Trouts Fly Fishing

Andrew Grillos Special Fly Tying Demonstration

Who:  Andrew Grillos – professional fly fishing guide and signature fly tier for Idylwilde Fly Company

What:  a special presentation where Andrew will be showing us how to tie some of his favorite and most innovative fly patterns

Where:  Trout’s Fly Fishing

When:  Saturday October 16, 2010 from 11am – 1pm

A little more on Mr. Grillos:

Andrew Grillos began his career in the fly fishing world at a young age. He first picked up a fly rod around age 10, started tying at age 14, and by age 16 was a production fly tyer. He then chose his college based on the fishing surrounding Gunnison, Colorado and began working as a …full time guide almost immediately after moving to Gunnison. As his 9th year guiding is coming to a close he draws upon experience gained while guiding in Western Colorado, namely on the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon and on the countless rivers and streams in the Upper Gunnison basin. Over the last 9 years Andrew’s also had the pleasure of guiding for some of the top outfitters in Alaska, Chile, Argentina, and New Zealand. Recognized as a Guide Ambassador for Simms, Andrew’s done a fair amount of product testing and development around the world. As a Signature Fly Tier for Idylwilde Flies, Andrew’s unique fly designs are recognized and widely distributed.

Andrew’s fly designs are typically inspired by a desire to solve specific problems that he’s encountered while guiding around the world. Guiding clients that had a tough time following a large hopper as fish were taking the dropper was one motivation for the Sideshow Bob. Getting tired of dealing with “buoyant” foam caddis patterns sinking after a couple fish was one motivation for the Bob Barker. Take the El Camino, it’s a stonefly adult that remains buoyant and easy to see while riding low in the surface film. Another extremely important part of Andrew’s fly designs is durability. By taking advantage of synthetics like foam, rubber, and synthetic dubbings he’s created a number of flies that can catch fish all day long and not sink or fall apart.

To Andrew fun has always been priority number one with his guiding, fishing, and fly tying. His hope is that his flies maximize angling time and effectiveness, resulting in a good day!

We hope to see many of our customers and friends there!

NEW GEAR | The F2 Fly Rod Series from Scott Fly Rods

Scott Fly Rods

F2 Fiberglass Fly Rod Series

Available Date: October 2010

Price: $595.00

What we have to say about it:  Scott Fly Rods has always been a company that doesn’t follow the traditional norms of fly rod design, which is why their rods are loved and sought after by the industries best and brightest.  So for 2011, how could one of the top fly rod manufacturers stray from the pack and really stand out?  How about debuting an entirely new line of Fiberglass fly rods.  Introducing the F2 Fly Rod Series.  We had the opportunity to cast these rods at the IFTD Show in September, and it was absolute love at first cast.  The first thing that stood out about these rods was the color, a classic yellow that instantly reminds you of your grandfathers classic fiberglass rods.  In addition, these rods have a delicate taper that delivers the fly line with a super smooth and precise presentation.  While not a fly rod for the masses, those anglers that have a love and appreciation for medium action fly rods will absolutely love the new F2.

What Scott Fly Rods has to say about it:

This year we’re introducing a full new line up of glass rods that both improve performance and pay homage to our long history with the material.  Scott has been handcrafting high performance rods made from fiberglass longer than any other company. We’re approaching our 40th year designing and building fly rods with fiberglass.  We feel that glass is uniquely suited to fishing applications that call for close range casts, and offer more fun and enjoyment when targeting small fish.  This series of rods incorporate a new S-glass fabric weave with a highly biased fiber distribution and combine that with a new epoxy resin system. The blanks are joined using Scott hollow internal ferrules.  These design features allowed us to significantly decrease the perceived weight of the rods, and get a smoother deeper bending rod curve that recovers more quickly than previous glass rods.  This means the rods can be very light with out sacrificing accuracy or losing control of the cast.  As a tribute to our innovative designs in glass rods during the early ‘70s, we’ve gone back to our traditional yellow/honey colored glass, light brown wraps and touches like finish cork on the grips and cork insert reel seats.

Models come in the following sizes and are priced at $595.00:

• 6’0” 2 Weight/3 Pieces
• 6’6” 3 Weight/3 Pieces
• 7’0” 3 Weight/3 Pieces
• 7’7” 4 Weight/3 Pieces
• 8’2” 5 Weight/4 Pieces

Notable New Products for 2011

The International Fly Tackle Dealer Show (IFTD) concluded a little over a week ago, and I’ve been meaning to do some posts on some of the more notable new products that were debuted for 2011.  All in all, there are some great new offerings that I am sure all of our customers will be very excited about (I know we were).  Be sure and keep in mind that many of these products are available now, so be sure and take note of the “Available Date” field on each product.

Ross Reels

F1 Fly Reel

Available Date:  November 1, 2010

Price:  starts at $425

What We have to Say:  Ross has raised the bar in fly reel design with the F1 reel series.  It is beautifully machined, has a bomber drag that could stop a freight train (verdict is still out though as to whether this elaborate of a drag is really necessary on a trout reel), and looks about as sexy as a Ferrari.  Although this isn’t a reel for the masses, those who are looking for the most technologically advanced fly reel will certainly be please with this new offering from Ross.  In the end, we say kudos to Ross for coming out with such an exciting new product.

