cuzza

I don't know how much you've found it for but you could look at getting one from the UK with the pound so weak at the moment, some gear is actually cheaper over there. they should take the 20% VAT off the price you see as well as all UK sites include tax in their prices.

The first thing that sprung to mind was something like this but I'd probably tie it with the mylar body material frayed to form the tail add some white marabou and krystal flash to give it better movement. Flies like this are best swung across downstream of you, they're hard to fish upstream effectively unless you want to run it under an indicator to mimic a dead or crippled baitfish.

I think it was new last year, it was September when I saw one in a shop. Sounds good - You won't find any unfrozen water at the moment though Read my post properly and you'll see I said I haven't tried one . I never said there was anything wrong with the Amundson gear however saying things like a $200 Amundson is better than a Loomis is laughable. I don't own any Loomis rods, they're out of my budget range but having tried one I don't think they're waste of money, they're beautifully crafted tools that make fishing more enjoyable, putting a price on that is very subjective. I'm well aware that you can get everything cheaper on the internet but last time I checked you can't try rods on there and making that kind of investment based on the opinion of others on the internet is risky. As for Wilsons ripping people off (libel anyone?) I never said they were cheap (although their prices aren't that bad and better than some other fly shops), I suggested visting to test out a range of rods as they probably carry the best selection of brands that fall in the OPs budget in the area.

StCroix do an imperial in a 10' 8wt http://www.stcroixrods.com/product/imperial-fly I had a waggle of one last year and there's plenty over power in it and they're a fairly fast action, should do you fine for fishing the area you're looking at (I'm in oakville - drop me a line if you want to go fly fishing sometime ) - I'm assuming that you want it for steelheading? If so you don't want anything too fast action especailly for throwing split shot rigs around. Not sure where you are but Wilsons in downtown Toronto stock St Croix as well as Orvis and some other brands, they will also give you good advice (they have some Amundson fly boxes but I'm not sure if they have the rods). As far as I know the only other St Croix dealer is First Cast in Guelph. Definitely take your reel and line with you as already suggested. I find it hard to believe that Amundson rods are better than Loomis or Orvis but I've never tried one (I wonder if Mr Tranter has tried anything but an Amundson) - you do get what you pay for but the gap narrows as you go up the price range, the difference between a $200 rod and a $300 rod is greater than the difference between a $500 rod and a $600 one. In the $200 area you should get something decent.

What are you going to be fishing for and where? Steelhead on the Grand need something very different to trout on the Upper Credit. Echo are gettinga good reputation as danjang suggested but I have also heard they're relatively heavy. Off the top of my head, these should all come in under $200 for pretty much any length/line weight (I'm in the process of looking for something new myself but probably in the $300 range and this is what I've turned up): Winston Passport St Croix Imperial Echo Ion Guideline EXP3 TFO Lefty Kreh Professional (you won't get a BVK for your budget) Grey GRXi Orvis Clearwater All of those except the Echo are available in fly shops locally (you could do a tour in a morning!) - you need to have a go with some with your reel and line on to see how they suit you ideally. Finally, have a read of this http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/FlyRodReview.Best5weightflyrod.HardyZenith.SageZ-axis.WinstonB3x.WinstonBIIIx.LoomisNRX.SageVXP.StCroixLegendEliteTempleforkBVK.asp - quite a few lower priced rods in there and should give you an idea of how they stack up realtive to each other.

That's a shame - thanks for the heads-up, I'll head down there this afternoon to stock up. Where's the nearest shop to Oakville going to be now

I was wondering the same thing - 25GB is a LOT of data, unless you're on torrent sites morning noon and night (in which case you should get out more) I can't see how people can need such huge limits - who, as a private customer needs 300GB? I stream 4 or 5 rugby matches a month plus some football (soccer) games and never get over 10 of my 20GB quota. If you really need to access the internet that much then you should be paying more.

They ask not to hotlink the images (thereby displaying the image on this forum) which does load up their servers, a link to the page containing the images (which you then open yourself) doesn't affect anything Those are some cool pictures GBW!

If they don't read the no trespassing signs - do you think they'll take the time to read all that? Not making light of any trespasser issues you may be having.

Sounds perfect - good advice above about checking your backing etc. and speaking of dunkings make sure you wash your gear in fresh water afterwards especially your reel if it's not saltwater safe. We need a pic of a bonefish when you get back!!!

LOL - in that case, take what you have and be wery wery quiet! If it'll handle big fish (steelhead, salmon, pike) in fresh water, you'll be OK, if it's delicate lighter trout gear, you'll struggle a bit especially in the wind.

What rod will you be using? It'll need some backbone to to cast a saltwater line properly so you might be better off just using your existing setup especially if you have something like a bass taper line to turn over the larger flies. As Highdrifter rightly says, you'll need to be able to make long casts and handle strong wind (about all a saltwater line is good for) as bonefish are spooky at the best of times. Have a great trip!

I'm a big fan of Michelin, have X-Ice for winter and Pilot Sports for summer and both are great, not sure what the do all season-wise though. They are more expensive but last longer so you'll have more useful tread for next winter. Motomaster are CT own brand right? Your tyres are your only contact with the road so I wouldn't skimp on them especially as you're asking them to do a job you should really use two different types of tyre for.

If all else fails you could probably source a new bearing yourself - I doubt they use an exotic size or type. Providing you can measure it accurately then that might help - I know it shouldn't be that difficult but bear it in mind.

Like it

Like it - if you wanted to make it more accurate, the line should look more like this but smoother (sincere apologies for drawing on your work!!)

Google's your friend for stuff like this - had a quick look and that's about right, you can find it cheaper but with shipping it's about the same. Unless he's a big kid you might want to think about something a little shorter as 13'6" is quite big and unweildy for someone smaller.

I'm with Dave, a perfect loop is what it's the perfect fly fishing image. One picture that does it for me is from the Movie 'A river runs through it' -it's not perfect form by any means but it captures the essence of fly fishing for me. As for fly line colour, I don't think it matters really, looking at what you have so far and the fact he's not dressed like a 'modern' fly fisherman, I'd go with a light, drab colour like a beige or light olive green which be closer to the colour of an old silk line.

I saw that - he got the perfect dragon with the iPhone app company and great negotiating at the end - got her down from 10% royalty to 5

From your avatar I think we met on that stretch a few weeks back, I was fly fishing a few pools up from there. Try glycerin on the guides to stop them from freezing up.

I wonder if there's going to be "Girls on Erie with Largies" as well....

Awwwwwwwwwwwww

The salmon should berunning in the Margaree by the 3rd week of August if that floats your boat? Different thing entirely to the Lake O snag-fest

LOL beads are noisy too, even better cat toys! I came back from a bathroom break the other night and our Siamese passed me a with a big lump of egg fly foam in her mouth, cue chasing cat round the house, good job the neighbours can't see me but it made the wife laugh. Solo - we have 3, what does that say? Actually don't answer that.....

I didn't think anyone was actually doing anything nasty and I'm sure it's all good fun but I have a friend works in a shelter and from what she tells me, there are some properly nasty people out there. I kind of liked the icefishing rod idea but I can confirm that cats + unattended fly-tying gear = disaster