1700s-style Gear
- This topic has 5 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated Dec 31, 2005 at 4:06 am by
.
-
Posts
-
With all the interest these days in old-time stuff, from 19th-century reproduction muzzleloader hunting, to Civil War re-enactments, to people who get together to dress up in medieval armor and beat the tar out of each other, I’m wondering if anyone out there has ever had any interest in looking into antique-style fly fishing.
In reading about the way it was done a couple hundred years ago, with solid-wood 15 ft. rods, horse hair leaders, and silkworm gut tippet, it’s a testament to their skill that they were able to catch trout at all.
I’d be curious to see just what a greenheart rod felt like in the hand, or what a silk worm gut tippet looked like. Even better, it would be neat to take some gear like that out on the Caney or somewhere and do a photo essay on “Fishing 1700s Style.” Surely I can’t be the only one who has thought about this?
bd
Hey bd-
CLAN rods of Scotland makes a Greenheart spey on an 1895 design – that is probably the closest you’ll get.
From time to time, a few of the regular (or irregular) rod builders on Clark’s board have talked about building wood rods. I don’t think you’d be limited to a $4,000 stick from Scotland if you were truly interested.
Also, I’ve played around with the new Italian braided silk lines (can’t remember the company name right now).
They’re wonderful things, though a little too much work for me. They even produce a synthetic version that’s less work. My buddy Dave Roberts is a killer midge/spring creek fisher, and he loves his silk lines for their suppleness and for how little they’re affected by wind.
He fishes them pretty much anytime the water surface is slick.
Not all the old stuff is obsolete… 😎
TC
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.