I have, for whatever reason, never fished very often for bass. Angling with fly rod for our Gulf Coast salt water species, and our cold water mountain trout have been my most conscientious pursuits. What bass fishing I have done has been with recommended bait casting rod and reels.
I accompanied my eldest daughter and my grandson to a friend's near -to -Houston ranch. They were interested in riding one of our friend's thoroughbred horses. I was interested in the pond full of bass and blue gills that she has been begging me to come out and fish for the past few years.
She had mentioned to me that the three acre pond had at one time been stocked with blue gills, and that over the years a few of her guests have said that there were bass as well. Yet, she informed me that no one has fished the pond in the past three or four years.
I took an ultra light spinning rod I recently completed as well as a 4wt spinning rod that I completed a year ago, but had never even tested. Some small bass and blue gill flies, a surgical clamp hook remover, and four 1/8th oz bumble bee spinner baits rounded out my equipment.
The owner took me across a pasture to the isolated large pond and dropped me off at what she indicated was the shallow end. The water was a bit murky and very high. The sun was out, the temperature was warm, the weeds around the pond were knee high, and the setting was perfect for running into sunning cotton mouths. She asked me to shoot any I saw. The only Texas snakes I happen to fear are cotton mouth moccasins.
The wind was gusting across the flat pastures at about 15 to 18 knots, so I began my blue gill quest with my ultra weight outfit and a small bumblebee spinner I once, years ago, used for fishing the Llano river. The line was 4wt so I was pretty much relegated to casting down, or at best, sideways into the wind.
I had no idea how shallow the water was, so I proceeded to use a fast return. The spinner bait easily bit into the water for proper action and a nice pressure on the retrieve. On about my third or fourth cast, my bait got hung up on the bottom...,I thought...,until the bottom started moving up wind.
A long five minutes later I managed to drag a very respectable large mouth bass close enough to shore to enable me to grab his mouth. Expecting to catch a few blue gills, this 4 to 5 pound lunker was an exciting surprise. Fighting the ultralight and a very light drag for so long totally exhausted both the fish and my self. But, after watching the fish swim off after an extended gill washing, and a ten minute sit down for me, I lay the ultra light down and assembled my 4 wt fly rod.
I admit to a modicum of excitement. The thought of catching another lunker on a fly rod got the blood flowing. With hands, admittedly shaking with excitement, I managed to tie onto the light tippet the largest blue gill fly I had with me. It was a yellow popper with a brown hairy tail...,on a number 8 hook.
The sky had become partially cloudy at this time, and the wind velocity had calmed quite a bit. I was pleased at how the rod performed. I had taken great pains to make sure it was balanced properly, and it felt as if I got it pretty close to right. There were no sighs of activity on the pond, so I began casting blind as I moved along the (snake infested?) shoreline. I will wear snake proof boots on my next visit.
It didn't seem too long after I began casting that my small popper was, accompanied by a slurping sound, sucked from the surface. I gave a light strip tug to the line and whatever was on the other end of the line didn't budge. "Could I have snagged a twig on the bottom", I thought. Immediately, however, the "twig" began to move away. The run was not long, but when the fish stopped and I made an effort to gain a bit of line, I realised that the four weight was no match for the fish on the end of the line.
With shaking legs and breath coming in short pants, I played that fish as gently as I could in order to keep from snapping the very light tippet. I can't say for certain how long I fought that fish, but it seemed like forever. I knew at any second that I would loose him due to a bent hook or a snapped tippet. But, I didn't!
I managed, somehow, to slide a giant large mouth over the shallow shoreline, to be grabbed by the lower lip by a very excited and utterly surprised angler. I actually didn't believe what I was holding in my hand. The largest bass I ever caught...,and I humbly relate that it was by accident, not skill..., was while fishing with Cap. Green In Lake feyetville. The giant bass weighed, by Capt. Green's own hand, ten and one quarter pounds.
