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The brown trout are fat and healthy, but greedier than ever. This season has started out rather well for me, and I’m excited to try continue trying new water to see what Arizona holds. Fly fishing in Arizona truly can be a rollcoaster ride, with ups and many downs. One thing that I have learned by fly fishing Arizona is to always adapt, try new patterns, and patience, lots of patience.
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Last year, I had the honor of heading up to the Marvin Robbins Memorial Juniors Turkey Hunting Camp which was hosted by the National Wild Turkey Federation. At the camp last year, I was able to see first hand how the National Wild Turkey Federation partnered with multiple other organizations like the Arizona Game and Fish, Arizona Elk Society, The Phoenix Varmit Callers, and many more, to provide a positive and safe learning environment for young hunters just entering the world of turkey hunting.
Since last year was such a positive experience for me as a mentor hunter, I jumped at the chance to help out again. Rich Williams of the Arizona Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, pours his heart and soul into the Marvin Robbins Memorial Juniors Turkey Hunting camp. The camp provides the youth hunter and an accompanying adult (free of charge):
The Arizona Game and Fish Department has been working with the species specific organizations (like NWTF, Arizona Elk Society, etc.) to help create camps that pass on the heritage of hunting to the next generation. The AZGFD has a full list of the mentored hunting camps that serve not only youth hunters, but adults as well. They can be found on the Outdoor Skills page of the AZGFD website
I was able to head out with a father and his two sons on Saturday, and we were able to get into some gobbling early on Saturday morning. Although we were never able to seal the deal on the birds, several other youth hunters were successful over the weekend. Being a part of something like the Marvin Robbins Memorial Juniors Turkey Hunting camp is extremely for me as an outdoorsman. Between the camaraderie of camp and the passing on of the hunting heritage, I look forward to participating with the National Wild Turkey Federation Juniors Camp for many years to come.
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Rambling Review – Linekurv Stripping Basket
Why:
This year, I had the opportunity to do a bit of pike fishing along with a trip to Pyramid Lake. Several people I talked to recommended a stripping basket for both occasions and it was not until I went that I really understood why. Stripping baskets help to keep line from tangling while hand stripping fly line. I found out that a quality stripping basket is worth it’s weight in gold. Here are my thoughts on the Linekurv Stripping Basket. The Linekurv baskets are made in Denmark where “linekurv” means stripping basket.
First impressions:
Solid – The Linekurv stripping basket is built rock solid. There is nothing fragile about the basket or the heavy duty nylon belt.
The fit and feel – Right out of the box, I tried the Linekurv basket on, and with a simple cinch of the belt it snugged right around my waist. There is a slight curve on the backside of the basket which allows it to hug your body. Some of the homemade stripping baskets I’ve seen are almost too boxy and look uncomfortable. Not so with the Linekurv
Field Use:
Although I needed a stripping basket for Pyramid Lake, I had the opportunity to try out the Linekurv stripping basket on a bit of pike fishing in Northern Arizona. I debated on even taking a basket along, but I at least wanted to practice with it before getting on the water at Pyramid Lake. When I showed up at Upper Lake Mary, I was more than happy to have the basket along. Fly fishing for pike involves heaving big flies tied with rabbit strips and then stripping line as fast as you can to shore. The banks of the lake were muddy and nasty, but instead of line being piled up at my feet and getting stepped on, line was coiling neatly in the stripping basket. I truly learned the value of having a stripping basket for keeping your line clean.
The main reason that I even looked into stripping baskets was for fly fishing Pyramid Lake. Pyramid is a windy lake in Nevada known for holding big Lahontan cutthroat. One of the main ways to fly fish the lake is with a heavy sink tip shooting head and lots of running line. Large amounts of running line, piled up at your feet is a recipe for disaster.
The cones at the bottom of the basket keep the running line from tangling. So as you are casting the shooting head, the rest of the running line zips through the guides without knotting up and ruining the distance on your cast. The smooth design also cuts down on any line snags on the basket. I was using a 200 grain shooting head and with a bit of a tailwind, I was laying down casts farther then I have ever cast line before. I believe much of that comes from using a stripping basket.
The Linekurv also has two notches cut into each side which hold your fly rod perfectly when you need your hands free. On Pyramid Lake, I had to fight the urge to start stripping my flies in before they had sunk to the bottom of the lake. What I liked to do was to cast out my heavy sinking line, lay my fly rod in the Linekurv, put my hands in my coat and count to 30.
As I mentioned in several posts on fly fishing Pyramid Lake, Landon, the Pyramid veteran of our group, stayed on the ladder longer than any of us. While I was taking a break, he asked to give the Linekurv a try. This was probably a mistake, because he almost did not want to give it back.
