.. Conditions are ripe for false hopes. Yet, we allow ourselves to be fooled. Daylight Saving Time is just two weeks away. And, as John Muir said; "Spring's work is going on with joyful enthusiasm."
.. Our head, in light of the calendar, says that we need tie no more piles of flies.
.. We are busy putting off the onerous task of packing fly boxes for specific occasions. We are thinking deeply of cleaning and waxing the fly rods.
.. Our cogitations run toward washing and treating our fly lines, (we did it last fall but it can't hurt to make sure.) Of course the reels will need some attention as well!
.. We'll get it all done, right after the next winter blast blows through.
.. This is an iffy time of the year. We can fish early IF the runoff is not too early. We can scope out the park IF the runoff is on time. We can drive the trails IF the neighborhood melt is on time. We can pop a bear IF they come close enough. We can gather up bushels of hungry trout IF ice out is slow and steady.
.. For most of the neighborhood kids Spring is just a calendrical notation. They've been fishing pretty steady for the last few months anyway. We're truly pleased with the arrival. It means that our old legs have made it through the dark time. It means more mud and less ice. It means hopes and dreams that have been put off have one more chance to come to fruition. Hooray & Yippee Shit it's Spring.
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.. We need to point out a nifty bit of reading that appeared over at Chi Wulff [LINK.]
.. We, in our stuffy habits, have been selecting fly lines for fly rods based on anticipated conditions and situations for years.
.. Rod and line numbers, for us, have fallen by the wayside long years ago. If your gear is not working as you feel it should, something should be changed.
.. Many folks just go to the counter help and buy a whole new rig. Ahhhhhh, just what the industry wants. It's important to become intimate with your tools. Practice on the grass at the park. Take several reels and lines. Imagine the short stuff. Imagine the long shots. Practice, practice, practice.
.. We frequently fall back on double taper lines of various weights. Old fashioned indeed. Works wonders.
.. We carry bits and pieces of lead core to adjust for the situation. We've even been known to finagle a paper clip or two for fine adjustments.
.. Testicles from the lead finch are a last resort. Well worth the read [LINK.]
"The paradox of choice is an observation that having too many options to choose
from, rather than making people happy and ensuring they get what they
want, can cause them stress and engender problematic decision-making."
PICK A ROD, ANY ROD
.. Here we are in mid winter and it's warm. Snow is coming and melting at the same time.The mind wanders to springtime fishing and what gear to get ready. We think about our hoard of rods, reels, lines, flies and other accouterments that need to be readied for the opening. .. Aha! Selections in this day and age are greater than ever. We think that there are more types of gear than at any other time in history - certainly more than in recent memory. .. What a wonderful world. Enormous amounts of gear and accessories. Enormous amounts of manufacturers. Enormous amounts of vendors. Enormous amounts of experts. Enormous amounts of destinations and locations. Zowie - boy we are blessed!
Autonomy and Freedom of choice are critical to our well being, and choice is critical to freedom and autonomy. Nonetheless, though modern Americans
have more choice than any group of people ever has before, and thus,
presumably, more freedom and autonomy, we don't seem to be benefiting
from it psychologically, ( — quoted from Ch.5, The Paradox of Choice, 2004)
.. We see this frequently. Which one to buy. How much to spend. Maybe we should think about it for a while. We'll ask the neighbors. We'll ask the counter help. We'll search the web. We'll read a book or two. Etc., etc.
PICK A REEL, ANY REEL
.. From 'Choice Overload' to 'Buyer's Remorse' there is a range of anxieties that can result from our selection of gear. Hell, there is even the on stream penis fly rod envy. The glance askance toward the tackle in the parking lot, the walk to the stream, and other opportunities.
.. We even note the concept, (rapidly growing over the last decade,) that 'BETTER' gear makes a better fisher. To cite the photographer's insight. "Question: what camera is the best camera? Answer: the one that's in your hand!)
.. Better fishers are made by fishing. Better casters are made by casting. Long ago, (in San Diego,) we saw a famous fly fisher cast the full length of a fly line by using a plumber's friend, (that bathroom plunger we all know and love.)
.. We would suggest that all of us have all the gear that we need. We often wonder if we confuse what we need with what we want. Ah, the curse of affluence!
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NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS
.. We have mud instead of packed snow leading into the winter fishing spots. The combination of snow, rain and high mid day temperatures provides goop on the trail and slush on the roads. Of course, night time temperatures bless us with some black ice and slick roads.