The bass I caught in that pond, on my 4 wt fly rod was larger. I s&%@ you not. Needless to say, I will be returning to that pond, having caught a total of ten bass in about three hours of fishing.
My question is, just what size rod should I be using in order to save these bunker bass from debilitating exhaustion? I have all sizes, and just need some experienced advice on how to fish a glory hole such as the one I've been introduced to. Any advice from an experienced bass fisherman would be most appreciated.
Bass advice
Re: Bass advice
You know, I'm not sure. I think I need to experience this piece of water for myself, in order to make a proper assessment.
This sounds like a job for a 7/8 weight, with a 10# straight tippet. Tapered tippet is not a requirement, since you're not trying to turn over a delicate little dry fly. Start with about 6 feet, and shorten it as needed to get the fly to turn over.
Kirk B.
This sounds like a job for a 7/8 weight, with a 10# straight tippet. Tapered tippet is not a requirement, since you're not trying to turn over a delicate little dry fly. Start with about 6 feet, and shorten it as needed to get the fly to turn over.
Kirk B.
Re: Bass advice
Great story, thoroughly enjoyed reading every word. What an exciting fish that huge bass proved to be! Congratulations on landing a terrific trophy. That’s why we get out, you just never know what treat is coming along.
My bass on the fly career is now in its second year. Bass are my favorite freshwater fish to cast flies to. I live on a 77 acre lake with some nice bass and I love to go after them with flies, especially in the late winter into the spring. Last March, I got my career best bass at 8 pounds right off the dock in my backyard. That fish wallowed around and flared gills out around the perimeter of dock and then headed for under the dock, but the 7/8 weight CGR had enough butt to turn the fish away from the danger. It wasn’t a particularly protracted battle and took less time to bring to hand than a similar sized redfish. I released the bass, evidently no worse for the experience.
I usually have at least 12 pound tippet tied on and often 15. Bass will often dive under logs or around pilings and the heavier tippet gives me a fighting chance with bigger fish tangled up in cover. I got a 6.5 pound fish wrapped around a neighbor’s dock and dock piling, but the 15# tippet and size 1 heavy hook was up to the test. I like tied blood knotted leaders with a heavier butt stepped down with a mid section or two to a lighter tippet. The leaders I use aren’t all that different than a redfish leader, but often are closer to seven or eight or nine feet long rather than a nine or ten or eleven foot redfish leaders I might be using in the marsh. I haven’t tried level leaders. The graduated, stepped down sectioned leaders transfer energy well enough to turn over bulky deer hair patterns.
I really don’t know if the 7/8 weight CGR would be the right rod for a double digit bass. I’d like to see. I did this past November get a 13 pound redfish on the rod and the fight wasn’t anything longer than it should have been. I think I would like to have at least a six weight going up against hefty bass, just for the flies, but a seven or eight weight seems even better. A nine weight just seems too unnecessarily heavy and tiresome to cast for a Largemouth bass, even as large as those that might be in that pond. I’d want some decently heavy tippet and I think that goes a long way to not overplaying a fish.
Good luck and keep us updated. I’d love to hear more stories from the pond.
My bass on the fly career is now in its second year. Bass are my favorite freshwater fish to cast flies to. I live on a 77 acre lake with some nice bass and I love to go after them with flies, especially in the late winter into the spring. Last March, I got my career best bass at 8 pounds right off the dock in my backyard. That fish wallowed around and flared gills out around the perimeter of dock and then headed for under the dock, but the 7/8 weight CGR had enough butt to turn the fish away from the danger. It wasn’t a particularly protracted battle and took less time to bring to hand than a similar sized redfish. I released the bass, evidently no worse for the experience.
