It is currently 28 Mar 2024, 12:53


Previous  1, 2, 3  Next New Topic Add Reply
Author Message
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 09 Apr 2022, 08:35 • #26 
Sport
Joined: 08/26/19
Posts: 97
Location: US-MI
Had to think hard on this one. I bought my first fly rod in May of 1966. It was $5 used and I thought Wonderod was the perfect name. I still have it but the number of rods I’ve bought since is disgusting.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 09 Apr 2022, 08:56 • #27 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/18/12
Posts: 1712
Location: Bozeman, MT
First love was not my first rod but my first good rod. An Orvis graphite 7'11" 4wt. I purchased it from the Orvis shop in the Catskills in 1984 and I still have it and fish it on rare occasions. I true gem!


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 09 Apr 2022, 10:39 • #28 
Master Guide
Joined: 08/03/14
Posts: 945
Location: central AR
First love was not my first rod but my first good rod.

This is me exactly. A mid eighties Sage RPL 3 wgt that is a perfect 4wgt in my hands and was my go to rod for many years.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 09 Apr 2022, 11:49 • #29 
Guide
Joined: 06/07/15
Posts: 162
Location: US-PA
Love is kind of a strong word for a fishin' pole. :eek
The first rod I really liked enough to take almost all of the time - Sage GFL 576.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 15 Oct 2022, 17:44 • #30 
Guide
Joined: 03/02/14
Posts: 144
Location: US-peripatetic
[quote="swamp"]Not my first but it was a Fenwick fl72-6,that my friend built for me in 1969.

Mine was like that, too. I had other rods I’d fished with, but after I got the Conolon-that was my ah-hah, this is awesome moment.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 15 Oct 2022, 17:55 • #31 
Sport
Joined: 07/27/21
Posts: 46
Location: WV,MD,NC,SC,TN,NY but mostly PA
Quote:
Not my first but it was a Fenwick fl72-6,that my friend built for me in 1969.


Amen to that.

I owned many rods over my lifetime but my FL72-6 is still the one I really love. I acquired a mint one piece blank from the auction site recently and look forward to building it this winter.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 18 Oct 2022, 20:44 • #32 
Master Guide
Joined: 04/27/09
Posts: 573
Location: US-SD
I reckon that my first really useful flyrod was a Fenwick 7 1/2 foot rod that I built from a blank. It cost me $17.56 with the hardware (I was a poor college student at the time). I thought then that I was being quite adventuresome since the rod was rated as a 5 weight- very light weight in the 1970s! I found out that it was an excellent stream rod and also could throw streamers for bass. Although I have gone nuts in accumulating flyrods since those years, I still have the rod and use it happily. If for some reason I was forced to use only this rod exclusively from now on, I would not feel I was handicapped.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 19 Oct 2022, 12:00 • #33 
Guide
Joined: 04/17/12
Posts: 204
Location: Blacksburg, VA
My first love was not my first rod either - I went through a number of inexpensive rods that I felt no special attachment to until I obtained my first good rod, a Scott G754/3. That was a trusted companion for many years. I semi-retired it after about 30 years when I acquired an L. Kenney 794. The blank on that old Scott is pretty beat up but it still fishes wonderfully. I hope to pass it down to someone in my family's younger generation if any of them take up fishing more seriously than they do now.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 19 Oct 2022, 17:35 • #34 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/25/08
Posts: 1526
Location: Delton, MI
The first rod I adored wasn’t my first, second, third, or even fourth. Though I fell in love with fly fishing using those rods, mostly glass, it wasn’t until I got a Scott G 7’7” 4wt 3pc that I could barely fish for trout with anything else until I got into their glass rods that were still being built about the same time or earlier. Though I had other glass rods, it was that Scott G that introduced me to some of the finest rods and then the finest glass rods, starting with Scotts, but also got me looking into glass in depth. Go figure.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 19 Oct 2022, 18:05 • #35 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
7' Heddon Pal I bought for 5 bucks.Taught myself to cast with it,Put it away for long periods.Got a couple lower end carbon rods that were frustrating to say the least but kept catching fish.One summer i finally bought a vhs tape on how to cast.All of a sudden i could especially with that sublime colored Heddon.I had no idea that Heddon even made rods.I got a lot better at tying during the long dark winters,Leaving for work in the dark driving home at sunset.I have fished as long as i can remember and have caught everything that swims in my region and some big ones.same old same old.That heddon got stuck together and my sons "fixed " it for me with pliers and destroyed.I bought a NOS of the same rpd or as close as i could find but am scared to fish it for some strange reason.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 19 Oct 2022, 20:53 • #36 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 12/31/15
Posts: 1238
Location: Northern Rockies
Like others, it took me a while to find a rod that connected with me in that mystical, numinous sense. But once I fished the ********* 8'6"Western Glass 4-weight, I was completely taken. I've already said a lot about it, and I wouldn't change a word. It's still the rod I fish with most, and I like it so much, I bought a second blank to build out. It's the only rod I have two of in my quiver in case anything happens to it or until I learn to fish with both hands at the same time.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 20 Oct 2022, 06:51 • #37 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 10/09/09
Posts: 2796
Location: US-NM
My first fly rod a ff79 but really fell in love with modern glass........Aurelio


