First fish with my D Fuller "Old Reliable"

[Richard Flanders]

Got my first chance to fish the rod Dave Fuller made for me this past winter. This is the first fish I landed with it. The first hooked and almost landed was an 18" grayling and the largest I have ever gotten here. I had it in hand and the hook pulled but I could tell it was larger than anything I'd caught here before. The rod is wonderful in every way. Casts a #4 DT line perfectly, even with a large wet fly. First time I've fished a cane rod since about 1966 or so. I also got to try my new(1964 vintage)cane Orvis 3-wt and it was pure magic also. Caught a bunch of nice grayling like this on it last night also. Nice cane rods are definitely the way to go. Life is definitely too short and tenuous to fish with an ugly fishing rod.... Very fun evening in the river.

[david ross]

Hi Richard.
A very nice rod and a good fish what more can a man want.
Maybe a few more parkers ?
All the best Dave.

[Old and Reliable]

Does your 1494 medalist have a different reel foot, the older ones had a heavy plated brass curved design (as did the first Gar-Wood "Wedding Cake Saltwater fly reels) or is this a later series with a reel foot more adaptable to SB reel seats? Also noticed your line was spooled from back of the pillars, insteaed of through the line guide, and your prefer to switch the rod to your left hand and crank the reel with your right, am I correct? Nice stick-nice fish- what fly pattern??

[Dean Romig]

Looks like a bead-head leech.

Richard, that is about the prettiest picture I've ever seen of an Arctic Grayling!

Hope you don't mind that I copy it and save it to file.

Obviously two pictures of two different grayling... how big is the one shown with your rod?

[Old and Reliable]

-- I recognized the 1494 medalist- about as basic as a field grade M12 12 gauge pumpgun- "back in the day"- But didn't see the fly pattern closely enuf I guess- was sure it wasn't either: a "PMF" pattern, or one of my late friend Bill Hunter's great patterns--he was a master at salmon pattern flies and a real gentleman in the tackle and Bogdan reel market- miss him! Still love fine cane rods, even though I gave up fly fishing 12 years ago- like I admire Steinway pianos, even though I don't play!!

[Dean Romig]

Not to hi-jack Richard's thread, but....

I was in Bill's fly shop in New Boston, NH (oddly, just east of Francestown) only once... never again. He was probably all you say he was but not one thing in his shop had a price tag on it... that's my clue not to shop there. There were enough windows in that store however, to be able to see what make of vehicle a customer arrived in

[Richard Flanders]

This particular Medalist has an updated Bill Pfoot machined mounting foot that matches todays smaller diameter reel seats. I have resurrected a number of vintage Medalists using his parts. His handles are gorgeous and easy to install and his screw sets are very well done. The old Medalists are as good as any single action reel made today so why pay hundreds when you can get these off Ebay for $25? I have a very nice sculpted pillar 1492 that will likely be on this rod once I touch the paint up. I have all my older rods mounted with Medalists up to mod 1495 for the heaviest Wonderod on the wall. I think a nice Medalist fits Daves rod quite nicely and looks 'proper'... at least to me.

The line on this is strung through the line guide and I do crank with my right hand; started out that way in the 50's and have always done it that way.

[Dean Romig]

The Medalist's drag leaves a bit to be desired but I have seen a couple that have had some of the frame removed in order to expose the inside face of the spool so that the user could apply finger pressure to help slow a larger fish.

[Old and Reliable]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

The Medalist's drag leaves a bit to be desired but I have seen a couple that have had some of the frame removed in order to expose the inside face of the spool so that the user could apply finger pressure to help slow a larger fish.

- Heavier, but you can palm the spool- another trick I learned form Bill Hunter- on steelhead or salmon- don't change the drag (60% of breaking strength of your leader) lower the rod and reel into the water and hydraulic pressure of the current adds drag- Both the Perfacts and the medalists were not make for easy conversion to LH wind, however-

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Francis Morin

- Heavier, but you can palm the spool-

Except for the fact that the several Medalists I own do not have an exposed rim...