I usually have at least 12 pound tippet tied on and often 15. Bass will often dive under logs or around pilings and the heavier tippet gives me a fighting chance with bigger fish tangled up in cover. I got a 6.5 pound fish wrapped around a neighbor’s dock and dock piling, but the 15# tippet and size 1 heavy hook was up to the test. I like tied blood knotted leaders with a heavier butt stepped down with a mid section or two to a lighter tippet. The leaders I use aren’t all that different than a redfish leader, but often are closer to seven or eight or nine feet long rather than a nine or ten or eleven foot redfish leaders I might be using in the marsh. I haven’t tried level leaders. The graduated, stepped down sectioned leaders transfer energy well enough to turn over bulky deer hair patterns.
I really don’t know if the 7/8 weight CGR would be the right rod for a double digit bass. I’d like to see. I did this past November get a 13 pound redfish on the rod and the fight wasn’t anything longer than it should have been. I think I would like to have at least a six weight going up against hefty bass, just for the flies, but a seven or eight weight seems even better. A nine weight just seems too unnecessarily heavy and tiresome to cast for a Largemouth bass, even as large as those that might be in that pond. I’d want some decently heavy tippet and I think that goes a long way to not overplaying a fish.
Good luck and keep us updated. I’d love to hear more stories from the pond.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Bass advice
A pleasing essay, bro - I got a 4-lb smallie on a 6-1/2' "3wt" Loomis dreged up one day at Turtle Creek Xing, and lifting that fish was pretty exciting - I chased all my friends out of the water - and had to lift it by using my forearm between the butt and ferrule.
KK, you need to get yourself a 60s-70s glass fly rod - they're pretty much all 7-1/2' give or take a half, pretty much all six weights, though each rod will also give or take a couple of line sizes - Fenwick, Phillipson, SA System/Fisher, St. Croix, Silaflex, Heddon, Berkley - and next to indestructible - add a Pflueger Medalist or Martin 67 reel.
Most of these rods will also double up for trout rods.
Giving your penchant for building rods, I'd recommend finding a Fisher blank, which are still out there.
You might also be happy with a new S-glass rod, such as the Echo BAG.
There's a good-looking 8' Orvis Fullflex on ebay that ends in a few hours - maybe he'll relist it.
If you have to, buy the Cabela's CGR 7/8 with the AirCel bass taper
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 9#p2280969
tie up a few cats whiskers
this 28" largemouth from the gin-clear Sabinal only weighted 10 lbs, but it was a hoot on my Cummings Water Witch, and happens to be a 1930 click-pawl Medalist.
Eating better in a reservoir or pond, this would have been a 16- or 18-lb bass.
I've also gone to my inshore 6/7 (this happens to be S-glass) and swapped up the reel and line for big impoundment bass on private Hondo Creek
this is where KT and I filmed half of our adventure on Texas river bass, though here we had all the big bass footage he needed in 90 minutes
above from the dam, I was fishing a T130 sinker, (same place, different day)
and in the skinny water at the top end of the impoundment, I was using my Hardy Marquis 7 with a floating line
of course I was fishing cats whiskers, but KT caught all his big bass on Clousers.
or if you want to go stylin', how about an 8-wt WondeRod bass taper with matching auto reel:
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... 26&t=64564 (though this is a heavier rod than the 3 oz 6-wt glass)
KK, you need to get yourself a 60s-70s glass fly rod - they're pretty much all 7-1/2' give or take a half, pretty much all six weights, though each rod will also give or take a couple of line sizes - Fenwick, Phillipson, SA System/Fisher, St. Croix, Silaflex, Heddon, Berkley - and next to indestructible - add a Pflueger Medalist or Martin 67 reel.
Most of these rods will also double up for trout rods.
Giving your penchant for building rods, I'd recommend finding a Fisher blank, which are still out there.
You might also be happy with a new S-glass rod, such as the Echo BAG.
There's a good-looking 8' Orvis Fullflex on ebay that ends in a few hours - maybe he'll relist it.
If you have to, buy the Cabela's CGR 7/8 with the AirCel bass taper
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... 9#p2280969
tie up a few cats whiskers
this 28" largemouth from the gin-clear Sabinal only weighted 10 lbs, but it was a hoot on my Cummings Water Witch, and happens to be a 1930 click-pawl Medalist.
