FLY ROD HOLDER TUBES

[TubeDude]

[cool]I've had a few requests for suggestions on how to carry fly rods in PVC tube rod holders, considering the differences in handle design from spinning or bait casting. I have experimented with several options. The pics below show that you can either make an insert tube...if your fly rod handle is less than 1" across...to fit inside the larger main rod tubes. Or you can cut a 6" vertical slit in the main rod tubes just wide enough to keep the fly rod handle inside, but to allow the reel to ride outside.

I have pictured fly rods with three different kinds of handles. The one with no butt at all, is my little boron fairy wand, with a slender handle which fits inside the insert tube. The one with a 3" butt is a 7 -8 weight, and the one with the longer "fighting butt" is my 10 weight salmon slayer. With a longer butt on the fly rod, you can get by with simply putting them in the regular rod tubes. However, there is greater safety in cutting the custom fitted groove in the tube and pushing the reel down into the slot. In fact, I begin by cutting the slot a bit too narrow and then power disc grinding the groove wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. That way, you can snug the fit by jamming the reel and handle all the way to the bottom.

To elaborate on the short tube, for the insert. It is 1" PVC, with a couple of short machine screws partially screwed into the PVC on opposite sides, to fit into the reel handle notches on the main rod holders. The 1" pipe fits nicely within the 1 1/4" PVC I use for the main rod tubes.





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[EmuScud]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way or anything, but, you have a nice set of Pfleugers!

Do you like the boron rod?

ES
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[TubeDude]

[cool]I bet you say that to all the guys. I still have some old workhorses I just slapped on for a couple of pics.

I got that boron stick back in the eighties and I have rewrapped it a couple of times. I finally got used to the fast snap and have put it to good use for some dry fly flinging, but it's still a bit stiffer than I would prefer.
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[EmuScud]

[] I only say that to those guys with impecable taste in reels. One of my first reels was a Pflueger and I still use it with my full sink line. My 7 wgt is a faster action, but I prefer the medium to medium-fast action rods.

Anyway, I almost have my wife convinced of the utility and "need" of mine to have a fishfinder mounted on my 'toon. I'll have one mounted by the end of Spring (I hope)!!!!

ES

P.S. What's up with you replying to posts at almost 3 AM??????
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[TubeDude]

[cool]It's an interplanetary time zone thing. I'm one of those guys that gets up at about 3:30...and I wake up about noon. Figure that out. The time zone thing is that posting times are in Pacific Time...where the main server is located...not based on the time zone in which the post was made.

I pay for my wierd sleep schedule with abbreviated attention spans after mid afternoon. In fact, I plop down in my recliner to watch the evening news and I often "snooze the news".

On the reel thing, I have gone through many reels...some costing more than I could ever admit to the "distaff half". But, when it comes to pure efficiency and longevity, it is hard to beat the old workhorse Pfluegers. I'll bet I have more than twenty extra spools for the 1494 1/2. Problem is, I just sent off my last working reel, along with a custom wrapped six weight rod, to a grandson in Sandy who is gradually affecting a major transfer of tackle from my collection to his.
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[JapanRon]

Hey there TubeDude,

I liked the phrase 'fast snap'. I bought a couple of ultra, ultra lite 5' boron rods when they were just coming out. Went fishing with my buddy and his dog. doggies and rods do not go together. He took his doggie for a ride and when returning I could see that somehow my rods, which were already set up, were shorter that normal.

Turns out doggie got excited and jumped around with the line being caught in his collar. Each rod was in about four pieces. I went crazy, I had ask him NOT to put the dog in with my rods, I took the remenants of the rods and proceded to snap them in about 20 pieces! He, not the dog, just stood there in amazement. We're still friends. They really are brittle. That's why I go for the composites now and not a supposed '100% boron rod'.

I use yard sale $2 dollar fly reels on my $200 lite duty rods, the few I have, without a second glance. ha ha

You must really take care of your stuff.

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]Hey, Ron San, I felt your pain as I read about fido and the flyrods. I once took a former "friend" on a five hour drive to a favorite trout venue, with only one rod. That was a violation of my universal rule that I always have at least two other outfits...to bracket whatever the conditions might be.

You guessed it. I never got to wave a fly on that trip. I had put my rod lovingly together, chose a new 12' tapered leader and tied on the magic fly that was going to do the job. I leaned the rod against a tree, a few feet away from the car, to avoid any possibility of accidental damage. As I walked back to the car to get my rod, after going down to the stream for a quick survey, I watched in slow motion horror as a light gust os wind blew the car door shut on my rod...which former friend had leaned against the car to see how I had rigged it. Yep...four pieces, instead of the preferred two.

FF offered to let me use his rod. But, since it was at least an 8 weight, and an old model wimpy fibreglass model, I did not even want to insult the little spotted beauties of this stream with it. This was 3 weight water all the way, but my new 3 weight died before it was baptized.

Do I take good care of my tackle? Probably better than most, but not as good as some. Heck, I know guys that actually rinse their stuff off in fresh water after fishing in the salt.

Actually, I have a pretty complete tackle repair facility in my tackletorium. I build and repair rods and I can disassemble and reassemble most reels, with a minimum number of spare parts left over. Sometimes they even work after I work on them.

I'm like most fishermen I know. I would always like to have the baddest, newest most expensive new toys on the market. But, common sense and "Mama sense" often dictates that I reassess my priorities before I put new scorch marks on my plastic cards.

The good news is that you don't always need to spend the most to get good serviceable gear. But, without some regular attention to basic maintenance, even the priciest stuff can turn to junk in the hands of someone who is hard on tackle.

It's kinda funny, but over the years some of the biggest fish I have seen caught...of several species...were caught by kids or rookies using some of the cheapest most mismatched tackle imaginable. That's the kind of thing that helps keep me humble when I begin to believe my own line of BS.
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[JapanRon]

Hi there TubeDude,

I had a few friends who bought boron rods at about the same time and I think that most of them (spinning) were gone in a year or so. I'll always remember how fantastic the sensitivity of the rods.

How long did the boron rod thing last? I came to the US for a visit about 3 years after the above incident and you couldn't find a light freshwater boron rod (of that % of boron anyways) to save your life here in Southern California. I've seen a few ocean 15-25lb rated models with roller guides no less recently.

JapanRon
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[TubeDude]

[cool]It was a passing fancy. I had a couple of spin sticks I was quite fond of. Again that would have been the early 80's. Parted with them on a bit of horsetrading with a friend who fished tournaments and just had to have my custom wrapped wormin' rods. Won a couple of good tourneys with them. I kinda wish I had them back a couple of times. Super light and super sensitive for touch fishing.

I think I mentioned that I had rewrapped my eight footer a couple of times. In one incarnation, it was a extra long spin stick for fishing flies on spinning gear in streams. I put a sinker on the bottom and one or two droppers up. Used it on the South Platte, above Denver, for some big rainbows and browns in heavily fished waters. I really appreciated the length and the feel for that kind of fishing. When I got back to bass and bluegill country, I stripped off the spinning stuff and dressed it back up like a fly rod. Fastest fly flinger in the west.
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[lonehunter]

you guys make the most interesting reading . i really enjoyed it .
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