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The
Process
Beginning
with well seasoned Tonkin cane, we proceed through some thirty
main operations. From raw cane to finished product, over 75%
of the work is done by hand.
Hand-split strips of cane are
heat treated to the point of optimum stiffness. This imparts a quality of lightness and life a
fine rod must possess. The tempered strips are then carefully straightened over heat to prepare them for milling. The
milling process cuts the strips to within thousandths of an inch
to tapers proven over time. Six strips for each section are then patiently worked by
hand until they fit together and appear as one solid piece. Using a modern resin adhesive, the strips are bound
under pressure and cured at controlled temperatures. This results
in a waterproof bond that is stronger than the cane itself. The
glued blanks are then scraped to remove the enamel, buffed and
again painstakingly straightened. Nickel silver ferrules are
carefully mounted and oxidized to prevent flash. Multiple
coats of a durable varnish are carefully applied to provide
protection from the elements. A functional grip and select
reel seat are added to accent the rods natural beauty. Only
fine quality stripping guides, snake guides and tops are used.
True to our belief that simplicity
is its own form of beauty, windings are placed and finished only where they serve a purpose
and are not used to conceal or decorate.
Use
Of The Rod
All
rods have two main mechanical functions they must perform to be of
value to the caster. As it is possible to cast a fly line without
the help of the rod, we realize that the first purpose of the rod
is to allow us to cast the line with more ease and efficiency. It
accomplishes this in two ways. One, by serving as a lever and two,
by acting like a catapult or spring.
In
acting as a lever, the rod magnifies any movement at the grip to a
faster, longer movement at the tip. A broomstick will do the same
thing. However, a rod bends from the weight of the line and
finally reaches a point from which it will recover and flip the
line in the direction of its travel. In this action, the weight of
the line determines how far the rod bends and how easily it
recovers and flips.
Using
an eight-foot rod as an example, we would suggest that you false
cast from two to three rod lengths of line - sixteen to
twenty-four feet. Add this to the eight feet of the rod itself,
ten feet of leader, and one and one half feet for the length of
your forearm, and you have cast around thirty-five to forty-three
feet with little effort. An additional length of six to ten feet
of line should shoot easily. The line should stay up with no
effort and the rod will do the work. Our rods should perform
satisfactorily casting just the leader or up to sixty feet, but
the foregoing situation feels best to us.
Playing
Fish
As
mentioned before, while the rod is not a necessity for casting a
fly line, it sure is a handy tool to do the job with. The
same situation exists in the act of playing and landing a fish.
Most of the fish we catch can be readily hauled in by hand. If a
fisherman wishes to impress us with the size of "the one that
got away" by telling us the fish broke the rod that's his
business. The truth is the fish needs a lot of help from the
angler to accomplish that task. The flexing of the rod gives the
fish nothing solid to pull against and, unless it has such, it
just can't break anything.
The
rod is tapered to distribute the load created by the fish. If the
angler maintains the proper angle between the grip of the rod and
the direction of pull the rod will distribute the load evenly. If
the grip is pointed directly at the fish there will be no load on
the rod at all. At the other extreme, if the grip is pointed 180
degrees from the fish almost all of the bend will be in the tip,
which is the weakest part of the rod. Somewhere in between these
two is an angle that leaves the rod some flex and puts the load
where it can best be absorbed by the rod. Outside of doors and
heavy boot soles, a fisherman ignoring this proper angle damages
most cane rods, especially when he or she is excited landing a
good-sized fish.
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Email:
rodmaker@sopris.net
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