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Thanks George and Al!

Temple Fork Outfitters sounds good George.

Ok George, when we go...maybe we should
"nix" Cabela's, and head to this place.


Tail Waters Fly Fishing Company - Dallas, Texas

Store Location
2416 McKinney Ave
Dallas, TX 75201

"Tailwaters Fly Fishing Company is TFO's Flagship Dealer!
Temple Fork Outfitters' office and distribution warehouse is located ten minutes from our shop here in Dallas. This geography gives us a huge advantage over any TFO dealer in the country. We essentially have access to their entire inventory of fly rods as well as their new casting and spinning rods. Fulfillment is not a problem when you order ANY Temple Fork rod. Even if we don't have it in stock, we can "make a TFO run" and have it in less than twenty minutes! We can promise you the big box stores will not provide this service, and you will pay the same for it!"

Zep:

Park in the back. It's a real crapshoot for street parking. Don't drool over the fly selection. Been there and it's amazing.

thanks esshup

ps: you must have been there on a weekday?
that is pretty close to downtown Dallas
and that area can get a bit crazy on weekdays.
I would think Sat parking would be better.
I've driven by there before, but never gone in.
Will do on back parking lot.

That sounds like a plan - never been - have my own fly shop right here at home.
Let's go - have to have a designated driver..

Correct Zep, it was during the week.

TW's is where I shop. Good folks, and they do fish for LMB and BG, so they're all over that.

They are just across the levy from TFO, and make a daily mid-morning run as needed.

I second Al's recommendation of Tailwaters. There are some great folks there and they've always been very helpful when I needed something.

I'll also echo George and Al on their support of the fine folks at TFO. You can have my Mini Mag when you pry it from my cold, damp, pruney fingers!

Dusty, welcome back.

You didn't throw a Lowline Angus in the cargo hold of the plane for me, did you?

Considering that I was without my luggage for about 36 hours thanks to the fine folks at O'hare, I didn't think bringing you an entire bovine animal back was a great idea. I have a really nice picture of my bag sitting against a barricade as our plane backs away from the gate. A cow would have looked exceptionally sad in that scenario, especially after they sprayed it with de-icing compound.

Dr. Abney..... er Dusty.... Al and I and others have missed your wit and wisdom - welcome back home from the "nort" country!
George

Thanks, George. I missed seeing water in its liquid form.

hey Guys - time to step up to the nest level:
http://www.tforods.com/fly-fishing/rods/mini-mag-series.html#.UueJ1NLnYrg

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=364365#Post364365

I had a package on the porch when i got home today! Almost like a kid at christmas. A temple fork 6wt rod and an Orvis reel! Now the questions will begin. I've been watching alot of YouTube but I'll have to be beat over the head with something in order for it to sink in. The reel came spooled with backing and fly line but....
On the reel you have,
1-backing
2-fly line
3-leader?
4-tippet
mono? size and length? color?
I'll be fishing mostly muddy water for BG and LMB

If you have answers, I have plenty of questions

Thank you!!!

For BG and LMB, a lot of folks get by just fine with using one size of mono for a leader/tippet. However, one size/level leaders don't transfer energy very well, so your fly turnover at the end of the cast might suffer. Personally, I like using a furled leader with some mono tied on for tippet.

With a 6wt setup, you probably want your tippet to be no heavier than about 10lb test or so. You want it heavy enough not to lose fish unnecessarily, but not so heavy that something else breaks instead of the tippet if you're hung up or on a big fish.

I completely agree with everything Txredraider said.

I sometimes use a fluro line as the "Tippet" if I want to get a light fly down a little deeper a little quicker.

One cheater method I also use is something George taught me for marking fly line weight. At the shooting end of the fly line, he makes a wide mark with a marks-a-lot, and then several thin lines to mark the fly line weight. One thick line equals 5#, and then each thin line equals 1#. So, one thick line plus 3 thin lines equals 8# line. One thick line plus one thin line equals 6# line. This makes it easy to tell what the fly line weight is if it's been taken off the spool. What it also does is act like a strike indicator for light bites. I may not feel the bite, but the stripes make it easy to see the line move if a fish runs with the fly.

Clear as mud?

Due to suggestions and good reviews, I've been intent on purchasing the TFO NXT combo ($209-$229) but now see that Cabelas has their RLS+ Combo on sale right now @ $159.99 (regularly $319).

The reviews appear to be good (better on the reel than the rod), but does anyone have any personal experience with the RLS+

Thanks!

PS - Luckily I've had no problems with our local Cabelas

I bought the TFO Series II a few weeks back but no, I have absolutely no experience with it or any other. Well I do but so far it's all bad but that's because I haven't been out to George's yet to get some professional help.

Cisco, casting a fly rod is just one of those things that suddenly click once you do it correctly. I consider myself to be adequate, but if I don't drag the fly rods out for a few weeks I get fast and wristy. Both are bad. To me, it's almost like swinging a gold club. You take it back to a full finish, then accelerate to impact. George would be happy to help, but he'll stick your rod but in your watch band if you do it wrong. Believe me, I know.

Keith, fishing rods of any kind are one of the most personal decisions you can make. I have "cheap" rods that I love, and more expensive ones that I don't. Cabelas is great about letting you try rods, so I might to that first. I knew exactly what I wanted, and was adamant about it, until I got it. The parabolic bend to the extremely fast taper are all out there. Try to cast a few, then go with what feels right.

Al, that's great advice in itself, thank you! I tend to overthink things

Cisco, I learned on my cousin's fly rod in which he said "Keith, if you can learn on this old crappy fly rod, you've got it made". So to spare you with all the gory details of snagging trees and trucks while learning, within an hour I was catching fish and felt very comfortable casting.

I'm so ready for Spring!

Yea, I've been playing with it some and somedays it seems pretty comfortable but other days, I just can't seem to get it. I tied a pc of twine about 4" long on as George suggested and out in the clear, away from trees and trucks, I did OK but my backyard has trees and electric wires so I think it might just hinder me some but I'm still trying it. My fish are biting good now on worms and Stubby Steve's so I really want to catch one on a fly. The wind really screws with me with the fly rod.

You can practice roll casting in your back yard.

I've got to watch more of Lefty's videoes on the Esshup. I'v got a pretty big pool so I'm going to try it there.

Respectfully disagree - that's the only cast that needs a "water haul" to load the rod.
G/

I stand corrected! This makes thing #2 that I learned today! Thanks George.