Thanks for the help soggy. I've fished pyramid 20+ years. From boat, shore, kayak and float tube. Always spin casting. At 44 years old fly fishing gear here can be very overwhelming. Thanks to your time and efforts making these helpful videos I will be untying wind knots on shore in no time. Good luck this year. Thanks again.
Tip for shooting heavy 30 ft sinking lines keep 1or2feet of the shooting head in the tip so it loads right . Stretch your backing before going out attach line to bumper pull out line and 50ft of backing a must on cold mornings. Tight lines😊
Next video how to make a perfect braided pony tail 😂 Keep the videos coming my man. I got a suggestion,something I never see in videos. Show what flies you’re using when you catch a fish 😎
For someone new to using a switch rod out at pyramid. What area are you looking at to use it? I am use to a single handed fly rod with a shooting head and a ladder chair at like the nets or at windlass.
I use it all over. Along rocky shores, as well as those popular, shallow beaches. The single hand rod works just as well, and I actually prefer hooking fish on a shorter, single hand rod. You’re able to strip the flies in closer, and you can pickup and recast a short distance very easily. The reason I usually opt for the two-handed rod instead, is I can cast almost twice the distance, with little-to-no false casting. It basically just saves me from the fatigue of casting a single handed rod all day. And although you usually don’t have to be able to cast that far to catch fish at pyramid, you can use that extra long cast, cast at an angle, more parallel to shore, and be stripping your flies in the strike zone for a ridiculously long time. All that being said, I still use single-handed rods a lot while fishing sinking lines at Pyramid.
That’s right. This is just for my sinking line set up, stripping beetles, boobies, buggers, etc. Lately I’ve actually been using my full-intermediate line as the running line, and attaching the 30’ sinking tip to that. Easy since they both have a loop-to-loop connection. I’m sure I lose a little bit of distance, but the thicker diameter intermediate line is easier to handle, and tangles a little less. As an added bonus, I often find myself removing the sinking tip, and just fishing the intermediate line with a slow, hand-twist retrieve.
Some more solid advice. Worth a try, i been using a tag line coming off the main. Usually get hits off that so makes sense to put beetle on the end. Would you tie two beetles the same way? Or use a tag line.
I do use a tag line when fishing two beetles. In that scenario, I do like them to be able to move more independently of each other. Also, the first beetle would be flipped upside down if you attached the second one to the bend of the hook. I could see that causing a line-twist issue.
Alright, this past Saturday was a tough one! Haha the indicator bite hit couple times later in the afternoon but i didn’t have any luck on stripping. Liking the micro swivels though, easier to change out, thanks!
Being an almost exclusive in-line 2 fly guy, I've often wondered/worried about my dropper sliding off the hook when fishing in places that prohibit barbs. (I can't say I've ever actually seen it happen just from casting... I usually lose flies in the sticks and rocks that so audaciously get in the way of my backcast) Do you ever have an issue with that happening out at Pyramid, or am I over thinking it?
I’ve never had that happen while fishing barbless hooks. Fishing that in-line method at pyramid is actually what gave me the confidence to tie off of the bend of a barbless hook for dry-dropper rigs. They’ve never slid off the bend for me. Also, most barbless hooks seem to have more of a circular curve going to the hook point, which could only help keep your knot from sliding off the hook point.
Is that the Orvis Hydro 4 (7-9 weight)? Do you like it? I was looking at it or the Remington Grande. Curious to hear your thoughts about the reel. Awesome video! So helpful.
I love it. It’s the Hydros SL 4, which they don’t make anymore. I’ve tried to new model of the Hydros and don’t like it as much. I haven’t personally fished any of the Redington reels. I have a couple of friends who don’t like their Redington Behemoths because the frames warped and now the spools rub and creak. From reading their reviews online, I haven’t seen anybody else experiencing that problem.
I use the entire spool of Lazar line, which is 50 meters. Since this line combo doesn’t take up much space on the reel, I put on Luke 300 yds of backing. That just helps build up the diameter of the reel so you can reel in line faster.
