Chaos

This year I decided to take the advice offered to me and get in some practice casting the fly rod. My overhead cast isn't all I'd like it to be. Of course, it is possible that hanging around with guys who can throw an entire 100' fly line effortlessly probably doesn't help when setting a realistic expectation.

Yesterday I had a few minutes after eating lunch and needed some "outside time", so I broke out the rod/reel I'd brought in for just these pursuits. While I'm walking to the field, I notice the rod. "854/4" - wait minute, that's not my A2 906/4 that I'd intended to use. It's my 8'6" 4-weight Scott A3. Naturally, I have the Ross CLA 3 with a Rio Gold 6 weight line on it. Predictably, it cast like a 4-weight with a 6-weight line. But it's nice to get outside for a bit.

So last night, I take this rod home, thinking I'd grabbed the wrong one and intending to swap it for the 6. Not so fast, cowpoke...

A few weeks back I went out to my favorite little quiet walk-in spot on the Huron River near my house. Beautiful sunny day, perfect temps, just a bit of wind. An idyllic time to throw some small poppers at a mix of panfish, rock bass, and smallmouth. But from the get-go, my casting is piss-poor. Can't even competently throw a 20-footer. WTF? Is the wind goofing me up? Or am I just that rusty? Net result, while it was a nice afternoon out, no strikes, and I left feeling pretty disappointed in my casting skills.

Last night when I go to stow the 4-weight, I notice a rig hanging in the rod rack. This is the one I took on the aforementioned outing. Well, a 4-weight line on a 6-weight rod suddenly explains a lot...

Today I take 20 minutes to cast at lunch with the 6-weight rod and the 6-weight line/reel. From the FIRST cast, it's ON. Nice clean loops. Solid distance. Reasonable accuracy despite a cross-wind. Just money.

The moral of the story is a simple one. Before you rush out, check your inventory. What rod's in your hand? What reel? What line is on that reel? In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "duh-OH!".

-Sean-