Rather than go into some long-written explanation of the different things you should do, I thought I'd just show you this video by legendary fly fishing guide Hank Patterson. Follow Hank's advice in this video & you're sure to amaze all the other anglers along the stream.
Fly anglers use nymph patterns because they are very good at catching trout. However, you can't just tie a nymph onto your tippet & expect success. There are specific techniques & methods that you must employ when nymph fishing in order to catch more fish. Rather than go into some long-written explanation of the different things you should do, I thought I'd just show you this video by legendary fly fishing guide Hank Patterson. Follow Hank's advice in this video & you're sure to amaze all the other anglers along the stream. I keep adding more reels to the Available Reels page & I've done it again. The latest to be added to the list is this Johnson Magnetic fly reel. These are very unique reels. They use a strong magnate to hold the spool in the reel. The resistance from the magnate also acts like a drag. So there is no "click" sound from this reel - it's a silent reel!! These Johnson reels were, I think, made mostly in the 1950's & 60's. There are some anglers who love these reels because of their simplicity. There are no screws to lose or drag parts to break. The magnate does it all. Plus, some anglers like the silence from a reel that makes no clicking sound. Collectors like these reels, too because of their semi-rarity & how unique they are. When they come to market they can sell for upwards of $50 to $100. I'm offering this one for a lot less. The only issue with this reel is that it's missing some chrome. Other than that, it works exactly like it did when it was new. Plus, it comes with a free matching black reel case. To see more photos & to read more info about this reel, please visit the Available Reels page. As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I just added another reel to the Available Reels page. This one is a Mohawk No. K 19 model made by Farris-Lidngren, Inc of New Rochelle, New York. Solidly built, from heavy gauge aluminum, this reel is sturdy but weighs 4.1 ounces. It's in good shape & functions as it should. The click drag is a little rough, but I think it was that way when it was new. So the reel is as it was made. I think any fly line in the 4 to 6 wt range would fit well on this reel. It's been cleaned up, lubricated, & is ready to go fishing. Also, the reel comes with a free custom fit reel case. That's right, a reel case fit for the reel, is included in the price!!
For more information & photos of this & the other many vintage reels currently available, please check out the Available Reels page. If you need a case for a reel in your collection, please take a look at the cases on the Accessories page, too. Of course all you have to do is contact me if you have any questions about anything here. I'll be happy to answer any questions or help you out in getting a good rod, reel, or fishing accessory. I was surprised to learn that some anglers have never read this book. Do you own this book? If not - & you fish for trout - you need to. If I could only own one book about angling this would be it, no question. To me it's that important of a book for trout anglers. Maybe some folks pass on this book because they figure that since it was written so long ago, the info in it must be dated & thus not useful. That would be a mistake because while some of the info is outdated (particularly the tackle info), it's packed with so much info, methods, & techniques that still work, making this a great resource for any trout angler. It would be a shame to pass on this book. Originally published in 1938, "Trout" was revised in 1952 & a lot more material was added - 25% more. With that added material there isn't an aspect of trout fishing that isn't covered between the covers, including spin cast fishing. There are chapter on wet flies, nymphs, streamers, dry flies, spin fishing - including chapters on the methods of using each. There are also chapters about different fishing conditions, lake fishing, & fly tying. One of the most valuable parts of the book are the 20 color plates painted by Dr. Edgar Burke. These plates show in detail hundreds of fly patterns (recipes are included in the index). So you can use this as a reference to expand your offerings to the trout, adding more variety to your fly tying, too. The plates are well done & beautiful. It's a joy just to look at & study them.
"Trout" is an extremely well written book. Bergman's writing style makes the book easy to read & the information easily understood. I'd like to say that this is not a technical text-book type of book, but it is - it's just that reading it is as if your good fishing buddy is reading it to you in their own words. So while "Trout" covers some very technical stuff, Bergman's down to earth writing style makes the book fun to read. To my knowledge there is no other angling book that is as complete or as pleasurable to read as "Trout". Often referred to simply as "the Bergman book", many anglers have used it as a resource for decades. If you can think of it, it's covered in this book. If you haven't read this book, do yourself a favor & do so. The info in it will make you a better trout angler. If you don't own a copy of it, make sure "Trout" is your next angling book purchase. There's a good reason it's been so popular with anglers for over seven decades. This is just to remind everyone that the current offer of Custom Series graphite fly rods made on certain St. Croix blanks is about to be over. Very soon I won't be able to get these blanks at the discounted value that I can pass on to you. So if you've been considering ordering one & saving up to $150 on your custom rod, now is the time. You can read all about this offer by clicking on the St. Croix logo on the right side bar of this blog, the home page, or the Graphite rods page of this site. The low-down on this is that I have access to certain specific St. Croix blanks at a discount right now & I'm offering to pass that discount on to you. To read about which blanks are included in this sale, please read the flyer. As a custom rod maker, I can make your fly rod on a blank from just about any manufacturer. What this does is allow you to have a customized rod on a rod blank that you know. For example, you might be in love with how a particular rod feels, but wish it had a different grip, reel seat, agate stripping guide, different color wraps, etc. We can do that. As a bonus I can usually make your rod for close to the same price as the "regular" - un-customized rod you'd buy from a catalog!! Imagine