At Flaming Gorge Utah

A planned trip to Pueblo Reservoir had to be cut short because of an electrical short in the power tilt/trim switch.  Diagnosis was difficult; installing a new switch was simple.  There was a crack in the rubber cover for this switch which, after a period of use, allowed moisture intrusion to complete the circuit.  This past week we went to Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Utah for some real boating.  The lake extends into Wyoming for 75-100 miles filling a deep and scenic gorge.  We explored the lake for 30-40 miles and encountered some wind and waves.  It is a light boat with little draft so, when maneuvering into the dock with a wind present, we lower the bimini top to cut windage.  Also, when cornering while planed out, the hull will skid; when cornering while accelerating onto a plane, the hull will bank well and turn sharply.  There is almost no bow rise when accelerating, and the hull rides smoothly and cuts through moderate waves with no fuss.  I switched to a 15" pitch prop for this trip.  We were operating at 6000 altitude, and the engine achieved 4700 rpm, easily exceeding the 35 mph maximum speed of the speedometer dial.  The "sweet spot" for this engine is supposed to be 5000-5200 rpm and our next outing is at Grand lake, over 9000 elevation, so I have ordered a new 13" pitch stainless steel propeller which, hopefully, will be perfect for these circumstances.  I have to think that, if we were near sea level, this boat would easily exceed 40 mph or, alternately, I could have installed a somewhat less powerful engine.

I havent yet mentioned that this new boat fits our trailer perfectly, much better than the previous boat.  We trailed it 400+ miles to the lake; other than a decrease in acceleration, you couldnt notice that we were towing.  Although I cant find anything design-wise to improve on this boat, I am always evaluating what could be made better/ more esthetically pleasing on a next boat.  This is a 12 degree deadrise hull; I wonder what a 14 degree deadrise would do to performance?  I have an idea for a more modern-looking runabout which I hope to publish here in the near future.  I already have all the offsets and need to make up some drawings.  Then perhaps construct a model.

    

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Why I Love my Burkheimer

C.F. Burkheimer 7134-4

Spey fishing is a craft. It is alive and evolving, just as art, music and even yoga. 

Like many North-westerners, I started out fly fishing for trout and rather quickly evolved from single hand casting to spey casting. As the progression moves on, we evolve from learning to cast to learning to cast effortlessly. At the same time, we strive to find the best rod, reel and line to fit our personal casting style. Many of us go from fast rods to slower rods, cheap rods to expensive rods, many rods to just a few cherished rods. I feel that if this evolution happens over a long enough time frame that many steelheaders will land with a Burkheimer as the centerpiece of their collection. Some guys just pick a rod and then use it forever, but I am a gear junky, and my current position at a fly shop allows me to push it to the limit if I choose. I am constantly striving to improve; improve my cast, my rods, reels, lines, flies, presentations, gear, attitude and the quality of my fishing time.

This past summer, I began to feel that I had been spey fishing long enough that it I could finally get a Burkheimer. I wouldn’t say that I deserved a Burkheimer or that I had earned a Burkheimer, but the time has come for me to get one. I have now, over thirteen years of spey fishing, owned, or at least fished rods from every rod manufacturer out there. It now occurs to me that they were all just practice rods, learning tools so that when the time came, I could wield the Burkie with the respect that it deserves. I mean, you don’t just give a teenager a new car. Not only does the teen have to learn to drive it properly, he needs to learn how to care for, maintain, and most importantly, respect it before being given the keys.

My friend E bought his first Burkie last winter. I got to cast it just for one run and was absolutely in love with it. The 7119-4 is a beautiful switch rod, perfect for the Hood River in the winter. E fished it for a few months and then one day I noticed he was fishing his Echo again. I asked why he would sell the nicest rod he had ever cast and he said that it was partly because he was afraid that he would break it, but mostly that the rod was too nice for him. He felt that he was not worthy of having such a beautiful stick. At least he recognized it early on, and the time will come for him to buy another some day.

