Been there done that…
Thanks Neil for a bit of personal nostalgia.
When I was, I suppose, 10 or 12 in a small town in NW Iowa my Dad decided I should have a shot at fly fishing so we went to the little shop and he bought me a bamboo South Bend rod…reel etc…I don’t recall any flies, tippet …etc.
Now, I knew nothing about fly fishing / or casting and I guess Dad didn’t either because he just handed me the rod without instructions.
I can’t wait to get to the local sand pit and get to fishing…promptly tie on a pear shaped sinker…hook…and worm…afterall that’s how I did it before:p.
Fling that thing from behind with all the force I could muster…[and no JC I didn’t stop the rod].
Well, after the third time getting hit in the back of the head with that overweight sinker I sheepishly folded my tent and headed home… glad no one else was at the pit that day.
Anyway, I didn’t take up “real” fly fishing for years and don’t remember ever using that bamboo rod.
But I still have that rod and cherish it. I remember my Dad!