A lighter outfit

[Alan Roe]

That's a lot of brass for what is essentially a carefully peeled vegetable...................

[JV44]

Oh, I knew better than to google the Orvis - I've pushed my face against the glass of the Burford shop, like some Dickensian street urchin, and imagined that I would probably be ejected forthwith if I ventured inside

 

Quite a few other people report getting Orvis rods at a good price in the sales, so I might treat myself one day. But not yet.

 

No, it was the cane rods I googled - I've seen what Edward Barder charges for his, while drooling over the craftsmanship, but I wondered where the cheaper rods started - still sharp-intake-of-breath pricey, it would seem!

Bumped into him a few times on my local bit of the Thames as he used to launch his little boat there and try stalking Chub with his beautifully crafted rod and landing net,then he told me the prices Steve.

[Sportsman]

I have enjoyed reading this thread.

I am another lover of bamboo rods. I have two that I built on cheap Chapmans blanks.

My favourite is a 6'6" one piece for a 3wt. Being one piece it is a pain to carry around but a joy to use with no ferrule to impede the action,

I love to use it from the float tube with tiny dries and spiders, and it works as well.

The photo is at Haddo fishery. The fish turned out to be around 11lb or so and was beaten a lot quicker than you might imagine.

If you look at the bend in the rod you might see why

 

 

[Worms]

I have enjoyed reading this thread.

I am another lover of bamboo rods. I have two that I built on cheap Chapmans blanks.

My favourite is a 6'6" one piece for a 3wt. Being one piece it is a pain to carry around but a joy to use with no ferrule to impede the action,

I love to use it from the float tube with tiny dries and spiders, and it works as well.

The photo is at Haddo fishery. The fish turned out to be around 11lb or so and was beaten a lot quicker than you might imagine.

If you look at the bend in the rod you might see why

Rather impressive for a "carefully peeled vegetable"...............or I suppose to be more accurate, a de-husked cereal!

 

Slightly off topic but, I like Chapman rods, although 'cheap' my 500 de luxe is the best rod for chub ledgering and freelining I have ever used.

[OwdTrout]

Al, technically they are not peeled. The outside of the bamboo isn't stripped away at all. One of these days I'll have a go at building one myself. If I was doing it commercially they would be a lot more than the price of that one. It may be a lot of money, but, when everything is considered, its not expensive.

 

One craftsman working at the top of his game can only produce a maximum of about 40 rods a year. think of that in terms of what you earn. Divide your salary by 40, then add say 20% to cover the investment in tools and materials and another 15% vat. That's your wholesale price not including overheads for your workshop etc. For many people building cane rods is a side interest, but why should someone subsidise your fishing tackle by doing another job to part pay for it? Of course this is for hand plained rods. Milled rods would be nowhere near as expensive. It just proves that we no longer value the skills of craftsmen.

 

It reminds me of one fly tier who insisted that you don't need an expensive vice. His was £2.5'6 in 1952. So I asked what he was earning in 1952. It was more than a weeks wages. And now the same person earns more than the price of a LAW vice a week. In real terms that's a huge fall in price. Lawrence is one of the top engineers in the country. Certainly the best working on Fly fishing / tying equipment.

 

I can get very cynical about how little we value these skills. What's Richard Carter making these days, and why?

 

Cheers,

OT

[Worms]

Al, technically they are not peeled. The outside of the bamboo isn't stripped away at all. One of these days I'll have a go at building one myself. If I was doing it commercially they would be a lot more than the price of that one. It may be a lot of money, but, when everything is considered, its not expensive.

 

One craftsman working at the top of his game can only produce a maximum of about 40 rods a year. think of that in terms of what you earn. Divide your salary by 40, then add say 20% to cover the investment in tools and materials and another 15% vat. That's your wholesale price not including overheads for your workshop etc. For many people building cane rods is a side interest, but why should someone subsidise your fishing tackle by doing another job to part pay for it? Of course this is for hand plained rods. Milled rods would be nowhere near as expensive. It just proves that we no longer value the skills of craftsmen.

 

It reminds me of one fly tier who insisted that you don't need an expensive vice. His was £2.5'6 in 1952. So I asked what he was earning in 1952. It was more than a weeks wages. And now the same person earns more than the price of a LAW vice a week. In real terms that's a huge fall in price. Lawrence is one of the top engineers in the country. Certainly the best working on Fly fishing / tying equipment.

 

I can get very cynical about how little we value these skills. What's Richard Carter making these days, and why?

 

Cheers,

OT

Another beauty of cane rods is that they last! I use a number of cane rods that are about 100 years old on a regular basis. They are simple to look after with the odd re-whip and varnish and are a lot more robust than some of the modern carbon rods!

 

The Allcock's rod in my avatar is about 90 years old and is the best grayling trotting rod I've ever used, including glass and carbon examples. Admittedly it's not pure cane........it's got a greenheart tip

[Sportsman]

There has been increasing interest recently in fibreglass for short lightline rods. Like cane it has inherent weight so it doesn't rely on the weight of the line to bend it. You have the rod driving the line rather than the line driving the rod. I was talking to Cono-flex the other day and I can still get a fibreglass fly blank they tell me. The blanks are only 25.00 so not much of an investment.

Of course, you can spend a bit more

http://www.steffenbrothersflyrods.com/

I feel a project coming on

Edited March 27, 2009 by Sportsman

[Steve Walker]

Thinking of those reels reminds me of where they came from...

 

Steve, here is the ideal rod. make sure you are sitting down!

 

Run away! Run away!

 

I've just had a very helpful chat with Alan, from within his local tackle shop. Unfortunately, it turns out that the very well priced SLV is the wrong size, but I think I'll buy one online. So, today I'm going to order:

 

Sonik #3/4 8'

Okuma SLV #4/5 + spare spool

Snowbee DTF4

 

At some point in the future I'm going to add a 7ft Shakespeare Odyssey #4/5, which only costs 20 quid, and a WF5 for the other spool. Thanks for everyone's help, it's been really useful.

[Worms]

Run away! Run away!

 

I've just had a very helpful chat with Alan, from within his local tackle shop. Unfortunately, it turns out that the very well priced SLV is the wrong size, but I think I'll buy one online. So, today I'm going to order:

 

Sonik #3/4 8'

Okuma SLV #4/5 + spare spool

Snowbee DTF4

 

At some point in the future I'm going to add a 7ft Shakespeare Odyssey #4/5, which only costs 20 quid, and a WF5 for the other spool. Thanks for everyone's help, it's been really useful.

Best of luck with the fishing, fly fishing for wild brownies on small streams is one of the most enjoyable (and frustrating) pastimes . You will have fun

[Anderoo]

Run away! Run away!

 

I've just had a very helpful chat with Alan, from within his local tackle shop. Unfortunately, it turns out that the very well priced SLV is the wrong size, but I think I'll buy one online. So, today I'm going to order:

 

Sonik #3/4 8'

Okuma SLV #4/5 + spare spool

Snowbee DTF4

 

At some point in the future I'm going to add a 7ft Shakespeare Odyssey #4/5, which only costs 20 quid, and a WF5 for the other spool. Thanks for everyone's help, it's been really useful.

 

Good man! I'm looking forward to it already. I'm going to sort out all my fly gear this weekend. I might even have a drive over to the little stream and see if it's starting to look springlike. There's no fishing until 1 April, but I like to torture myself