Where have all the Soft Hackle Tiers gone?

[letumgo]

Otto,

I've been doing some research on the "Commando head" line system and it looks ideal for many of the streams I fish. Yesterday I ordered line and a Commando head, laser line and set of tips (sink tip and floating) line to play with this spring. The casting mechanics looks quite useful in streams with little room for back casting. I like the fact that these lines can be used on both single-hand and two-hand rods. All you need to do is switch out the head section (Commando head) with the appropriate grain weight for the rod you plan to fish. I was amazed to find out that the lines could be fished on very light rods (3 & 4 weight single hand rods). I like the fact that the system could easily be tailored to match the water your fishing, and could handle all kinds of flies (soft hackles, nymphs, and heavy streamers). After studying videos for the past couple weeks, I've decided to give it a try.

I found many helpful videos about casting and fishing these lines on YouTube.

For anyone interested, just head on over to YouTube and do a search on terms like ("OPST Commando head", "Ed Ward OPST", or "opst commando head single hand", or "Micro Skagit Commando Head Tips with Ed Ward").

VIDEO LINKS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Lc4H8KB40g Casting a commando head on a 7ft 4 wt fiberglass rod
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp-ecqHPaYk Micro Skagit Commando Head Tips with Ed Ward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M24h0SHBSCg OPST Commando Skagit Heads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai10BeIi2pc Single Hand Skagit for Bass - OPST Commando Heads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwvNdwRQJjY Golf Ball Skagit Casting Tips with Ed Ward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM_cNdsMcJM How to Fix a Twisted Running Line

[newriverspey]

Ray,

Those Youtube videos you posted are an excellent resource for anyone that is interested in Skagit type casting with either a single or double handed rod. I have reached a point in my fishing where I want to catch fish on soft hackle flies while swinging them on a two handed rod. I like the Commando line system and the other line that works well is the Scandi type lines but I would recommend learning and sticking to one line system. You cannot go wrong with the Commando line system! The other really interesting part of this is the introduction of microspey rods. You can take any rod and add a lower handle to it and in essences have a two handed rod you can use for small streams or rivers. These rods can easily cast 60 feet of line if need be but more importantly they allow you to efficiently mend line and cover a lot of water. Please, keep me posted and let me know how you like it.

Otto

[Bazzer69]

Newriverspey. As something of a self proclaimed expert on indicator (bobber) fishing on the Lower Sacramento River for the past twenty or more years, I can tell you , yes it’s very effective, but not as easy as most people think.
Personally I don’t use one at all since it screws up any kind of “beautiful” casting on any kind of fly rod to “chuck and duck”
which I don’t appreciate at all. I swing steelhead flies from a Spey rod or cast a bamboo rod with a silk line, silk leader and a soft hackle fly. It doesn’t catch fish as well as a indicator but for me it’s far more rewarding. I leave all the photo boasting to the typical yuppie from the city and those fish killers who don’t know any better.
It’s our job to recruit and educate those who don’t know any better. Is it beating a dead horse? Maybe but we can get a few more younger tiers to join us. As a footnote you don’t need a $3000 dollar rod and a $4000 dollar reel to enjoy soft hackle fishing. There are some excellent outfits that can be put together for less than $500 buck
Just my opinion,
Barry

[newriverspey]

Barry,

I am a little lost at what you are tying to tell me. Just trying to understand your thoughts.

Thanks,
Otto

[Bazzer69]

Barry,

I am a little lost at what you are tying to tell me. Just trying to understand your thoughts.

Thanks,
Otto

Otto, this thread has been hijacked by the talk of indicator fishing, skagit style casting etc.
The forum is a wonderful venue for the interchange of ideas, patterns etc directly related to Flymphs and soft hackles. Yet,
As I see it, there are to many diverse discussions of matters and publishing of fly patterns that have nothing to do with Flymps. If we really want to turn this forum into another general fishing forum then we are on the right path to doing so. Yep, flymps and soft hackles don’t appeal to everyone mainly due to the mistaken belief that skagit lines on a switch rod and heavily beaded Flies catch more fish.
Of course you might well disagree with me, but it’s my belief that it’s the kind of posted discussions that are keeping the
Soft hackle tiers away
Cheers
Barry

[tie2fish]

Barry,

I am a little lost at what you are tying to tell me. Just trying to understand your thoughts.

Thanks,
Otto

As I see it, there are to many diverse discussions of matters and publishing of fly patterns that have nothing to do with Flymps. If we really want to turn this forum into another general fishing forum then we are on the right path to doing so. Yep, flymps and soft hackles don’t appeal to everyone mainly due to the mistaken belief that skagit lines on a switch rod and heavily beaded Flies catch more fish.
Of course you might well disagree with me, but it’s my belief that it’s the kind of posted discussions that are keeping the
Soft hackle tiers away
Cheers
Barry

As originally conceived and as practiced for the first several years of its existence, this forum was strictly about soft hackled flies (flymphs/spiders). There were no "Winged Wet Flies" or "Nymphs" categories, and it was an unwritten rule that anything not pertaining strictly to soft hackled flies was to be posted in the "Fishing Cabin" section which could be viewed only by members. The changes that resulted in the current format were made circa 2012 by the forum sponsor, who felt that the restrictive nature of the subject matter was hindering healthy growth of the site.

[Bazzer69]

Perhap there should be separate sections on the board for soft hackles and flymphs. As for all the modern plastic flies they can have their own section. If you look at the Classic Flies section on the Classic Fly Rod forum you will see very little that is remotely classic and as a consequence that section has died a death. Yes this forum is specialist but why not keep it that way?
Barry

[hankaye]

Bazzer69, Howdy;

Perhap there should be separate sections on the board for soft hackles and flymphs. As for all the modern plastic flies they can have their own section. If you look at the Classic Flies section on the Classic Fly Rod forum you will see very little that is remotely classic and as a consequence that section has died a death. Yes this forum is specialist but why not keep it that way?
Barry

Barry, as mentioned earlier by tie2fish, this was addressed when the owner of the forum
decided to expand it, first with nymphs then later after the passing of our founding member
the forum passed into new hands and then the winged wet additions came in ... well he's got
a fly shop and a campground that is flyfishing centered so,...... there was much made, at the
time, about the new additions and after checking his forum activity he's not visited since
October 29th, 2017, 7:47 am. Luckily, he allows Ray, William and Ron to run it for him in his
absence. I'm sure he'll pop up whenever he feels like it or when there will be a sale at the fly
shop.
The above is my opinion, we all got one , right(?), perhaps there is a differing point of view
like expanding membership but I don't have access to those numbers of how many then as opposed
to now so I'm just going to leave it at that for now.

Y'all play nice and have fun now, ya hear?

hank