e-addresses/ casting in cold weather / Fly line maintenance

Walter & Group.........

Do any of you know the new correct e-address for the following Group members ? :-

Marty Tannahil  (Address in the group roster is: marty@xxxxxxxxxx )

Gary Meyer       (   "           "   "      "         "      ": gladesflybum@xxxxxxxx  )

All our messages to them are bounced back as, "undeliverable."

Gordy

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This from Sheila Hassan (Who passed her MCCI exam on a cold snow day) with a message on the subject from Bruce Richards :-

Cold weather casting
From:   "Sheila Mccabe Hassan" <k1fv@xxxxxxxxxxx> 

Subject: FW: Re: Cold weather testing
Sheila.... A timely message for our members practicing in the cold. All
GREAT tips; I’ve done a lot of fishing in Alaska, and in doing so
learned a couple of things.
1. A 10 mph wind when cold, like a 20 mph wind in warm weather....because
the air is dense. Much harder to work with.
2. We found that a commercial plasticizer used for refurbishing vinyl
furniture, was helpful in making standard PVC coated lines more supple. It's
called ARMORALL. (I think that's the correct spelling.) It also kept ice
from forming on the line.
3. Leaders get stiff, too. So we used really soft mono....and thinner,
too.
4. For super bright glare days, here, teaching on sand bars, I found that
dying a teaching line black helped. I have no experience trying this on
snow.
;----- Original Message -----  From: Sheila Mccabe
Hassan;
 Subject: Cold weather
testing

Some people had asked about preparing for testing in the cold, here are a few things that
worked for me.
1) Practice in the cold weather for extended periods of time. I know we usually talk
about practice sessions being 20 minutes, but you need to be prepared to
test for 1-2 hrs, so you will be better able to do this if you have
practiced for this length of time.
 Think about it like training for a marathon. You need to practice no matter the weather or temperature. Yes, I was out there for 2 hrs stints when we had temperatures in the single
numbers with wind chills below zero. Be confident that you can do the
testing in any weather, this mental training is Important

2) Clothing is critical, figure out what is your warm clothing. Know what is the
maximum layers you can wear. When you are all bundled up, you cannot move
your arm and body as freely, so you need to strike a balance between warmth
and freedom of movement.

3)  Practice in your layers so you feel comfortable
casting in them, and have the confidence that you will be warm in those
clothes ( I even wore my husband's boots because the larger size allowed me
to wear 3 pairs of socks without constricting my feet).

4) Use those chemical hand warmers. Put them inside a mitten in your pocket and every few
minutes warm up your hands. If you do this before your hands are numb, they
never seem to get that bad.

5) Since most of the casting is done with just your rod arm, your line hand can wear a
mitten (warmer than glove) for a large part of the test.
 
6) Wear a hat or hood. Keeping your head and neck warm helps retain more body heat and
keep you overall warmer. I had a fleece runner's hat and wore a hood for part
of the test

Equipment-

7) Your line and leader just doesn't like this type of
weather as much. I even asked Bruce Richards. His reply was that once your
line is cold, it will be stiff and difficult to stretch. His advice was to
keep your line and leader as warm as possible and stretch it just before it
was exposed to the cold.

8) When casting on the snow, I brought a beach towel and put my extra line to shoot on this.
The line seems to like this, and coil a bit less
than when on the frozen tundra.

9) Snow Pack the best scenario is unpacked or not trampled smooth cold snow.
Although your line will slip on this like it was ice, your line won't get
snagged. Trampled snow, or slightly warming, melting snow is the worst.
Your line snags on every little piece of uneven snow, and it never seems to
allow a smooth pick up.

10) Lastly, the set up is really critical on the snow. For roll casting I found that
if I kicked the line back, behind the rod, is slides like it is on a ski.
Instead, I walked away from my starting point so I could control the set up
of the line behind me, then walked back to the stating point and made my
roll cast, it worked well.

The key is training in the conditions you expect to test in. I had a cold, snowy day with a little
wind, I had practiced in much worse (cold, snowing and far windier
conditions) so on that day, it was no big deal.

