This last weekend my brother-in-law and I were casting one of my new Epic Fast Glass builds in the front yard. Cat fishing was slow as the family's outside cat wanted nothing to do with our brand of cat fishing with a bit of yarn as the fly :-) While we were casting my brother-in law mentioned how nice it was to cast a rod that has some feel to it. He mentioned that sometimes it took most of the day, if not all of it the get in tune with his Z-Axis. We chatted about how there seems to be a subtle shift in rod company philosophy. That got me to thinking (dangerous I know) have superfast extremely high modulus rods peaked? Have all the high tech material and blank manufacturing processes reached their limits with the "Quiet Sport"?
The reason I am asking is: There seems to be more advertising of blanks with actions that are "Moderate" or "Progressive". There are even rumors that some of the big companies are coming out with new Fiberglass rods. Only one reason they would do that…. to satisfy a growing niche in the fly fishing market. Trust me this, like all good businesses they watch forums (Fiberglass Fly Rodders), chat boards, and blogs ( The Fiberglass Manifesto) ...... etc. Plus I am sure they have taken note of the growing number of Fiberglass rod/ blank manufactures. You want some examples? How about the growing popularity of Epic Fast Glass, Steffen Brothers, McFarland, Katubo Fiberglass Rods and the list goes on?
Why the growing interest in slower action rods such as Bamboo and Fiberglass? Personal opinion: Feel, soul, character….call it what you want, but Bamboo and Fiberglass have that "It" factor. You can feel every little nuance with these rods from casting stroke to feeling the smallest fin twitch during the fight. Think the new breed of Bamboo or Fiberglass rods are only good for dry flies? Well, don't buy into that old wives tale. They can chuck a triple nymph set up with the best of them. With the new technologies/ materials Bamboo and Fiberglass ain't your Grand Daddy's old rod. In most situations they are stronger, more sensitive and easier to get in tune with than the ultrahigh modulus rods. Another plus: Get your timing down with Bamboo or Glass and I guarantee your casting with Graphite will improve. Why? Casting with Bamboo and Fiberglass requires you to feel what the rod is telling you. Try to overpower Bamboo or Glass and you will either pop the fly off or have a pile of line in front of you. But, feel the rod and you will be laying out the softest most accurate casts you have ever done. Getting in touch with these rods and you can't help but improve your casting with Graphite.
Pete are you saying there is no reason to have Graphite in the quiver? Not at all, like golf clubs you need a variety of rods for various situations. Surf fishing comes to mind. On the central coast of California we battle the ever present on shore prevailing winds and busy surf. In this situation I would probably go a bit nuts trying to cast a slower action rod, so I stick with Graphite of at least the RX7 variety.
To sum all this babble up….. give Bamboo and the new Fiberglass rods a try. Remember the "Quiet Sport" isn't all about casting the longest line or whipping the rod back and forth as fast as you can. Shooting the long cast might run you over several different currents and you lose line control anyway. Besides catching fish, fly fishing is also about the journey. There is nothing like casting a rod that lets you in on the entire experience.
Casting Bamboo or Fiberglass is one reason I am trying to build up a collection of demo rods. Eventually I hope to have a series of demo rod to be able to send to folks to try out. And yes, you will be required to deposit the cost of the rod up front. I will pay shipping to you and you pay return shipping. After I get the rod back, I will refund your entire deposit. Sorry, I may be trusting, I'm just not that trusting. Better yet for the locals, let's meet and share the water and the demos ;-). More to come as I build up my demo rod inventory.
Until next time my friends,
Pete
The reason I am asking is: There seems to be more advertising of blanks with actions that are "Moderate" or "Progressive". There are even rumors that some of the big companies are coming out with new Fiberglass rods. Only one reason they would do that…. to satisfy a growing niche in the fly fishing market. Trust me this, like all good businesses they watch forums (Fiberglass Fly Rodders), chat boards, and blogs ( The Fiberglass Manifesto) ...... etc. Plus I am sure they have taken note of the growing number of Fiberglass rod/ blank manufactures. You want some examples? How about the growing popularity of Epic Fast Glass, Steffen Brothers, McFarland, Katubo Fiberglass Rods and the list goes on?
Why the growing interest in slower action rods such as Bamboo and Fiberglass? Personal opinion: Feel, soul, character….call it what you want, but Bamboo and Fiberglass have that "It" factor. You can feel every little nuance with these rods from casting stroke to feeling the smallest fin twitch during the fight. Think the new breed of Bamboo or Fiberglass rods are only good for dry flies? Well, don't buy into that old wives tale. They can chuck a triple nymph set up with the best of them. With the new technologies/ materials Bamboo and Fiberglass ain't your Grand Daddy's old rod. In most situations they are stronger, more sensitive and easier to get in tune with than the ultrahigh modulus rods. Another plus: Get your timing down with Bamboo or Glass and I guarantee your casting with Graphite will improve. Why? Casting with Bamboo and Fiberglass requires you to feel what the rod is telling you. Try to overpower Bamboo or Glass and you will either pop the fly off or have a pile of line in front of you. But, feel the rod and you will be laying out the softest most accurate casts you have ever done. Getting in touch with these rods and you can't help but improve your casting with Graphite.
Pete are you saying there is no reason to have Graphite in the quiver? Not at all, like golf clubs you need a variety of rods for various situations. Surf fishing comes to mind. On the central coast of California we battle the ever present on shore prevailing winds and busy surf. In this situation I would probably go a bit nuts trying to cast a slower action rod, so I stick with Graphite of at least the RX7 variety.
To sum all this babble up….. give Bamboo and the new Fiberglass rods a try. Remember the "Quiet Sport" isn't all about casting the longest line or whipping the rod back and forth as fast as you can. Shooting the long cast might run you over several different currents and you lose line control anyway. Besides catching fish, fly fishing is also about the journey. There is nothing like casting a rod that lets you in on the entire experience.
Casting Bamboo or Fiberglass is one reason I am trying to build up a collection of demo rods. Eventually I hope to have a series of demo rod to be able to send to folks to try out. And yes, you will be required to deposit the cost of the rod up front. I will pay shipping to you and you pay return shipping. After I get the rod back, I will refund your entire deposit. Sorry, I may be trusting, I'm just not that trusting. Better yet for the locals, let's meet and share the water and the demos ;-). More to come as I build up my demo rod inventory.
Until next time my friends,
Pete
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