Many years ago I owned a 6 ft, 3 wt., one piece
cane rod. It was a lovely rod, perfect for small
streams and later when we moved from Michigan to
Montana, also very nice for fishing spring creeks
with small flies.
I mention the prior rod because the feel of a one-piece
rod is entirely different from any rod made with ferrules.
The tapers of such rods need to be strong enough to cast
certainly, but also have a sensitive tip to feel the fly
and the fish. A short rod, (6 ft. really is short,) also
does not cast the same way as a 8 or 9 foot rod. There
is a difference in the timing, and it may take a few casts
to get the "feel" of the rod. It is easier to stop a short
rod, so a little adjustment in your casting may be in order
to get the most from any short rod. (The tendency is to
overpower the cast - relax and let the rod do the work.)
My husband, JC, and I were delighted to hear Royal Wulff
Products were going to offer a duplicate of Lee Wulff's
personal favorite rod - his 6 ft, 5 wt. When we fished
with Lee and Joan on the Upper Yellowstone many years ago,
this was the rod Lee used and were impressed with it then.
It is even more impressive in person. Well, it really
isn't a person, but fly rods do have their own personality.
I've had the pleasure of fishing the Lee Wulff Classic
Bamboo Fly Rod on two occasions. I fished it on the
Selway River at the Idaho Fish-In this year, and just
a couple of weeks ago on Rocky Ford Creek in Washington.
Wiggling a rod can give a person an idea of the taper
or action, but there is no substitute for fishing a rod.
The Lee Wulff Classic is superb. It handles any of
three lines we tried, a 4 wt, a 5 wt, and a 6 wt. I
fished it with a WF5F Scientific Anglers Mastery
'Trout' Line.
It casts a small dry fly with authority - or as delicately
as one could desire. I fished short, medium and
long - however, with a large October Caddis, (size 12) I
did have to adjust to a long pull on the double haul to
open the loop to deliver the fly - at least in a good wind.
The cosmetics require a bit of background. At the time
Lee Wulff had the original rod made to his specifications
in England, the state of the art was a small cigar grip
of premium Portuguese cork, nickel silver butt cap and
sliding ring. The wraps then, and now were a solid
color - in this case a medium blue. In other words, the
rod now is produced as the rod was when Lee designed it.
I found no flaws in the rod, or cosmetics. This is an
impregnated rod, which means no cracking varnish down the
line.
Now, the downside. The one-piece, 6 ft. rod comes in a
very nice tube with case - however, it is not going to
fit in all trunks or all cars. I have some suspicions
it would have to be shipped as baggage, not carry-on
for airlines. If you can live with that, and are interested
in not just a piece of tradition, but a very fine casting
rod - then you should definitely get your hands on this rod.
Keep in mind, a one-piece rod is the very best of all
options for a vibration-free smooth rod.
My recommendation? You will probably never find a nicer
one-piece rod, and certainly not at this price.
The rod retails at $900. To find a dealer near you, check this
Dealer List. ~ LF
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