Eating better in a reservoir or pond, this would have been a 16- or 18-lb bass.
I've also gone to my inshore 6/7 (this happens to be S-glass) and swapped up the reel and line for big impoundment bass on private Hondo Creek
this is where KT and I filmed half of our adventure on Texas river bass, though here we had all the big bass footage he needed in 90 minutesabove from the dam, I was fishing a T130 sinker, (same place, different day)
and in the skinny water at the top end of the impoundment, I was using my Hardy Marquis 7 with a floating line
of course I was fishing cats whiskers, but KT caught all his big bass on Clousers.
or if you want to go stylin', how about an 8-wt WondeRod bass taper with matching auto reel:
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... 26&t=64564 (though this is a heavier rod than the 3 oz 6-wt glass)
Last edited by Ron Mc on Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:45 am, edited 9 times in total.
Re: Bass advice
If this was my trip, the story would not be as eloquent. Something about your writing skills makes this an easy read and I can picture the whole trip.
I will let other more experienced Bass fishermen and women chime in. Our own TKF Stubbs is from a Bass fishing background.
I will let other more experienced Bass fishermen and women chime in. Our own TKF Stubbs is from a Bass fishing background.
Re: Bass advice
Gentlemen, thanks for the advice. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your time, patience and thoughtfulness in assisting me with my newly discovered fishing experience. I regret, however, that my appreciation doesn't extend to providing the location of the pond. 
Ron, I understand how a shorter, glass rod would so readily fit the bill, but I don't have any place for another fly rod in my repertoire. Besides I might loose a wonderful 45 year relationship with my bride if she sees another piece of fishing equipment enter the house.
I have an 8wt that was custom built for me by a master rod builder about six years ago. One of my prized possessions. It's a pretty fancy set up in which the builder integrated various kinds of ivory throughout the handle and butt section. I have used this rod exclusively for bone fish, snook, and permit until now. I'm afraid my Caribbean adventures are behind me, so I can see no reason why this perfectly balanced rod won't continue performing it's magic on those lunker bass.
I will be at the fly desk tying up cat whiskers...,in yellow...,this afternoon.
Ron, I understand how a shorter, glass rod would so readily fit the bill, but I don't have any place for another fly rod in my repertoire. Besides I might loose a wonderful 45 year relationship with my bride if she sees another piece of fishing equipment enter the house.
I have an 8wt that was custom built for me by a master rod builder about six years ago. One of my prized possessions. It's a pretty fancy set up in which the builder integrated various kinds of ivory throughout the handle and butt section. I have used this rod exclusively for bone fish, snook, and permit until now. I'm afraid my Caribbean adventures are behind me, so I can see no reason why this perfectly balanced rod won't continue performing it's magic on those lunker bass.
I will be at the fly desk tying up cat whiskers...,in yellow...,this afternoon.
-
Ron Mc
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Re: Bass advice
here you go, you can sneak in this cheap and elegant venerable Martin drag reel for the inshore rod and line it with the $30 AirCel bass taperKayak Kid wrote:...Besides I might loose a wonderful 45 year relationship with my bride if she sees another piece of fishing equipment enter the house.
I have an 8wt that was custom built for me by a master rod builder about six years ago. One of my prized possessions. It's a pretty fancy set up in which the builder integrated various kinds of ivory throughout the handle and butt section. I have used this rod exclusively for bone fish, snook, and permit until now. I'm afraid my Caribbean adventures are behind me, so I can see no reason why this perfectly balanced rod won't continue performing it's magic on those lunker bass.
I will be at the fly desk tying up cat whiskers...,in yellow...,this afternoon.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Martin-MG-8-Fl ... 2712729787
Re: Bass advice
Congrats KK!!!
You definitely got some fishing savvy to haul in hogs like that on that light equipment!
But you're killing me, how come I don't have access to that kind of place???
Something I said, fish gods mad at me, not holding my mouth right...?
