoid trees, shrubs, and hills being behind you.

- Lots of practice. Cardiff and Mornville are perfect for that.

Once you begin to catch fish on a fly rod its very difficult to go back to spinning or bait casting. I actually fish 1/2 the time for Walleye by trolling sinking fly lines with large streamer patterns. I usually out fish hardware 3:1 and the battle on fly gear is way awesome. Plus you save a ton on bait.

[Doc]

Is there anmyone in the city who teaches these lessons.

The Northern Lights Fly Tyers & Fishers (NLFT&F's) put on casting lessons for beginners and intermediate casters. I think they're over for this year but you can find information here...
http://www.nlft.org/

Barry White offers casting lessons but you gotta book with him in April or drive to Calgary as he guides all summer on the Bow...
http://www.bowriver.com/

I also teach basic casting (not side arm) but only with guided trips or as part of introduction to stillwater fly-fishing school...
Edmonton Stillwater Adventures (http://www.freewebs.com/stillwateradventures/ratesservices.htm)

other than that, I'd check with your local fishin' hole as they might have some leads for you.

Cheers,
Doc

[bearbait]

ive always gone by the 10 and 2 rule when fly fishing...trick is to get good short like 10-15 ft then let out line as required...i learnt in a field wit a hula hoop...worked great then lern in a creek or river or lake where there are obsticals...
just my 2 cents..
rob

[brook trout]

dont give up on fly casting. it took me a year to get good now i can cast 40 to 50 feet of line nicley. weight forward lines dont roll cast very well so get a double taper fly line if you roll cast a lot. casting on water is harder than casting on your lawn. so just remember that:lol:

[ESOXangler]

i taught mself to cast when i was 10 years old and my technique still needs work. just keep plugging away and dont break your wrist, besides casting isn't something to be mastered. we all saw what happened to brad pitt after he mastered the cast on a river runs thru it, he died. think about it lol

[Lazerloop]

I agree you should use a tapered leaders ! Not for the ease of tying tippet on but for fly turnover! buy one size or x bigger than what you are using for tippet. then use a loop knot(perfection loop) to attach your desired lenth of tippet when the tippet gets to short replace the tippet with another peice. this way you dont go through tapered leaders as fast. you also get great turnover!