You can contact Dennis at: DSmith7136@msn.com

    

I go through gear phases like every one else I suppose. When I first started fly fishing (in the late 1950s) my first fly rod was a Garcia Conolon fiberglass 8-1/2 footer for an HDH line which, if memory serves, would designated be a DT6F today but I ‘m not certain. Garcia was a big name in those days and I was plumb tickled to own such a classy rod.

     But when my father bought a genuine cane rod, I inherited his Shakespeare Wonder Rod and I thought that was pretty razzle-dazzle too. It was one of the early models of spirally-wrapped brown - not white - fiberglass.  Still, it wasn’t long before I wanted a bamboo rod too. Bamboo was the ultimate. It wasn’t until I got out of the service in the early seventies that I was able to buy one, though. I drove all the way from the southern Catskills in New York to the Orvis Shop in Manchester, Vermont to get the thing.  I couldn’t afford $100.00 Battenkill, so I bought a 7-1/2 foot Madison, 6-weight in kit form instead. That was back when Orvis impregnated their blanks with Bakelite to make them impervious to water. They may have been water proof, but they were still fragile. I broke that cane rod three times - twice on bluegills! It still hangs on my wall wearing an old Cortland 444 LTD multiplier reel. The old brown Shakespeare hangs there too, along with a 7- foot wheat-colored Grizzly fiberglass rod for a 5- weight line that was actually my father’s favorite dry fly stick. He much preferred it to his bamboo rod.

     A couple of years ago I inherited my deceased cousin’s 8-1/2 foot South Bend glass rod. It, too is rated for an HDH or Level D line, has a fighting butt and striking red, black and white wrappings. Julie restored the rod for me last year and though she replaced the all the guides, she very wisely convinced me to retain as much of the original wraps and markings as possible. I was amazed at how accurately she was able to match the original color scheme. I mounted an old Pflueger 1495 Medalist on it and spooled it with a sea foam-green Cortland line to match the color of the rod. I must say, the old stick is a real eye-catcher, and truth-to-tell, it casts beautifully. I guess if I had to compare it to something, I’d say it feels and casts like a 9 foot 7-weight cane rod -slow and heavy but smooth as silk.

     Interestingly, Julie has rewrapped all of these rods for me over the years - she chose dark brown wraps to grace the honey-colored Grizzly blank, forest green wraps for the rusty-brown Shakespeare, and as I mentioned, did a super job restoring the red, black and white wraps on the South Bend. I had no idea when I was having any of this work done that these rods would become so special to me. I sometimes wonder if I’m just going through another phase. 

      Dennis Smith is an Outdoor Writer and Photographer. His articles and photos have appeared in numerous outdoor publications, catalogs and newspapers. Dennis can be reached at (970) 669-6074. Want to know more about Dennis?

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