Tom S

Did the same thing yesterday. Watched a couple forums lose a bunch of content due to changes with Photobucket, and I was getting sick of the slow and clunky site. Imgur seems much nicer.

Really? Had no idea. I wonder if there is any way to identify a Canadian made rod? Time to do some digging.

Actually... as part of being given the H-I Beaverkill rod to rebuild I had to promise to destroy the Japanese rod. They don't really have any collector value, but a few of them have been rebuilt and passed off as better rods. Big no-no in the bamboo community. So it got a viking funeral yesterday. The flat end is how a Ritz style grip is shaped. Charles Ritz (of the hotel family) was an avid fly fisherman who wrote A Fly Fishers Life, invented the parabolic rod action, and developed a high-speed casting stroke. This grip was developed by him, and has a large flat front that tapers slightly towards rear of the grip. I tend towards larger grips on my rods, and had a rod with a Ritz grip a while ago - I found I like the beefiness of it. The original bamboo rod had a straight grip without any taper, the Rtiz grip stays along those lines but dresses things up just a bit.

Just wanted to show off a project I've been working on recently. First some background. Back in March I picked up a bamboo fly rod in serious need of a rebuild. Unfortunately after a bit of detective work I was told that it is a Japanese made rod from the late 40's or early 50's and not worth much. Not even worth the time for a rebuild. However, a fellow rod maker who is slowing down offered me a 'proper' american made bamboo rod to rebuild if I wanted. I jumped on it, and have been working on it when I can. A couple nights ago I put on the final coats of spar varnish. I don't have any really good before pictures, but you can imagine how the varnish looked after 60 years. Quite yellowed, orange peeled in spots, with some embedded dirt. The reel seat was removed, which was not difficult as it was almost falling off. The cork came off with a bit of persuasion as well. The ferrules took some heat to melt out the adhesive holding them on, I think it was a rosin of some sort as it stank. Lots of elbow grease with a rag and some alcohol got the bank stripped down to bare bamboo, and because I wasn't using any harsh strippers the rod logo was not damaged. I did loose the inscription, but since this is a personal rod I'm not to worried about it. I know what the rod is. The next step after that was to wipe a coat of spar varnish on the rod, and once that had cured I started installing components. First up was a new cork grip, in a 'Ritz' template. I buy them pre-shaped and with the inlet already cut - the guy I buy them from does a much better job that I can with my current setup. Next was a new reel seat, this time a threaded locking seat instead of the simple slip rings that were installed before. Ferrules were polished up with some elbow grease and powdered pumice and installed again. Next came wrapping all the guides. Some guys hate this part, I actually find it enjoyable. This was my first time wrapping with silk thread, which took some figuring as the thread is much thinner than the nylon that I am used to wrapping with. But, I got a technique figured out and started having fun. I went with red thread with black trim bands. The red silk will go translucent when coated with spar varnish, while the black will stay bold and dark. Once the wrapping was completed (18 wraps I think) I began applying spar varnish. Each wrap received 1 coat of thinned varnish to make sure the thread was saturated fully, then 2 coats of straight varnish to build up smooth coat. The final coat of varnish was applied over the entire rod section to blend everything together. A couple days to let the varnish harden up and it's ready to go. I gave it a quick test cast this afternoon and found it paired well with a 7wt line. Nice slow action, and it carried the line well. Can't wait to get it out on the water.

Try the guys at EHR. I'm sure they've dealt with it before.

Went through Caledonia & York this evening. Grand has dropped a good bit already. Feel bad for the farmers who have crops on the floodplains that are now covered. I guess we'll see how bad the damage is depending on how long things take to dry out. One field just north of York had some fresh round bales sitting in the water, wrecked now. In the big scheme of things it's probably not a bad thing for the river to get flushed out, it's been a few years since we've had a really big flood and it's really clearing out the banks. Bad timing though, after planting is finished and things are sprouting.

