Riverside Fly & Tackle’s 7th Annual Sturgeon Derby Oct 30th, 2011

September 29, 2011 by rsfat (Edit)

It’s that time of year again for Riverside’s Annual Sturgeon Derby. This year’s derby will be taking place on Sunday October 30th 2011. We will be meeting once again at Two Bit bar (Duncan Bar) on the Fraser, which is located above the top end of Crescent Island just upstream from the mouth of the Stave River on the Langley side, at 9am. The entry fee this year is still $30.00 per rod. We will be offering 50/50 tickets for sale from now until the day of the derby in hopes of getting a really good pot once again this year. Last year we handed out $4700.00 in prize money and over $1000.00 worth of gear. First place (Largest Fish) will once again take 2/3rds of the money. Second place (2nd largest fish) will get 1st choice at the prizes. Third place (most fish in inches) will receive 1/3rd of the prize money. All derby entry fees must be paid in cash as well as for the 50/50 draw as the prizes are in cash. Come on in and register now and don’t forget to get your 50/50 tickets. 50/50 tickets will be 1 for $3, 3 for $5 and 10 for $10.

Know Your Rod

Going over my list of supplies for an upcoming charter, I find myself looking over the plethora of rods in my fishing room. How many rods does one person need? Has my affliction for rods become this bad, and are all the rumours true? Yes my name is Garry and I am a gear hoarder.

As an angler my tool of trade is the rod. Rods come in many different lengths, actions, constructions and configurations. Not one rod can be used for all species. As golfers have different clubs for different situations so should anglers. I consider myself not just a guide but more like a caddy, and this charter is exciting for the fact of the different styles of fishing we’ll be doing. I’ve got three guests – a newbie, a veteran fly-fisher, and my favorite, the guy that has the same problem as me. He loves to fish and he doesn’t care how.

The newbie will be casting spinning configurations, which is the easiest to accomplish. We’ll be outfitting him with three different rods. A seven foot fast action for the smaller side channels, 10 foot for the larger main stem where a longer cast is required, and a 11’3″ to float through heavy log infested structure which makes swinging a fly difficult. Remember, the rod is an extension of your arm no matter which way you fish, either casting or fly fishing, the longer the rod the longer the cast. Now a five foot six angler can be six foot six with a longer rod and we can extend our drift by keeping the rod high otherwise known as high-sticking and keeping the line off the water.

As a tackle shop owner, I need to know how rods perform and one of the most important principals of the rod is its action from slow to fast. Every rod works its own angle and there is a rod for every piece of water. As a consumer, you need to have a game plan of what you’re looking for. Number one is the species you’re targeting. Is your casting stroke fast or slow when fly-casting? Choose the appropriate rating for the fish you’re targeting. For fly-fishers, two to nine weight rods are key in BC. A two weight for smaller pan fish and trout, a five weight for your staple rod and a seven weight is versatile to perform more tasks, such as casting in wind, bigger quarry such as small coho, pinks, and summer steelhead. And your eight to nine weight rods for larger salmon and steelhead.

Every rod has distinct actions; just like people, they are all different. To find the action of the rod grab the cork which is your fulcrum and place the tip to the floor. This will give you an idea of the rods natural curvature. It will show you the backbone of the rod and how much of the tip bends if it is stiff or soft. Softness slows the rod and crisp speeds it up. This will give you an idea of how the rod will cast and set the hook. No matter which style you choose, some rods perform faster and are lighter as soon as you go up on the modulus of graphite, but they tend to be more brittle and break more often, so choose a lower graphite such as an IM-6 for more durable use. When looking at rods also consider your guides, they need to be high quality to run braids or cast your line effectively. The more guides usually the better the rod this eliminates line slap to increase your casting performance.

Hopefully you don’t suffer the same affliction I do and have the need to own every rod out there. These key factors can help you in your decision on what rod to use with the different opportunities we have as British Columbians.