Fly fishing

[romafan]



Joan Wulff, the First Lady of Fly Fishing, wants to become a member of the Angling Club of New York, the most prestigious club in the US. She is certainly qualified having been a National Casting Champion from 1943-1960 in distance casting against an all-male competition; s tarting the Wulff School of Fly Fishing; writing three books on fly fishing, the most known being Fly Casting Techniques; and being inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2007. However, she ain't a he. [COLOR=215374]https://www.change.org/[/COLOR][COLOR=215374]petitions/sport-angling-community-sign-if-joan-is-good-enough-to-be-a-member-of-anglers-club-of-ny?utm_campaign=friend_inviter_modal&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=741[/COLOR][COLOR=215374]9849[/COLOR] lefty

Hmmm, i've been to dinner as a guest - didn't realize it was men-only. it is a pretty crusty place, and seems like they would happy to have new members. i can't imagine joan wulff would be anything but a boon... p.s. it's 'angler's club'

 

[lefty]

Thanks, I was just copy and pasting.

Cool space? The GG Angling and Casting Club in SF is pretty rich with fly fishing esoterica.

lefty

 

[romafan]



Thanks, I was just copy and pasting.

Cool space? The GG Angling and Casting Club in SF is pretty rich with fly fishing esoterica. 

lefty

yes, upstairs in fraunces tavern (early 18th century bldg in lower manhattan - site of washington's farewell address to his officers). very cool spot heavy on the esoterica & ephemera

 

[lefty]

Damn, that building has a pretty interesting history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraunces_Tavern

lefty

 

[Kai]

"Prestigious" fly fishing club? Why would anyone want to join a fly fishing club? What makes a club "prestigious?" What would be the point? (I've never even heard of a fly fishing club, much less had a desire to join one.)

the most prestigious club in the US.

 

[Henry Carter]



Why would anyone want to join a fly fishing club?

What would be the point?

a) maybe I guess you're probably a fly fisherman

b) see answer a

A very strange post. It's like asking why would you want to join a clothing forum? People like different things and some people even like things that have nothing to do with clothing. Like fly fishing.

 

[Kai]

Fly fishing is generally something that is best done by yourself or with perhaps one friend.

What does a fly fishing club do? Have meetings where you sit around and drink and tell stories about fly fishing? I'm a pretty avid fly fisherman. I know a lot of other fly fishermen. I can't think of why I'd want to join a fly fishing club. I fly fish to get away from crowds. Nothing I'd hate worse than some club fishing outing where I'm trying to fish surrounded by a bunch of club members.

I just don't get it.

a) maybe I guess you're probably a fly fisherman
b) see answer a
A very strange post. It's like asking why would you want to join a clothing forum? People like different things and some people even like things that have nothing to do with clothing. Like fly fishing.

 

[lefty]

Well for me it's about getting my hand on as many rods as possible. I can drop by my club and there will be a variety of guys with their rods out and ready for action. Long or short; thick or thin; some that can shoot great distances and some that are just for delicate and intimate up-close play. Rods with fast-action tips and rods with action that happens so deeply into the shaft that it creates a tingling in your hand as you work your stroke.

My club members are always happy to let me play with their rods.

lefty

 

[FLMountainMan]



Well for me it's about getting my hand on as many rods as possible. I can drop by my club and there will be a variety of guys with their rods out and ready for action. Long or short; thick or thin; some that can shoot great distances and some that are just for delicate and intimate up-close play. Rods with fast-action tips and rods with action that happens so deeply into the shaft that it creates a tingling in your hand as you work your stroke.

My club members are always happy to let me play with their rods.

I hear this all the time.

 

[romafan]



"Prestigious" fly fishing club? Why would anyone want to join a fly fishing club? What makes a club "prestigious?" What would be the point? (I've never even heard of a fly fishing club, much less had a desire to join one.)

forget the prestigious part - i'm picturing 2 kinds of clubs.

the 1st (in an urban environment (e.g. nyc)) you're surrounded by millions of people w/ no interest/knowledge/awareness of fishing. for the most part, you are not able to take the morning off/sneak off for a long lunch/etc and get in a couple of hours on the stream. a fishing club is a way to be connected to the sport in your non-fishing day-to-day world and interact w/ others who enjoy it. from what i've heard from the members i know, it's a great place to have lunch if you work downtown. they have dinners w/ featured guest speakers. I imagine they are a good resource for trip planning. members stop in for a drink in the evening (again, if you work downtown) to mingle w/ fellow anglers, etc.

2nd would be a club located on a stream/river that members travels to. the club usually owns/has access to a private stretch of water. members who typically don't live near good fishing water go to fish (using a beat-type arrangement where you have a section that is yours for the morning/afternoon/day). there is also some socializing that goes on off the water w/ drinks, dinner, etc. Oftern there are accomadations where members can stay over. I'm thinking of the clubs in the poconos & catskills, but i'm sure there are others.

 

[lefty]

For example:


lefty

 

[lefty]

Rod maker Mike McFarland wins the distance casting contest at the Hardy Cup in the catskills. 106' and 104' with a 6'10" bamboo rod. He received a 15' bonus for a shorter rod.

I haven't cast many bamboo rods but that is a pretty damn good cast. Maybe Kai can weigh in.

