It's Been Awhile...

Life has been crazy around the house lately. Packing to our hearts content for the big move, applying for more jobs everyday, getting an interview (!!!!), and working 40+ hours at the restaurant has kept me off the water to a degree.

I did manage to sneak in a trip to the Thompson River nearly two weeks ago. I can say, with some certainty, that I'm not a fan of high-summer fishing. Water temps get warmer, fish are less active, finding them isn't necessarily hard, but fishing responsibly (read... not when water temps are over 68, fight 'em fast, bring 'em in, release them after plenty of fishy CPR) becomes more paramount. It all has me longing for June and early July. I don't mind a little run-off when fish are accessible and ravenous.

Big Rainbows like this guy will be much easier to fool come Fall.

It's truly become a "dog-days" of summer routine with temperatures in the high 80's-90's in Spokane. The Thompson River has experienced the same type of temperatures that we've gotten here in Spokane with the exception of slightly cooler nights. Needless to say, my trip over there was slow going. I found fish yes, I found some very nice fish (seeking refuge from the Clark Fork and warmer water temps) but there weren't as many players compared to previous trips over the pass. 

Typical Thompson River Rainbow. Feisty and beautiful. This one had someone else's fly embedded in it's jaw. I removed it and let it go... no more extra lip jewelry for you.

Biggest Thompson fish for me yet. Caught 300 yards above the confluence with the Clark Fork... wonder where this Lacustrine looking guy normally lives? 

Gorgeous fish... it really worked the four weight. 

CDC Caddis emerger patterns were the hot ticket for me. Hoppers and Chubby Chernobyl's caught a few fish, but the big boys were working the caddis. Nymphing wasn't the winner that it typically is for me on the Thompson with just a few fish to hand sub-surface. 

I can't complain when I'm in Montana, catching trout, having to work harder at it (and learning new skills the whole time), but hot dang do I miss my trips of early July. It makes me wish that I had taken an extra-day off work to fish more before life got crazy (or to have just avoided the whole bat incident...). 

Speaking of bat bites, rabies, and other stupid fortune, I received my last post-rabies exposure vaccine this week and am done with treatment. We're just waiting for the first bill to arrive at the house, and for reality to sink back in again. Until then, I'm happy to be safe, rabies free, and not extremely poor... yet. 

I sure hope to get out before we leave Spokane at the end of the month, but work will likely dictate otherwise. Aside from a few short jaunts to the Spokane (thanks Upper River for the HUGE hookup and lost fish the other day...) I'm about done over here. It'll be Steelhead and Oregon trout in the near future for this Trout Bum. I'm excited to move back to the area and see what kind of fly fishing opportunities exist over there that I may not know about. 

Keep reading, please follow along regularly, and most importantly, keep on fishing. 

Gear Review: Redington Torrent Fly Rod

Seeing as the blog is in it's infant stages, I'm not in the position of receiving free fly fishing goods to test  and review. That being said, if I personally buy a product and feel strongly about it (for good or bad), then I'll possibly post a gear review on it. The following review is my honest input about a product that I spent my hard earned money on... enjoy.

Redington Torrent 8'6" 4 wt 4 pc. Rod

Despite being on a budget, I was on the hunt for a perfect small/medium water dry fly rod. I had a few 5 and 6 weight rods in my quiver but wanted a faster action 4 weight that could shoot some serious line, had solid pick up, but would also cast accurately in close/tight situations. With summer dry fly season nearing, I wanted to find a rod that would fit all those needs but for under $300.

Thankfully, you don't need to spend $750 anymore to get a quality made fly rod. I looked at rods from Echo, TFO, Orvis, Sage, and Scott before settling on the Redington Torrent. One of my local fly shops, Westslope Fly Shop in Spokane, was kind enough to order the rod in for me and allowed me to cast it before I walked out with the rod. Being a newer model, none of the local stores had any Torrents in stock.

Beautiful wraps and green finish. Nice work Redington. 

After just a few days, the rod arrived from Bainbridge Island and I met owner Jesse Clark at Westslope to test cast the rod. First impressions were simply... "wow." The Torrent featured a fairly fast action but was inherently smooth with a slightly tip heavy flex. I was throwing accurately from 15-60 feet and if needed I could punch it further. To be blunt, it cast better than my older Scott A series 5 weight and it gave the Sage VXP (a $500 rod) a serious run for it's money in lawn casting scenarios. Needless to say, after test casting it for a half hour, I left with the rod in hand.

Finish wise, the rod features a nice dark green finish that has some SERIOUS coats of paint on it. Talk about a glistening finish. The cork was not necessarily premium (some filler, but to be expected) but the grip was comfortable and more than adequate. The reel seat has a green graphite insert and a single up-locking reel seat keeps my Lamson Guru 1.5 securely in place. Stripping guides are PacBay and are high quality, and the wraps are nice and neat. The rod tube is a sweet stealthy gray aluminum with a lime colored Redington Logo.

Graphite insert on reel seat. 

The real test for a rod is, to me, how it fishes. A rod can lawn cast like a dream but until you fish it and become infinitely familiar with it, you don't know what you're getting into. The Redington Torrent is built to fish. I've used it with great success throwing everything from dries on the Bitterroot (60 foot reach casts with accuracy) to dropping lighter double nymph rigs on the Coeur d'Alene River. This rod is simply wonderful. Fish from 6" to 18" are a blast on this setup and though a 3 wt would be fun on smaller mountain streams, the 4 wt. Torrent doesn't feel like overkill in those situations.

I love the faster action (now that I've been fly fishing for long enough, I feel that a faster rod can work for many different applications) and enjoy the light weight, sleek finish, and of course the low sticker price.

This Bitterroot Cutthroat was a Torrent 4 wt. victim. 

You can certainly find a cheaper rod out there, but you wont find many with this quality finish, action, and phenomenal warranty (Redington/Sage are some of the best in the business). I suspect that the rod taper was borrowed from an older or current Sage model (perhaps the VXP with slightly lower modulus graphite?) and I don't regret the purchase in the slightest. I'll be looking at a Torrent or Predator in the future for a solid 7 weight streamer/bass rod and recommend it to anyone looking to find a quality, fishable stick.

Redington Torrent Grade Sheet -

Finish - 9/10 (only cork could be better... but for the price that's not realistic)
Hardware - 8/10 (reel seat is solid, but a slightly sturdier one would be nice)
Lawn Casting - 9/10 (faster, progressive action... similar to Sage VXP)
Actual Fishing Situations - 9/10 (can really do it all in the 4 wt class...)
Value - 10/10 (Great work by Redington... as usual)

Overall - 9/10. I prefer this single-hander over a similar CPX and find it to load with minimal line out, make accurate casts from 10-60 feet, and the fit and finish of it is excellent for the price. Pick one up and you wont regret it.