It’s Friday here on the Underground, and while I’m working my skilled writer’s fingers to the bone to pay a few bills, I’ve still got time to ask fly fishing’s seminal question: What would your friend do to you if you lost his fly rod?
From the Washington Fly Fishing Board:
I loaned a buddy a rod and reel, which he lost, and thinks he left it sitting on the side of the grand ronde down near the schumacker access. The rod is a Temple Fork Outfitters and the reel is a bauer. please shoot me a pm or email if you have found it, and i will further identify…
Break a friend’s fly rod, and you’re forgiven, probably because breaking things is an essentially manly act (sorta like blowing them up).
Lose a fly rod – the act of a forgetful moke and possibly intravenous drug user – and you’re probably looking at a one-way trip to the fly shop, and maybe a few months of barbed comments, which you’ll have to withstand with good humor.
Any Undergrounders with a story to add? Plus a sub-question: Who out there among the Underground faithful is putting big-dollar reels on low-dollar fly rods?
See you on the river (looking for lost gear), Tom Chandler.
” Who out thre is putting high dollard reels on low dollar rods?”
Kind of of the mark in my since of thinking…..(High Dollar Reels) several left hand wind Hardy Perfects, Uniquas and the like….price of the chart because of very few made (original) LHW Perfects…..now place them on a Winston BIIX 5,6 or 7wt and your talking top dollar graphite, but compared to my Reems, AJ Thramer, Chris Carlin etc. Bamboo they are low dollar Rods.
So Iguess it depends on weather, river, and fishing partners ( they always want to fish my Boo)….. cheap bastards that they are…. if you could call it a cheap fishing day or an all out expensive day.
Does this make since?
samistopdog(Quote)
I got the gist, but I think you’ve gotten an advance start on the Friday beer bust. Frankly, I’m envious.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Actually NO Beer…just got back from a visit to the Dentist….should have waited for a couple of hours.
On a side note how the planning on the shindig for next weekend Boo festivel in big D
samistopdog(Quote)
Sam: Besides showing up a couple times to test-cast rods I couldn’t possibly afford, I’m not that involved with the bamboo fly rod gathering, though thanks for reminding me to put an announcement.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
would anyone even want to borrow a brownliner’s rod and reel?
Even if they did, I don’t think I would loan them my daily rod, maybe a back up rod, perhaps. I wouldn’t even lend my Scotts to my wife. I guess this avoids the whole lost/broken rod conundrum.
Jean-Paul Lipton(Quote)
Well, not without the proper hazmat gear.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
“Come back victorious, or come back carried on my rod” – there is no “show up at my door all apologetic.”
There is no exception to the above rule no matter what the quarry or venue is – all you can do is go to the flyshop quickly and buy the identical rod, reel, and line and hope I don’t notice it’s new.
Anything less than that requires me to tail all my dry flies with hair from an area you don’t want me to go with PLIERS – trust me.
KBarton10(Quote)
I don’t frequent that site much (spending way too much time on TU instead) but just the other day I think I was on their site (yeah, should have been here) and I think I saw a post saying someone found a rod and reel. They were just looking for type and location of where it was lost.
So, can anyone here, beat me to the site to post this information and claim the rod? On your mark, get set, steal!
oatka(Quote)
What, like you need another fly rod? Stop the madness…
Tom Chandler(Quote)
I am broke, so I may be biased here (low dollar reel on lower dollar rod) but I call utter and complete bullshit on any use of high end reels for trout. Come on, do you really need that machined titanium, ultra large arbor, hand tuned, Malagasy cork drag status symbol for fish you’re just going to strip in anyway? Yeah, I made up Malagasy cork but you get the idea. Under 8wt reels for under 8 wt fish just need to hold your line.
chrised(Quote)
I agree with the trout reel bit, as their are plenty of guys out there just trying to look the part. But you forgot about the roughfish on your 8wt reel comment. I’ve had plenty of carp take me into my backing on my 6wt. In those cases a 6wt was the perfect match for the size flies I was using and the fish I was catching, but I still needed a good drag system. I’ve had buffalo, redhorse and other sucker species test my drag pretty healthily, but in my experience, the only freshwater fish (non-anadromous) that’s ever required the use of a good drag system on a reel smaller than an 8 wt was a carp. I don’t think you’ll hear too many other anglers refute that claim, especially if they’ve ever caught a carp before.
Jean-Paul Lipton(Quote)
Good point Jean-Paul. I’ve never caught a carp but I don’t doubt your claim. May have been ranting a little.
chrised(Quote)
it’s all good here.
Jean-Paul Lipton(Quote)
I’ve got to say that even a relatively cheap freshwater-sized reel should hold up to a carp; they aren’t tarpon after all, and overheating isn’t really an issue – assuming the drag on a reel wasn’t put there purely for show (let’s face it – that’s a real possibility).
I own a couple nice reels, but I sure as hell didn’t pay full tick for them, and I’ve always wondered about the high-end reels I see on fly rods up and down the river.
Is there much of anything swimming in fresh water that can’t be tamed with a $110 Orvis Battenkill or Lamson Konic?
Of course, utility isn’t the only consideration, and I admit to owning a Ross San Miguel (even at wholesale, it was a hit) simply because I loved the look, and absolutely had to have it (naturally, it immediately required warranty service).
Guilty, I guess, as charged.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
IMHO – fly reels for trout fishing are akin to automobiles inasmuch as one doesn’t need a top of the line Mercedes to get to and from the grocery store anymore than one needs a top of the line reel to hold fly line.
That being said, if I had the means, I would fish with top of the line gear from my Lamborgini.
Don(Quote)
talk to John Montana about blowing up cheap reels on carp. He destroyed a few Pfleugers in his day. Of course, with the brutes he catches, he could blow up a Tibor.
I love my Lamsons and trust that they will hold up over a few seasons catching carp. Are they overkill? perhaps. perhaps not. Just don’t forgot that fact that some of us brownliners are also just as vain as some in the blueline crowd, wink wink.
Jean-Paul Lipton(Quote)