silk fly line

[osprey]

bikerfish.............how ya doin? Just got back here , been gone since the jam and boy are my wings tired. Silk fly line? really? i remember my pap using silk line and gut leaders , i still have and use his leader wallet , has a "wet" side for soaking the catgut leaders in moist cloth , i like old stuff , i'll bet if i dig through his old gear i can find some silk lines , we are close enough we can get together and try one out sometime , the chat you me and shakey had at the campground leads me to beleive you both are folks i could learn something from. The point that you make that it's the fisherman that catches the fish is right on. Just cause i have a cane rod doesn't make me "tweedy" does it?

 

[bikerfish]

hey osprey!! only you know if you tweedy or not!! LOL. maybe a nice black watch tartan plaid!
anyways, love to hook up with ya sometime, pretty hectic right now with work and such, but hopefully things will calm down a bit. maybe we can meet and do some bluegill fishing sometime this summer!
I bet a silk line would work great on that little orvis rod you showed me!

 

[outsider]

I have 16 rods, 5 are cane. They have a live feel that can't be reproduced by any other material. Fished a 7' Thomas & Thomas today on the Little Lehigh, where for me 7X tippets are the norm. A pleasure to cast, and protects fine tippets. Seldom have break-offs. Soon will add number 6. I never fished with a silk line, nor do I have any ambition to.

 

[shakey]

osprey wrote:
bikerfish, the chat you me and shakey had at the campground leads me to beleive you both are folks i could learn something from. The point that you make that it's the fisherman that catches the fish is right on. Just cause i have a cane rod doesn't make me "tweedy" does it?

you can't learn anything from me ,haha!i don't catch fish,i just walk around streams all day tying knots!haha

by definition ann osprey can't be "tweeTy"haha
(ok,that was bad,i admit)

 

[bikerfish]

good one shakey!

 

[JoeE]

Sight_nymph

Man, take a chill pill, sit back and you may learn a few things. I had to take one myself before responding to your comments regarding the lovely reed. Yes, I’m an amateur rod maker (Hex and Quads for family and friends) and I’m sure I have a few old silk lines down stairs in my rod making room. I like to have a little fun with the circular rod lovers and yes my favorite color is tweed (right Big Dave). My kids are and will learning to cast (not throw) rods, the problem with new rods IMO they are designed for show and not true on the stream fishing. If I’m throwing for show, I’ll pull out an RPLX throw into the backing put it down then take a bamboo fly rod fishing, unless I’m casting from the surf. Yes, some bamboo rods are tomato stakes, yes and every rod maker has built a few however it is different strokes for different folks for different purposes. My advice is take your time enjoy your outing and if you catch a fish or two along the way count your blessing (I just got back home from a funeral).

Joe E

 

[FarmerDave]

sight_nymph_17109 wrote:
Get yourself some worms and make your own! I'm sure there are traditionalists out there that insist on bamboo and silk. They can have it for all I care. A good caster can lay a fatter line on the water without creating anymore of a disturbance. The smaller guides point.... not sure. I'll go to the garden and pull up one of my tomato stakes and check them.... THAT'S RIGHT! I buy bamboo rods, break them and use them as stakes to hold plants in my garden.

If anyone on here has ever fished the Methodist Camp on the WB of the D in the month of May..... same guy for 20 yrs using a bamboo rod and silk line. He let my buddy Josh take a few hacks with the rod. When we got back to the car, Josh says "WTF? That thing sucked and weighed a ton. How can anyone fish with something like that?"

I'd say your buddy needs to bulk up a little. Must be a light weight.

 

[FarmerDave]

bikerfish wrote:
despite the maintenance with a silk line, nothing feels like one on a good bamboo rod. I have only cast one, never owned one. as for the modern lines I do fish, I try to get the most supple ones I can, they match the slower action rods I prefer.

So that is why yu were using that old fiberglass rod. I thought you were just cheap.

 

[FarmerDave]

JoeE wrote:
Sight_nymph

Man, take a chill pill, sit back and you may learn a few things. I had to take one myself before responding to your comments regarding the lovely reed. Yes, I’m an amateur rod maker (Hex and Quads for family and friends) and I’m sure I have a few old silk lines down stairs in my rod making room. I like to have a little fun with the circular rod lovers and yes my favorite color is tweed (right Big Dave). My kids are and will learning to cast (not throw) rods, the problem with new rods IMO they are designed for show and not true on the stream fishing. If I’m throwing for show, I’ll pull out an RPLX throw into the backing put it down then take a bamboo fly rod fishing, unless I’m casting from the surf. Yes, some bamboo rods are tomato stakes, yes and every rod maker has built a few however it is different strokes for different folks for different purposes. My advice is take your time enjoy your outing and if you catch a fish or two along the way count your blessing (I just got back home from a funeral).

