Kathy Scott started this ball rolling. She asked me to do a TINY favor for one of her students who was coming into my area of the country. As a thank you, she planned to send me a cane rod blank to build up since I had mentioned on this board (about 5 years ago) that I wanted to try building a cane rod.
Kathy got busy and didn’t send out a rod blank right away. Then she was at a fly fishing show and ran across a guy who sold salvaged cane blanks and to whom she had given a DVD or book. He wanted to give her something in return. She wanted nothing but remembered that she had wanted to send me a rod blank and asked him for one to send to me. Kathy’s husband, David Van Burel, installed the ferrules and they shipped me the rod.
My health was lousy and I wasn’t doing much of anything besides work and sitting around. The blank sat for a few years. I never learned to build rods. Then, earlier this year I asked if someone was interested in the job of building the rod for me. Betty volunteered to do it and absolutely wouldn’t talk about getting paid. Those of you who have tried to defy Ms. Betty in any way will understand that I gave up trying to pay her for her work. So we worked out a trade that I’ll deliver on very soon. I am afraid, however, that I’ll never be able to feel like she got the fair trade she deserves.
This rod is incredible. Betty incorporated a grip and hook keeper I already had, a reel seat by Joel Lemke (it’s rod jewelry!), an agate stripping guide from Goldenwitch (more rod jewelry!), and her mad mad skills and good eye for color. Opening up the package felt like and looked like Christmas! Oh… rod sock by Betty, too.
I find this whole project a mind-boggling experience of incredible generosity and the power of the internet to forge connections and friendships. I finally have an absolutely beautiful, slow and lightweight rod that I can feel as it loads and I can cast it better than any other rod I’ve ever tried!
Thanks, Betty! And Kathy, if you ever run across this post, thanks again to you, too!
