On the Hunt - Walleye on the Fly

One never knows what One might encounter!

So I've been keeping pretty low in all this COVID-19 mess. To avoid crowds I've taken to much more angling on foot than boats or inflatable craft. It's actually been a fun challenge to find accessible water and to find a tug.

The other day I watched my float disappear to the depths and set a solid hook into what I would have guessed to be a good smallie. When I finally got a look and saw the wally I couldn't have been more excited though I knew the chance of landing the toothy beast was still quite slim.

If you've followed any of my On The Hunt Series of articles than you know that I am a fan of float-n-fly fishing. While personally I find indicator nymphing for trout to be quite boring but something about this float and fly technique for warmwater predators just excites me to the very core. Maybe because it does not select a particular species instead it crosses over all species. Maybe it's because when nothing else wants to work I can count on this technique to produce something. 

This is not the first walleye I've hooked on float and fly but it is the first one I've landed. I for sure have hook at least a couple others and they have either thrown the hook or bit me off. I've also encountered a couple bite offs that I never saw the fish and suspect these were walleye as well.

My System

I have found my Thomas and Thomas Exocett SS 200gr rod to be the most ideal one rod to carry while on foot. It responds with authority to every command I give it. Lift, strip, hookset and cast are all commanded with this rod. It easily crosses over from topwater bugs, streamers and float-n-fly providing a truly universal shore stalker tool.

A Galvan Torque Reel size #6 in blue is a great look and fit. A #7 would also fit well and give you a little more backing capacity

Line is a Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Titan Long WF7F. I feel like this line was made for this rod. It will move anything in short cast and in capable hands go for any distance you want even to the end of the line.

I custom make my own float and fly leaders from Maxima for the butt section to Scientific Anglers Absolute Fluorocarbon Tippet. This tippet proved its worth against those sharp walleye teeth, or maybe a got lucky! Regardless the tippet did its job.

I tie my own flies but the new Solitude Drop Dead Minnow will get you started in this technique.

The addition of this walleye boost my total Float & Fly species count now to fifteen. Who's up for some fish tacos!

I'll see you on the water...But you won't see me!

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop

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"Passion For Fishing Is A Lifelong Pursuit Of Discovery"

Thomas and Thomas Exocett SS Rod Series Review

Big Flies! Big Fish!

We place big demands on fly rods in this modern day of extreme fly fishing. Flies are bigger, lines are more aggressive, our casting is more aggressive and we go after big payoffs! It's no wonder we are in constant search for the next better fly rod to appear on the market.

A bit over a year ago my friend and guide Lance handed me a rod to fish that I will say without hesitation has since changed my understanding about rod actions.

You see, I'm a big fly junkie! If I need magnifiers to tie on a fly than that fly is too small! I don't even like flies in the double digit range unless it's on the big (?/0 = aught) size. Streamers, sliders, frogs, beetles, hoppers, sculpins and crawdads, whatever is on a predators menu is fair game.

The rod that I experienced was the Thomas & Thomas Exocett SS 250gr.

The game was for big migratory brown trout in Chile. The freestone river was extreme in diversity from high winds to slot canyon bluffs. Casts were either short and precise to pockets or across stream long.

No Tip Quiver

The first characteristic I picked up on with Exocett SS was it's ability to make short upstream one backcast flips and not express a tip quiver. Up till that time with my personal rod each flip ended with a disturbing little tip quiver that inherently pulled my fly a foot from target every cast. No matter how much I tried to adjust my cast my rod did this. Guess what, most of today's fast action rods do this with heavy flies.
Exocett SS has amazing dampening action and does not quiver.

Lifting Power

Next, I notice the extreme power to lift. Heavy flies and lines don't always pull easy from the water. This fact can consume a lot of your arms energy throughout the day. Exocett SS is way easier to lift heavy flies and lines from water. Like quite noticeably easier.

Since this first encounter I've tested this rod against many others in lifting power alone and the next best rod I found is still no comparison to the Exo SS.

