Hey guys on a side note I'm looking to get back into fly fishing now that I'm up in college. Its been a while, and I wasn't particularly too skilled at it. Any good fishing stories, or hints and suggestions?

Also, I'm looking at purchasing a new rod and reel. I'm looking at a Mystic outdoors M-series rod (5wt) and an orvis original battenkill reel. Any suggestions? I'm looking to keep purchases around $500.

I'm staying up in Clemson all summer for school... so what could be any better than guitar and fly fishing in my free time?

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Kid: "Hey Smokey! Where did you get your name?"
Smokey the Bear: "Well..."
(former user jimbo612)

Not much of a Fly Fisherman Myself, but I do love me some setting in the boat with a worm on the hook. My oldest boy is one of you guys, In fact he builds custom Fly Rods and sells them all over the world on E-Bay and fishing Mag's. He uses a 12 1/2 Ft.custom rod that he made himself, for Steelhead and Salmon in our local rivers. I haven't a clue what he might recommend for a real. Fish On
----Danny,

forget a rod, the best way to fish is with an old crank phone and some electrodes

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When I was a kid I had a Generator out of one of those old phones. I used to wire it up to the Dore Nobe, and when someone put there hand on it I would give it a crank, and shock the He## out of them. ( I had no idea that it was dangerous at the time. No one ever got hurt and it was a big laugh.
----Danny,

how many friends took a wire in each hand and got a zap ? some of those old phones put out enough current to stop your heart....... so you were a very lucky young man.

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haha very cool and (do I dare I say it???)shocking... Danny that's really cool about your son, I'm hoping that maybe one day I could have that kind of skill and talent. I'm such a new guy to fly fishing right now... but I got to start somewhere...

and now I really want to get one of those crank phones....

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Kid: "Hey Smokey! Where did you get your name?"
Smokey the Bear: "Well..."
(former user jimbo612)

they are kinda hard to find with a working magneto generator. most that i see were gutted out and cleaned up for decoration. might get lucky though.

to make your electrodes just stick some wire in the bottom side of a coke can and fill it 1/8th of the way with lead and cut the can off. you can get a brick of lead at the plumbing supply house for a few bucks. BUT if the game warden catches you..... it wont be pretty

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I love fly fishin I just dont get enough time to do it. We go up to the stream of Lake Erie in Dec and have a blast fishin for steel head. My best advice is to spend your money on a good rod the reel isn,t that important. Enjoy

That's what I was thinking too tbazzone. So far I've heard nothing but good reviews for mystic outdoors, the only problem is that they are such a small company that its hard to find anywhere that sells them (I'm probably going to order one online).

Lucky for me too is that it doesn't get too cold around here, so I don't really need to go all out in buying waders and boots and such yet... during this school year I'll probably be just fishing off Lake Hartwell... not so much stream fishing for trout (though I hear bass on Hartwell are pretty fun to catch with flys)

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Kid: "Hey Smokey! Where did you get your name?"
Smokey the Bear: "Well..."
(former user jimbo612)

Cold or not it would wise to invest in a quality inflatable collar stile life vest. there not bulky, there light weight, and they will Save your $@!. FISH ON
----Danny,

Yeah,I go fly fishing in the Smoky Mountains,and Cherokee National Forest,but I'm having trouble with arthritis and can't walk and climb over the boulders like I used to,so it's getting hard for me to do it.
The stream fishing there is tough,the vegetation on the banks is thick and getting the fly into the right places is hard,it's a real challenge and I'm not really good at it but it's fun...the trout are wild and small and not easy to fool,and that's the best part,when you catch one it's an accomplishment..at least for me.

Fishing and Hunting I enjoy them both! Just today I was looking at some split Bamboo fly rods and as alway shocked at the cost of them Their was one in the shop that was $2,200.00 i do have one that I bought years ago for $500. and they offered me $700 to trade it in which I said NO! Most of My fishing though is in the local reservoirs for Bass, Crappe, Pike and other pan fish.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I'm a fly fisherman. I have done it for trout, which is an art, but that has been a while. I am in Texas and fishing for bass and bluegill is very easy. Any delivery will work if they see it.

I caught a big bullfrog on a fly one time. I saw him on the far bank of a creek and started casting to him. He finally jumped and bit down on the fly. I set the hook and fought him awhile before landing him. The fly came out of his lip easy, and I let him go.

It has only been a couple of month since I cast for and hooked a big water snake. It was funny because he was cruising around out in the middle of a pond "large and in charge". I snagged him with one cast and started bringing him in. I could see he was trying to make the cattails and I was trying to pull him away from them. He got a couple of inches of his tail around a cattail and I pulled him out of the water for a bit. My leader broke and he got away. I got his attention for a while, though.