.. The mid day rush to the grocery store and the Post Office is a wonder to behold. Folks are even walking around town and, of course, some kids are wearing short pants. The high country snow pack seems to be building and avalanches are frequent.
.. It's a blessed nuisance. The nuisance is the removal or rearrangement of the white stuff. Gone from the porch, gone from the deck, gone from the stairs: gone from the places of impediment and moved to picturesque piles.
.. This was our standard snow prediction of 3 inches: we received about 20 inches. There is about the same amount due this evening and tomorrow.
RIGHT HERE IN WEST YELLOWSTONE
.. The blessing is, that this should top off the high country depth and water content nicely.
.. The air temperature is warmish and windy; this will produce one more glazed slip layer for avalanches.
.. With the split in the Arctic Vortex we may get lucky and have some cool weather in the Spring.
.. That, if it happens, will slow runoff to a gentility that could entice the early fisher folks around here.
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OLDER THAN MOST NEIGHBORS
.. This bit of wet and deep and white weather provides us with a perfect excuse to hang in the house and catch up on the maintenance of fly boxes, reels, lines, rods, poles, instruments, tools, fluff, floss, feathers, thread, and other bits of minutia of the "catch fish pastime."
NICE VARIETY
.. Since we refuse to dispense with old junk and, still use it on occasion, we are doomed to maintain it. It is pleasant and in many instances a nostalgic endeavor.
.. Since we also refuse to limit our fishing to trout on flies we have an interesting assortment of gear that gets used during the year. Can't let it go for a year or so. Shouldn't let it go for months at a time.
.. Boy, (over quite a few decades,) were we ever suckers for the latest and greatest. From tomato stakes, to Calcutta cane, to Tonkin cane we grabbed the sticks and fished them.
.. From American Fork and Hoe steel rods, to solid glass, to hollow glass we grabbed them as they came along. From early woven glass, to parallel fiber scrim, to spiral spun we embraced the lot.
PETROLEUM DISTILLATES? ouch!
.. Oh, my, my: how many synthetics sucked us in? First glass, "S" glass, "G" glass, boron, metallic hybrids, and graphene, (used in many applications besides fishing rods such as double top guitars and ukuleles.) Such seductive stuff it is!
.. How long is a fly rod? 5' or, 13' or, 9' or, 7.5' or, 6.5' or, any length you choose is the 'correct' length. Just ask the counter help they know the perfect length.
CLEAN OR SAND CORK ??
.. Although the cleaning and maintaining process is similar for each rod type and material, the specifics can be wildly different.
.. Wax or no wax? Hard wax or soft wax? Silicon or carnauba? Oils or waxes? There are many choices and many errors to be made along the way. How's your ferrules? Got Q-tips?
.. What will harm the finish on older rods? Do new rods need any surface treatment? What protects thread and thread coverings?
EUSTIS W. EDWARDS FINEST
.. How's your cork? Synthetic grip? Got wood? Stainless steel, chrome, or nickle silver findings and accoutrements?
.. Erosion, corrosion, or dilapidation. Got decals? Care?
.. Happily the chores are easier if gentle cleaning and maintenance takes place daily during the fishing year. Just a bit of warm water and a soft cloth drying on a daily basis makes Winter chores so much more pleasant.
A PAYNE NICETY
.. There is all manner of online 'expertise' and then, there is neighborly advice and, of course your neighborhood feather merchant. All are sources for what to do.
.. Or just buy a new one every so often: that will fill your closet, sort of like your wife's shoes.
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OLDIES BUT GOODIES
..Well the snow is piled up nicely. The loader has come and gone, leaving places to park for a brief period of time.
.. The sun is out and glazing the streets and sidewalks to a high sheen. The snow and cold of this evening will provide a delightful slip surface of ice beneath tonight's new pile.
.. Tomorrow should bring another day of fiddling with the stuff. What should it be? Try reels? Try Lines? Try fly boxes? Try tying desk mess? Try baking some bread? Who knows?
-- The youngsters have strapped on the snow shoes and are headed to Notellum Creek. Some have even bought this year's fishing license.
.. Are you tired of having a rod that everyone else has? Are you sick of a rod that only costs $600.00? Do you want a two handed rod that is way overkill for the fishing you usually do?
.. Mackenzie is producing the rod for you. Sadly you'll have to wait just a small bit of time. It's currently sold out. You local feather merchant has not even heard of it.
.. No one on the big water of the Columbia River, Missouri River, Snake River, Deschutes River, or your neighborhood puddle has one.
.. You should get in line. Get bragging rights and blaze a new frontier in fly rod technology.