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 20 Oct 2022, 09:54 • #38 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 09/05/07
Posts: 2153
Location: West Virginia
To me it's the rod I've made the most memories with and the one I'd never let go. It has to be my Winston DL4 9' #4, the best big spring creek fly rod I've ever fished.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 20 Oct 2022, 11:07 • #39 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 02/27/16
Posts: 2327
Location: US-IL
I love the vintage stuff and many were NOS or like new condition. I have many i really fish well with and will be fishing some cane rods now and then too.I see beautiful custom rods on this site all the time but in the end i want the rod to be a tool and not bum me out if something happens to it.Even tho i have yet to break a glass rod and i am hard on my equipment. And i prefer glass 2 piece rods.The one carbon rod i love is a first generation TFO 2 pc 3wt.The original Heddon really taught me how to cast and hopefully the replacement will get a few stocked trout on it before the ice comes.It lawn casts beautifully like i remember.Proud of myself as i have about 10 less flyrods so far this year.Found good homes for a few nicer ones to board members and have gifted 5 or 6 to friends who may or may not use them.The Heddon and 2 or 3 others are with me til the end.

I still have the same hammer in my work tools my Dad bought me in 1984.Used it nearly every day for nearly 40 years.It is still a fine hammer.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 20 Oct 2022, 21:53 • #40 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/23/18
Posts: 614
Location: Eastern Wa
My first flyrod i loved was my 6th. First one was an unmarked 8ft fiberglass rod i found in a discount bin at Spokane's White Elephant store. Second was an Eagle Claw Denco 9' 9 wt. Third was a crappy graphite pflueger or some brand i couldnt remember. Next two I built using Cabelas Fish Eagle graphite blanks.

Finally I obtained a Sage 2pc Graphite ii 490LL blank. Built that rod (1984) and was blown away on how nice that rod cast. That was and still is my favorite graphite fly rod except I broke it and had to buy another to replace it.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 23 Oct 2022, 19:01 • #41 
Guide
Joined: 03/02/14
Posts: 144
Location: US-peripatetic
Some great responses.

the hersh; that Heddon color truly is sublime!

Lots of ferralites & Scott's, I'd sure like to get my hands on a couple Scott G's & maybe some other NOS blanks.

Now, I “need” to increase my inventory! :lol


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 05:01 • #42 
Sport
Joined: 07/19/20
Posts: 76
In '65 or '66 I saw Gadabout Gaddis tear up some smallies on his Saturday morning TV show, and as long as I live that will be a vivid memory! I was 9-10.
Around here no one fly fished, and I was bubble and fly spinning local streams and rivers, imagining the shiners and chubs were rainbows and browns.
Sometime that next month or so I was in a hardware store (Indy I think) and low & behold there on an endcap....a Heddon carded outfit for $13.95!
Six yards and three allowances later, I begged to go back-just praying it was still there.
The models elude me, but she was pale slightly metallic green, reel and rod, with a burgundy level line, probably 8 1/2' 7 weight looking back. I don't even remember having a learning curve, but I caught hundreds of fish with that thing until something punched the handle out of the reel a few years later.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 06:47 • #43 
Sport
Joined: 10/11/22
Posts: 39
Location: North eastern PA.
All I remember about my first rod is that it wasn't much to brag about but somehow I learned to somewhat cast it and catch a few fish in the farm pond.

