More Things Change, The More Things Stay The Same....
More things change, the more things stay the same!
Just how much difference is there in the fishing rods of yesterday, in comparison to those sold today?
They all have a handle, reel seat, and striping/snake/tip-top guide. You have the same choice in action, you have more options as to materials used in the fishing rods construction.
Same applies to the reels that you put on the fishing rods. They still have the same functions, storage of fishing line, a handle to wind the fishing line back in, and some sort of brake mechanism to adjust the drag on the line (as it comes off the reel).
Lines are still lines, and silk for the most part has been replace with nylon, and PVC materials.
Hooks are hooks and always will be.
I started fly fishing with a Cortland CL Series (6 weight) two piece 9 foot fly rod, cost me a $100 back in 1995 and I still fish with it.
All the way home from the Fish-In I was muttering...Gotta Get A Gatti. I was smitten just like that frog in the story book the "Wind in the Willows"!
It is all Denna's fault that I got hooked on a Italian Fly Rod by Gatti, after testing Denna's Gatti at the 1999 South Dakota Fish-In. I knew that I could not afford a store bought Gatti (they went for $500 back then) but I knew that I just might be able to build my own Gatti Fly Rod for half the cost. Not only build it for half the cost but make it even better than the store bought version. French Style Reel Seat w/ Lake Superior Agent Reel Seat Cap. Burled Cork Handle. Titanium/Nitrite stripping/snake/tip-top guides.
The blank was a sapphire blue with silver metallic flakes. So I found a light cornflower blue guide wrapping thread that would match the color of the rod blank, if I did not use color protector solution before applying the epoxy....
Total Cost $250, then there was the part where I broke the tip section of the 3 piece rod blank when wrapping the guides, and a new tip costs $50, but the shipment from Italy (where Gatti) are manufactured was $70, and the cost of the International Money Order was $30...
So I ordered two tips, and that way cut the cost of replacing the tip section in half, with a spare tip if it every happened again.
After all was said and done, I could not put just any reel on this "Lady Fisher", so I bougth a Teton.... and it has been heaven on earth anytime I have cast it out over the water.
The Gatti was like a magic wand in my hand, I could do no wrong, my casts went where I cast them, and today it is still the only 3 weight fly rod that I fish with.
You don't need the top of the line fly rod to go fishing, there are many out there that will do just fine, in most cost brackets. What you do have to checkout before you put down the money for the purchase, is to test the action of the rod blank. Find out how fare the rod blank bends, just have someone hold the tip of the fly rod below the tip-top, and gripping the handle apply load to to the fly rod blank.
Bends only a quarter of the rod length it is a Quick Tip Rod suitable for Dry Fly Presentation. Bends half way that is for flies with more wind Resistance in the cast or flies that absorb water weight from being fished (also helps when you are hooked onto a monster Pike, Muskie, Bass, Trout, Salmon/Steelhead) . Bends all the way to the handle grip, you got a wet fly rod the perfect wet fly rod. And it still has the name I place on the finished side of the rod blank....."Lady Fisher"!~Parnelli
PS: I could not have built this Gatti (my first attempt) without the articles by Al Campbell.....and the help of many others that helped me in this journey into rod building. Since then I have built two other fly rods both St. Croix Ultra (5wt and 7wt). I have also rebuilt and repaired many fly rods for friends and family.
Reply With Quote
