A new rod and re-assessing my abilities.

[BS]

Some of you may or may not remember that I disclosed that I had an ischemic stroke (an ischemic stroke is the five dollar "technical" term for when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood and oxygen to parts the brain) at the end of this past September.:mad::mad::mad:

I had planned, last summer that I was going to to build another 4 weight trout switch/spey rod that would be a "small step up " in aesthetics (metallic blue inlay threads and metallic blue reel seat flash with blue stripping guide rings which differed slightly from my " last 4 weight trout spey that I built a few of years ago.: cool::cool::cool:

Obviously, I had a concern if I still had the ability to craft a new to me rod having just dealt with the damage the stroke had on my " fine motor skills ". :confused::confused: "Fine motor skills" are the abilities to move with coordination and finesse muscles in the hands/fingers or other appendages in a high level of precision to complete a given task. My handwriting is still terrible as I lost that skill in my left side due to the stroke ( I'm left handed and was only slightly ambidextrous prior to my stroke.):eek::eek::eek:

18557 18558 18560 18559

As of tonight my rod is "completed, epoxy has cured, and is lined - with a RIO "Switch Chucker" I think I may have to go test it out tomorrow at a local put-and take pond !!!!;););)

There won't be any dang cutthroats, but I "should" at a minimum, get my rod bent a few times:p:p:p:p.

[Carl Blackledge]

BS glad to see you haven't lost your touch :)

Carl

[Larry S]

BS,
Good on you! What an inspiring post and message. I always remind
folks that God doesn't detract from your life on Earth the days you
fish.
Looking forward to your next post.
Happy Holidays.

Larry S
Sun Diego

[tcorfey]

Wow nice work! Hope it catches lots of fish for you!

[Mr T]

That’s some fine handiwork sir!

I admire your spirit. Some people rollover and say “well, that’s it for me” not you.

Now go get some bendo buddy!

[BS]

Unfortunately, yesterday was a bust as far as the local put and take pond fishing went. The said pond remained 1/2 frozen throughout the day.:(:(:(

The new rod casted well and should serve me well as soon as spring starts to show it's beautiful face again!!
Lately, I've been watching a fellow on You tube that fishes the lakes and rivers around here and I'm darned near convinced that I should head on up to Tahoe and try some red side minnow baitfish patterns(i.e. Balanced leech type of flies) with my heavy switch rod casting from the shore. This sounds like some good fun but, it could get a little chilly if the wind is howling. :p:p None the less, I'm sure If I could stumble onto a few big macs along with a brown or two, I'd stay warm enough to make it through a whole day of fishing. :cool::cool::cool::cool: I'd obviously have to coordinate the weather and wind conditions prior to giving it a try. Who knows!!!!!! maybe ladder fishing from the shore could be "a thing at Lake Tahoe some day".:p:p:p

This is all nice and easily said as I'm sitting in my nice warm cozy home office tonight waiting for the next snow storm to arrive later tonight. Maybe the Tahoe shore fishing thing is just a wild ass pipe dream of mine , but I'm pretty determined to give it a try at least one time to see if it "can be done successfully". :cool::cool::cool:
Successfully fly fishing lake Tahoe in the winter would definitely be a feather I'd like to add to my hat.:cool::cool::cool:

Dang Mackinaws and Browns..........................:p:p


Bob

[Darian]

BS,.... Certainly sounds like a good idea to me. I've wondered about doing the same thing at several lakes. Probably some reason why it (casting a 2 hander from a ladder) shouldn't be done due to locals but, what the heck....

I've fished Red Lake for many years after the ice is partially gone and noticed the Redside Minnows in the shallows sunning themselves. Do you have a favorite pattern??

ps: Sorry, forgot to mention your rod build. Very professional job. I like it.

[BS]

BS,.... Certainly sounds like a good idea to me. I've wondered about doing the same thing at several lakes. Probably some reason why it (casting a 2 hander from a ladder) shouldn't be done due to locals but, what the heck....

I've fished Red Lake for many years after the ice is partially gone and noticed the Redside Minnows in the shallows sunning themselves. Do you have a favorite pattern??

ps: Sorry, forgot to mention your rod build. Very professional job. I like it.

Wow Darian !!!:cool::cool::cool:
Just as an FYI, I built that rod specificaly for fishing @ Red lake just after Ice out. I've been doing Red in the early spring for 3 consecutive years now and have had some epic days shore fishing off of the Dam and whippin' up on the Heenan brood stock (larger than rats) that CDFW dumps in there early in the season. My fly Dejour has been a gold bead head rusty midge and after checking a throat sample last spring, a "Chromie midge" should work real well this coming spring. My Idea for a redside balanced minnow for use in Tahoe or elsewhere , will be a simple tight red dubbed underbody with a sparsely palmered barred marabou olive overwrap, balanced, to take advantage of the jigging action an indicator rig imparts on a "balanced marabou fly" ala/similar to a Pyramid Lake balanced leech rig.

