fred krow
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I have owned the HMH adaptor (both versions) the newest HMH collet jaws conversion to the main vise, the Renzetti Tube fly vise.
My current favorite is the Dyna-King Tube Fly Vise 2002.
http://www.dyna-king.com/flyvise_dtl.asp?itemval=22&pv=0&pid=018
It will accept the HMH and Renzetti mandrels and any custom mandrels you may make up.
Regards,
FKMost rods are defined as fast vs. slow as follows:
Fast action = the upper 1/3 of the rod flexes easily and the lower 2/3 is fairly stiff. This allows close distance casting using the tip and longer reserve power in the butt.
Slow action = full flex when initially loaded,,,,it does not have the fast action tip. Most of these rod will bend into the cork when pushed for distance.
Medium action = Most are a variation of the two above,,,,most medium action have a stiffer tip section wrt the fast action.
You cannot change the rods “action” by over lining or under lining the rod. You are really just flexing the rod deeper with over lining ( with the same load applied by the caster). Do not forget the line does not “load” the rod,,,the FF hand/arm motion bends the rod. The rod flexes due to the line weight (mass) resisting the acceleration imparted by the FF on the rod.
Some individuals and rod manuf. will refer to a “fast recovery”,,,,this is not the same as fast action. The fast recovery is directly related to the rod material modulus (graphite stiffness). This is a relative indication of how quickly the rod goes from loaded to straight, a time function.
A high modulus rod can me manuf. anywhere from fast to slow action. For example the discontinued Sage SP series. The SP+ was very stiff and fast, the SP was medium and the SPL was rather slow in action,,,,they were all manuf. with the very stiff graphite IV material.
Regards,
FKLA Times,,,,,,it is edited and staged as a typical Anti-War, Anti-Military liberal presentation.
No support from other vets = rather unrealistic. The LA Times has a world wide network and could easily find help for this Marine, instead they exploite his problems.
My time was Southeast Asia 1966-1970, we had and still have problem vets, a good friend who was with the USMC has PTSD and we discuss it when necessary. Another good friend served 3 tours in Korea on the front lines, his mother went to their state senator and he was forced to come home,,,,,,one week later,,his entire company was wiped out.
I had nighmares for years, it is normal for most vets.
Regards,
FK
Fred KrowI suggest contacting Bob Clouser directly, he has a fly shop with all the components you need.
http://www.clouserflyfishing.com/index.html
Regards,
FKI have been using a Bogen 3021 since the early 1990’s, it does not have the Bling of the Gitzo however it is sturdy and reliable.
One caution on the White Nikon lens available in the USA.
They are all grey market imports and not covered by Nikon USA warrantee. The white colored lens is made for the Japanese home market.
If it was a standard lens with external drive for auto focus, I would consider the purchase however, with teh VR and internal motors (AF-s) in the newest lens designs, they become more failure prone and very expensive to repair if not USA Nikon. There are rumors that a grey market lens will not be touched by Nikon USA repair departments.
I purchased my first Nikon in 1967 while living in Japan and have followed the development of Nikon for many years.
Regards,
FKI have also cast the new Sage Smallmouth rod, very impressive design.
It will be excellent for large wind resistant flys, especially in light saltwater applications.
We all thought the short rod length would be a disadvantage however, it makes the heavy line very easy to cast.
Regards,
FKI fished the SA Sharkskin in WF4F on a Sage 490-4 XP last weekend.
It is an excellent line, the noise goes away in 5-10 minutes and it makes much less noise when wet vs. fly shop parking lot/grass casting. The textured surface also feels different when wet.
The line does float higher and is easier to lift from the water surface.
When the water logged leader pulls the tip under, a quick wipe with paper towel will enable the tip to float for another hour.
I cast the line with emergers, nymphs & split shot and streamers,,,,,,it is a similar taper to the original Mastery Distance line (pre XPS GPS, XXD etc). SA will introduce DT, Nymph and other tapers in due time.
The line excells at mending and easy effortless pickup & casting, this is more important to me than distance.
Is the line worth $100 retail, for me yes, if it will give us 3x life compared to the other high end lines (presently at $65 retail).
Regards,
FKYears ago I was a Scott Rod fan and owned 42, if I remember correctly.