I'm so grateful that you said a 7wt rod and up , on the get-go. The reason for this is that it's so important to think about the fish and that fish's future first. It's so critical to have the right rod to get it done . I say this because my years and Mentors of fly fishing always said use a rod that will bring the fish in without killing it , don't overwork it or play it out , otherwise you jeopardizing that fish's health and life . Way I write this is because I see way to many people out there using light gear like a 5wt or a 6wt . This just blows my mind. You're going to kill that fish . I see this behavior in humans, especially on the Trinity River catching steelhead . If your going after larger fish have please have the Decency to use a rod that can bring them in fast and get them back on their war . Respect what you love. That's all .
Thanks a lot! Got a question about loop knots. When they're used with stouter tippets like the kind in your video, they remain strong. However, I've tried fishing those knots with midges using 5X tippet and thinner, and that's resulted with lots of breakoffs, at least as compared with good strong snug knots. Problem is, once you tie a size 16-22 fly on using a loop knot, and you wiggle it around at the end of the tippet and see how much movement it's got, you never want to go back to snug knots again, for the most part, because your fly looks absolutely frozen as compared with how it moved with the loop knot. Do you have the same experience with light tippet and loop knots? Just wondering.
Yes! Great question. I use loop knots even when using #20 midges with 6 or 7x tippet. The smaller the tippet, the more twists I make in the knot. For example, with 0x, I’ll only twist the tag around the mainline once or twice. With 5x, I’ll do it four or five times. But when you do that, you just have to be extra careful while cinching down the knot. If any of the wraps overlap, it will make the knot weak. Wet the knot, and pull slow. Once the knot seems to be cinched down well, do some solid tugs to test it. I’ve found that my loop knots are stronger than any other knots, even with those small tippets. But only when done right. I still have to redo them all time.
@@SoggySleeves Wow, thank you so much for replying with the explanation! It helps me out a lot and I really appreciate it. It'll be a challenge for me to see if I can get those loop knots to be as strong as they should be when done properly, per your guidance. Best!!
@@PaulTenenbaum you’re welcome! At the end of the day, the best knot to use is whatever knot you can tie well and have confidence in while fighting a fish.
@@lonewizzard8456 since making this video, I’ve transitioned back into the two tag method more. I made this video right after a trip where, for whatever reason, tying off the bend of the hook just produced, and the tag method didn’t. On more recent trips, the tag method did just fine. I suspect I’ll keep the tag method as my primary method, but handy to know that tying off the bend might produce when that tag method won’t.
Hey how u doing heading to Pyramid Lake next month, just wondering why do u put a swivel after your amnesia line? can you just do a triple surgeons knot?
You certainly can. I just like the longevity the swivel provides, as well an easy way to attach tippet. I can change out any piece of my leader without affecting any of the other pieces. It’s an added bonus, that the swivels prevent line twist. I’ve noticed a dramatic reduction in tangles in all of my leader configurations after adding swivels. They’re strong and cheap, so I don’t really see a downside to using them.
Yeah absolutely. One of the most common sinking lines used for pyramid is Rio’s Striper Line. It’s basically just the integrated version of the line I’ve created in this video. 30’ sink tip, with intermediate running line. I like using that striper line because the running line is thicker, and easier to handle while stripping. You can still shoot line with that striper line, but nearly as much as you can with the set up shown in this video. The other factor, is that integrated striper line is usually $100-$130. My setup costs less than $30. Even cheaper if you buy bulk T-14 and make the loops yourself.
I use a #5 11’ Redington Dually for most of my indicator fishing out there. I also have a #4 11’6” Redington Hydrogen Trout Spey that I use when fishing small midges under an indicator. I use a #7 11’ Moonshine Drifter for my sinking line set up. I’ll also use that rod paired with a floating line while indicator fishing on occasion.
Loving these tutorials on your setups for Pyramid. Thank you for sharing! Question about your backing for both rods. You mentioned 150yds backing on the indicator setup and 200-250yds on your sinking line setup. What pound backing do you use? What size reels? 7/8 wt? Not a lotta room with that thick Chucker line, so I’m curious…