Not exactly blind luck. I believe that with the Tac-50 at that range the grouping size is about 20", meaning that if he was aiming for center of mass and is able to account for the many, many variables affecting the ballistics it's possible to hit a target that size repeatedly. Don't kid yourself though, it took a whole team of people to make that shot. The biggest factor in many of these super long shots over the last number of years is probably having instant access to ballistics software to take care of the variables, and not just the charts from years ago.

I had thought about trying your neighborhood Ironmaker, but with this weather and water levels it doesn't sound very fun. I'm probably going to head upriver past Brantford now.

Beauty report. One of you should pack a fly rod on your next trip. 40+ incher on a fly rod would be wild.

Tried them, was not overly impressed. Like the smokenator much better, they system they have makes it really easy to add charcoal as needed. Plus if you really want to it frees up the bottom rack for even more capacity. Don't be fooled by 'stainless' marketing. Make sure it's a heavy enough gauge to stand up to heat over time, and that it's not a cheap grade that will still rust out on you (just over a longer period of time than painted steel).

Weber Kettle and a Smokenator 1000 attachment. Simple and good. Fits a whole turkey for our yearly Christmas party, and up to 4 racks of ribs plus baked potatoes. Takes a bit more babysitting than a BGE or pellet smoker, but I picked up a wireless thermometer so I can keep an eye on temperatures while doing things around the house. Little adjustment every hour or so and you're good to go.

By 'vet' do you mean someone who has made all the mistakes?

I really like the look of the back-painted lexan dash. Looks super and should hold up well.

Comes with the territory. Those little drys and nymphs love to catch ears and necks, my worst was a size 1/0 Deceiver that caught just behind the webbing between my thumb and fingers. Sharp hooks mean they don't hurt going in, pinched barbs mean they don't hurt coming out.

Pinch them anyhow before you hook yourself. Bound to happen eventually if you're fly casting.

Looking good. Nothing like first cast first fish.

Fishing wise? Learn to spey cast and fish the doublehander Begin to sell custom made rods Build a bamboo rod from scratch Catch a musky on the fly Catch a tuna of decent size Destinations wise? Labrador, Iceland, & Argentina for Atlantics Sutton River Brook Trout NWT for Pike on the fly Mongolia for Taimen Queen Charlotte Islands for Salmon Tasmania and New Zealand

I meant the shipping. I've done a couple rods in 60" tubes, they ended up being about $50 to ship to the states. 102" + is not going to be a cheap shipment.

PVC with test caps on the ends, and rod wrapped up securely and the ends cushioned so the rod can't knock around. Not going to be cheap at that length. I was told last time I dropped one off at the post office that they do tack an extra charge on for round items and tubes, as they tend to roll off the conveyor belts and cause extra work. I was going to look into finding a triangular mailing tube to go around the PVC next time to see if I could save that charge.

Netflix now has some outdoor shows available. I also subscribe to Wild TV through Roku, not the best channel setup and lots of commercials, but it's got a few programs that I really enjoy.

Big mouth + super aggressive + turquoise lines on the face/gill plate = green sunfish.

Sneaky Pete slider at first, then a McGinty once the aggressive ones had worn themselves out. I'd try to cast towards a good sized fish sitting in pockets in the rushes and hope that the little ones wouldn't hit it first. Not the Grand, little farm pond. I was pretty rusty for the first bit, but picked up the rhythm after a while. Great day to be out there. I'll let you know if I have a free day for perch. I figured the lake would be pretty rough these past few weeks with all the wind and weather changes. Bass on their nests yet?

Got out for a few hours this afternoon to play with some sunnies. Bright day, clear water, vintage fiberglass fly rod and matching reel, doesn't get much better. Lots of willing takers, all dressed up in their best colours. Some much needed stress relief.

So that's how they make rubber frogs....

Can I ask if you've talked to your employer about how you feel? It sounds like you want to move up in the company, ask them if there is that possibility. Let them know that if their difficulty in finding part-time help is why you're being held back that you feel like you are then being taken advantage of. Don't write a nasty letter, don't try to solicit advice from a public forum, sit down and have a face-to-face discussion with the person making that decision. Doing that will also show that you have a good head on your shoulders and can communicate, that you can resolve issues. The answers given in that meeting should be what you base your next steps on.