Joe E

I have had the pleasure of casting a rod that Joe E made, and I have to admit that while using it I felt a little naked not wearing tweed.

Joe does really nice work, but I haven't seen any of his quads yet. I don't understand the fascination with those.

The rod Joe sent me to try was made for steelhead. 10 footer i think. nice flaming. Now, i love to use the old bamboo rods, and we all know they are typically slower than plastic rods. But that rod was so slow...

How slow was it?

It was so slow, I swear i could have lit up a cigar while waiting for it to load on the back cast. It even took me a little while to get used to, but very nice. And I did catch a steelhead on it and barely put a set in the rod.

i was afraid to use it for fear of breaking it, but Joe insisted on my trying it.

How many people do you know that would ship out a hand made bamboo fly rod to someone that they never met and let them use it for steelhead? Sorry if I'm embarrassing you Joe. Well, actually I'm not, but i figured I'd say that.

Joe is very high up there in my book, but i still have never met him.

Of course if he were a really nice guy, he would have supplied a reel and a line, too. :lol:

I was using one of my old cane rods on Penns at the Jam, but the newer reel I was using on it kind of clashed. :-D

 

[FarmerDave]

gfen wrote:

FrankRizzo wrote:
I myself have a Walter Rumi, a vintage H.L. Leonard & Mills, an Oyster Master Series and a Niemiera Slow Hand. You my friend have no idea what you are missing and we in the bamboo community are better off without you joining our ranks. Keep using your plastic lines and graphite rods. I guess adding one more mouth breather to the ranks that already soil this fine sport.

See, the problem here is when you can't tell if its sarcasm or someone's really this full of themselves.

I'll opt for the former.. am I in the club with my teastick, or do I at least have to upgrade to an HI first?

Will I get a membership card?

I'm giving you double points for that one. Upgrade to an HI. That's a good one and shows that you really are a closet bamboo guy.

 

[FarmerDave]

osprey wrote:
bikerfish.............how ya doin? Just got back here , been gone since the jam and boy are my wings tired. Silk fly line? really? i remember my pap using silk line and gut leaders , i still have and use his leader wallet , has a "wet" side for soaking the catgut leaders in moist cloth , i like old stuff , i'll bet if i dig through his old gear i can find some silk lines , we are close enough we can get together and try one out sometime , the chat you me and shakey had at the campground leads me to beleive you both are folks i could learn something from. The point that you make that it's the fisherman that catches the fish is right on. Just cause i have a cane rod doesn't make me "tweedy" does it?

I don't know. Does having a wooden leg make you a pirate?

 

[FarmerDave]

Those of you who think I am a bamboo snob should aske bikerfish what i was using for bluegills. I mean after i put down the rod in picture.

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

Mr. Joe,

I will not take a chill pill or a pill of any type but thank you for the offer. My real concern is that there is a serious threat to the bamboo community due to an influx of low grade Korean rods that have made it into the US. Most of these rods have been sold in Virginia and now are appearing north of the Mason Dixon Line which we find very alarming. The rods are made of a thin walled, genetically inferior strain of bamboo that isn’t properly cured before assembling the parts into what many know as a “sweet stick”. The Korean manufacturer has purchased Pandas from China to strip the leave from the chutes and install the guides. I do not support slave labor of Pandas and for that reason alone, I fully boycott all bamboo fishing implements. Thank you sir and have a good day.

PS. Please do not respond because I’ll be out shopping for tweed.

 

[bikerfish]

I'm not saying anything Dave!! yeah yeah, my old glass rod(I actually have about 20 of em!) just seemed to be the rod for that day, bass and gills, vintage glass rod and a vintage medalist.
besides, that old heddon is pretty nice for tossing poppers!(yeah, it did cost me 10 bucks!!)
you guys are gonna make me get out a boo stick next time I go out, maybe pair it up with a nice old english reel.
hey sight-nymph, I prefer sage tcx for tomato stakes!! nice and light!!

 

[sight_nymph_17109]

Depending on the model, you can match tomatos, peas or pepper plants when staking w/ a sage.

How about a set of square wheels for your bike? LMAO

 

[shakey]

"upgrade to an HI"

i'm still laughing over that!

 

[bikerfish]

some of my bikes are just as vintage as some of my gear. some folks like vintage stuff, some don't. still the same fun though!
shakey, I've got an OLD HI I need to refurbish this coming winter. full intermediate wraps, nice dark cane. got it for nothing, so gonna have to pimp it out just for the hell of it!

 

[FarmerDave]

don't laugh too hard about HI.