You definitely got some fishing savvy to haul in hogs like that on that light equipment!
But you're killing me, how come I don't have access to that kind of place???
Something I said, fish gods mad at me, not holding my mouth right...?
Re: Bass advice
That's a darn nice reel for the money, Ron Mac. However, I have no need for an additional reel.
I am always amazed and captivated by your accumulated knowledge of fly fishing. Unlike like you, ostensibly born to wealth, I had to work for a living the first 63 years of my life, and that left all too little time for fly fishing. However, I have done my best to make up for that transgression during these past 18 years of lazy bum retirement, as best I could.
Which brings me to the subject of your long and extensive experience with whipping the water. The very few of my family members who do some fly fishing can well afford the equipment they need. My fishing buddies, what few are still with us, have no problem acquiring the gear they want.
While nothing on the scope of your enthusiastic accumulation of fly tackle, I do have a bit of nice gear that one day, I will have no need of. I was wondering if you will in a position to see that this equipment Is put into the hands of those, perhaps younger, members of this obsessive sport who might be a bit financially challenged? If it's a task that you are not in a position to take on, perhaps you could recommend someone or some organisation that would. I, of course require no remuneration for the gear other than the satisfaction that it will be used by someone who loves the activity as much as you and I do.
I am always amazed and captivated by your accumulated knowledge of fly fishing. Unlike like you, ostensibly born to wealth, I had to work for a living the first 63 years of my life, and that left all too little time for fly fishing. However, I have done my best to make up for that transgression during these past 18 years of lazy bum retirement, as best I could.
Which brings me to the subject of your long and extensive experience with whipping the water. The very few of my family members who do some fly fishing can well afford the equipment they need. My fishing buddies, what few are still with us, have no problem acquiring the gear they want.
While nothing on the scope of your enthusiastic accumulation of fly tackle, I do have a bit of nice gear that one day, I will have no need of. I was wondering if you will in a position to see that this equipment Is put into the hands of those, perhaps younger, members of this obsessive sport who might be a bit financially challenged? If it's a task that you are not in a position to take on, perhaps you could recommend someone or some organisation that would. I, of course require no remuneration for the gear other than the satisfaction that it will be used by someone who loves the activity as much as you and I do.
-
Ron Mc
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Re: Bass advice
What you missed is I made my tackle work for me - buy low, sell high - work on other people's vintage reels, know people who will give me good deals.
I got a reputation for good work and people sent me their $4000 antique reels to clean and repair for them - that hobby labor went back into tackle.
What have you paid for your graphite rods and disc drag reels - rhetorical, of course. Equally rhetorical, what can you sell them for.
How are you with a camera - a tripod is a huge help, and coming up with a system that makes a good backdrop.
For example below, a well-sunlit oak table in a breakfast nook. (I have 50GB of tackle photos, most of it tackle I don't own)
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... f=4&t=6899
If you do need to sell off a lot at once, a great idea is to consign at Lang's auction. Also a good idea to journal your tackle - everything you know about its specs, history, provenance - correspondence with a maker - even where and how you like to fish it.
When I started buying venerable glass rods on ebay, they were $15-50, we identified the good ones and rode the market.
My $15 Heddon 8381 Pal Pro Weight that we figured out was an incredible mountain trout rod, Cameron Mortensen (fiberglass manifesto) bought from me for $45 - his very first glass rod - and now they're $350 when you can find one.
I sold it because it was too light for TX hill country, and was exactly what he was looking for.
There were no new glass rods when we started doing this, and now you see there's a market for new glass. It's tough to find the good venerable glass, because collectors are holding on to them, and smart people like me are fishing them.
(Of course Cameron hasn't bought tackle in years either, they give him rods to fish.)
I bought my T160 kayak 9 years ago by selling a 1917 Hardy St George for the retail cost of the boat, $1040. I paid $500 for that reel, fished it 4 years, and can trace that money back to a $50 JW Young Valdex, which I repaired, sold and traded up, etc.
