Michael Gallart
Director- Programs
EJTU/FFF
Director ,VP- Education Chair FFF N.E.C
FFF Certified Casting Instruc
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Michael: It largely a matter
of personal preference as to the choice of rod action to suit a particular
casting or fishing task.
On the exams, especially the MCCI
exam, the candidate has an edge if he/she chooses a rod that will do every task
well ...NOT one suited for one task, alone. Having said that, I also know
that an extremely well prepared candidate who is an expert caster can pass the
test with a super stiff fast action rod or a noodle rod.
Over the years, I have seen the
changes from the '30's when all we had were bamboo and a couple of Greenheart
fly rods. We used the Greenheart rods as stiff surf fly rods and the
bamboo ones for everything else... fresh and salt. In the salt atmosphere,
the metal ferrules (the only kind) would corrode. So would the available
reels. The lines were silk and the backing made of Cuttyhunk (woven
linen). We'd get back from fishing and would have to wash everything down
with fresh water, then wind the lines including all backing around the trees to
dry. On wet evenings, we'd wind them around the backs of the dining room
chairs to let them dry all night. That meant I had to get them all spooled
up before my mother got downstairs for breakfast ! Any departure from this
routine resulted in rot spots in the line or backing. The rods had to be
cleaned and put away carefully in a straight position so they wouldn't take a
set. (Once you got a set in a Greenheart rod, you would NEVER get it out
!)
In 1940, they came out with a
berylium-copper fly rod. Step taper. Not fun to cast, but
powerful. 1941 brought the war, and all metals were strategic materials so
the rods were discontinued. The price of, "pre-war" fly reels went way up ... so
we took good care of what we had. Glass rods dominated the market after
the war until graphite became available. As Phil said, he's gone
back to glass for some of his fishing..... but you must understand that the new
range of glass rods is a LOT different from the original ones produced in the
late 40's .
Gordy
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