And Mike, in my experience there are clubs, willow switches and sweethearts in all materials as well.
Jim
And Mike, in my experience there are clubs, willow switches and sweethearts in all materials as well.
Jim
Who cares? just get the fly to the fish and have fun.
------------------
Born to fish forced to work.
Alan
Hey Billknapp,
I do know that you can't take it with
you. So do whatever gives ya the most
pleasure with it. Be it actually fishing
the rod or just fondling it on occasion.
I know what I'd do, but thats me.*G* Warm
regards, Jim
If graphite hadn't been "discovered" as a rod material, the advances in glass rod technology would have come close to anything graphite has to offer today
------------------
Friends don't let friends drive gas hogs
The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
--- Horace Kephart
There are plenty of choices in graphite today it is just that the super fast $600 plus rods get the press for the advancements in technology. I have a gander mountain gs (98% graphite) that I bought for the kids to play with, for under 40 dollars on sale that has a slower action and cast beautifully. If you want slower older technology rods don?t go to the fly shop go to K-mart or Sports authority and you will see lots of rods you may have forgotten exists. I am happy with the choices we have today but I sure wonder what they can do to improve what we have now.
Well here is my 2 cents.
I still use glass rods and love them. I use two old Winston glass rods for spring creek fishing all the time. I have to have one fixed but it is nothing that will hurt the rod. Just the male ferrule has worn out and needs replacing. Both rods are 8' 4wgt rods. Slow but I can toss the whole line if need be.
I believe there is room for both type's of rod's in this old world. In the last several years the Graphite rod companys have learned that not all people like "STIFF" that is why they are offering slow and medium action rods now. It took them some time but they came around.
I have a new 4wgt 9' Echo rod that has two tips with it. One a fast and the other a Med. I have fished it and you can sure tell the difference in the two tips. I believe that Rajeff has found something in the market that no one else has thought of. Offering two tips with one rod each a different action. (Talking Grahite here) So for the money you get two different rods.
A lot of people out there have no idea what glass fishes like. They were raised on Graphite and know nothing else. I have had them laugh at my old Winston glass rods. That is until I let them try one of my "Old" Rods. Sometimes it pays to be a little olderRon
[This message has been edited by RonMT (edited 08 May 2006).]
The demographics (the study of population and related activity), show that as the population increases, so doe the number of anglers. Not all anglers are fly anglers; some are either spinnbait, trollers, or bait.
Some anglers, use two or more methods of angling. The groups are also divided into Saltwater and Freshwater Anglers, with some anglers doing both.
At one time all fishing rods were cane, before that they were wood. There have been experiments with metal rods, telescoping rods, fiberglass, boron, graphic, ceramic compositions with boron and graphite. Angling always has periods of equipment break through, where a new material or design pushes a previous material or design off of the shelves at the store. Not only fly rods, but hooks, line, lures, boats, motors, clothing; change over time.
The number of licenses sold for angling can fluctuate according to spare time available for a angler to go fishing, Many people in the USA are working two jobs, or have family's to raise, so the available time to go fishing is reduced or disappears.
The place to go fishing can be a problem, if public lands and water become private, or monopolized by other activities. Who wants to try and go fishing on a lake that has been taken over by a sailing club, that holds races every weekend. How about a stream or river that is full of groups tubing (truck inner tubes)or canoing, so there is no fishable pools to fish.
Then there are the waters that have been polluted so there is nothing there to catch, or if caught you would not want to eat what you caught.
Sometime your favorite waters have been fenced off, or build up with housing so that fishing is no longer possible (or you do not wish to fish there anymore).
As population centers grow outward, the countryside is used up at a alarming rate, with 10 or 20 acre home sites. While in the inner city core of the area, houses are on 40' x 80' lots. There are only 640 acres in a square mile, few people are using up more land.
With the land goes the waters that are there, so places to go fishing diminish.
Minnesota has lots of anglers, fly angling is a minority, but that is increasing at a fast rate. 15,453 lakes ( Lake Superior, still only counts as one), 9000 miles of streams and rivers, gives Minnesotans a place to go fishing close to home (usually within 1 mile).
~Parnelli
[This message has been edited by Steven H. McGarthwaite (edited 08 May 2006).]
I took an old fried fishing a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't been out with him for several years and it was nice to get reaquainted. I noticed that he had a few more scars and was beginning to show his age a little but he sure still had all the ability I had enjoyed years ago. He fished a little slower than I'm use to now and I found that kinda relaxing; I'm getting a little slower too. He sure could still handle a good size 'gill' and all of the new style flies were no problem.
Yep, enjoyed the day, we'll have to do it again...
I have cast many rods made of many different materials that didn't appeal to me.
Rod action is a very personal thing. I'm sure somewhere out there a Ferrari driver is having an argument with a Stanley Steamer driver about where it should have ended.
Cane and glass are my two favorite materials although I have way more cane than glass. But I can tell you that beginning in the mid 1980's and continuing to this day, I have tried MANY cane rods that were WAY too fast for my taste. Maybe they too are catering to the fast rod crowd. The actions are just so different from the "classic" tapers I am fond of. They are pretty to look at, but not to fish, IMHO.
But I do have several Winston DL4 graphite rods, (unfortunately discontinued), that are considerably more pleasant to fish and slower than some newer boos. So I guess you can screw things up no matter what material you use.
[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 08 May 2006).]
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