I had all of the Harry Wilson designed “Bass” taper rods. Harry told me how he made the rods, it was very simple. A 8wt rod would have a standard 8wt tip and a 7wt butt section, this is how he made a stiff tip with slower action into the lower section. Note that all of the Bass tapers were two piece rods, he also sold a option of second tip which matched the butt flex. You could buy a 7bass/6trout combination rod with one butt and two tips.
I had Harry make for me the only 4pc 8wt bass rod produced by Scott Rod.
If I remember correctly he had bass tapers in 9ft, 6wt, 7wt & 8wt, the 8/9wt was 9 1/2 ft long.
Today my casting style has changed and I much prefer a fast action with flexible tip (upper 1/3) and stiff lower 2/3 of the rod blank. I have sold/traded all of my Scott G and HP series rods.
When you get into the 8wt rods,,,they all work at distances we cast for largemouth & smallmouth bass.
Regards,
FKI shipped an older Abel No 2 to CA on a Friday and the following Wed it was on my desk,,,modified per my request with no charge. This was also a spool handle change request and change RH to LH wind (this was the early drag, today they are owner convertible). They were first class for customer service and turn arround time.
Regards,
FKThe Abel Big Game series is an excellent reel, one tip is to remember to back off the drag pressure when the reel is not fished. Leaving the drag compressed with deform the cork surface and eventually give you problems with uneven drag resistance. Once a year add a small amount of neetsfoot oil or superlub to the cork surface,,,if it dries out the drag will not be smooth.
I have fished the Abel reels for many years and they are bulletproof,,,,I traded all of my FinNor and Ross salt water reels for the Abel Big Game series. One guide I have known for years on Cape Cod stated that he has seen all of the reels fail in the salt except for three,,,,,Abel, Pate/Tibor and Charlton. All of the other brands have crapped out for various reasons with N.E. stripers.
One long time friend is a saltwater fanatic and makes more trips in a season than I would in 5 years,,,,he never cleans his equipment and just throws the rod/reel in his trunk all year. Well, he came into the local FF shop when I was with him and complained his Abel No.3 was noisy,,,it worked O’K but was making strange noises,,,,the reel was about 3-4 years old,,,never washed or cleaned,,,it looked like a hull from a WWII submarine,,,,covered in green slime and gunk. We took off the spool and he had two leaders wrapped arround the brake/gear plate,,,,some windex and paper towels cleaned up the crap accumulated inside the frame, added some neetsfoot oil to the cork and the reel went out fishing the next day,,,working fine.
Regards,
FKI have just ordered a TFO 11ft for 5wt rod, it should arrive this weekend. This will be my #4 rod at 11ft and designed for two handed overhead/spey casting. I also have several 12 1/2ft rods for 6wt and 8wt spey lines,,,they are too heavy for the smaller rivers and trout/smallmouth fishing in southern N.E. My larger rods are 14ft, 15ft and 16ft all for 10/11wt spey lines.
The way I like to handle the longer rods when stripping line is to tuck the rod under the casting arm and strip with two hands,,,,,this is a long time saltwater technique to accomodate the heavy 9ft 10wt-11wt striper rods and heavy reels.
The TFO 11ft 5wt is designed to spey cast with the Rio 5/6 Windcutter line or overhead cast with a standard WF 5 or 6wt line. I will begin the overhead line selection with a SA WF6F Nymph line,,,the new design has a total head length of 66ft and should be good for turning over heavy flies. I also have the Rio 5/6 Windcutter to test, this line is too light for my 12 1/2ft 6wt spey rods, one is the TFO 6126-4 and the second is a Sage 6126-3 in Graphite IV.
I also have the Sage 11ft for 6wt which at present has a cork handle designed for single handed casting, it is due for modificaitons later this winter with a 6″ butt extension. It will spey cast a 6wt WF6F or WF7F very nicely. My other two 11ft rods are the CND Atlantis series, the 9/10wt and the 11/12wt, these are made for two handed overhead casting and work great with Rio Outbound lines and 40-45ft shooting heads.
In the three day class I attended with Jim Vincent and Simon Gawesworth of Rio,,,,they demonstriated exceptional spey casting distance and line control with a 9ft 5wt rod. It is all about technique and timing not the exact line matching to the rod or nothing works. Everyone in the class had a different casting level and we had a pile of demo rods (approximately 40 rods) and every Rio line made for selection and test casting. Some students liked the heavy load and full flex bending and others preferred the lighter lines and faster action rods. They all worked if the basic principles of casting were followed.
Great discussion and very different views on the 11ft rods.
Regards,
FK