What Ross has to say: After more than two years of design, development and testing, Ross is pleased to introduce the F1TM – a large arbor fly reel series that is destined to revolutionize modern fly reel design. The F1 is a complete departure from conventional thinking and incorporates the most innovative features found in any fly reel today. Inspired by the break system utilized in Formula 1 race cars, the F1 is an integration of carbon fiber and stainless steel; utilizing eight independent contact points to produce the smoothest and most dependable drag system on the market today. Two square inches of carbon fiber drag surface results in unsurpassed stopping power and heat dissipation. The spool fits to a carbon fiber stabilizer which utilizing two fully sealed stainless steel ball bearings to provide precision fit and smooth rotation. The F1 employs a Ross original clutch bearing that is fully sealed and enables retrieve conversion without removing the bearing- an industry first! The extensive use of carbon fiber in the drag system, spool stabilizer, handle and spool release provide system strength and rigidity, while reducing overall weight. Ten separate o-rings completely seal the system, making it totally impervious to the drag-changing effects of water. The entire system is controlled by a constant-torque drag knob with a 56:1 mechanical advantage; resulting in uniform drag knob rotation and infinite drag adjustment.

The F1…a fly reel revolution!

click here to view more information about this fly reel

Kokanee Salmon - what you need to know

When you ask somebody to tell you what comes to mind when you say “Colorado Fly Fishing”, most people would mention 2 things: the Rocky Mountains and Trout.  The reality is that fly fishing in this state is very closely associated with the resident trout (Rainbow, Brown, Brook, Cutbow and Cutthroat), and not the many other species that fill our local ponds, lakes, reservoirs and rivers.  Yet every Fall, the Kokanee Salmon make their annual migration out of a few or our states reservoirs, and essentially goes from being a complete anomaly to fly anglers to being a highly sought after species.  Yet there still remains a large number of fly anglers who are completely unaware of this species, particularly how much fun they can be to catch on a fly rod.

Background

The Kokanee Salmon is essentially a land-locked Pacific Sockeye Salmon.  These fish were first introduced to lakes and reservoirs in the interior US starting in the early 1900’s, and these stocking programs continue today.  Because they don’t venture from saltwater to freshwater, Kokanee Salmon are much smaller than their androgynous brethren, and only get to be about 1lb – 3lb.  It’s also important to point out that except for a few exceptions, Kokanee don’t ever successfully spawn.  As a result, local fish and wildlife agencies have to do annual stockings to maintain adequate population numbers.  Yet although these fish don’t successfully spawn, it is during the spawning period where this species becomes accessible to fly anglers as they will seek out gravelly shore lines in reservoirs, or small tributary streams to swim up and “spawn”.  Just like any other salmon species, once they begin their spawn these fish stop eating and will eventually die.

Read More…

New Winston Fly Rods for 2011

Our faithful Winston Fly Rod rep Scott Harkins was by the shop yesterday with a little surprise; the NEW 2011 Winston Fly Rods.  Now this isn’t the first time in the past few years that Winston, or any fly rod company for that matter, has debuted a new fly rod; but I can say with absolute certainty that it has been a while since I have been this excited about a new fly rod offering.  So here it is, the NEW 2011 fly rods from R.L. Winston Rod Company:

BIIIX:   just by looking at the name it is clear that this rod will be replacing an old staple in the Winston line-up.  That’s right, the old faithful BIIX will officially be discontinued as of September, 2010.  Now before the old guard gets to upset over this news, let me assure you that the new BIIIX is a far superior, better casting, better fishing fly rod then it’s predecessor.  Everything that most anglers disliked about the BIIX has been fixed (primarily the overly soft butt and mid section), and everything that we loved about the BIIX has been preserved.  The BIIIX has more Boron material in the butt section then any other rod in this category, giving the new BIIIX a stiffer butt without adding weight.  The stiffer butt section perfectly transitions into a stiffer mid section, which allows this new rod to achieve longer and more accurate casts.  A bit more power also makes this rod more versatile when it comes to throwing larger flies and heavier rigs.  All said and done, this fly rod is going to blow the fly fishing industry off it’s feet, and surely propel Winston forward as a leader of fly rod manufacturing and design.

GVX:  We’ve been asking for it for years, and Winston has finally taken notice.  The GVX is the first mid priced fly rod Winston has ever offered, and the best part is that it is still hand made in Twin Bridges, MT.  That’s right, Winston isn’t farming this rod out oversees, and with a sticker price of $495 it will surely allow many more anglers the abiltiy to own one of these infamous green sticks.  What makes the new GVX even more likable is that it is essentially the classic Winston BIIX, but made entirely with graphite instead of a graphite/boron mix.  So while this rod may not be as lightweight as those rods in the Boron series, it does have an amazing action and feel in hand.  It was able to cast 70′ on a dime, but also gave us plenty of feel and precision at shorter distances.  So whether you’re looking for a lower priced American made fly rod, or you want to find something similar to the classic Winston BIIX, the GVX will surely fit your needs.

VSL:  The new VSL will replace the Vapor rod series.  It is lighter in the hand, and has a much more progressive taper allowing for more accurate and technical casts.  Although this fly rod is still manufactured over in China, it is an ideal option for those looking to get into the Winston brand without breaking the bank.  Although the Vapor was a popular fly rod in the under $300 category, I have little doubt that the new VSL will easily takes it’s place and be a welcome addition to the Winston family.

Passport:  Coming in at $199, the new Winston Passport will be replacing the Ascent series.  I was never much of a fan of the Ascent, as it never seemed to have much feel or precision, but I did enjoy this new rod and believe that it is a great option for any beginner angler.

All four new models will be shipping to us on September 13, 2010, and we are taking pre orders for anybody wanted to ensure they can get their hands on one of these fine sticks as soon as their available.  In addition, we will have demo’s available in the BIIIX and GVX for anybody interested.