A Swap Of Tying Materials?

Earlier this year, I posted a question as to whether or not anyone would be interested in exchanging tying materials on my blog.  A few answered up.  Winter is right around the corner and for a lot of us our fishing days are over until the Spring.  Most of us turn toward fly tying as a way to pass those dark, cold, and long winter nights.  I was thinking of hosting a swap of tying materials and I would like to know who might be interested.  Basically it would work like this: I would send a box of materials to a person, who would go through it, pick out what they want and then put stuff in it from their stash that they don't want.  They would, in turn, ship it to the next person on the list.  I would like it to not be a box of crap sent from person to person but rather quality materials no longer being used or needed.  I am attaching some photos of some of the stuff I would be willing to send along in the box from my stash. I am hoping we can get this thing up and running.  If you are interested, let me know please.  Looking for say 12 people.  You can email me at jandmflies@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing from you all soon.  Thanks.

Bass Fishing in November???

Bass fishing in November?  Who would have ever thought it?  Not I, that's for sure.  Well, I did manage to do some bass fishing just last week.  Here in Maryland it was in the low 70's. Hard to believe that we had such nice weather so late in the season.  I did not want to waste an opportunity so I decided to see if a friend of mine would let me have access to his pond for a few hours.  I have had the chance to fish this pond before with great results.  After a few texts were exchanged, I headed out with my friend Greg.

Upon arrival, Greg and I could see that the pond appeared to be muddy and stained from a distance.  I was worried about fishing it, so I walked down to check it out.  This is the sight that I was met with:

The water was definitely up, muddy and covered with pine needles and leaves.  Needless to say, I was not pleased.  After a quick discussion, Greg and I decided to give it a try.  We figured why not given the warm sun and beautiful weather we were having.  I strung up the Cabela's CGR 7'6" 7/8 and headed down to the pond.  As a side note, I have been using the CGR 7/8 for a while now and I love it.  I have been pairing it with a Waterworks-Lamson Konic II reel spooled with RIO Products Smallmouth 7wt line.  I like to use braided leaders and Scientific Anglers Freshwater tippet in various sizes when I am chasing largemouth.  This is just my setup and what I enjoy using at this point. Anyways, we headed down to the pond and started slinging some bugs.  I chose a size 10 black masked bugger.  I enjoy tying these flies and they seem to be loved by the fish.  For those interested, you can find tying instructions for them here.  

The fishing was slow going with a lot of pine needles and leaves being dragged in with the fly.  In an effort to get a good strip without carrying along debris, I would try and pick out lanes of traffic that I could strip the fly through.  This seemed to work in eliminating some of the debris but not totally. Regardless, after a while the stars aligned and I was able to connect with a fish.  Immediately, I knew it was a good one.  The line went taught and within seconds the fish went airborne.  The fight was on. The largemouth would jump another three times and make several attempts to hide in various submerged logs before I was able to land it.  While not particularly long in length, it made up for it in girth.  It was clearly a fish that was packing on the pounds in an effort to weather the coming winter season.  

Given my initial success, we decided to stay around and fish a while.  Several hours later, I managed to land another small bass.  That was it.  Two fish in three and a half hours.  I guess it could have been worse...I could have been Greg.  He didn't catch a thing all day.  For me though, it was a great time.  I got out of the house, enjoyed some gorgeous weather and the company of a good friend.  I can't ask for more than that.

 

Wright and McGill Sunrise Rod

One thing I really enjoy is discussing vintage fiberglass rods with other glass enthusiasts.  I regularly chat with a small group of people about listings on eBay and Craigslist or just what they have been using.  Its always nice to see what other people are collecting.  So, one of the guys I chat with on a regular basis had been looking for a Cortland rod in a specific length and weight.  I happened to also be looking for a Cortland FR 2000 8 foot 6/7.  As luck would have it, two Cortland rods popped up on eBay in a lot.  One of them was a 7 and 1/2 foot Pro Crest that I already had but the other one I was the Cortland FR 2000 I had been searching for.  While watching the lot, I had an epiphany. Why don't we split the lot?  Sounded like a great idea to me.  However, my friend one-upped me by offering a trade.  I would buy the lot of Cortlands and he would trade me a Wright and McGill Sunrise rod from the 50s with an original tube, sans end cap.  This rod listed for a whooping $14.95 in the 50s and is rated for 5/6 line.  It sounded like a great trade to me so I went ahead and purchased the lot of Cortland rods.  Upon receiving them, I shipped his Cortland out to him and he sent me the Wright and McGill.  I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the Sunrise once I got it.  At 7 and 1/2 feet this rod is the perfect length for most of the fishing that I do, be it cold or warm water.  The rod is tobacco in color and it has yellow and green wraps.  The tube itself is a little banged up but I am happy to have it since it is an original.  The rod shows minimal wear and the wraps are nice and tight.  My understanding is that it works well with a DT5 or a WF6.  I am really looking forward to fishing this for panfish and smallies in the future.  I am happy to add this guy to collection and I can't wait to put a bend in it.  Many thanks to my friend for coming up with the brilliant idea to trade rods.  Dig it!

