I wanted to finally fish my new Tenkara USA ITO so I decided to head up to the South Platte around Pine Creek even though flows were above 300cfs and a bit high for my liking. I got to the river a bit later than anticipated, I just couldn't decide whether to stay in bed or go fish. I guess we all feel like that at some point.
The river was pretty clear with a darker green shade whether it was a bit deeper - the spots I was focusing on. I started off with a killer kebari and mercury RS2 and switched later to a CDC & Elk with the same RS2, all fish took the mercury RS2. I guess no surprise here.
I used a level no. 3 hi-vis line of TenkaraBum, cut to 13.5" which performed quite nicely on the ITO. As I mentioned in my previous post, I start to like level lines more, in particular on softer rods. For stiffer rods, I still prefer tapered lines though.
I hooked 6 rainbow trout, all but one on the smaller side for the SP but the last one was was around 16" and made the line sing! Unfortunately I wasn't able to land her, thanks to a long distance release. My guess that it was hooked in the upper lip like the other ones, and that was it.
What stood out today were my waders. Maybe 2 hours in, I suddenly felt water literally rushing in from below. I suspect that the seam between the waders and booties gave up and it filled up my left wader leg all the way up. The additional weight in the wader gave me quite a work out while wading. Later this week I will have to find the leak and try to fix it or it will be all wet wading for the rest of the season, brrrr.
I also was able to further test some gear that I am reviewing for OBN (the Flying Fisherman SunBandit - Rainbow Trout Camo and the Glacier Gloves - Ascension Bay Glove) as well as the Ti Net and the new Ebira Plus of TrailLite Designs that holds two Tenkara rods. More on those later, the reviews will be posted soon.
Stay dry my friends, -K
That stinks but I have been wet wading all season (even the cool idaho river) and you get use to it. It is even kind of liberating not to have to put the waders on and pull them off. That being said, I hate it when a piece of equipment you count on fails.
ReplyDeleteNice fish Karel! I had a leaky wader experience the last time I fished Bear creek. It seems that no matter how much you pay, "breathable" waders will always fail eventually. Not worth the ROI in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteJoel - In the Summer, I do most of my wading wet as well, but at 300cfs on the South Platte, waders are just better, especially if the water is deeper than, let's say, where cold water should not be....
ReplyDeleteJason - If I can't fix them, I might get some waist high or hip waders. They don't have to be breathable.
Any suggestions?
Karel, I haven't researched them much but will pass on any info I find. I'm just so sick of buying expensive breathable waders that fail. Like you, I don't really need chest waders. Hip waders would be fine for me.
ReplyDeleteI saw some at Cabelas at $50, but they were hip waders. I think I would prefer waist waders.
ReplyDelete