I have too many fly rods...said nobody ever
 

A quote from a member here :)! The story: I bought this near mint Heddon reel from another member, and then I had to find a rod to put it on. Looked at a bunch and finally settled on a Heddon #17 (known as the Black Beauty but this one not marked thus), 9' 2-1/2F. It's rated as a 7wt and the reel is just too light for the rod, very front heavy and lawn casting it wore me out. So right now that rod wears a Medalist 1498 which is better but still not quite right, and it has yet to see the water. A work in progress...

In the meantime the member I got the reel from came up with the rod it had been on, a marked Black Beauty 9' 2F rated as a 6wt. Both tips have sets but we came to a pricing agreement that I hope was fair to us both, and the reel works much better on this rod. I haven't decided what to do about the sets but yesterday I pulled out the straighter of the two and took the thing fishing. OK; I know it ain't a trout but when you're trapped in the central time zone you take what you can get. First fish...

https://i.imgur.com/8eMFVAJl.jpg

I will say that 9-footers are a lot of rod for me, but both throw a beautiful loop, much better than my average casting deserves! So thanks to member #1 for the reel and rod, and member #2 for the quote (he also asked for the pic).

Phil, great post! I just acquired a Jim Downes 7'6" #4 cane rod and what a beauty. I also have a Phillipson Pacemaker that is a nice old rod. I find that the Hardy Cascapedia works many times, at least that's the excuse I have to buy one or more. The Hardy Lightweight reels are too light. I also have a Pine River inexpensive 7' #4 that is a smile maker catching bass and bluegills out of my pond on. I have been selling off fly rods like I do my guns:

Sell one then buy two. Somehow my inventory increases instead of going the other way.

Tight lines!!

Andy, in bamboo I have an RL Winston 7'6" 4wt with a Hardy Marquis reel that I love, a cheap Chinese 3wt that's fun, an Orvis Madison with a Battenkill reel that I fish as a 5 and a South Bend 290 that I fish as a 6. All are shorter rods which seem more comfortable for me, but I gotta admit, these slow 9 footers sure do cast beautifully and throw a lot of line easily.

Add in four glass rods and eight graphite and it's always a struggle deciding what to fish!

Well I guess I must be a " Nobody" because I do have to many fly rods and reels and they have sat idle way too long so now they must go. Right now I am looking for an outlet to sell most of my fly gear except for one or two.

Phil that Winston setup sounds tasty : ) I like 9' in graphite or composite and 7 and a half feet in bamboo if I had my druthers. Enjoy them.

Old double guns and bamboo go hand in hand so accordingly, I also have "too-many" of them. One forgets that each one has a very specific job to do (this is my standard line with my bride).

Short ones for back East, medium length ones for general applications, and the very long ones for the big water in Wyoming (& Colorado too).

http://i.imgur.com/AGMMHLBh.jpg

I'm a big fan of "blue collar" cane and older reels, like the Heddon #17 and the ringer Medalist here.

http://i.imgur.com/oIiEBKJh.jpg

Yet another hot-rodded Pflueger and an early Granger

http://i.imgur.com/X6toTUvh.jpg

My J. W. Haynie small water rod and a baby Pflueger...

http://i.imgur.com/EVGdp5kh.png

& since older Leonards have become relatively inexpensive anymore, I'm trying them out now as well.

And finally...because I'm mostly using these fairly ancient rods, I've even acquired the bad habit of using silk lines on them

http://i.imgur.com/3Pyl1CYh.jpg

You can't be hunting & shooting all the time, can you?

One would be too many. If it can't be caught on my 5' Shakespear Ugly Stick and ultra-light spinning reel I don't need it.

It has always rankled me that some prime waters should be restricted to fly fishing only. How elitist is that?

Dave: Fly fishing is art, slob fishing isn't.

Killing fish has its place (and I've done lots of it) but if you take it to it's natural conclusion those "prime waters" wouldn't be prime for very long if left to the masses and their corn and artificial day-glo fish gummies.

There are lots of places for any and all types of fishing (and in Alaska your Ugly Stick likely gets lots of use). The few places set aside for a some old guys and their ancient rods aren't doing you any harm.

You get it or don’t. Some people say the same thing about your elitism and snobbery over side by side shotguns so it goes both ways. Like killing a deer with a recurve bow vs a rifle. And truly Great water with wild trout is just too special for an ugly stick rubber waders and chewing tobacco. So how’s that for casting a wide net and making stupid assumptions? We’re all in the outdoors together.

Ugly sticks unlimited, has a nice ring to it. Band together with like minded folks and lobby for your own restricted waters. Worked for the stick wavers. Intended as humor but the group with the lobby gets what they want.

I like that “stick waver” reference to John Gierach’s book “Standing in a River Waving a Stick” :clap:





.

If all you care about is catching fish the local Wally World stuff will work fine and save you a lot of money :). 'Course, the same could be said if all you want to do is kill birds.

Dean you have outed me, miss him a lot.

Yeah, Gierach was pretty neat. Met him at a fly fishing show here in Denver probably 25-years ago now. Told him how much money he'd cost me over the years while shaking his hand. I'm afraid I scared him a little (from the look on his face) so I immediately told him how much his books had meant to me while living on the road for work. We parted well after that.

I don't know of any game department that sets aside prime bird hunting property just for people with old side by side shotguns.

But they should...

If only….

If an eight year old boy wants to catch a trout with his cane pole and an earthworm I can't see the problem. Seems to me that the important thing is the motive, not the method.

BTW, I enjoy flyrodding for bedding bluegills, but I'll likely have a cigar in my mouth, not a pipe.

Hello Stan!

No but some places require non tox shot, which is expensive and some folks can't afford that, so that's discriminatory in a way.

I always enjoy a nice cigar just before shooting skeet at the club Sunday mornings. Plymouth Rod and Gun by the way. Great club, great members. Always a joy for an old man

I think Pennsylvania is the only state left that still has a flintlock deer season for a week. I would like to do that that one day. Muzzleloading season isn’t what it was intended to be in my opinion anymore, with inline rifles with scopes. I believe at one time to hunt the primitive weapon season in some states your muzzleloader could not be rifled, just smoothbore.

Fly fishing becomes addictive when you stick with it just long enough to experience some success. I also like the simplicity of it. When I go striped bass fishing in Rhode Island, I leave the house with my fly rod and that’s it. If I lose the fly that’s already tied on I come home. I am usually using a fly I tied as well. I think fly fishing is more effective where I go and have out fished guys with spinning gear casting huge plugs.

However, I like ultra-light spinning rods as well for fresh and saltwater. I think the most important thing is just to get out there.

Oh, and I do have a few dozen fly rods, like Parkers it’s addicting…

Great post! I highly recommend the Vimeo movie "Chasing the Taper." About bamboo rod builders. It's a fantastic film with great photography and if you enjoy fly fishing you'll really enjoy it. Anyone can yank a 20" trout in on a spoon, it takes skill to do it on 2-3 lb test on a fly a quarter the size of a horsefly. And bonefish on a fly rod IS the most fun a human can have standing up. I must be crazy though.

http://i.imgur.com/lVSijGvh.png

Gierach!

I have it on good authority that he was a Parker man as well.