“Burner Phone fly rods” The right tool for the right job

 

Often, certain areas on rivers in the fall are highly technical; they require a “quiet touch”, stealth, and the lightest, most non-evasive equipment possible. This includes your quietest boots; an upstream approach is a given, and my most gossamer furled leaders, built for 2-weight lines and lighter. Close casts are no farther than 15 or 20 feet at most, which means you need a rod that will load very close yet still recover with accuracy. Your tippet is a straight shot of 6x from your furled leader. Your approach has been practiced in your brain over and over again since the night before. You know the one fish you are hunting very well. They may not be giant fish, but maybe that one fish that has eluded you all season.

Now, one may think you need a very expensive graphite rod to fulfill these requirements. This cannot be further from the truth. What you need is the right tool for the right job, and I am not talking bamboo or graphite. I am talking about a fairy wand that I pull out; it's my “burner phone” of fly rods, for lack of a better words. A 6'2" fiberglass 2wt. 3pc. that comes in at a whopping $60.00 US currency. This rod is a stiletto. It is used for quickly getting in and out of tight areas. It can be concealed in my rear vest pocket and can handle a bow and arrow cast, loading up close on a dime. It's definitely not an everyday rod. Also, it's a rod that can be lost, broken, or confiscated, need I say more? I own three of them, all of which are identical.

Over the years, I have tried many lines to meet the requirements for these little sorties. The line in this case costs more than the rod. I am using the Rio LightLine Premier for this particular application. The front taper is 5' and the body taper is at 8', which will do what is needed very well. This Rio line is also the most “quiet” supple line I have ever used, combined with a  50" shorty furled leader and  6x, it's a stealthy rig. Anyone who knows me understands my deep fixation with silk lines, but in this case, the Rio LightLine is my go-to for ultimate stealth. I've used it on cane with marginal results, but for wee fairy wands it excels magnificently. I also characterize it as a “patient line,” which means you need to let it do what it does best; they have engineered it perfectly for the aforementioned tasks at hand.

Fly fishing is really about adapting to your surroundings, the type of fish you're after, weather conditions, physical limitations, and even financial constraints. It is a problem-solving process similar to chess. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. I always tell my customers that you have to try everything yourself and leave your preconceptions elsewhere.

There is no single tool that excels in all aspects, encompassing all the various substrates for lines, leaders, rods, reels, and so on. It requires you to figure out what exactly your applications are, then make a list of your requirements, plain and simple. Additionally, try them out for yourself, as everyone is different.

Remember, this is a creative endeavor, and the right tools for the right job pay big dividends. So, keeping an open mind about your toolbox keeps it interesting, and for myself, makes fly fishing even more gratifying.

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