My first fly rod and still my favorite was a 1734 HI. I pimped it out several years ago and it looks sweet. Unfortunately it is out of action because the tip section broke at a repair I made. What can i say, it was the first one I ever rebuilt.;-)

Hey bikerfish, I have an old HI with tons of intermediate wraps, too. Still all original. and i also got it for free, (more or less). Id guess it is worth between $75 anf $100. I friend gargage picked it along with a Divine rod, and he had me sell them for him. I ser reservs fairly high and the divine sold, but the HI came up just little short. I think the biding went up to about $75, but I set it at $100 on the HI. He was so happy that he gave the HI to me for the time i spend selling his Divine. The remnant decal and reel seat tell me it is mid 30s vintage, but all those intermediate wraps had me stumped. The windings tell me it's older than that (which of course it isn't). I plan to restore that one some day, rather than rebuild.

Most of the rods I've done so far have been rebuilds of inexpensive production rods using larger guides for modern lines. i rebuild them to sue them. what is the point of owning an old Leonard and then be afraid to use it?

Bikerfish, that cane rod I was using for bluegill was probably 50s vintage Japanese. Very cheap built. Strips were probably just milled and glued together. Lots of gaps. You are a carpenter, that is what filler is for, right.;-) Matched up very well. I really like that rod, and I got it for free (with another purchase) stripped it down to just the blank and totally rebuilt with not too expensive of parts. lots of labor in it, but well under a hundred bucks in parts. Also did a sister rod of it that was a 8-6" and I think I gave it away as a gift.

And SN, this one is for you. I detect that you have a problem with corners. Well, just for you, I have a very old split cane rod that is actually a round rod. I got it off of EBAY for a steal because the guy advertised it as a wooden rod, but it clearly is split cane. i bought it for the novelty of it. Maybe your granddaddy built it because someone way back then took the time to remove all the corners.;-)

OK, when I say "a steal," consider that the rod probably isn' worth $100 bucks to begin with. I'm guessing 1920s or older, but no identifying markings. Very old 10 footer with a very whippy action. Very nice looking rod that is still all original. But again, I suspect it is not a high end rod even with intermediate wraps about every inch. I also think it was an English rod. Maybe a Chubb based on the reel seat. The silk winding thread is purple and yellow, but the color changes to a burnt red and gold with the varnish. I'll probably restore that one too eventually and use a restpred silk fly line. Nothing but the best for those magestic bluegills. Also would probably make a nice wetfly rod for trout. when I am done with it, it will look like a piece of art.

i love everything vintage. Even my wife is vintage.

 

[JoeE]

Sight_nymph

No chill pills for me as well, just some home brew when my buddy makes some and willing to share. I was born and raised in Ashville PA moved to Virginia after college to find work (86). I have had the opportunity over the last 14 years of amateur rod making to cast numerous rods and talk to rod makers all over the country (some have left and are in a better place) and have never met anyone that was not willing to talk shop and help work through problems. Tapers are a different story but all willing to share ideas and help work out a taper. I’m a true blue Buy America Act supporter. I’ve looked at and casted most of the junk that has showed up from China, there are too many good basement rod makers to ever think of buying a rod built in China. In 93 my wife was looking to purchase me a rod for my birthday, not knowing anything she was asking questions because at the time she was working in Middleburg and one of the local builders was Hank Woolman (best straight taper you will ever cast). Anyway, I got the green light to spend 800.00, so I decided I could spend the 800 and buy a rod or take the 800 and purchase most of the rod making tools and make the rest and that is how I got started. I only make a rod or two a year (now) because the kids are young and that how I want to spend my free time until they go to sleep then putts with rods. I only make rods for family and friends. No, tweed for me it is a running joke. The rod FarmerDave is talking about is a slow action 10’ 6/7 weight that was designed to protect a light leader with big fish and to-date has taken 60-80 steelhead with no sets. If I lone a rod I don’t worry about it getting broken they are made to fish and are stronger than most think as long as you don’t put a J in the rod, they are hard to break ceiling fans, car doors and sitting on one is how most of them get broken.

The average rod costs me about 125.00 but that depends on the components. My only goal is to start making all of my components and hopefully if all goes well that should be 2012-2013.

v/r

Joe E

 

[bikerfish]

JoeE, is that the ashville by chest springs? I've been to clare's ashville inn for the big burgers and fries, great place. I have some friends around that area. also make it to carroltown now and then, been in the old gray mare a few times, friend of mine bartended there, but she quit a while ago. I've ridden dirt bikes around the strip mines up near ginter as well, vast wasteland!!! it was like riding on the moon! not
THAT is the place to drill for gas, ain't nothing left to hurt there!
so do you build them from scratch? if so, do you ever think of selling blanks? I'm not ready to commit to planning cane just yet, but I do enjoy building up blanks of all sorts!