C.F. Burkheimer makes many different models to choose from. I chose the 7134-4. The 13’4” 7wt is a great year-round stick that has a deeper load than the 7127-4 (my second choice). This rod is perfect for Skagit casting and winter steelhead. Not that the 7127-4 isn’t great, but I prefer the deeper load and slower action of this rod compared to the quicker action of the 7127-4. I fished a few different Scandi style lines on the Deschutes, including an Airflo Rage Comapact 450, a RIO Scandi Versitip #7 and a Scientific Anglers UST Scandi 480. All of those lines were a good match to the rod and made casting nearly effortless.

While I thoroughly enjoyed fishing the Scandi lines, I am ready for the winter chrome. My rod is now loaded up with the new Airflo Skagit Compact G2, 540 grain Skagit Head and it is money! Nice, easy, steady strokes result in long, tight loops with minimal effort. Matching this line and rod makes this one of the nicest casting setups I have ever touched.

One of the nicest you ask? I thought that the Burkheimer was the end-all be-all rod, the one rod to rule them all? Well, the Sage ONE 7136-4 is an amazing rod that casts like a dream, so are the Winston BIII TH 7133-4 and the G. Loomis NRX 13’ 7/8. There is a lot of power loaded into this Burkheimer, but it takes a slow, steady stroke to unleash it, and I am still months from pushing the rod to its limits to find the perfect stroke, and then reigning in that cast to perfection. While I would give the edge in pure ease of casting to the ONE (it’s also lighter in weight), the Burkie wins in my book as the best overall rod. It’s the attention to detail, the finish work, the paint job, the hardware, and of course, the mystique that all push the Burkie into a solid first place finish.

The Burkheimer 7134-4 has a similar cast and load to the Winston BIII-TH 7133-4 in my opinion. It has a deep load that responds quickly when power is applied to the forward stroke. While the rod is very forgiving, it still lets you know when you’ve done it right. I believe this rod has a little more flex in the bottom end and has more power in the forward stroke, but it’s pretty darn similar in my opinion. The ONE and the NRX are both faster and a little bit lighter, but the overall weight is not noticeable to me when standing knee deep in the river.

The one place that I really do notice a difference is in the cork. I like a thin grip that is comfortable in hand and beautiful to look at. Burkies have the nicest cork on the market, both in the quality of the cork and the shape of the handle. This goes a long ways for me, as holding onto a rod for 8 hours a day is uncomfortable with some cork handles on the market. This one is easy to hold and helps to create a very relaxed grip. A relaxed grip leads to a relaxed cast, which is what I am searching for in a good rod.

Am I putting my Burkheimer up on a pedestal? It is just a fishing rod. It’s probably much like any other rod from an outsider’s perspective. I know this, but I feel that if any piece of gear in the fly fishing world should be put on a pedestal, it should be a Burkheimer spey rod.

About buying a Burkheimer: C.F. Burkheimer Fly Rods. Build your custom rod in our store

We forward order and Stock a few select Burkheimers: Check for in-stock Burkheimers





Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Why we sail the sea

HILAIRE BELLOC was many things in his lifetime, but I like to remember him as a sailor.  He lived from 1870 to 1953 and held dual British/French nationality. He was one of the most prolific writers in England in the early 20th century, and among his best pieces, in my view, was his description of what makes a person sail the sea:

“To sail the sea is an occupation at once repulsive and attractive. It is repulsive because it is dangerous, horribly uncomfortable, cramped and unnatural: for man is a land animal.

“It is attractive because it brings adventure and novelty at every moment, and because, looking back upon it, a man feels a certain pride both in danger overcome and in experience. But it is also attractive in another and much more powerful fashion. It is attractive by a sort of appetite.

“A man having sailed the sea and the habit having bitten into him, he will always return to it: why, he cannot tell you. It is what modern people call a ‘lure’ or a ‘call.’ He has got it in him and it will not let him rest.”

Today’s Thought

Cruising is more than a sport. The mood of it comes over you at times, and you can neither work nor rest nor heed another call until you have a deck beneath your feet and point a bowsprit out to sea.

— Arthur Sturges Hildebrand.

Tailpiece

Paddy was crossing the fairway when a ball smacked him on the back of the head.

A golfer came up and said: “Why didn’t you get out of the way?”

“An’ why should I?” said Paddy angrily.