The one thing that I went back and forth with on the Linekurv basket was the lack of holes for draining water. While pike fishing, it did not matter, as I usually was not more than knee deep in the water. At Pyramid, we waded out to chest deep before putting our ladders down and climbing up. Often times, when landing fish, we were wading in water up to our bellies and water filled up part of the Linekurv, making it awkward to move around and necessary to drain. After doing quite a bit of reading, I think that it is a matter of preference for the fishermen. Some guys like to have drainage for their baskets for a rogue wave, while others who do more deep water fishing prefer to have a basket that floats on the water. The jury is still out for me. It did not take much effort at all to give the basket a quick flip to drain water, but I think it would be cool to have two drain plugs that you could open and close depending on the situation you are fishing in.
Pros:
Lightweight
Durable material designed to be rugged in very cold and warm conditions
Nine cones in the bottom of the basket to minimize line tangles
Comfortable
Built in rod holder
Sleek design that reduces protruding edges
Cons:
No drainage holes
Prognosis: The Linekurv stripping basket is a top of the line choice if you are looking for a high quality, well designed stripping basket. The Linekurv is an excellent tool for adding some serious distance to your cast.
* Disclaimer:
The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. The Linekurv stripping basket was provided for the purpose of this review. My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.
2 Comments
By our third day of fly fishing Pyramid Lake, we were settling into a rhythm. We woke early and were the first ones on our beach. With headlamps on we waded out chest deep and set our ladders in hopes of tying into one of the really big 10+ pound fish. Although we landed several nice fish along with many other regular Pyramid Lake Lahontans, the big ones proved elusive.
Around 10 we pulled our ladders in order to check out of Crosby’s, and after a quick bite to eat, we scoped out several more beaches before landing on one that had very few fishermen on it. With the day coming to a close we continued to bring fish to the net. With the daylight fading, we called it a day and broke down our fly rods. As we drove away, I realized why all the “Pyramid guys” talk the way they do. The lake is something pretty special and I cannot wait to get back up there and plop my ladder back down in the sand and start stripping flies for big cutthroats.
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Day 2 of fly fishing Pyramid Lake came very early. Based on what we had seen and experienced the first day, we headed out really early to get a spot on the beach. Ultimately, we found ourselves in the center of the action and began hooking up at first light. We found that during our time at Pyramid, stripping flies on heavy sinking lines was the ticket for consistant action. Fly fishing Pyramid Lake was unlike anything I had ever done before. I had worried on the way up that my small-stream-ADD-mentality would make the monotony of lake fishing unbearable, but hooking up on big, hard fighting Lahontan cutthroats was extremely rewarding.
We were able to hold some very respectable fish and left the water happy and satisfied.
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A few months back, my good buddy Kyle, who writes over at Sleep When You’re Dead, started putting the word out about a possible fly fishing trip together for Pyramid Lake. When everything finally shook out and the final preperations were made, the trip consisted of Kyle, Landon, Jake, and myself. We loaded up my Tundra with ladders, gear, and a healthy dose of optimism and left the Valley of the Sun around 6 PM. We drove steadily through the night, talking about the places we fished and the places we hoped to fish, and arrived at Pyramid Lake just as the sun was rising over the mountains. The growing sunlight exposed the dramatic landscape, and we quickly donned waders and layers of clothing to keep out the cold. We quickly rigged our fly rods and soon casting our lines into this monstrous lake.
Unbelievably, my indicator was the first to dip and pretty soon I was holding one of the beautiful Lahontan cutthroat trout that grow in Pyramid Lake. At first, we focused on drifting big flashy nymphs under indicators, but we soon found that stripping flies on heavy sinking lines to be more productive (and less boring).
We fought fatigue from our all night drive and after switching beaches, we were all on the board with multiple fish brought to hand. Although the goal at Pyramid Lake is to catch a fish over 10 pounds (all the way upwards of 20), we were exctatic to be pulling fish in the 20-27″ range.
We called it a day as the sun dipped behind the mountains, and after a dinner of corndogs and french fries, we crashed for the night in preperation for an early morning on the water.
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We just rolled in last night from a 4 day road trip to Pyramid Lake. It was an awesome trip with tons of photos to sort through. Should have a thorough post up in the next few days.
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One of the coolest products that I have is the Smith Creek Net Holster. I did a review on it a while back and it’s one of those pieces of gear that has stood the test of time and abuse on the water.
Smith Creek New Zealand is always looking to fill a nitch or void in the fly fishing market and has come out with two new products this season that are pretty handy.
The Rod Clip – For those times when you are waist deep in the river and juggling your fly rod, flies, tippet and more, the rod clip seems to be the ticket.
The Trash Fish – No more tossing spent tippet and leaders in your pockets or streamside. Trash fish is the answer.
