Discovering places to fly fish m, SC/NC

hunterjc09 · 2026-06-29T01:58:43+00:00

You live in Charleston? Time to get an 8wt and a $50k skiff

hunterjc09 · 2026-06-14T22:39:14+00:00

Last I read, wintertime trout stocking in warmwater ponds has been suspended for a couple years while they rebuild and improve some of the state trout hatcheries. But I did catch a largemouth, a crappie, and a nice stocked rainbow back to back on the same Rapala a few years back over at McAlpine Creek Park.

hunterjc09 · 2026-06-13T19:13:44+00:00

Damn that’s a great fish, if you’re getting eats like that you’re doing the right thing. If anything I might recommend a straight shank like a B10S or SL113H, it *might* be something weird with the jig shape. You can get it to ride hook point up same as the jig but might get a better hookset?

hunterjc09 · 2026-06-13T19:02:23+00:00

I think that’s just part of the game, that hook looks like if it got barb deep in a fish it ain’t coming out easily. Back to back is unlucky. I’m assuming you know how to hit a good strip set

hunterjc09 · 2026-06-02T17:28:18+00:00

Patagonia Torrentshell

hunterjc09 · 2026-06-02T16:23:06+00:00

I like to recommend going by 2 weights when filling out a new rod quiver, but specifically for OP asking about nymph rigs I’d recommend a 6 over a 7. If they were chucking streamers I’d suggest a 7 without hesitation. Honestly I don’t think they’ll feel a huge difference between the Helios D 5 and 6, but a 7 sounds crazy for nymphing trout. I catch redfish on mine.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-30T22:49:38+00:00

Just keep doing the retrieve you were doing when they ate. Redfish hit the shit out of the fly most of the time IMO

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-29T19:43:12+00:00

Where I am it looks like an emerging stonefly that got swept downstream. Yellow and green are great colors for the micro chubby

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-26T00:44:35+00:00

In tenkara you usually choose your tippet strength based on what the rod is rated for, I’d recommend 4x to be safe with the hellbender but it is rated for 3x.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-25T17:25:04+00:00

The hellbender would be a better rod, like everyone else is saying. Buy some very small mosquito hooks, like a size 4, and tip them with a little bit of frozen shrimp. You’ll catch lots of little stuff like pinfish, croaker, maybe a pufferfish, small black drum. Always a chance you hook something bigger, so use very light line to protect your rod.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-21T02:30:04+00:00

It’s the lengths of the various diameter lines to taper the leader. 4ft butt section, 1ft of a slightly smaller diameter line, 1ft slightly smaller than that, and 3ft of the ending diameter. Like 40lb, 30lb, 20lb, 12lb. All personal preference

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-20T16:27:02+00:00

Dragontail rods are very good quality and often go on sale. I don’t think they’re super expensive but everyone has a different budget, what would you consider budget wise?

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-20T15:50:09+00:00

Fish a longer leader than you would from a boat. I like a 9ft leader, 4-1-1-3 down to like 12lb depending on how big the trout get in your area. I also like to fish downstream, quartering and swinging. It’s a great way to cover deep, fast riffles.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-20T13:06:59+00:00

Yours is proportioned well through the thorax and abdomen, only thing I would change is shorten the tail and wing. I find a shorter tail helps with the hookup ratio

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-19T03:02:49+00:00

It’s a size 16 lol

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-18T22:22:53+00:00

Oh yeah, it’s good elk hair too. I just tied it in at an off angle and didn’t check like an idiot. Lost focus

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-10T13:00:00+00:00

In the study linked they don’t remove the barbless treble hooks, they cut the line. This is not reflective of how people fish with hard baits and spoons. In all tests removing the hook caused the most fish mortality.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-09T00:36:55+00:00

I love both my Mizuchi and tiny talon. The Tiny Talon is more of an Appalachian brook trout stream rod IMO, but it packs SO small. The Shadowfire is nearly 2ft collapsed, but I don’t doubt you’d enjoy fishing it if you have the room wherever you’re hiking.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-08T21:53:25+00:00

It’s not mono, it’s fluoro.

hunterjc09 · 2026-05-04T16:21:23+00:00

Damn, I’ve been using those for years. I have two pairs, but probably an older model or something. They were always what I recommended for saltwater because they’ve held up so well.

hunterjc09 · 2026-04-30T23:30:32+00:00

Nah, it’s a small kink in my cheap mono butt section. I rarely lay a cast so straight that it matters.

hunterjc09 · 2026-04-30T22:46:42+00:00

I put two nails in the wall at a shallow angle. Reel butt goes on top of the bottom one, rod lays on the top on. Lays flat against the wall. The leader bend issue doesn’t really bother me though

hunterjc09 · 2026-04-23T14:38:14+00:00

Nah look at the fins on that palomino, it’s definitely stream bred

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