Rod Building - Part 9: More preparations

In the previous step I located and marked the guide side of my rod blank. If this is not done properly casting will became a bit nervous. By this I mean that the rod tip will not be moving in a perfect straight line no matter what you do.

From Fly Rod

Next thing to do is to mark the guide positions on rod blank. Again we use tape and lager beer. Tape is used to mark positions and lager to avoid dehydration. In this phase you also need tape measure and some kind of chart which tells you where the guides should be placed. My chart came with the rod blank. I think that some advanced Jedi techniques also work, but I stick to manufacturer’s chart at this point.

From Fly Rod

This may be also an excellent point to check that you have enough guides. I have created following procedure to help you out here. This is something that is generally overlooked in rod building literature.

1. Take a pencil and a piece of paper
2. Count how many guide placement markings is on your rod blank
3. Write that number to the piece of paper
4. Put all guides (excluding the tiptop) you have to the table
5. Count how many guides are on your guide pile
6. Write that number to the piece of paper
7. Compare two numbers you have written down.

If you have written two same numbers down you can congratulate yourself (another lager perhaps?). You are doing great and have no worries what so ever. If not, you are in trouble! But don’t panic, I have instructions right here:

1. Count how many beers you have drank
2. Write that number to the piece of paper
3. Compare three numbers you have written down.

If the third number is close to the first two numbers, or it is even bigger than first two numbers, or you have more or less than three numbers on paper, or you don't find the paper: go to sleep and continue your rod building project later.

New Family Member!

It's a Girl!

From Fly Rod

She is 7'9", 2 7/8 oz. For a 5 weight, she is small and light--but strong!

Mom is doing great and daddy is really proud!

From Fly Rod

This is my new Orvis Superfine Fly Rod. It's a prize for winning the Finnish Trout Conservation Competition organized by The Orvis Co Finland and Finnish Fly Fishing Forum Perhokalastajat.net.

Earlier posts:
- 4 Pieces of Joy
- On top of the world!

From Fly Rod

"And Now for Something Completely Different"

The Market Hall building is one of the most precious buildings in Kuopio. One of the most precious persons in Kuopio, a friend of mine and the best web designer I have ever known, took this picture a few weeks ago. If you want to see a set of splendid pictures he has taken visit his flickr gallery. His ‘My lonely tree’ is breathtaking.


Copyright (c) Jaakko Kemppi. Used with permission.

I know this is not directly fishing related, but the statue does hold two fish. And imagine how good a trout picture would look if enhanced like this one. Yes, it is enhanced, almost enchanted. The picture above is actually three pictures with three different exposures. The technique is called high dynamic range imaging (HDRI).

We Fish

"I feel at ease with fishing, even with writing about it, because I have been through and come out on the other side. I do not mean by this that I know all the answers, or even a major fraction of them."

- Roderick Haig-Brown, The Fisherman's Spring

From Trout

I know why I fish.

It is -9 ºF / -23 ºC. But I have patience. Because I know that it will be worth it, when the Spring comes.

We Fish

From Trout

Many fly fishermen practice ‘catch and release’ fishing. Most of them kill a fish or two every now and then.

A decade ago I thought a lot about this question.
Here is my conclusion:
1. The fish in your hand: it is better to release than to kill.
2. The fish in your hand: it would have been better not to fish at all.

So I almost stopped fishing. But instead I decided to stop thinking.

It is -9 ºF / -23 ºC.

We Fish

From Trout

I don't think that there is a single certified pick-up line that includes words 'fly' and 'fish'. So it is a possible, that the reason we fish is not of sexual nature.

It is 32 ºF / 0 ºC. I should be fishing.

We Fish

“One of the finest things about catching a trout is being able to turn it sideways and just look at it.”

        - John Gierach, Trout Bum

From Trout

You can even snap a picture of it, but looking at it later is never the same.

It is -15 Fº / -26 Cº. I miss fishing.

We Fish

From Trout

I remember this trout well... Actually, now that I think of it more closely, I don't remember this trout all that well. So I start over.

This was one of the trouts I got that morning. I was nymphing and the nymphing was just as good as it is ever going to get. I was at the river early, action started as it should, and it was good.

I remember one other trout well... It was a bit bigger than this one. Or smaller...

It is -3 ºF / -20 ºC. I miss fishing.

"You talkin' to me?"

