**## Beginners Cane, Part 3
By Ed Engle**
Excerpt from Volume 2 No.4 the Angler’s Journal (1996)
“I have people call all the time asking if a rod their
neighbor is trying to sell them is worth the price. I always
ask them if they’ve cast it and like it. The price is what it
costs you to own the rod. It’s not necessarily what it’s worth.
You can spend a large sum of money on a rod that might not be
suitable to your personality or casting style or how you want to
use it. In that case you don’t need it no matter what the price is,”
Keane said.
Bob Corsetti, whose Rods & Reels catalog comes
out of New Hampshire, suggests that graphite fly rod casters new to
cane modify their casting style a bit before they test cast a cane rod.
“I tell them to get their elbow back down near their side and to
just relax. I want them to cast the rod and forget about shooting a lot
of line. Many graphite rod casting styles are for shooting line and that
may not apply completely to casting a cane rod. I also suggest using
double taper lines that are more flexible without the hard, slippery finish
used in lines designed to shoot,” Corsetti said.
Corsetti works as much as possible with
beginning cane rod casters.
“I can usually start people in the $400 range. I get calls now and
then where someone says he wants to start using a cane rod and do I have
anything for $200. I usually have to say there’s nothing you’d want to fish
with in that range,” Corsetti said.
Options for beginning cane rod casters other than working
through catalogs include visiting specialty fly shops that sell cane
rods or have used cane rods on consignment. Some cane rod
builders also deal in previously owned rods. The values assigned to
various rod models in catalogs can be used as a rough measure for
pricing rods found in shops, but potential buyers should note that
some catalog prices may be higher than “on the street” values
because the catalog dealers usually inspect and evaluate the rods
they sell and are more likely to stand behind them.
Another possibility us a single tip cane rod or a
“not-in-orginal conditional” rod. Most cane rods come
with two tips; it’s a kind of insurance policy against a broken
tip ruining your day of fishing. Rotating usage between the
two tips also extends the life of the tips, but a beginner who
is anxious to get the feel of a cane rod can often buy a single
tip rod that will provide years of service for several hundred
dollars less. If the single tip breaks a replacement can be made.
Some custom builders offer excellent new, one tip rods at
substantial savings. Mike Clark builds the “St. Vrain Special,” a one
tip rod that uses Phillipson Peerless impregnated blanks that were the
finest blanks Phillipson made. The rods have wood spacers on the reel
seat, Leonard Super Swiss Ferrules, and all nickel silver hardware. They
sell for between $400 and $500.
Cane rods that are not in their original condition can also
provide excellent fishing tools for those who want to get the feel
of quality cane at reasonable prices. These “not original” rods have
often been refinished, have a tip missing or a shortened tip, lack the
original rod bag or tube, or some other flaw that make them less
appealing to collectors or more fanatical bamboo enthusiasts - but
they often cast and fish as well as the original. They can be great
buys.
Finally, some English can rods such as Partridge, Sharps,
and Hardy may have somewhat different actions and tapers than
American built cane rods, but they can be quite sweet and reasonably
priced.
The trick to getting into cane, like anything else, is to educate
yourself. Talk to other can enthusiats, get a hold of the catalogs, read,
and most important, cast as many cane rods as you can get your hands
on. Find out what you like in a cane rod.
Martin Keane said that the learning process with cane rods is the
wpice of the whole experience. Most of us who are hooked on cane
wouldn’t have it any other way. The more you learn the more you want
to know.
Eventually, as you get into cane, you may be fortunate enough to
find yourself casting a top quality example of a rod built by one of the
great masters: a Payne, Garrison, or Dickerson . . .it may be that you can’t
buy it, but you’ve finagled your chance from a friend or acquaintance to take
the rod for a spin. When you first cast it you feel the great care and skill
that the rod builder put into it. It comes through in the casting of the rod.
You know it’s one of a kind. And you know that the builder was proud of
it. His name is right there on the rod. It means he built the rod and if anything
goes wrong, you know there to find him.
None of that comes with a graphite rod and it makes it worth your
time to figure out cane. Believe me. And besides, cane is just fun to cast.
Yes, it’s a cult, but it’s a wonderful cult." ~Ed Engle
**“Here are the addresses of a few cane rod dealers.
Other catalogs are often advertised in the various fly fishing
magazines.”
[Publisher note, this article was originally published
in 1996. We were unable to find one of those listed Bob Corsetti,
and another Phil L. Snyder has passed on. His wife, Chyral
Snyder still has about 35 fine bamboo rods for sale. You can reach
her at 714-870-7401.]**
Originally published January 31, 1999 on Fly Anglers Online by Ed Engle.