Fighting Power

On my last day at end of day I hooked a giant! Due to the big browns advantage in situation I still can't believe we landed it.

We were fishing boulder pockets and a big brown thrashed the surface hard just downstream from where I was wading. Lance yelled to me to throw across stream and swing my headbanger fly across where that brown just jumped. I did! He nailed it, hard! I returned a hard hook set. Immediately he turned head for downstream.

The quarters where tight in a canyon with rapid after rapid. If he would have made it past the first downstream rapid there would have been no way to hang onto him.

With rod bent through the cork, butt in my gut and two hands on the grip I battled that brown from rapids and brought him to lance's hand. He was the star of the trip easily surpassing 30". I don't think the rod I brought could have done it.

Since that first encounter with the SS250 I've also had the privilege to experience the SS160 and the SS350 grain models.

The Exo SS160 is a hopper/popper dream rod. Precise and easy, cast after cast. On missed strikes it will pick up gobs of line and make one shot recast back on target with precision. It also handles mid size streamers with ease.

I took an Exocett SS350 to New Orleans and battled some bull reds. It's was absolutely perfect for this fishing. Easy short, precise cast with powerful hooksets and quite capable of reaching out to those far out targets in the wind.

Our last day was a fish frenzy. With my regular rod I would have had my arm in a sling by the end of that day but I wasn't sore at all. The Exocett SS powered through every fight and begged for more.

The Exocett SS's will adapt to many lines but my favorite "big power" line thus far is Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Titan Long. The rod is quite capable of shooting the entire line. For the SS250 run the WF7 for easy flies but go up to the WF8 for the heavy stuff. Run a WF5 or WF6 on the SS160 according to your needs. These rods adapt well to lines so be willing to match line according to fly size and worry less about the rod.

The Exocett SS also comes in a 200 gr and a 450 gr both of which I've not yet had the pleasure to fish. I'd like to change that soon.

For your viewing pleasure

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I'll see you on the water...But you won't see me!

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop

"Passion For Fishing Is A Lifelong Pursuit Of Discovery"

Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Titan Long - New for 2019

Chucking big flies with powerful fly rods takes a line that can carry articulated critters to their target. Titan is and has been that line in my arsenal for many years now. The qualities of durability, shoot-ability and match-ability keep this line on my A list.

Durability

I still have my original Titan line from like 10 years ago and while it has seen countless hours of use it could still pull duty if called upon. Today's Amplitude Smooth Titan Long is even more durable with it's slick AST Plus coating.

Shoot-ability

This head design just gets get to the target and turns over with ease. Titan help me find confidence in throwing large streamers. The more I believed in it the more it proved that with a solid cast respectable distances where achievable. It's help me to become a better streamer angler. The Amplitude Smooth Titan Long is even better from its extended rear taper for more line control.

Match-ability

Streamer anglers place big demands on rods. The quiver we chose are the heavyweights of the industry with a continuing quest for ever more powerful sticks. Titan Long easily finds it's place among heavyweights. Configured to two sizes heavy, it extracts all the potential from rods such as Sage Method-Igniter, Winston BIII Jungle, Redington Predator, Exocett SS, and Scott Meridian.

I know many anglers today get bent over about the 2 line size bump thing but remember to extract power from these stout sticks you got to get them bent deep and to turn over monster flies you need mass in the fly line head. Titan anglers aren't tying on caddis and Titan is not a trout line!

Specs -

Line Weight	Head Weight***	Head Length	Total Head Weight	Total Length
WF5F	185 gr	43.0'	245 gr	90'
WF6F	210 gr	43.0'	280 gr	90'
WF7F	240 gr	43.0'	320 gr	90'
WF8F	280 gr	43.0'	380 gr	90'
WF9F	330 gr	43.0'	435 gr	90'
WF10F	380 gr	43.0'	505 gr	90'

***Grain weight for the first 30'



In Addition to the Amplitude Smooth Titan Long, Titan Taper lines can be found in the Mastery Series and Sonar Series Lines.

Find Scientific Angler Amplitude Smooth Titan at "The Gorge"

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