Bugs

“It’s a fabulously ugly fly, cheap and quick to make, and very effective. … The Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle passes for a caddis pupa … but is in fact an all-purpose “bug” in the sense that a five-year-old kid would use that word. I think same way: both are capable of intense, single-minded observation, but they see the essence of a thing rather than the details.”

       John Gierach, Trout Bum (1986)

Originally Partridge feather is used for hackle, in 1986 Gierach recommends cheaper Indian Hen necks, in 2007 I use genetic Whiting's Brahma Hen Soft Hackle: simply because hackle stems are so strong that they don’t break all the time.

From Fly-patterns

A pile of buggy flies.
Some of them will soon be shipped to a friend in Alaska.

Blogging thoughts

Do you keep track of many blogs? Bloglines is an option, but I have configured my Google Reader up and running. One good feature is Shareing. On right panel, below my loved blog links, is a section of posts from other blogs that I have recently marked as shared.

I also added blogsearch for "opax" to RSS feed for my Google Reader page. And I found another opax from Japan. My Japanese is restricted to some mandatory budo terms, but luckily Babelfish translations by Altavista helped me out. It turned out that Babelfish is about as good translating text from Japanese to English as I am translating from English to Swedish, but one sentence really hit me:

"The vicinity of thousand inferior valleys is comfortable."

I get that feeling all the time.

Confession

Apart from fly fishing, I have a lovely wife and two dogs.

From Life

Tomas Whitehouse web site

Tomas Whitehouse has opened amazing web site at www.tntflies.com

Check out his flies, both realistic and traditional as well as great picture gallery!

Stonefly Adult. Tied by Tomas Whitehouse. From Fly-patterns

Rod Building - Part 8: Initial preparations

When you build a fly rod you just glue in a handle, a reel seat, a tiptop, and wrap the guides to the blank, right? Wrong.

First thing to do is to figure out which side of each piece of blank you must put the guides. I don’t bother you with standard details of why or how you should do it (read it for example here if you want), instead I’ll let you in to the details that you won’t find anywhere else. It is all illustrated in picture below.

From Fly Rod by Mrs Opax.

1. It is important to sit in front of your tipi, cross-legged, and both knees touching the floor (or ground if your tipi is outside).

2. You must have a hat, but not just any hat. Mike has one that could work and it is very different looking than my hat. The important thing which to consider when it comes to the hat selection is that you should wear a hat with significance. I selected a hat which would definitely be considered as a STATEMENT if I go to the very official company Christmas party in my best suit and that prominent hat.

3. Bottle of your favorite beverage. While searching the guide side you will have a moment of doubt… well, you know what to do.

From Fly Rod

Father/Son Discussion 1

Father: “Son, did you know that this river is called ‘Oulanka’, which comes from old Sami dialect and translates to ‘Flooding Water’?”

Son: “Dad, did you know that when I press this button, this car makes sounds and it’s headlights start to flicker?”



I am 100% sure that there is a lesson to be learned here. Help me out, please!

Mainstream caddis pupa pattern: Viagra Caddis

From Fly-patterns

This is a Viagra Caddis pupa as tied by Levern Burm. I see this fly as a sample of today's mainstream fly tying. If I look at today's fly fishing magazines I see many patterns like this. And there is nothing wrong with that. It is good looking fly that has lot of qualities of good fly patterns -- Bead: to get attention, Right shape: to be accepted.

Words of Wisdom from Fictional Fisherman

“I’ve got good news.
That gum you like is going to come back in style.
Let’s rock!”

One of my all time favorite TV series the Twin Peaks is on reruns here. So, in order to demonstrate you that some sentences without any grammar errors can actually exist in this blog, I have few quotes from my mandatory copy of Twin Peaks: An Access Guide to the Town.




Pete Martell is the fisherman of the show and “also the most uxorious man in Twin Peaks and can tie a Duncan Loop in the dark.” Tying the Duncan Loop in the dark is like a walk in the park -- the difficult part is putting that 5X monofilament tippet through the eye of a #16 hook in the dark. That is a nerve-cracker. Uxorious? Had to check that one from dictionary but hey, that's me!

Anyway, here are some bits of wisdom by Pete:

“Don’t talk to the fish. For one thing, it distracts them from hunting and feeding and, for another, they won’t understand you anyway.”

“If a brown bear wants that salmon on the end of your line, let him or her have it.”

I’ll take his word for it. What do you think?