.. Want fast smooth effortless casting? Want quick recovery? Want light weight to save your "Spey Elbow?" Want it all?
.. Among the finest fly reels in the world, (precision, design, manufacturing, cost, value,) is the Vosseler. It's probably not for sale at your local feather merchant. .. If your third car is a BMW X5 that you reserve for park and fish adventures you can find out about the reel at the Vosseler Reel website, (Link 1.)
.. What does this have to do with an iPhone? .. Well there is a giant European market that Apple has not been too successful with. It's the ethos infected, Eurocentric, common folk of that continent. .. There is, at this moment, in a highly secret bunker in Berlin, a brain trust of about a couple dozen people, (give or take,) who have little time for fly fishing. .. These folks are experts in technology, marketing, industrial manufacturing, and contemporary zeitgeist. .. They are busy dreaming up a few new ways to out compete Samsung with some futuristic integrated iPhone technology.
.. In the not too distant future you will need, (desperately need,) a new iPhone. .. Why, you say? Because you will not be able to drive your new Titan without it. .. What's that? It's an electric mass market car coming from Apple, (they have bypassed the fishing tackle & gear market.) .. The Apple car will be here in less than two years and will be built in Germany. It will have all the ethos of a Germanic import for sale to American consumers, (while allowing some tax benefits for Apple.) Better than stinky VW's or BMW's.
.. Of course it will be pricey. Of course it will be exclusive. Of course it will appeal to fly fishers who already have $10,000.00 worth of gear on their body when they enter the water. .. So, you don't believe it? So you only have $1,500.00 worth of gear when you fish close to home? Well you will be left out of the growing camaraderie of select fly fishers that travel to exotic places and cluster together to discuss the esoteric pastime of fly flinging.
.. By the time the car hits the streets it will be renamed the "iCar." and will be in great demand by Apple buffs from Dubai to Detroit. We'll be interested to see who is driving the first one to enter Yellowstone National Park, (a place with no charging stations.)
.. This video provides the facts that will allow you to chase down the iCar and, give you a wader up on the neighbors.
..
..We're waiting for the "iRod" and the "iReel." We suspect that they will be manufactured in China out of synthetic, (3-D printed,) bamboo. .. They will have "smart" features such as: intelligent drag application, compensatory taper adjustment, automatic hero-photo composition, immediate social media posting, in-built commentary such as "good fish" and "mend - mend - mend now!," selective GPS locators for precision casting, and other features to discuss with cohorts during a catered shore lunch -- -- which will be ordered from the integrated iPhone. .. There are a few videos,released during the last month or so below. If you can resist the urge to fish today check out where Apple and the other electric cars are going to and coming from. .. This is the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. We're headed to the park to join the line at the west entrance station.
.. It seems appropriate on this day to vent just a little. After all, for instance, we all know that "Tenkara" was really invented by Izaak Walton.
.. Or was it those Macedonian fishers that were recorded by Ælean at about A.D. 230? This is not just an April Foolishness.
.. Single piece rods, (of about the same lengths 6' to 18',) self or spliced string as well as self or spliced rods were used by all those fishers.
.. It's just a stick and a string with a hook and feather attached to the business end. It's been done wherever there are fish to catch, (catfish, sunfish, trout, perch, - hell even tuna!)
click for 8 seconds of Tenkara catch and release
..
.. We are constantly bombarded by the hogwash perpetrated by fellow fishers, blogsters, marketing geniuses, and the industry fishing experts who are busy peddling the latest and greatest - of whatever! (To gullible folks upon whom our society is built.)
.. We've heard it said that fly fishing is about 1/3 facts, 1/3 mysticism, and 1/3 fascination with the exotic. We now know why all fishers are liars: it's not by choice, rather, it's from ignorance and self aggrandizement.
.. We, on the other hand, tend to believe that it's more like 1/5 factoids, 1/5 hearsay, 1/5 belief, 1/5 commercial allegiance, 1/5 "truth" with a capital "T".
.. It's not that there are no facts to be had, it's rather that most non-commercial fishers would rather accept hearsay, or marketing hype. Soulful prose rather than history or science is the preferred reading material. The best buddy knows more than anyone else.
.. It is way more soulful and poetic to believe that the gear, hearsay traditions, mystical behaviors, lofty terminology, and flies are the key to self fulfillment as a fisher rather than just catching fish. Why should we believe that new gear will make us a better fisher. Hells bells can any gear make one a better fisher?
.. Not so long ago it was just fishing. Then manufacturers and elitists and joiners, and cults began the verbosity ploy. This is often called the "Name it and nail it syndrome."