I got into cane because it was cheaper than graphite - $250 is (was?) a killer outfit in vintage blue collar cane if you know what to buy, and there's always someone "starting out" in cane who wants to buy it from you.
I bought many $50-100 reels that are $400-500 in today's market, but also I'm not selling any more.
I bought and fished several new reels for $400 and sold them for $800, including limited edition c. 2000 Hardy St. George, Hardy Bougle Mk IV, and Ted Godfrey Westminster - I fished these reels 4 years and sold them for more than I paid, because that was the market price - the L/E Hardy's were all in collectors hands, and Ted Godfrey raised his prices.
I only have a handful of pieces that I paid their market value - everything else, I paid what I considered wholesale, so I could fish them and then sell them for profit.
And for 7 or 8 years, I was kinda the guy who set the market on vintage reels, but was also surprised when the market passed my expectations. I still field frequent questions from the internet bulletin boards covering this stuff, where I don't even hang anymore - people look me up. I have other friends I coached along the way who had more to spend than I, and amassed really big collections of $75 reels that are now worth $300-500 each - and have their good graces if I call on them.
The key is sell and trade up in condition/quality for the same money, because the rarer stuff inflates better, and that means watching the market and patiently spending your money.
I have a couple $1000 custom cane rods that the makers wanted $500 reels from my collection in even trade.
I've had as much as $30,000 worth of antique tackle, but I didn't pay that - I invested time in educating myself and others on internet bulletin boards - photography and history - in a hobby I enjoy and that enhances fishing for me. I've sold much of it to buy firearms, kayaks, bicycles. For the past 10 years, I haven't bought any fly tackle, except for a couple of pieces I had sold to grub-steak something else, and then bought them back for less than I sold them - that's what they were offered to me. This summer and winter, bought a 1960 Harnell and CGR 7/8 fly rods. Already had reels for them, and just bought one fly line that works right on the CGR. Before I bought those rods, was looking instead for another rod that I sold, but can't find the Alaska buyer.
these two aren't mine, but reels I worked on for other people - an 1884 patent JVH-made Spalding Kosmic trademark infringement reel worth $4000,
and 1890 Leonard- Mills bimetal made by Philbrook & Payne, $3000
I got a reputation for good work and people sent me their $4000 antique reels to clean and repair for them - that hobby labor went back into tackle.
What have you paid for your graphite rods and disc drag reels - rhetorical, of course. Equally rhetorical, what can you sell them for.
Finding homes for quality tackle works best slowly piece by piece, and for the more contemporary pieces, by getting discussions going about the tackle quality on appropriate internet forums. E.g., there's a current Winston IM6 thread on FFR forum, and to no surprise, any rods listed sell there instantly.Kayak Kid wrote:... I was wondering if you will in a position to see that this equipment Is put into the hands of those, perhaps younger, members of this obsessive sport who might be a bit financially challenged? If it's a task that you are not in a position to take on, perhaps you could recommend someone or some organisation that would. I, of course require no remuneration for the gear other than the satisfaction that it will be used by someone who loves the activity as much as you and I do.
How are you with a camera - a tripod is a huge help, and coming up with a system that makes a good backdrop.
For example below, a well-sunlit oak table in a breakfast nook. (I have 50GB of tackle photos, most of it tackle I don't own)
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... f=4&t=6899
If you do need to sell off a lot at once, a great idea is to consign at Lang's auction. Also a good idea to journal your tackle - everything you know about its specs, history, provenance - correspondence with a maker - even where and how you like to fish it.
When I started buying venerable glass rods on ebay, they were $15-50, we identified the good ones and rode the market.
My $15 Heddon 8381 Pal Pro Weight that we figured out was an incredible mountain trout rod, Cameron Mortensen (fiberglass manifesto) bought from me for $45 - his very first glass rod - and now they're $350 when you can find one.
I sold it because it was too light for TX hill country, and was exactly what he was looking for.
