Wolfie wrote:
I have three #3 weight fly rods: glass 7ft 6in, carbon 8ft and carbon 10ft (Czech nymph). They are all distinctly different and all get used in my saltwater estuary outings. In many respects on paper the 10 foot rod looks to be the best choice for longer casts and better fighting platform as my leader vary from 12lb to 20lb depending on the fish's dental work and the amount of oysters and/or jagged rocks in the environment. However in real world experience the 10 foot is a pain (in the arm) because of an unexpected characteristic: windage. In New Zealand the weather is dominated by the Tradewinds as it sits in the "Roaring Forties" latitude. A ten foot long blank and flyline in the rings picks up a lot of drag from the constant breezes and get very tiring to hold with a single handed rod. The shorter rods have (of course) shorter and slimmer blanks and are a "breeze" to fish with in the same conditions. So the 10 foot will be up for sale, no doubt to a trout fly fisher, and I will fish very happily with the shorter two rods. Interesting what one learns while fishing!
Just wanted to mention that I also have the carbon 10 ft(Czech nymph) rod and experienced the "pain (in the arm)" from using it.
I solved that problem by adding a second handle to the rod below the fly reel and now it is a two handed fly rod. I did this by removing the end cap from the fly rod, drilling a hole through the center of the rod and Gorilla glueing a wooden dowel into the fly rod and attaching a handle I had cut of a discarded spinning rod to the other end of the dowel.
It works great and relieves the strain (if you use it as a two handed fly rod). Warning though, if I cast from the bottom, added, handle the dowel will break so it has to be used with two hands holding both handles so that the pivot point remains at the junction of the top handle and rod. If the rod is held by the lower handle and cast with one hand, the pivot point will be at the junction of the bottom handle and wooden dowel; the dowel will then snap.
I had the dowel snap once and replaced the dowel. Since the replacement of the dowel and using the rod in the two handed fashion, no problem.
Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 3:41 am • 