.. When spinning reels were invented there suddenly became "spin fishing." Aha, got that one down!
.. Of course the reel for the fishing string was only invented around the 4th century A.D., in China apparently.
.. Western reels were first called a "wind." They didn't appear until the 1600's - give or take a little.They were hung on the belt and used to wind up the line when fishing was completed - or you tripped on the excess around your feet. Soon thereafter they were nailed, glued, strapped, or otherwise affixed to the stick in the first two feet or thereabouts.
.. Soon there were Nottingham reels, fly reels, bait reels, bait casting reels, center pin reels, multiplying reels, fresh water reels, salt water reels, trout reels, big game reels, etc.
.. Of course you were obliged to believe that each succeeding reel was better at fishing in a particular venue with a particular style, with a particular ethos and mystique, and canonized behavior.
.. This, most certainly, demands verbiage to set one apart from the other. And, by inference, makes one a better catcher of fish.
.. Gadzooks: marketeers glommed on to this very early on in our Western tradition. England did itself proud and the industry, (centered in London and Reddich,) became very creative in their sales techniques.
.. The House of Hardy even got itself appointed to the crown as official supplier - wow that still carries weight today.
.. Fishing rods large enough to require two hands have been around since Izaak's day, (think of a 20' greenheart stick with attendant string.)
.. Of course since it was imported from South America it was highly desired. Folks that used these sticks were "Greenheart Fishermen", (not women.) They practiced 'greenheart casting.' Zowie !!! Something new to sell.
.. For years fishers used what was available. Bamboo poles, greenheart sticks, maple sticks, ash sticks, etc. Someone decided to split up some bamboo and then stick it back together again. It was cheap. It was strong enough. It was plentiful. And, by gum, it was imported from the exotic Far East.
.. Hundreds of thousands of them were sold by Sears Roebuck & Co., Montgomery Ward, and tackle shops across the nation and elsewhere. Each and every one of them made better fishers of the folks that bought them.
.. Suddenly there was spring steel, forged steel. iron, tubular steel, aluminum, fiberglass, graphite, boron and exotic mixes of miscellaneous synthetics. Bamboo was relegated to the shelf, the attic, the pawn shop, or the garden as tomato stakes. Meanwhile fishers kept getting better and better. The clothes make the man.
.. Cane rods were out: then back in when it became fashionable and the other sorts got real expensive. We wonder if folks are now better fishers because of their modern stick and string.
.. Today a two handed rod is a Spey rod and is used for Spey casting - but not Spey fishing. Why is that?
.. Of course it's a good gimmick to hang sales upon. Few fishers believe that Spey casting can be done without a Spey rod.
.. Fewer have been to the River Spey. But fly fishers being the sort of species that they are have jumped on the "Spey Rod" bandwagon. Marketing wins out over any sort of rationality. Just like Izaak Walton's Tenkara fishing.
.. Fishers on the River Test don't have "Test Rods."
.. Now there's an idea! Why not have Orvis start marketing the Test rod Should be a sales boon! Then we can all learn to Test cast.
.. It could be expanded to fishing in the "TEST WAY." A clipped brogue should accompany it as well.
.. Diction lessons could accompany certified fly casting instruction by the Federation Of Fly Fishers. There's a marketing opportunity here somewhere. Think of the mythology. Think of the hearsay. Think of the possible factoids that can be generated.
.. Perhaps there is Madison Casting, Henry's Forking, Gallatin Grabbing, Missouri Mending, etc. Think of the marketing and blogging that could be enjoined. Words aplenty just waiting for exploitation. Soon we will all be better at catching.
.. Unlike the Tenkara tradition which was originally a solitary commercial venture the Spey casters around here are joiners. They are elitist back slappers and proselytizers: just as are the recent Tenkaristas in the Americas. Is it 'my rod's better than your rod' or is it 'my rod makes me a better fisher' or is it 'us against all the other fools'? We're obviously missing something here.
.. Most specialized fly fishing gear is better than 90% of the fishers that buy it and extol it's virtues. For instance the drags on many contemporary trout reels are superb pieces of engineering. Far better than the 14" trout that are caught with them. Far better than the fishers that listen to them buzz and click and whir - to the exhaustion of the fish. It's a wonder that folks just 20 years ago caught any fish.
.. Of course we miss the point. Fly fishing is not about catching fish. It's not about selecting appropriate tools to the task.
.. It's way more about drinking, telling stories, hanging out together, buying the latest gear, believing the marketeers, believing the truth so freely dispensed by counter help, and "belonging." Our peerage is too important to seek facts or ignore fashion.
