Competition - Part 2 - The Setup

In this post I will be going over the rods I had setup as well as what rigs I planned to use on them. I will also be going over a few things that I did ahead of the competition to save my time while fishing on the water.

Rod #1
6wt Redington Voyant 9'6 - Greys GX500 Cartridge Reel - Rio's In Touch Deep 3

This rod I setup with a two fly dropper rig, attaching 7 or so feet of 8lb fluorocarbon to the fly line and then using a dropper rig about 50-60cm from the point fly. I started the competition off with a hares ear variant as the first fly and then a pheasant tail nymph variant as the point. Later in the tournament I switched out the rig to a bright blob and natural p.t nymph variant combo.

Rod #2
8wt Redington Pursuit 9'6 - Lamson LiteSpeed 3.5 - 8wt Steelhead/Salmon Rio

I figured I would use this rod as as backup for running nymphs as well as a dry/dropper rig. I set it up with a size 10 stimulator as the first fly and then a p.t nymph variant as the point fly. This is a technique and method I am not very comfortable with but I figured if the fish started taking flies higher in the water column then the ability to suspend my offering from a dry fly would be a good option.

Rod #3
7wt Switch TFO Deer Creek - Van Stall 912 - 420 Grain Snowbee Integrated Switch Line

I figured this rod would be best setup to throw some weighted streamers. I brought a box stuffed with buggers, clousers and other staple streamers but settled on using a twisted little fox which has proven itself a very effective streamer in the past. From the head of the fly line I attached 8lb fluorocarbon to the streamer which I debarbed.


Ways I Prepared

Tying rigs and leaders ahead of time is one way I figured I would be able to save time. I had a walleye rig tube with 12 sections for rigs and used this to coil up leaders with nymph dropper rigs and rigs without flies in case of a tangle or the need to re-rig during a break or off session.

Before the competition I tried to tie up the flies that I would need on barbless hooks to avoid the chance of losing fish if the controllers found the mashed down barb not mashed down properly. The penalty for the fly not coming out of cloth cleanly and quickly was losing all fish caught prior in that session.

I went to the dollar store a few days before the competition and purchased a rectangular white plastic tote to house my fly boxes, leader tube, floatant, forceps, nippers and other items that I would need on hand at the competition. As well  figured I could rest my rods on top of this tote so as to keep them off the grass were perhaps a controller may accidentally step on them while measuring a fish or verifying a catch.

The Game Plan

I went into the competition with the plan to start fishing slow and deep with two fly rigs and adjust as needed depending upon the results and activity of the fish.

The next post will go into a little more detail about the individual sessions along with my thoughts and reasoning on using different techniques and methods.