Loop Evotec Cast 9ft 3wt

Practice, Practice, Practice…

Today was gorgeous! After dealing with two appointments this morning and being out in the sunshine, I decided to go practice my flycasting.

The wind was up a bit, around 15mph, but it was 67F when I stopped at a local lake. I decided to practice with the Loop Opti Dryfly reel and the Loop XACT 5wt 9ft rod. I try to practice casting every chance I get and in conditions I will experience quite often…such as wind.

The Loop 5wt was definitely the way to go. I also brought along the Loop Evotec 3wt 9ft and the Hardy Ultraclick 4000 to practice with. I figured it was a suicide mission with the 3wt due to the wind but gave it a shot anyway. I must say, I didn’t do to bad. Never thought I’d use a lot of “Kentucky Windage” while flycasting!

I really like this Hardy Ultraclick 4000 reel

I will shamelessly admit that I really got into fly fishing after seeing the movie “A River Runs Through It.” I thought that this method would make a great addition to my fishing toolbox. It only took about 30 years before I managed to afford a halfway decent setup and decided to actually fly fish a lot.

Loop Evotec Cast 3wt…

The wife and I went to a local lake in-between rain showers this morning. I really wanted to try out the Loop Evotec Cast 9ft 3wt rod. The gusts of wind made it difficult at times so patience was the order of the day.

This rod has great action…

My casting stroke needs a lot of work, but it was fun using this rod. The Evotec casts far better than I do and I definitely have room to “grow” with it.

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I was surprised when I caught this Crappie…

I enjoy grabbing a fly rod and reel and a small selection of flies and hitting some local water. It’s a bonus when we have the entire lake to ourselves.

We each caught 2 fish and then the wind kicked up and the rain started moving in. We decided to pick up some trash before heading home. We do this every time we go out. I know it sounds like a broken record, but if word gets out and everyone leaves the waters cleaner than they found them…we’d have stellar fishing areas.

I made it a point to pick up as much broken glass as I could. We fished bottles out of the water and beer cans out of the weeds. It really ticks me off since there is a trash can RIGHT THERE!

Welcoming a New Addition into the Family…

Melodramatic to be sure…but I’d like to introduce the Hardy Ultraclick 4000 reel and the Loop Evotec Cast 9ft 3wt Medium Fast fly rod.

But with any new addition…it deserves a fine cigar and a decent Whisky to welcome them into the family! And yes…that’s the first whisky bottle I’ve ever bought! And I couldn’t think of anything better than one made as a tribute to one of my heros… Ernest Shackleton.

My Dad and I have a thing for good cigars. We used to own a cigar shop together and had a blast with it. Every time I light one up, I think of him. The first COVID shot damn near killed him but he’s back to his normal self now. I can guarantee he’s probably smoking a cigar at this very moment!

Now back to the rod and reel. I enjoy using 3wt rods for contact fishing and opted for the Hardy Ultraclick reel because it’s one of the lightest reels made today. Standing in a stream with your arm outstretched as you’re nymphing through a run all day can take a toll on your arm. Lighter is better. Long leaders (16-22ft) are the norm as is 6X tippet. This reel fits my needs to a “T”. I don’t really need a high-tech disc drag so a simple click check reel works just fine. I’m using RIO Trout WF3F fly line and I can add a RIO Shorty and a long leader, I can connect a regular 9-12ft leader for dry flies, or I can run a Mono Rig if I so choose. Pretty versatile in my book.

Did I mention that this reel is LIGHT? On my scale it weighs 63 grams empty! Anyway, thank you for reading. I must get back to my Scotch and good cigar, and make plans for using this combo…Stay Safe Out There!