.. No longer can one just go fishing. One must go fly fishing. One must go bass fishing. One must spin fish. One must deep sea fish. One must belong: even if it means adopting a foolish and romantic belief structure propagated by the wizards of Wall Street and the corner fly shop.
.. This is not to say that fishers of Pseudosasa amabilis, (Arundinariaamabilis) are different than the rest of us. They are just easy and popular targets. .. This pastime is a target rich environment by it's very nature. Spey casters using Spey rods have a belief structure and vocabulary no more unthinking than the rest of us. .. The Tenkara advocate and practitioner is no more shallow in his beliefs than the dry fly purist, the generalist, the nymph fisher, the ice fisher or the spin fisher. .. We have allowed the hype of marketing and joining and of belonging to mythologize a very simple pastime, (not, however, - more or less, - the commercial fisher.) .. What is it that demands of us that we seek to believe in that which is built upon the sand? .. We certainly don't know.
.. The lovely glasses and grasses from over 60 years of scrounging, hoarding, and rat-holing are now being dispersed to new homes. .. We have cried a little. We have laughed a lot. We have declined enough dough to retire on. We are transferring stewardship to loving and appreciative homes. .. From the Palakona classics to the Central Valley lovelies and from Aroner to Winston, all have been sundered from their dark nooks and crannies to see daylight again. We feel holy and righteous. Hundreds gone. Hundreds to go. Ever seen a 10' one piece Leonard? The reels are next.
Super-Z: Developed For Fiberglass. Adopted By Garrison and Payne - For Starters
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.. Poor Mr. Feierabend. Fine design but neglected care. Without proper use, care and maintenance the mating parts of ferrules get gouged, scraped, scratched, galled, and even bent. -- Ancient rods, old rods, even fairly new rods can exhibit this kind of abuse and degradation. If left to itself, without attention, this can lead to a stuck rod - or worse. .. Replacement is often the only remedy if the abuse continues and the condition is neglected. Sad but true.
.. The first 1/3 of the twentieth century was a period of extensive change in the fly fishing scene; both world wide and in North America, (Andrew Herd calls it the "Quiet Revolution.")
.. The "short rod," innovative subsurface techniques and flies, perfection of the hexagonal bamboo rod, a revolution in reel quality and function, and the popularity of the pastime, all led to a burst of fly fishing imagery and presence in the popular mind.
Eustis Edwards
.. Trout rods shrank from 11' or 12' to 9' and less. Salmon rods lost as much as 8' down to 10'.
.. The mass merchandisers got in on the act: Sears Roebuck & Co., J.C. Penney, Montgomery Ward, and the big sporting goods stores peddled fly fishing to the masses. It was a glorious time.
.. Rod builders proliferated and the strangle hold of the Central Valley in New York was broken, (by the 4 rebels - Thomas, Edwards, Hawes, and Payne.)
.. Great rods were built and great fishers fished them. Mundane rods were built and fishers fished them. Mass production of bamboo rods skyrocketed and they were everywhere. So were fly fishers.
.. Yellowstone National Park was an early adopter of the mentality that fly fishing should be popularized. Fishing, fly or otherwise, became a significant goal of the park managers. Stocking and breeding programs within the park indiscriminately provided fishless streams with fish. Fish from Germany were introduced. Fish from Scotland were introduced. Fish from New York and Tennesse were scattered through the park. Even California fish were imported and farmed for distribution. So too, in fact, were some of the native trouts. [For an excellent synopsis of this origin of 'Trout Shangri-La' check the note by John Byorth.]
Eustis Edwards
..There are millions of bamboo rods from this era floating around North America and the world. There are thousands of excellent rods still being fished. There has been an interesting resurgence of interest in bamboo in the recent past - and continuing today.
.. We enjoy the reminiscences of bygone days while tending to our tackle. The dispersal of knowledge from New York to the rest of North America is a seminal event in the history of bamboo fly rods.
.. Thomas, Edwards, Payne, Hawes, and others provided us all with an opportunity to experience great rod design. Rod makers today are proud of their recreations of the cherished tapers from the revolutionary period - rightly so.
.. Our own reflexes and muscle memories were developed during the great transition from bamboo to fiberglass during mid-century. We've always had trouble with graphite, boron, and other higher modulus pieces.
.. We cherish our old glass and bamboo sticks. Rubbing on them calls forth a genie that transports us back. Back to our youth. Back beyond then. Way back. Winter is a good time for this.
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