Cortland PAC Rod

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone at this point that I love Cortland rods.  With that being said, when the chance to grab a Cortland PAC rod came up, I jumped at the it.  At this point, I am not sure it was a smart move.  These rods belong in the Cortland FR 2000 family and were made between 1974 and 1980 I believe.  There has been some discussion as to who made the blank and many people believe the blank was made by U.S. Fiberglass.  The tube is marked Cortland PRF-2000 7' PAC-Rod.  The rod has 5 pieces and when assembled it is 7'.  My understanding is that there were two versions made of this blank made, one was a 5 piece and the other is a 6 piece.  The rod itself is a translucent red with brown wraps.  On the second piece of the rod it says PRF-2000 1-650-1 7' for line 6 rod weight 3 oz.  Herein lies the problem.  This rod actually handles better with a 7 weight line than it does a 6 weight line.  For me personally, that seems a bit excessive in a 7' rod. I'm really not sure how I feel about it.  In fact I'm not even sure when I will fish with it.  Most of the waters I fish require between 3 and 6 weight line.  I could see it being used for a short streamer rod on some of the smaller streams but even that might be overkill.  I mean, we are talking about streams that are less than 5 feet deep and 20 feet or less across.  Right now I am using a 5 weight line to chuck streamers and in clear water I feel like it might as well be a 12 weight.   So, I am really on the fence about keeping this guy.  I will have to take it out and throw some flies around when I have an opportunity.  Maybe I'll change my mind.  On the one hand it is a Cortland, vintage, hardly used and fiberglass but on the other hand it is a 7 footer throwing a 7 weight line.  Decisions, decisions, decisions.  Thoughts?  What would you do?

Multiplier Reels

Truthfully, I have never been a fan.  I am, however, a sucker for almost anything vintage fly fishing and a multiplier reel is no exception.  What if it is in the box with the original paperwork? Score!  Continuing to add to my Bronson Reel collection I picked up a Bronson Multi-Royal 380. This reel is a multiplier reel at a 2.5 to 1 ratio.  It weighs in at what I would consider a heavy 6 ounces.  I understand the older reels weighed more to give some balance to those older fiberglass rods.  I have to say that this thing is sexy.  It is red and silver in color and looks minty.  I'm not sure I am ever going to fish it, but I had to have it.  Does anyone use a multiplier reel?  If so, do you like it?  For now, I will have this guy on a shelf where I can admire it.  This gem may have to conclude my Bronson Reels collection... since I now have the 360, 370 and 380.  So many reels, so little time.

Adding to the Bronson Collection

A few months back I managed to not only score another Bronson reel for the collection but also a spare spool.  I had been looking for a Bronson Royalist 370 for a while.  I was lucky enough to obtain one at a reasonable price on eBay.  Shortly thereafter, I also grabbed a spare spool.  The neat thing about this spare spool is that it was still in the original box.  For those that may not know, Bronson reels were made in Bronson, Michigan from 1922 until the early 1970s when the company was sold and the factory was closed down.  Interestingly enough, in the 1950s Bronson Reels averaged over 9,000 reels a day and a 1,000,000 a year.  Their reels ranged from the inexpensive to the quite elaborate. As far as I can tell, this reel was made in the early 1960s.  If anyone has any other information about it, please let me know.  It doesn't have a date on it.  From what I have read, this reel should work just fine with line up to a 6 weight.  I am pairing it with a Shakespeare 1290 to use in some of my trout fishing.  It has a strong clicker.  Nothing like having a fish take line and hearing that reel sing. Man that is great!  For those looking for a click and pawl reel, I would highly recommend this guy. You will not be disappointed.

So I Went To The Fly Shop Last Week

and I came home with a few things......

All were "needed" items.  Do I have a problem?  I'm not sure.