getting the rod you love, customized to your standards, for about the same price as all those mass-produced rods!!! If you're a fan of St. Croix fly rods, now's your chance to have this happen for you. I honestly don’t think you’re going to find an opportunity like this anytime again in the near future. Here’s a great chance to get a custom fly rod on a quality, American-made blank at a price cheaper than many mass-produced rods of lesser quality. This deal will be over very soon, so please contact me so I can get your rod blank before they're not available at these lower prices. The other day I wrote about the knot used to secure backing to a fly reel & the one used to tie the fly line to the backing. Well, I thought, why not go the whole way showing you the different knots used all the way to the fly? So here they are. For some of you, these knots will not be needed. There are a variety of ways to tie on leaders & tippets & hooks, especially these days. There are some loops that make switching leaders a breeze these days, but it wasn't always this way. In fact as far as I can tell, loops in the ends of fly lines is a fairly recent thing. Before that if you wanted to change your leader you had to tie a knot. Some of us still do. Obviously these knots are very important. They are where the action is going to be - on your leader, tippet, & your hook. So you want to make sure these are good ones. These ones shown below are time-tested & will hold your equipment well. The following is taken from a 1982 booklet that used to come in the box with every Scientific Anglers (3M) fly line sold back then. It does a good job of showing & describing these knots. If you prefer, you can also download these in a pdf format below:
The Wright & McGill company holds a lot of history in American angling. The company was formed by two gentlemen, whom it's named after, back in the late 1920's. Their aim was to make better fishing flies than was currently available. They soon were into making hooks & we know their hooks today as the Eagle Claw brand. They also made &/or sold everything that an angler could use - or even imagine using. They are still in business today, though the company has gone through many changes over the last 80 or 90 years. Below is a video showing the company back in its 'heyday'. It shows the inner workings of the factory as well as some of the classes they put on to encourage young folks to take up the sport of fishing. It is a great look back in time to some angling history. We all have our favorite knots & methods for attaching our leaders, or our tippets, or even tying on our flies. I plan to explore those knots more in the future, but today I'd like to show you a couple of the knots used to connect the backing to your reel & how to tie your fly line to your backing. These are not often discussed in the many "how-to" articles & books & they are important. Rather than go into some complicated description of how to tie these knots (they're not hard to tie, just hard to describe), I thought it would be better to show them to you. Below is a page from an old booklet that Scientific Anglers used to include with their fly lines back in the early 1980's. It shows, & describes better than I could, how to tie these knots. I have found it to be an excellent reference. So the next time you have all the line &/or backing off your fly reel - or when you add a new reel to your arsenal, be sure to attach the backing & fly line correctly. This way they will lay flat in the reel spool & won't come apart when your trying to land that big one!! You can also download this page in pdf format here:
The other day I was discussing with a friend the sentimental attachment we sometimes put on objects, like a fly rod. It reminded me of an article I wrote a while back & I thought I'd re-post it again. Some of you will know exactly what I'm talking about...... Some of the most valuable fly rods are not the most expensive. That's because a fly rod, like an old shotgun or a car, can have so many memories attached to it. Those of you that have an old fly rod that has been with you for many years, maybe since the beginning, understand what I'm saying. Those of you who haven't a clue, be patient, hopefully you will someday.
As I say, sometimes the rods we value & love the most aren't the rods that command high prices on the collectibles market. That's okay. A mass-produced Montague fly rod that sold in a hardware store back in 1943 probably isn't worth a whole lot of money. But if it was your Dad or Grandpa that bought the rod, used it when they took you fishing all those times, & passed it down to you - then (to you) that rod is priceless. HERE is a wonderful article discussing this. If you own a "priceless" rod, take a moment to read it. I'm sure you'll agree, some rods are worth more than money. Boy, oh boy have I been adding reels to the Available Reels page this summer!! Here's the latest one I just listed for you: This one is a really good knock off of a Pfluerger Medalist. I'll tell you that other than it being blue, it's a dead ringer for a Medalist. It's unmarked as to who made it, the only markings being on the foot: "Japan". I suspect Olympic or some other higher end Japanese manufacturer made it. Everything on the reel works as it should. The drag adjustment knob is a little finicky (it does work) & there's a minor loss of chrome on the reel foot, but otherwise this reel is in great shape. It comes, as all the reels I have listed do, with a custom fit reel case. This one's case is a matching color blue. This is a really good chance to get a Medalist style reel for less than what you'd pay if it had the Pflueger name on it. For more information & to see more photos of this quality reel, please visit the Available Reels page. Of course if you have any questions about anything you see there, just contact me.
|
The Pliant RodNews from the shop of Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker along with industry news, profiles of interesting characters, reviews, history, & whatever else strikes our fancy. Your comments & feedback are welcome. Please email me your thoughts. Celebrating two decades of making custom fly rods!!
leather accessoriesCases, bags, wallets, & other fine leather angling accessories.
See more photos from the rod shop & stream sides!
SEE MORE ROD PHOTOS!!!Please visit my Flickr pages to see even more rod photos including those available for sale, different rod features, & more. I'll be continuing to add photos there, so check it often.
Watch Some Videos!!Take a look into the rod shop & see some rods in living color motion pictures!! Check out my youtube videos.
Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
|