Fly-Riding

No, nothin' to do with future-bikes or Goldwings. I've noticed from discussions and member profiles that a number of us fly-fish. I'm a realtively new fisherman, but always carry a rod on my bike. This is a thread to talk about fly-fishing, whether reached by motorcycle or not.

I started Father's Day 2007 and find it theraputic. I mostly nymph 11-MIle Canyon, but have dropped into Cheeseman Canyon, the Dream Stream, the Arkansas at Cotopaxi, Chalk Creek, the Uncompahgre and San Juan near pagosa, and this summer ventured back into some waters flowing into Blue Mesa Reservoir.

I'm always looking for somebody to walk the water with, and have a lot to learn.

Kewl, that is one of my "new to me" hobbies that I intend to take up since moving to Colorado this winter. I have no idea what the proper "gear" needed is but I'm intrigued about being able to carry it on my F650 funduro!...

Bubblehead wrote:Kewl, that is one of my "new to me" hobbies that I intend to take up since moving to Colorado this winter. I have no idea what the proper "gear" needed is but I'm intrigued about being able to carry it on my F650 funduro!...

I grew up bass, pike & sturgeon fishin' in parts of Michigan and Canada with Dad. Decades went by and I hadn't fished at all. When I moved back to Colorado I too insisted that this would be something that I took up. The artistry. The solitude. The setting.

The Gear: Bass fishing I could go to K-Mart, drop $20 and be set for the year. Fly fishin, that's how much the leaders and tippets cost. Ouch! Got my first rod while in Missoula on business. Dad got me a reel for a Christmas exchange. From then on I asked for Orivs gift cards for every gift giving event. Finally after two years I was almost set to go; Rod, reel, vest, backing, weight forward line, various weight tippets/leaders, a couple dozen flies, gadgets and so-on. I hadn't obtained boots or my waders yet, but that was okay. By the next trip I had Simms waders and boots.

You can get by without a lot here. In the canyons you can even nymph from shore. Mid season you can wander the waters in shorts, especially downstream from reservoirs where the water heats a bit. The one thing I suggest is a brimmed hat.

The science of fly fishing is what took even more time than gettin' the gear. The hatches, what's hatching, the flies to match the hatch, the entemology (what stage of life is a fly in), flows, water temps, the fish, spawning behavoirs and so-on. I read a ton of books and attended a few workshops here in the Springs. Nothin' beats being on the water tho.

Rod on the bike: My primary rod is an Orvis Clearwater 2 piece, 8.5', mid-flex 6.0, usually used with 4 or 5 wt line. It's a great feeling rod with just the right action. But a two piece is bulky to travel with. A friend gave me an old 4 piece glass rod (glass, not fiberglass) with an aluminium tube. I decided first to strap the tube to my rack, then moved it down to the front of the engine guard. It works great, and the I can use the tube as a foot rest too.

Rod on back


Rod on front