Fiberglass Fly Rod Sampler

Here is the DC/Northern Virginia/Maryland area, there is a webgroup called the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders. There is a forum where you can get information on places to fish, what is being caught, what equipment is out there, what flies are working and who is out there fishing. Recently, there has been a few people trying to line up a casting session where you bring what fiberglass equipment you have and you get to try what everyone else brings. Despite the really cold temperatures this morning (12 degree F), four of us on the forum got together to cast. I brought the D. Lewis Performance Rods 6'6" 3/4wt 3 piece, the C. Barclay Glass 3wt 3 piece, and the Orvis Superfine Glass 7'0" 3wt. Lucky for me I am not a person concerned with my image and I am very receptive to constructive criticism - I heard "SLOW DOWN, THIS AIN'T GRAPHITE" more than a few times during the shared casting - but when I did slow down, did I get a huge smile on my face as the rods started throwing controlled tight loops. There were Fenwicks (the 7'6" 4wt that Bruce brought was a gem), a half-built McFarland (wonderful rod that Carl Z was still building), a sibling rod to my D. Lewis 6'6" - a 7'0" Lamiglas S Glass 3/4wt (Art seems to think there were not many of these - I just know the 6'6" is the sweetest rod I own because it likes my casting cadence), an Eagle Claw Featherlight 5/6wt that I found casts a DT6 as sweet as silk, a tiny Lamiflex that Bruce had yet to fix the reel seat he stripped off of it years ago - but that rod could cast a line and pull wide smiles from me, and many more. And last but certainly not least, Carl brought out some fly rods built out of spinning rod blanks that made me look like a casting god (at least I like to think so) - tadpoles!!! I can't remember the last time I was that cold - a few hours of casting and I had frozen sinuses and locked fingers, but the experience was invaluable - in getting more experience with different rods, learning for more seasoned casters on how to improve my own casting, and meeting some cool new people. I thought about pulling the waders on and trying to catch my first fish of the year - but I didn't want to risk a skunk with the temps so cold, or reduce the effectiveness of my casting muscles and miss out on casting the different rods. Definitely time well spent!

More Fiberglass Rod Casting Feedback

I also brought out the Barclay Glass 3wt so I could switch back and forth between it and the Lewis Performance 3/4wt. The Barclay feels like a much lighter rod in hand despite the longer length. Casting wise I felt like the 3wt WF line I was casting was a hair light - I'm going to have to switch lines to see if I can optimize it's performance. Before I cast the Lewis, this was my favorite casting rod - I am sure I'll find the sweet spot soon enough. It might also be that the beadhead killer bug I had tied on to the Lewis was heavier and worked better with that setup. I had used a micro popper and a micro gurgler on the Barclay - much lighter flies. I am going to have a blast experimenting with line/rod/leader length/fly type combinations to fine tune casting performance!

Fiberglass Perfection

At what point does a person find that they have an innate understanding of an activity - where second nature establishes itself and conscious thought doesn't contribute? As an example, lately Marlon has been asking me "how do you turn a surfboard?" - I answered that 'you lean into it, but recenter your weight once you are heading in the direction you want to head in'. I stopped thinking about turning surfcraft decades ago and just started feeling my way through the moves - with shortboards, longboards, kiteboards, SUPs, boogieboards, inflatable surfmats and paipos - lean, engage the rail and straighten out when you need to. I feel like I know what I'm doing when it comes to surfing, but flycasting has been the activity that I have been immersing myself in lately because I have so much to learn - sucking everything in sponge-like, from rods, reels, tying flies, casting techniques, line types and more - tons of information is out there and I feel like I have just scratched the surface. I haven't felt this way about surfing in a while maybe because I've absorbed a lot already??? That last 25% out there is exponentially harder to find and assimilate. It is most likely also a product of where we currently live - 3.5 hour drive to surf, verses a 35 minute drive in the winter months to local sight-casting fishing. Sizing equipment to the fish in the fishing holes is something I have expanded into - specifically going lighter. The tenkara/seiryu rods are tons of fun, but I felt that my conventional fly line casting skills were not progressing. Now having a few lighter lines - RIO Gold WF3 and a Scientific Angler WF4, I spent some time casting the Performance Fly Rod 6'6" S-Glass, 3/4wt that I recently procured. I spooled up the Scientific Angler WF4F line and then it happened - I cast the rod and I 'felt' the rod load, felt the pressure max out and began my forward cast - I saw the tighter loop fly forward and the tippet unfurl with out so much as a 'plop' - just smooth, linear layout. I felt no issues or frustrations casting this rod - I adjusted my cadence (slowed) to get the rod to load and the funny thing was the 'catching' part actually got in the way of my casting practice. There is one area where I can tell the difference between graphite and fiberglass - the sensitivity of detecting strikes on the fly is less using fiberglass. A small price to pay if you are sight casting and can see the takes, but definitely a disadvantage if you are blind casting. I ended up catching pumpkin seeds (first fish caught with this rod is in the picture), greens and bluegills. The rod tip vibrates like it is alive with a fish on. I can say that this rod/line combo is the closest to perfection as I've ever sensed in equipment, and I am looking forward to using this tool when the conditions are right for it (no or very light wind, relatively narrow water). Casting it just feels right - like that bottom turn on a nice Pupukea right... This won't replace the Japanese Fixed line rods (tenkara/keiryu/seiryu) I have - they have their own niche areas/benefits - but OH WHAT FUN THIS ROD IS!!!

"It's the LAST _______ I'll ever buy..."

The world's most pitiful plee. At least from me.About every six months or so, I end up telling (asking) La that I'm about to get something new that I haven't saved up for. In the past this has included a prone paddleboard, a kitesurfing kite, and various other items to produce stoke. I usually start the plea with "I have found the end all be all (put appropriate piece of equipment/toy here), and it will be the last one I ever get". That last part is just pitiful - but it comes out every time. As you can probably tell from the flavor of the blog posts I've been making since I have been involuntarily dry docked (i.e., the Navy stationed me away from surf again), my latest diversion has been flyfishing. Well - I told La again that a rare opportunity came up in the form of a Performance Fly Rods Small Stream Trout Rod by Dave Lewis. A 6'6" 3 piece 3/4 weight highly acclaimed fiberglass casting device that is nearing perfection. Dave passed a few years back, but the fiberglass fly rodders fondly remember his exquisite work. I pulled out the credit card and this will be in my hands in a few days....I can tell I have reached a state of lunacy and irrational behavior when I break out the "last time" plea... I need help (or at least the patience of a loving/forgiving wife), or at the very least a much better "I'm about to use the credit card" line.