Sometime when I was about 12 I acquired a Cortland 6'6" Procrest with a 5 wt line. I loved that rod. It was perfect for all the small ponds and streams in my area. I still love it and still use it. I did have to replace a guide at one time. Fly rods across motorcycle handle bars and going thru the woods are not a good combination! Can't believe I didn't destroy it.

Newmin


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 07:45 • #44 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/23/18
Posts: 614
Location: Eastern Wa
OlGlass56 wrote:
In '65 or '66 I saw Gadabout Gaddis tear up some smallies on his Saturday morning TV show, and as long as I live that will be a vivid memory! I was 9-10.
Around here no one fly fished, and I was bubble and fly spinning local streams and rivers, imagining the shiners and chubs were rainbows and browns.
Sometime that next month or so I was in a hardware store (Indy I think) and low & behold there on an endcap....a Heddon carded outfit for $13.95!
Six yards and three allowances later, I begged to go back-just praying it was still there.
The models elude me, but she was pale slightly metallic green, reel and rod, with a burgundy level line, probably 8 1/2' 7 weight looking back. I don't even remember having a learning curve, but I caught hundreds of fish with that thing until something punched the handle out of the reel a few years later.



Great memory to share!

Thank you


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 12:16 • #45 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/26/10
Posts: 547
Location: Montana
Great thread. My first love fly was a rod built by Larry Foster, the last owner of the Leonard Rod Co. It was the first nice rod I ever purchased. Larry built this rod from a Fisher graphite rod blank. I purchased the rod from Barry and Cathy Beck at their shop, Fishing Creek Outfitters in Benton, PA. I was a young lad at the time, and my twin brother and I convinced our parents to drive us over to PA for a one day fly fishing school from the Becks. We had a fantastic time, and it was a great experience for us. Barry and Cathy really enjoyed our enthusiasm, and invited us back to stay above their shop the following summer for 2 weeks. We were off the the races after that :).

Some pictures
Beautiful velvet pocketed bag


Nicely shaped cigar grip and an original Leonard reel seat










Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 12:54 • #46 
Sport
Joined: 10/11/22
Posts: 39
Location: North eastern PA.
ffftroutbum, My pro crest was purchased from Barry Becks Mom and dad when they had the store in Berwick PA. They were lovely people. Small World.

newmin


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 13:12 • #47 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/26/10
Posts: 547
Location: Montana
Very cool, they were very nice people. Small world!


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 13:18 • #48 
Master Guide
Joined: 02/07/18
Posts: 428
Location: US-MA
My first love fly rod is a LL Bean Guide 8'6" 4pc for 6wt, which I believe is a Loomis GL3 Blank. I bought two at their factory store in Nashua, NH - a 5 and a 6wt when it really wasn't in my budget, but the deal was too good. Gave my girlfriend - who got me going in fly fishing the 5wt as a Christmas gift and kept the 6wt to replace a Pflueger cheap 6wt rod with a plastic reel seat. I still have the rod to this day and bought us a couple of nice REC aluminum tubes for them. I have used it out west, all over NE and even the Cape for schoolie stripers. One of the lasting memories I have with the rod is catching a wonderful rainbow I had been watching from above feed on salmon flys on the SF of the Boise, which was the first really nice large trout I caught - everything worked out and I landed it with my heart beating out of my chest. Sort of wish I had kept the 5wt, but don't think I will part with the rod and it does have a lot of good memories.


Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 04 Nov 2022, 15:03 • #49 
Guide
Joined: 01/31/18
Posts: 221
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Mine would have to be my first flyrod - Fenwick FL102 7wt my dad made for me when I was a teen. I used it back then with an Ocean City 76 and now when I get it out, either a Daiwa 708 or Ross Cimarron 4 which are both loaded with bass tapers. The Daiwa has a old Cortland, which I think casts better than the Orvis Hydros on the Ross.



Top
  
Quote
Re: First Love Fly Rod
Post 08 Nov 2022, 01:31 • #50 
Sport
Joined: 03/02/18
Posts: 38
Location: US-IL
It was about 1971 and with my paper route money, I bought my first fly rod, a Fenwick 8' 5 wt. It weighed half of what I had been using, an old clunky bamboo rod that my father had given me, which he had added a South Bend Automatic reel. That thing must have tipped the scales at 5 pounds, ha


Top
  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

Previous  1, 2, 3  Next New Topic Add Reply



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: chaoticscott, ottobahn and 20 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
Google
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group