There were no new glass rods when we started doing this, and now you see there's a market for new glass. It's tough to find the good venerable glass, because collectors are holding on to them, and smart people like me are fishing them.
(Of course Cameron hasn't bought tackle in years either, they give him rods to fish.)
I bought my T160 kayak 9 years ago by selling a 1917 Hardy St George for the retail cost of the boat, $1040. I paid $500 for that reel, fished it 4 years, and can trace that money back to a $50 JW Young Valdex, which I repaired, sold and traded up, etc.
I got into cane because it was cheaper than graphite - $250 is (was?) a killer outfit in vintage blue collar cane if you know what to buy, and there's always someone "starting out" in cane who wants to buy it from you.
I bought many $50-100 reels that are $400-500 in today's market, but also I'm not selling any more.
I bought and fished several new reels for $400 and sold them for $800, including limited edition c. 2000 Hardy St. George, Hardy Bougle Mk IV, and Ted Godfrey Westminster - I fished these reels 4 years and sold them for more than I paid, because that was the market price - the L/E Hardy's were all in collectors hands, and Ted Godfrey raised his prices.
I only have a handful of pieces that I paid their market value - everything else, I paid what I considered wholesale, so I could fish them and then sell them for profit.
And for 7 or 8 years, I was kinda the guy who set the market on vintage reels, but was also surprised when the market passed my expectations. I still field frequent questions from the internet bulletin boards covering this stuff, where I don't even hang anymore - people look me up. I have other friends I coached along the way who had more to spend than I, and amassed really big collections of $75 reels that are now worth $300-500 each - and have their good graces if I call on them.
The key is sell and trade up in condition/quality for the same money, because the rarer stuff inflates better, and that means watching the market and patiently spending your money.
I have a couple $1000 custom cane rods that the makers wanted $500 reels from my collection in even trade.
I've had as much as $30,000 worth of antique tackle, but I didn't pay that - I invested time in educating myself and others on internet bulletin boards - photography and history - in a hobby I enjoy and that enhances fishing for me. I've sold much of it to buy firearms, kayaks, bicycles. For the past 10 years, I haven't bought any fly tackle, except for a couple of pieces I had sold to grub-steak something else, and then bought them back for less than I sold them - that's what they were offered to me. This summer and winter, bought a 1960 Harnell and CGR 7/8 fly rods. Already had reels for them, and just bought one fly line that works right on the CGR. Before I bought those rods, was looking instead for another rod that I sold, but can't find the Alaska buyer.
these two aren't mine, but reels I worked on for other people - an 1884 patent JVH-made Spalding Kosmic trademark infringement reel worth $4000, and 1890 Leonard- Mills bimetal made by Philbrook & Payne, $3000
Last edited by Ron Mc on Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:15 pm, edited 9 times in total.
Re: Bass advice
Those reels are things of beauty.
-
Ron Mc
- TKF 5000 Club
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- Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
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Re: Bass advice
thanks - there's 50GB where those came from...
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... =4&t=61688
Also for others interested in finding the old stuff, the key isn't old, it's quality - the benchmade and high-quality production items of their day retain their value over time, and the supply will never increase, while demand may.
I'm going to show my old Harnell rod again
This rod was the Sage of its day. In fact, Jim Green of Sage designed this rod, right before he went to Grizzly and straightened out Fenwick.
For where I use it, was happy to find this 8' 7-wt in this condition for $110. It would be a better rod if I put larger new salt snake guides on it, but it's too nice to change. As is, it casts a slime line with aplomb. The rod taper is much better than the CGR 7/8. The hardware and decoration may look cheap compared to fly shop rods today, but that stamped patented reel seat is solid and honking. Also, the airtight aluminum ferrules don't readily come apart, until you warm up the female ferrule by rubbing with a cloth.
Don't buy glass and cane in 9' rods - 9' is specifically where graphite works best, and the other MOC's are just heavy here.
Shorter rods are where glass and cane Work better than graphite.