Here he is casting:

lefty

 

[Kai]

That seems like a long distance. I mostly cast short, because I mostly fish smaller streams. The only time I consistently need to make long casts is when I'm drift boat fishing, and then for me, "long" is 50 or 60 feet. When I get much past that, I find that I typically miss the hook-up when the fish strikes, because there's too much line out between me and the fish. Overall, I find that around 70 feet is the practical maximum for me for real-world fishing. I'm sure if I tried to cast 100+ feet, I'd make a fool of myself and likely get the line caught in a bush or a tree.

A bamboo rod can be made to have whatever characteristics you want. Most of my rods are softer, slower actioned, but I have one bamboo rod (6 weight) that is a real cannon. In the hands of a good distance caster (which I am not,) I have no doubt it could hold its own against graphite rods in a super long distance contest..

But, that's not what I use my bamboo rods for 99% of the time. Most of the time, I'm using them for short to mid-distance dry fly presentations, often with weird obstacles and odd casting angles. This is where a traditional bamboo rod really shines. For me, I get more "feel" of what the rod is doing and how it's loading and unloading with a bamboo rod than I do with a graphite rod. This is particularly true for the softer action bamboo rods that wouldn't fare so well in a long-distance casting contest.

As for fishing clubs, I guess if I lived in a place where good fishing was scarce, a club with private water would be interesting. On the East Coast, I guess I could see the appeal. However, I live so close to so much good fishing, that I never really considered that aspect of things. (There's a creek 5 minutes from my house full of brookies and rainbows from 8-18 inches. I've fished it well over 100 times, and I've seen a total of 2 other fishermen on it.)

Rod maker Mike McFarland wins the distance casting contest at the Hardy Cup in the catskills. 106' and 104' with a 6'10" bamboo rod. He received a 15' bonus for a shorter rod. 

I haven't cast many bamboo rods but that is a pretty damn good cast. Maybe Kai can weigh in.

lefty

 

[romafan]



As for fishing clubs, I guess if I lived in a place where good fishing was scarce, a club with private water would be interesting. On the East Coast, I guess I could see the appeal. However, I live so close to so much good fishing, that I never really considered that aspect of things. (There's a creek 5 minutes from my house full of brookies and rainbows from 8-18 inches. I've fished it well over 100 times, and I've seen a total of 2 other fishermen on it.)

You're very fortunate! I'm lucky if I get to fish more than a half dozen times a year...

 

[lefty]

Yes, he is pretty lucky. While I have world-class fishing here it is a minimum 4 hour drive. Still doable for the weekend, but 5 minutes would be nicer. Fortunately, this is about 15 minutes from my house:






Since I am a relatively new fly fisher, my club has been an invaluable resource. It also happens to have the best casters in the country:

The GGACC was organized in June 1933 as an offshoot of the San Francisco Fly Casting Club. The San Francisco Fly Casting Club, the second oldest casting club in the U.S., was founded in 1894, when the first tournament was held as Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The world's single-handed fly casting record of 133 ft. was established by club president Walter Mansfield in 1899, and held for 35 years to 1934. He also cast a 5 oz. fly rod 129 1/2 feet at a 1902 tournament.

Members of the club have been responsible for many innovations in fishing equipment. The major features of the popular Pfleuger "Medalist" fly reel was designed by a club member. The hollow fluted bamboo rods of R.L. Winston Rod Co. and the cedar center hollow construction of E.C. Powell Rod Co. produced fly rods of astounding lightness and power. Later Jim Green introduced the first glass-to-glass ferrule and created innumerable refinements in rod taper, both for Fenwick and earlier rod manufacturers. Jim Green designed and built the first graphite fly rods and was a pioneer in using boron for fly rods. Jon Tarantino worked with R.L. Winston, Scientific Anglers and Hardy Brothers of England to develop new tapers.

GGACC Club members were in the forefront of creating new fly lines for distance casting using new tapers and materials such as nylon, dacron and bonded plastic, which superseded the old silk lines. The prototype high density fly lines of today were created by members working closely with Sunset Line Company of Petaluma and other major line manufacturers. Members Phil Miravalle and Jim Green introduced monofilament as a running line for distance fly casting in 1946 and revolutionized fly casting. The use of shooting heads as a fishing technique was pioneered by club members.

The standardization of fly lines by weight rather than diameter and the adoption of a line classification scheme used by both rod and line manufacturers has greatly simplified fly fishing. Myron Gregory and Art Agnew of Sunset Lines led this standardization both nationally and worldwide.

GGACC members have been responsible of many innovations in fly patterns and fly materials as well. Gene Burns introduced Day-Glo flourescents with John Gardner in 1947 as fly body material. The Horner Deer Hair, Horner Shrimp and Halvorsen's Barley Sack (or Burlap) and many other fly patterns came from the GGACC.

In tournament casting, the GGACC has held an unparalleled dominance for the past 30 years. Jon Tarantino, from the early 1950's and Steve Rajeff, from the mid-1970's were All-Around Champions both in the national and international arenas.


Kai, which of your bamboo rods do you reach for most often? I'm considering one, but the choices are overwhelming - almost more than graphite. I'd like to start with a rebuilt vintage then order a new rod. Perhaps I should just select a builder tell him what I want to fish and let him decide.

Just picked up a 6'6" 4wt glass rod which is fun to cast. A world away from my Thomas & Thomas 9' 6wt.

lefty