Bamboo and Limestone

[klingy]

My go-to rod is a 9 ft. 4 wt. Greys Streamflex. It's a workhorse that I can do pretty much everything with. I love fishing it. But there are times in the year or certain situations where I put it aside in favor of a different setup.

When the calendar turns to August, the smaller, jump-across springs in the Cumberland Valley begin to draw me in. The challenge of chasing fish in low, clear, weedy water is something I look forward to as summer wares on. The mist on the water in the morning. The numbing cold on my ankles as the air temperature climbs into the 90s. Eager fish willing to take a big dry fly. It's how I learned to love fly fishing.

The Streamflex can handle these streams. It can lay a dry as delicately as any rod I've fished. But there's another rod that I reach to for these little trickles of green running through the farmland near home. I didn't buy the rod. It was a gift. Actually one of the best gifts I've ever recieved. The builder presented it to me as a thank-you for working with his grandson in a fly-fishing club I run.

It's 8 feet long. A three weight. I don't fish it very often because I'm afraid I'll break it. Also, reserving it for only certain occasions makes fishing it more special to me.

Like summer days on a little spring creek. Wily browns, bamboo, and limestone.

 

[salvelinus]

Very nice.

 

[Dave_W]

Love the pics (as usual).

The upper photo is just outstanding.

 

[Baron]

Very Nice.

 

[wildtrout2]

Gorgeous wild browns! Thanks for sharing.

 

[flyflicker]

Agreed on upper picture being “outstanding”. Set apart from the standing crowd. A sure contender for picture of the year. Worthy of wall hanging.

Cheers Klingy.

 

[klingy]

Thanks guys. My second favorite thing to do on a stream is take photos. I love trying to capture the feeling of a place, but as everybody knows, the picture never does the real thing justice!

 

[TimMurphy]

klingy wrote:
Thanks guys. My second favorite thing to do on a stream is take photos. I love trying to capture the feeling of a place, but as everybody knows, the picture never does the real thing justice!

Dear klingy,

Your pictures are very nice, and I enjoyed them.

What I don't understand is your reluctance to fish that beautiful bamboo rod?

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[klingy]

Tim,
Me and nice things don’t have a very good track record. I actually had a dream shortly after I got the rod that a dog ate it. I haven’t got that dream interpreted yet. In real life, some of my old rods have met an even more creative end. I haven’t broken a rod in probably 7 or 8 years though, so maybe as I’m getting older and less “rammy” on the stream I’ll have better luck. Although now that I said that, I can kiss that rod goodbye!

 

[TimMurphy]

klingy wrote:
Tim,
Me and nice things don’t have a very good track record. I actually had a dream shortly after I got the rod that a dog ate it. I haven’t got that dream interpreted yet. In real life, some of my old rods have met an even more creative end. I haven’t broken a rod in probably 7 or 8 years though, so maybe as I’m getting older and less “rammy” on the stream I’ll have better luck. Although now that I said that, I can kiss that rod goodbye!

Dear klingy,

I'm the klutziest dude you'll eve see on a stream and I somehow manage to keep my bamboo rods in the number of pieces they originally came in!

Seriously, I can understand not using it if that is your preference, but if you would like to use it then go for it. I'm not trying to talk you into to doing something you'll regret either. I just think it should be fished.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[DGC]

Very nice presentation. That last brown seems quite muscular. It's nice to see split cane on the forum. If this rod came with one tip, you might consider asking the maker to make a second that you pay for, especially if you really like the taper. That would be the one you fish most in the event of a "disaster."

 

[greenghost]

klingy,

I envy you. Living near those streams is a gift.

I have fished many of the more popular limestoners in your country--LeTort, Big Spring, Falling Spring and Green Spring. But as a visitor, I never had enough time to truly settle into the tempo needed to fully savor the experience. The quietude. The carefully thought out approach. Knowing which narrow slots of open water between undulating weeds might yield a take. Where the undercut banks are. The softer, perfect presentations often required. The patience and confidence that the trout respond to and that only fishing those waters frequently bring.

Bamboo, wicker and vintage fishing gear seem to fit the Cumberland Valley perfectly; a nod to the history of flyfishing that was made on the cold alkaline waters. And your posts are an ongoing journal to the legacy and pastoral poetry of limestone country.

Thanks for that.