The reels - most people don't get Medalist made in US was never a blue-collar reel. It was the most expensive production reel made here. It wasn't blue-collar until they went offshore, the advent of fly fishing pro shops, and you could no longer sell fly tackle if it wasn't graphite, disc drag, and machined from barstock. Though stamped for production, the Medalist plates were aircraft-grade alloy sheet - when they finally went to China for the last -AK models, the Medalist was cheap, using flimsy die-cast parts.
But a 1938 patent drag that didn't change through 2010 - even Ross borrowed from the design.
Likewise, the planetary multiplier reel on my Harnell is still made today by the Valentine brothers in an aerospace fab shop in MA, though my example is from the '80s when it cost $120 (and the old examples sell for $250 today).
http://fiberglassflyrodders.com/forum/v ... =4&t=61688
Also for others interested in finding the old stuff, the key isn't old, it's quality - the benchmade and high-quality production items of their day retain their value over time, and the supply will never increase, while demand may.
I'm going to show my old Harnell rod again
This rod was the Sage of its day. In fact, Jim Green of Sage designed this rod, right before he went to Grizzly and straightened out Fenwick.
For where I use it, was happy to find this 8' 7-wt in this condition for $110. It would be a better rod if I put larger new salt snake guides on it, but it's too nice to change. As is, it casts a slime line with aplomb. The rod taper is much better than the CGR 7/8. The hardware and decoration may look cheap compared to fly shop rods today, but that stamped patented reel seat is solid and honking. Also, the airtight aluminum ferrules don't readily come apart, until you warm up the female ferrule by rubbing with a cloth.
Don't buy glass and cane in 9' rods - 9' is specifically where graphite works best, and the other MOC's are just heavy here.
Shorter rods are where glass and cane Work better than graphite.
The reels - most people don't get Medalist made in US was never a blue-collar reel. It was the most expensive production reel made here. It wasn't blue-collar until they went offshore, the advent of fly fishing pro shops, and you could no longer sell fly tackle if it wasn't graphite, disc drag, and machined from barstock. Though stamped for production, the Medalist plates were aircraft-grade alloy sheet - when they finally went to China for the last -AK models, the Medalist was cheap, using flimsy die-cast parts.
But a 1938 patent drag that didn't change through 2010 - even Ross borrowed from the design.
Likewise, the planetary multiplier reel on my Harnell is still made today by the Valentine brothers in an aerospace fab shop in MA, though my example is from the '80s when it cost $120 (and the old examples sell for $250 today).-
Finn Maccumhail
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Re: Bass advice
Ron- did you put One-Pfoot aftermarket parts on that Medalist? https://onepfoot.com/
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Ron Mc
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Re: Bass advice
hi friend, the late Bill Franke used to send me all his new parts to field test, especially to evaluate his repair instructions and photo diagrams in brochures that accompanied the parts.Finn Maccumhail wrote:Ron- did you put One-Pfoot aftermarket parts on that Medalist? https://onepfoot.com/
So yes, that reel has a ratchet plate, latch plate and drag adjustment knob. Him machining all the foot variations for postwar and prewar Young reels was also my idea, because the swap was so simple and especially made the reels more useful on modern sliding-band reel seats. That was also the same reason he started One Pfoot parts for Medalists.
Between what he was doing on the feet, and I was doing on conversion to LHW, we created a market for vintage Young reels with cane rod owners.
Here's one of his Pfeet and replacement handle grasp on a dated 1942 Gem. The original formulated plastic grasp rotted in the box, and the otherwise mint reel had never been fished.
A $15 reel turned into a $100 reel.
And since Martin foot screws are on the same centers as Pflueger, only needed longer screws and spacers for this M-68 - really dressed it up.
Getting this part was actually my first contact wit Bill.
After the Young suggestion, I ended up with a wholesale account, free parts, he made Beautful brass-capped rod tubes for me.
Re: Bass advice
The Fly Fishing Redneck catching a Bucketmouth https://youtu.be/uVKvzOam_qM
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