A "clickable" borrowed picture from the "internet"of a pair of lahontan redside minnows for refrence:

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Yep, those redside minnows in Red after ice-out are thick right along the shore.
I'm shocked That I haven't crossed paths with you at Red lake thus far. It seems like I spend so much time up there in the spring, that alpine county is going to start sending me a property tax bill claiming that "Red lake"is my new domicile. ;);)
I'm headed to the Orvis store this morning, in Reno, for some barred marabou............gotta' get those minnows tied and tweaked to perfection !!!!!!!:p :p and be ready to fish when the opportunity knocks!!!!!

Dang wintertime season..................snow expected here for the next couple of days.:mad::mad::mad:


Bob

[Darian]

Unfortunately, I haven't fished Red Lake in several years as I too experienced a mild stroke and have been relatively unstable (balance wise) since. But, I plan to start fishing up there this spring. So, hopefully, we will meet.

I'm interested in using a 2 handed rod off the dam. Should keep me on level terrain. I've a 10' 6", Beulah, switch rod in 4 weight (certainly not as good looking as yours) but I'm assuming that would not be too stout for Red Lake. I'm wondering about lining it with an OPT Commando head to Accommodate overhead casting??

Thanks for the photo of the Redside Minnow. I'll see if I can come up with a pattern for Red Lake.

It's fun considering all of this stuff again. :cool:

[coltss]

Thats a good looking rod, looks to me that you still have it. Miss you out at the P, been fishing a few times this season with Carmen and we often talk about you and how you helped me out with casting using my first switch rod which I love thanks to you. I never could get the casting down as well as you. Hopefully see you on the big pond sometime in the near future, take care BP.

[BS]

Thats a good looking rod, looks to me that you still have it. Miss you out at the P, been fishing a few times this season with Carmen and we often talk about you and how you helped me out with casting using my first switch rod which I love thanks to you. I never could get the casting down as well as you. Hopefully see you on the big pond sometime in the near future, take care BP.

Bob, what a nice post.
Not to worry, I've vowed to make it back out to the big pond soon............ cause there's dang cutthroats that need to be caught!!!
Must go fishing somewhere soon for dang cutthroats
Hopefully you and Carmen left a couple of fish for me to catch!!!!!
I Just came in from being outside tonight shoveling snow. The better half has to work @4:00 a.m. and I didn't want her to try and navigate around the ice patches in the dark. We've dealt with enough medical "THINGS" recently so as they say, "An ounce of prevention....................".
Save my place on the shore at the lake, I'll be there soon,


Bob
A little down but nothing that a couple of "larger than rats" couldn't/wouldn't cure!!!:cool::cool::cool:

[Tony Buzolich]

You guys sound like a couple of old farts crying in your beer. I had one of those strokes almost twenty years ago while shoveling snow and had to drive into Truckee at night and get checked out. Next day it was a white-out and I had to drive to Roseville Kaiser to get help. They found it right away and said it was a "blockage" about the size of a BB. And, thank God it wasn't a rupture. I'd be looking at the roots instead of the grass. Nah, :), Just havin" fun with ya.

Let us know when Red Lake gets going. I used to hunt that Carson Pass / Red Lake area a lot years past. Love to meet up with you and Darian and see if we can keep our balance on that dam.
Tony

[BS]

BS,.... Certainly sounds like a good idea to me. I've wondered about doing the same thing at several lakes. Probably some reason why it (casting a 2 hander from a ladder) shouldn't be done due to locals but, what the heck....

I've fished Red Lake for many years after the ice is partially gone and noticed the Redside Minnows in the shallows sunning themselves. Do you have a favorite pattern??


For Red Lake <15 feet deep 18655
For Lake Tahoe>20 feet deep 18656


Darian,


I don't know if this will be "my favorite Redside minnow pattern" but the thin one I'll try out at Red lake and the snubbed nosed lead eyed heavy one I'll give a try in Lake Tahoe. Hoprefully, It'll create a big Mac Attack for me !!!
I've done a bit of reading about Lake Tahoe and the greatest population of fish is the Lahontan Redside Shiner. As far as I'm concerned , the lahontan Redside minnow is on the top of the list for "big fish food" in Lake Tahoe.