“Because I said ‘Fore!’ and that’s a sign to get out of the way.”

“Oh and is it now?” cried Paddy. “Well I’ve got news for you. When I say ‘Foive’ it’s a sign you’re going to be hit on the jaw. Foive!”

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Why I fish Hatch Fly Reels

Hatch Finatic 9+

There are few investments made by steelhead anglers more critical to their success than a good reel. A good reel can make or break your trip and will definitely increase your hook-up to landed ratio.

I read a review or “shoot out” the other day that had 19 criteria points for what a good reel is. Overall a good review, too good if you ask me. I don’t need a dissertation on the merits of a good fishing reel, I just need to know one thing, does it work? Can I stop a big fish with it? Will it hold up under every day use year over year? I’m willing to pay for quality but I expect a little bling to go with it, ie, it’s got to be pretty. I’ve fished a lot of reels over the years and my favorite are made in the USA by Hatch Outdoors.

My first Hatch Fly Reel

I ran into my first Hatch at a fly fishing show, it was love at first sight. As a young angler I couldn’t get past price but I had a different set of priorities as a twenty five year old. Fast forward another five years and I finally get my first Hatch, it’s a 9+ Pulse. This is still my go to reel and easily the most used of the many I have in service.

Today I’m 44 years old and a full time fishing guide. I make it a policy to only provide the best equipment for my clients and you will find Hatch Reels available in my boat every day. Before the guys at Hatch were “Hatch”, they wanted to build a better reel based on drag, durability and design. They nailed it.

Finatic

Let’s start with the drag, after all this is a reel we’re talking about. I could go on and on about the sealed drag, the stacked discs, resistant to heat issues, pound for pound fish stopping power, or the low start up inertia. I don’t care about the technical stuff although it does sound awesome, it’s just words. For me a drag’s about smooth reliable resistance. I recently fought a seal lice infested Spring Chinook in 200,000 cfs of Columbia river, and believe me my old Hatch Pulse put the wood to him! Lots of reels claim smooth fish stopping power and out of the box maybe they’re telling the truth. Over time things wear out, need maintenance, fail. The big fails for me are surging, free spooling/loss of drag, and total lock up.



That leads us to durability. Hatch reels require no maintenance, that’s right, NO MAINTENANCE! I’m not going to lie to you, after fishing reels every single day over a number of years and tough conditions even all reels may need a little warranty work. My favorite thing about Hatch reels is that I have never had one fail. I have sent reels back because they were no longer working as well as I expect them to. The good news is I can send them in for repair at my leisure because they still function.

Oregon Steel

Let’s talk about customer service. For the record, I’ve sent lots of reels back to their respective manufacturers over the years. The service I’ve received has been a deal breaker for several otherwise decent reels. Sending your high dollar stuff back to the manufacturer is never a good time. What I don’t want to hear is something along the lines of “never seen that happen before”, or “we’re pretty backed up right now but we’ll do the best we can”. Here’s what you get from Hatch, “send it in, we’ll fix it and overnight it back to you”. Yeah, that’s it…I’m good with that. No excuses just fix it and be quick about it.

Design. Like I said, I’m not a real technical guy but I have pretty high standards. The current version of the Hatch reel is the Finatic, prior to that it was the Monsoon, and before that the Pulse. It’s the same reel inside but it’s gotten lighter and prettier. The spools and reels are all interchangeable and there are two spool options, large and mid. As a Spey guy I will note one thing that’s pretty relevant regarding design and Hatch; Hatch reels are consistently heavier than most of their competition. While on the surface this may sound like a disadvantage, it’s not. Fishing a Spey Rod requires a heavy reel, it acts like a counterweight in both casting and holding the rod it the swing position. The other silent advantage is the precise machining of the Hatch reels. Thin diameter running lines are en vogue and for good reason and aside from a fully caged reel none of the competition can keep the running line inside the reel; that’s a problem.

For me it’s easy to be Hatch guy. Without lots of words, form, fit and function or as the Hatch guys say “drag, durability and design”. Nailed it!

Sam Sickles | Steelhead Outfitters
www.steelheadoutfitters.com
541.400.0855

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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