Thursday, September 6, 2007
The first time you venture into the wilderness of fly fishing, you are going to notice something strange. The fly rods are much different than other forms of fishing.
The most popular and traditional fly rods are made from bamboo. History is a little dodgy on when the first one was made, but the early 1800s seems to be the time range generally agreed upon. Of course, it was once generally agreed that the Earth was flat and we know how that one turned out.
Discussing the “best” of anything is always a dubious affair. For many fly fishing enthusiasts, however, the bamboo rod is the undisputed choice. You may want to disagree, but you don’t get to unless you try one first.
Bamboo is considered a good choice because it contains both the stiffness and strength required for consistent action given the length of the rod. Tonkin bamboo, originally found in China of all places, is considered the superior form of bamboo for rods. The specific species has a high fiber count, which gives it superior performance as a rod and adds to the life of the rod if maintained correctly.
Bamboo fly rods are not made by cutting a length of bamboo and slapping a reel on it. Instead, the bamboo shoot is broken into long panels. The panels are then sanded and planed to the desired dimension. Next, they are glued together to create the rod, itself. Accessories are added and, walla, you have a bamboo blank rod. You can buy them in this form or go for a finished rod that is ready for the water.
A quality bamboo rod is absolutely a work of art. It can take well over 100 hours to complete just one. As you might imagine, this makes them a bit price. Prices range according to the artist creating them, but you can expect to pay a minimum of a couple thousand dollars for one. For masterpieces, the price quickly escalates into the tens of thousands of dollars. Most of these rods are made by small businesses, so you have to hunt. A couple of them are Keone Rodsmiths and Oyster Fly Rods. Bill Oyster actually offers classes on making the rods if you are interested in learning more about the process.
For car enthusiasts, seeing a rare Ferrari can set the heart a flutter. In the world of fly fishing, a quality bamboo rod does the trick.
Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of fly fishing gifts.
A Primer on Fly Fishing Reels
If you are getting into fly fishing, it is easy to lose yourself in the great debate on rods and flies. Not so fast. The reel is just as important, so here is a primer.
The fly fishing reel is a work of art. In fact, the first one was patented in 1874 by the epic master of fly fishing – Charles Orvis. His family has been making fly fishing equipment in one form or another since them. As technology has improved dramatically, reels have also become more sophisticated. That being said, they still are comprised of some fairly basic components.
There is a major difference between fly reels and bait reels. Fly reels require more of a touch on your part. Casting is undertaken by laying the line out while controlling the line with your non-casting hand. It can take a while to get the hang of it, but the important thing to understand is the reel is not really a device that just lets you swing away like you would with a non-fly rod.
The original fly reels were really simple. They served only one real purpose – to bring the line in. They offered no drag, which meant you could do some serious damage to your hands if you snagged a larger fish. A drag mechanism is used to slow or stop the line from feeding out when a fish takes the bait or, in this case, the fly.
As fly fishing has become more popular, people have started looking for bigger game. This created a problem since most fly reels were not really tailored to taking in a beast. If a large fish struck the fly, the line would real out without any way to stop it other than to hold the line or wear gloves. The new reels now incorporate breaking mechanisms that solve this problem. The mechanism create friction on the line to either slow down the line feed or stop it completely. These reels have to be used with specified rods. If you try to bolt one onto a traditional rod, they tend to snap since they are not really designed to carry such loads. At least mine have!
So, what type of reel should you use. It depends. Many feel the new reels with breaking mechanisms are a break from tradition. The answer really lies with you. Give both a try and make your own choice.
Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of fly fishing gifts.
Quick Guide to Flies Used for Fly Fishing
Fly fishing is a niche area for the overall sport of fishing. Unlike niches in other sports, it is very unique when compared to the more popular angling.
The mere name of fly fishing suggests something very different. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with elevating yourself. Instead, the “fly” in the name refers to the thing used to tempt the fish to strike. While hooks and bait are important in all forms of fishing, the nature of flies for fly fishing has taken on a life of its own. For beginners, it can be downright intimidating, so here is a quick primer.
A fly is a combination of a hook and bait. In this case, the bait is usually an artificial mish mash that is designed to look delicious to the particular fish being targeted. To you and me, it often just looks like a ball of fur and color, but who are we to argue with the fish? In reality, the idea with the fly is to mimic the favorite bait of the fish in question, which is often a bug of some sort.
There are many ways to categorize flies. I prefer to go with simplest first. The first categorization is the dry fly versus the wet fly. What is the difference between them? The wet fly is intended to sink under the water once you have cast it into the water. The dry fly is intended to sit on the top of the water, much like particular bugs do. While this may sound like a fairly simple and logical explanation, it often becomes problematic in the real world. With the continuing evolution of flies, some dry flies actually are intended to end up under the waterline. That being said, let’s not confuse things too much!
Now things get messy. Long ago, the actual names for particular flies were logical and made common sense. A steelhead fly was obviously to be used for catching steelhead fish. Many flies still carry the name of their intended bait, but a vast new line of flies does not. Fortunately, many of this new group carry at least some portion of the fly or bug they are supposed to imitate. Such names include nymphs, mayflies and caddis to mention a few. As to the rest of them, the names appear to come from the Star Wars version of fly fishing and your guess is as good as mine.
So, how do you select your flies? The best method has been around for over a hundred years – ask! The best fly depends on the fish you are going after and the conditions during that time of the year. The only way to get this information is to talk with people familiar with the area or by chatting up the locals at the closest fishing equipment store. The chaps issuing fishing licenses can also be very helpful.
Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of fly fishing gifts.
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