Bamboo and difficult brookies

[Dave Westburg]

Took a float plane trip to a Washington alpine lake last weekend. Some not so happy anglers waiting all day at the seaplane base for the clouds to clear in the mountains so we could fly in...



A nice camp on the lake's sandy shore...



No propane or fuel allowed on the floatplane so we had to campfire cook. Stew and biscuits for dinner.



Fished the usual wet flies off my Granger 8642 but the brookie fishing was really slow with lots of false hits until we went to size 16 olive Greenwell's Glory wet flies fished slowly off 2 pound test and then things picked up.



The brookies were 6-12 inches. Here's one of the small ones.



I spent an afternoon fruitlessly trolling a size 4 Grey Ghost on a full sinking line for the lake's big Mackinaws. The trip went too fast. Maybe next time I'll fight the brush into the alpine lakes at the head of the lake

 

[Fourbtgait]

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Took a float plane trip to a Washington alpine lake last weekend. Some not so happy anglers waiting all day at the seaplane base for the clouds to clear in the mountains so we could fly in...

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A nice camp on the lake's sandy shore...

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No propane or fuel allowed on the floatplane so we had to campfire cook. Stew and biscuits for dinner.

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Fished the usual wet flies off my Granger 8642 but the brookie fishing was really slow with lots of false hits until we went to size 16 olive Greenwell's Glory wet flies fished slowly off 2 pound test and then things picked up.

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The brookies were 6-12 inches. Here's one of the small ones.

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I spent an afternoon fruitlessly trolling a size 4 Grey Ghost on a full sinking line for the lake's big Mackinaws. The trip went too fast. Maybe next time I'll fight the brush into the alpine lakes at the head of the lake

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I haven’t seen a reflector oven in decades. I had one my father built for Boy Scouts, no idea what happened to it.
Thanks for the memory

 

[Dave Westburg]

The reflector oven is the swedish svante freden model. Here's a video which shows Freden making the ovens.

 

[Mike Monsos]

Thanks for sharing another great adventure Dave. Funny about having to wait out the weather (well not really) I was part of a Hi-Laker group waiting to be dropped at the same lake about 15 plus years ago. The weather like yours was not conducive to safety standards to make the trip. But our trip got cancelled after about four hours of wait time as the plane had another assignment it had to make. Glad you were able to make the flight.

 

[Dave Westburg]

I was part of a Hi-Laker group waiting to be dropped at the same lake about 15 plus years ago. The weather like yours was not conducive to safety standards...our trip got cancelled...

Usually the pilot flies up and over the ridge at the inlet head of the lake and then flies down the lake into the wind to land. That approach wasn't possible for us due to the low cloud cover. The pilot had to fly in through the V-notch at the lake's outlet and land with the wind at his back. The problem with this approach is that you have to get the landing perfect because if something goes wrong you have no ability to pull out due to the steep cliffs surrounding the rest of the lake...He did a magnificent job.

 

[Roper]

Hey Dave, sweet get away. I take it your Granger is 8’6” 4 weight, 2 piece, yes? ( still learning)

 

[Dave Westburg]

Wish it was that simple @Roper . Granger used the first two numbers in the model number to refer to the length of the rod and the second two numbers to refer to the approximate weight of the rod in ounces. So a Granger 7630 is a 7'6" rod which weighs 3 ounces, a Granger 8040 is an 8' rod which weighs 4 ounces, an 8642 is an 8'6" rod which weighs 4.25 ounces, a 9050 is a 9' rod which weighs 5 ounces and a 9663 is a 9'6" rod which weighs 6 ounces...

All Granger rods are three piece which is an advantage for travel.

Line weights are extremely subjective but here is my two cents:

• The Granger 7630 and 8040 are 4 weights.
• The Granger 8642 is a 5 weight.
• The Granger 9050 is a 6 weight.
• The Granger 9660 is a 7 weight.

What say you @Greg Armstrong and @Para_Adams?

 

[Greg Armstrong]

Yep, all are great rods too.

And all are 3 piece rods, except for the 7030 which was made as a 2 piece.

And if I remember correctly, the stated rod weights excluded the reel seat for some obscure reason… marketing maybe?

 

[Dave Westburg]

And if I remember correctly, the stated rod weights excluded the reel seat for some obscure reason… marketing maybe?

You are right. My Granger 8642 actually weighs 4.8 ounces. I figure the blank is 4.25 ounces and the reel seat and guides add an additional 0.6 ounce.