|
Kevin
|
 |
« on: May 12, 2011, 08:43:51 AM » |
|
SPECIALIZED FLY RODS
BY JOHN BERRY
Many years ago I received my first fly rod as a Christmas gift from my Brother, Dan. It was a Fenwick fiberglass rod and it changed my life. I was then fishing with an ultra light spinning rod and the challenge and rhythm of casting a fly rod really appealed to me. Over time, I quit using my spinning rod and strictly adhered to casting a fly rod. Things were going along fine when Dan acquired a new graphite fly rod and let me cast it. The difference was amazing. I went out and bought a Sage five weight rod just like his. My casting improved and I began catching more fish.
Back then most rods were eight feet long or shorter. You would buy a rod based on the size fly you expected to cast. We used five or six weights for trout and eight weights to cast big bass bugs or saltwater flies. Two, three and four weights were used for dry flies.
As an eager angler, I slavishly followed the trends in rod development and acquired several quality fly rods in the process. The first trend that I noticed was that the rods became much longer. Nine foot fly rods became the norm with several manufacturers making ten foot rods and longer. The longer rods were perfect for our wide open rivers. They cast further and were much easier to mend when fishing nymphs or dry flies. At the same time, they went from two piece to three piece to four piece rods. The more pieces resulted in shorter rod tubes and greater ease in traveling with them.
The next trend was that rods became lighter and lighter as manufacturers began using newer technologies and trimmed of fractions of an ounce until they achieved great performance with minimal weight. These new lighter rods are a dream to cast. You can cast them all day without wearing your arm out.
These improvements came at an ever increasing cost. My first fly rod cast me the princely sum of $250.00. I thought that was a lot of money at the time. My most recent rod purchase retails for $775.00. I only wish that I were able to increase my guide fees as quickly. One trend that came along at the same time was to include warranties ranging from twenty five years to life, which helped justify the higher price.
The current trend is to make specialized fly rods that were created to fit a very specific use. There are several that are of interest to the fly fishers in our area.
The first that comes to mind is the Winston Joan Wulff favorite. This rod was designed by Joan for the female fly caster. She is a former world champion fly caster (back in the 1950s when you used bamboo rods) who has since become known as a casting guru and highly respected casting instructor. The rod is an eight feet six inch five weight with an undersized full wells cork grip to accommodate a woman’s smaller hand. It also has a depression on the back of the grip for your thumb that helps you hold the rod properly. This is an easy casting rod with a medium fast action. My wife, Lori, has fished one for eight years and absolutely loves it.
Sage makes the 9 9 rod. This rod is nine feet nine inches long and designed to fish multiple fly nymph rigs with a split shot and wind resistant strike indicator. This is the perfect rod to fish nymphs, San Juan Worms and egg patterns in heavy water. The extra length is effective at mending line helping keep the heavy rig away from your head. The rod has a softer butt section that casts a bigger loop, which helps keep multiple fly rigs from getting tangled. The tip is stiff so that you still can set the hook quickly.
Sage also makes its bass series. These rods, a small mouth and a large mouth model, are specifically designed for bass fishing. They come with a heavy bass taper line developed with the rod. They are both seven feet eleven inches long so that they comply with bass tournament rules, which generally require that any rod used be less than eight feet long. The rods are specifically designed to delicately deliver large wind proof bass bugs with great accuracy.
St. Croix makes the Bank Robber (I love that name). This rod is designed by Kelly Gallop, who is known as a major innovator in streamer fishing. This is the popular trend locally, to fish for large browns. He has developed some of the more popular large streamers like the zoo cougar and butt monkey (more great names). The rod is a nine foot fast action rod available in six or seven weight. The rods are very fast with added power in the butt section to handle the heavy sink tip lines used to deliver these heavy flies in big water.
Finally, there is a new rod that is of great interest to me personally and a future addition to my already large collection of fly rods, the bug launcher. This rod is made by Temple Fork Outfitters specifically for children. They are a bit shorter, at seven or eight feet. They come with a smaller grip to accommodate small hands and feature an extended reel seat to allow for two handed use. They are manufactured from general graphite that can take a lot of abuse and of course come with a life time warranty. To make sure that they can be easily found when lost, the rods are a bright candy apple red color. All of this is available for less than eighty dollars. My grandson, John, will most likely receive one for Christmas.
Take a look at the way you fish. I would be willing to wager that one of these specialty rods could help you fish better.
|
