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Ray, I just take one hand off the rod and act like I am casting one of the sections off a real rod right? http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif
Yeah I looked at it Ray but I guess I am too old of a dog for new tricks....I have never bought anything off of EBAY. I have a problem with buying things from unknown locations and unknown individuals. I like to know where to go if by some chance I may need to. This seller is 1 star and on the wrong coast http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif
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Lady, I see they have 2 new models this year a 7.5'er and an 8'er ......which rod did you cast the 7, 7.5, or 8'er?
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I just purchased the 7.5' Elkhorn. It is my first bamboo rod, so I cannot compare it to other ones and would defer to LF for her comparison. Have only lawn cast it so far with a 4 wt WF Sylk line. MAN! Is that different compared to graphite! I was asking a fella who builds cane rods about the difference btwn cane and graphite and he said that graphite is built to shoot line while cane is built to cast line. After casting this one I would believe it! The timing is totally different! But you may already know that. I can hardly wait for the water levels to drop and the temps to rise around here so I can get a crack at fishing it!
When I bought the Elkhorn I spoke with the owner of the company. He recommended the 7 and 7.5' models over the 8' for right now. He said the 8' is not quite where they want it and they are still tweaking the taper.
I concur with LF, the rods are very nice looking and appear to be very nicely built. Also check out the little Peerless nock-off reel the sell. Really nice look, and very nicely built for a sweet price! I bought the whole package at a recent flyfishing expo. You would CRY if I told you what I paid for it! It felt like stealing!
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The 7.5 was what I cast - I wanted to try the 7 but they had sold all they had with them!
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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
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Thanks Lady for the reply.... the word crisp defining the action of the 7'er interest me. Might be a bit faster than the 7.5'er.
This going back to traditional thing is getting interesting though I couldn't wait to get a fiberglass rod after I traded for a bamboo rod back in the early 60's and never have had to use silk line though our lines were still designated in silk nomenclature when I started this game with a HCH fly line.
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Anyone cast the Elkhorn Bamboo rods with a silk line (either 7' or the 7.5'er) I just got off the phone with them and they haven't used silk on these rods themselves.
The reason I ask is that using silk sometimes requires going one size lighter in recommended line weight to achieve the desired action out of the rod due to silks thinner diameter and density.
If this is the case with the 7'er then I would have the ideal traditional spring creek bamboo rod at 7' and a 3 wt DT silk line and could have it all in hand in less than a week. How's that for timing with the PA season opening next week and still be hundreds under $1000.00 . http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/wink.gif
Any comment will be appreciated from anyone who has casted either the 7' or 7.5' rod at a show as well.
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Just wanted to post an update regarding my 7.5' Elkhorn that I spoke of earlier. I went back out in the backyard last night and tried casting again (still waiting to get out on the water http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/frown.gif Hopefully soon!). This time, there was no wind. The last time I cast it was my first time and it was into some rather blustery wind (steady at 5-10 mph with gusts up to maybe 15 mph). Not real bad wind, but enough to make you know it is there for sure. While in the wind the rod had a hard time throwing nice tight loops. I switched over to a 7' 4wt Orvis TLS for comparison sake, which for a 7' rod is always a cannon of a little rod. While I was able to do better with the graphite rod (able to through tighter loops into the wind for more distance) than the bamboo, the wind was still doing a number on my casts. Both rods were equipped with 4wt WF lines, the Orvis with a Silver Label and the Elkhorn with a Cortland Sylk line (this may also have something to do with it). While the Orvis is a mid flex rod, it definitely is stiffer than the Elkhorn.
Last night though I was able to cast in a dead calm, and I must say that I was really impressed with the performance of the Elkhorn! Again with the Sylk line I was throwing 45' casts straight as an arrow, NO SWEAT. Less than that distance was also great. I am not an experienced caster (5 years of flyfishing experience)so I am confident an experienced caster can get even more (but why anyone would need more out of a 7.5' trout rod is beyond me). Also being new to bamboo rods, I cannot get over how they just seem to flow. You don't seem to have to apply nearly as much power to them as a graphite rod. You just go through the proper casting motion and the rod does the rest. Again, maybe this is more due to improvements in my casting more than anything. The bamboo forces you to slow down a bit, and as such maybe I am forcing things less. I will try the same speed and technique to the graphite the next time to compare (hopefully on WATER this time! http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif ). Hope all this helps.
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There are a few other options, have one built, there are a number or builders who can get you a rod in under 6 months, Don't rule out guys like A.J.Thramer, Bill Taylor and John Channer. Or contact a dealer who carrys rods for alot of different builders, many dealers carry a nice selection on new rods from a number of contempary builders, you can get a rod without the wait for the same price too. The first thing I would do is call Ron at Ronsrods&reels, [url=http://ronsrods.freeyellow.com/index.html:4ae02]http://ronsrods.freeyellow.com/index.html[/url:4ae02]
he is a great guy with alot of contacts.
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I have never seen an Elkhorn rod so I can not comment on quality. I know some of the early Chinese rods has significant quality problems and used poor quality hardware, but the Chinese can be tremendous craftsman once someone introduces the technology and I am sure they can make first class rods. I do have more that a few concerns about statements that suggest they are still working on some of their tapers, however. I was surprised to see the prices that they were asking. You can regularly find used rods in excellent conditions from top shelf American builders (folks that have already perfected their tapers) for less than these rods. The advantage of one of these rods is that there is a very strong secondary market for these rods - something that is likely not true for rods from China. You spend $500 to $600 for a excellent used two tip 7.5' Orvis Battenkill and you can sell it a year later for the same amount. I would suggest before you jump in that you spend a while reading the Classic Fly Rod Forum (http://p205.ezboard.com/bclarksclassicflyrodforum). You will get a lot of insights into bamboo rods and if you keep watching you might just see a great deal on a proven rod that will hold its value.
David
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Decever, silk lines are traditionally rated by there diamiter not by wieght like modern plastic lines. When you see one advertized as a 4wt , most times they used one of the conversion tables to call it a 4wt. If you buy your line from Olaf Borg , the major silk line importer, he will set you up with a 4 wt silk that he has wieghed to come out to a plasic 4wt as they do vary a good bit. That said , it has been my experiance that a 4wt silk that wieghs the same as a 4wt plastic line will not load your rod as much as the plastic line. I think it may have something to do with the way a good ,properly dressed silk line floats higher on the water and so does not have as much drag lifting it of the water. I base this on the fact that the silk line feels right when lawn casting it, but get it on the water fishing and it does not load as well. Again, bare in mind that silk lines do vary a good bit but, most times for me i need one size bigger with a silk than with a plastic line.Sometimes the same size works ok but i have never seen were i would go down a size with the silk. However, a 6 wt silk line still falls on the water as delicate as a 4 or 5 wt plastic line, so if your bamboo likes a 4wt silk it will be more than delicate enough for your spring creek fishing, in fact it would not bother me at all to use a 5 wt silk line for those conditions with spooky fish. As you probobly know, its really all about your presentation anyway and if you are spooking fish with a 5wt you probobly will with a 3 wt too. But i too like to trim things down as best i can even if everything was already good. Matt