Shenandoah has big smallmouth in 2015, I can confirm it!

[TurbineBlade]

I read the reports about the 2014 population study revealing a lot of diseased fish, etc. and the expectation that it would take a few years to rebound.  Well....the big ones are still out there!  Well, at least a few anyway.  

I just hooked the biggest smallmouth I've ever hooked, and was unable to get the sucker out from under the snag he was hiding under.  It's hard not to "big deal" it, but I believe it was every bit of a 5-pound fish.  I just about soiled myself when I saw an obese, finned shadow rise up from the snag and (gently) inhale the dead-drifted popper.  Of course, he dove right back where he came from and I just absolutely could do nothing to pull him out of there -- so my leader and part of my fly line got wedged under there, and the sucker broke off.  Part of my fly line is now totally gouged where he pulled it under there. 

That fish will haunt me for...years probably, because I generally fish small streamers and catch what Beth and I called "hot dog" or "bratwurst" smallies all day.  The only thing redeeming about this, is Beth saw the whole thing.....all 11 seconds of it.  

-------------

We caught the usual numbers out there, and there are a lot of damsels on the surface now.  Fish were rising to the top pretty reliably all day....though some would seem a bit "skittish" about it still...doing the "nope", then "maybe", then "nope", and then *pop!

S-h-u-d-d-e-r........

Gene ("sometimes the fish wins") TurbineBlade 

[namfos]

At least you managed to hang on to your outfit after hooking the biggest smallie you ever hooked. ;-)

Mark The Fish Kicked My Ass at Weverton Namfos ;-)

[TurbineBlade]

Oh yeah, I remember you talking about that Mark but I didn't put together that you were fishing for smallmouth.  If there's a better rod for cane fishing for smallmouth than a Fenwick FF857, I don't want to know what it is because then I might not be as happy ;).  

Anyone repair gouges in fly line before?  I have some of that pliobond stuff.....I guess I'll just keep fishing it until it falls apart.  

Gene

[Scott Stankus]

Thank you, Gene, for saying Pliobond - I've literally been trying to think of the name of that stuff on and off for a month! Every time I tried to find it online, all I could turn up was Loon UV KnotSense. 

So thank you!

--Scott

Sent from my iPhone

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[TurbineBlade]

Glad to help!  From what I gather, it was originally intended as wood glue.  I use it mostly just to coat the whipped loops I put into fly lines....seems to work fine.  

Gene

On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 7:30:05 AM UTC-4, Scott S wrote:

Thank you, Gene, for saying Pliobond - I've literally been trying to think of the name of that stuff on and off for a month! Every time I tried to find it online, all I could turn up was Loon UV KnotSense. 

So thank you!

--Scott

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 22, 2015, at 7:12 AM, TurbineBlade <doubl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh yeah, I remember you talking about that Mark but I didn't put together that you were fishing for smallmouth.  If there's a better rod for cane fishing for smallmouth than a Fenwick FF857, I don't want to know what it is because then I might not be as happy ;).  

Anyone repair gouges in fly line before?  I have some of that pliobond stuff.....I guess I'll just keep fishing it until it falls apart.  

Gene

On Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 6:37:56 PM UTC-4, namfos wrote:

At least you managed to hang on to your outfit after hooking the biggest smallie you ever hooked. ;-)

Mark The Fish Kicked My Ass at Weverton Namfos ;-)

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[Misha Gill]

Dan once fixed a nicked fly line for me by tying a uni knot with some gel spun backing material over the nick. Worked out pretty well! And if you covered it with some sort of sealant like the pliobond it would probably be even better. Good luck!

[TurbineBlade]

Gel spun.....hmmmm,...that's the stuff those pipe slammers use to fit like 20 feet of backing onto a reel the size of a brake drum right?  I wonder if a whip finish with 210 waxed is at all similar?

Gene

[namfos]

100 denier with Pliobond might do the job too, depending on the size of the nick.  There's an outfit near Pittsburgh that sells inexpensive floating fly lines that I think are actually quite decent, but since this is non-commercial space,, I won't mention their name. mark.sofman (at) gmail dot com will get you the answer. Clue: New Testament ;-)

Mark

[Carl Z.]

I just picked up used $10 fly lines at the PA Fly Fishing Heritage show.  I was in need of a 7wt line, so I picked up a DT Peach line.  and a SA mastery WF.  Give that I plan of fishing rocky water for smallmouth, I hate to spend $50 or more on a line.    One of these is destine to be a "grass line" for casting practice.

Gene, an 8'6" Phillipson works well for bass too. :-)

As for fixing lines, if the core isn't nicked, just a bit of thread whip finished over the area and sealed with something.  Pliobond is great, but I've used superglue (a bit hard and not flexible) or waterproof fabric glue.  If you have fleximent in your fly tying supplies that would work.  Goop works too.  If it is a deep nick then it is best to strip the coating off and tie the core togehter with a blood knot or uni-uni knot and then whip and seal it.  I've never found that to be worth it unless I'm on a fishing trip and can't get another line.  I usually have another rod/reel that I can switch to.

On Mon, Jun 22, 2015 at 2:39 PM, namfos <mark....@gmail.com> wrote:

100 denier with Pliobond might do the job too, depending on the size of the nick.  There's an outfit near Pittsburgh that sells inexpensive floating fly lines that I think are actually quite decent, but since this is non-commercial space,, I won't mention their name. mark.sofman (at) gmail dot com will get you the answer. Clue: New Testament ;-)

Mark

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