 

 

 

Copy of message from Bruce Richards regarding cold conditions:

(We were having temps in 3-10 degrees)

Hi Bruce:

have a question for you. I have been out practicing in this cold weather. the temps have been 3-10 degrees. I find that the XXD line has a a lot of memory. It has a tendency to want to retain it's coils from the reel, and even after I stretch it, it just doesn't stretch out as well and can tangle on itself (distance cast). This definitely seems temperature related. 

Do you have any tricks for this line in the cold weather?

Also, the leader seems to be really sensitive to the cold as well. I am not sure, but I think the  the larger diameter  butt of the

 (SA)bonefis
h leaders respond better than the (SA) Trout leaders. Do you have thoughts about the cold weather temps of the

monofilament leader? Is it better to have a stiffer larger leader cold from temps, or does this make the leader too stiff to be effective? 

2 weeks to go, I am really psyched!  Sheila

 
The big thing to me is that really cold temps are far better than moderate temps. With moderate temps (35-40 degrees) the snow starts
 to melt and becomes tacky... the line does not like this.
 
Sheila
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Hello Sheila,

Nice to hear from you. In our recent temps ALL fly lines will be pretty

stiff and have a lot of memory. If there were actually normal people

(subtle hint!) that cast and fished in this weather, we'd make a limper

line for it, but there aren't! My best suggestion would be to keep the line

and reel warm as long as possible. Once you get to where you will be

casting, strip and stretch it as quickly as possible, once it gets real

cold the memory will be pretty tenacious. Maybe you could strip the line

from your reel into the trunk of your warm car. Once the line is that cold

it will be hard to straighten, somehow you need to do that before the line

gets real cold.
Leaders have the same problem, same solution applies. Use whatever leader
you feel is right for the line, the extra stiffness from the cold won't
affect the cast. If the leader isn't stretched straight it is MUCH more
wind resistant than if straight, your leader needs to be straight for best
performance.
 Bruce Richards
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From David Lambert:
Gordy:
I didn't pick this up from the back of the 303 Protectant brochure until 
today. 303 offers 'free' 2 oz spray bottle samples of its products -- 3 
of them for $5. Two ounces of 303 will clean and slick a lot of lines. 
Some of the other included products look interesting, too.
And this note: I've found that, contrary to original claims, the new 
super-slick coated lines (like the Sci-Anglers AST and Orvis 
Wonderlines) need routine cleaning and 'dressing,' although possibly not 
as much as the old PVC. They most certainly pick up debris, especially 
salt. Any of the group come to the same conclusion?
 
The 303 trial offer
>>>FREE 2oz spray bottles: 1) 303 Aerospace Protectant. 2) 303
Cleaner 
& Spot Remover
— For carpet & Upholstery. For all water-safe fabrics. 303’s unique 
colloidal action
cleaning is extremely effective and safe. 3) 303 Shower Shield, for 
people who hate
cleaning the shower... no more soap film, mineral deposits, water spots 
or mildew... use
once a month, not each time you use the shower. You will also receive 
one 303 Wiper
Treatment (stops wiper skipping, smearing and that noisy & annoying 
chattering) and a
303 Instant Windshield Washer Tablet (makes one gallon of the best 
quality windshield
cleaner). Shipped with information-packed brochures containing what you 
need to know
about UV protection and maintaining vinyl, rubber, fiberglass and 
outdoor fabrics. Send
a check or money order for $5.00 P&H to ‘FREE SAMPLES’, 303 Products,
Inc.,
PO Box 966, Palo Cedro, CA 96073.<<<
Allow 2 weeks for delivery.
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Dave...
Yes.  Even the new, "slick" fly lines pick up salt, particularly on hot
sunny days in the tropics.  They are, however, MUCH better than the older
lines in regard to this.  The salt itself can be removed easily with fresh
water used liberally after each days use or even once in a while during a
fishing day.  Silt and dirt and the stringy algae we know as, "gumbo"
require cleaning and re-lube anyway, as you point out.  In summary: 
The new lines including AST (3-M) and others are a lot better but not
perfect.  They still need line care.
I really can't complain about the results using the Scientific Anglers line
dressing as recommended by Bruce Richards.  Aways willing to learn, so I'll
try the 303.
Gordy
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