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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:29 pm • # 61 
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Andrew sent the rod out to Les late last week and Les brought it with him so we could try it out this weekend when we fished together. We both took turns casting it Saturday but didn't really fish it.

This is a tiny 1 wt rod at 5' long and 2.4 oz. It measures just 1.5mm at the tip and 4.75mm at the butt. It is very slow and very soft. Les and I used a Sage DT0 line when we were casting it and that's what I used when I fished it today. With about 20' of line out you can feel the rod loading clear into the grip.

To be perfectly honest I was very nervous about fishing it--it's a very cool looking rod and beautifully made. I'm the first one to fish it since Andrew sent it out and I didn't want to break it. It really does feel delicate.

I took it out tonight along with another rod to a pond with a lot of small bream. My intention was to catch a few small-ish bream on it just to see how it feels, take some pics, and then grab my other rod and fish it. I ended up having so much fun that I fished Andrew's rod all evening--until after dark, and had great time!

I caught over 3 dozen fish ranging from little dinks to a 12" bass that really scared me when it hit. I played him very carefully and managed to land him in under a minute. I was using 6X and size 16 sparsely dressed scud pattern that Les gave me. I was very careful on all my fish tonight to keep the tip very low on the retrieve and use a strip-set exclusively.

The rod is really fun to cast and I could get it out past 30' with no problem. A very smooth action and you can really feel it load and unload. I would still worry about fishing it in some of the ponds around here just because of what a big bass or catfish might do but at the same time I could just put some 8X or lighter tippet on it and be very careful.

Here are some pics from this evening:

First fish
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Even a 3 or 4" gill puts a good bend in the rod and you can really feel the fish!
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A little red-ear
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Bluegill
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Another bluegill, fishing off the pier
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A nice greenie that put a good bend in the rod. I had to be cautious with this one too--didn't want to hurt that tip!
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And the bass
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Sorry for the bad pic. This is the fly I fished all evening.
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:39 pm • # 62 
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Here are some pics of Les throwing very nice loops with the rod last Saturday:

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:57 pm • # 63 
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Here are two more pics comparing Andrew's 1 wt (on the bottom of both photos) to the Purist 2 wt that Don built up on a Fitch blank. You can see just how small in diameter Andrew's 1 wt is. BTW, I really like the grip on Andrew's--very comfortable and cool looking.

ImageImage


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:08 pm • # 64 
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Andrew, can you post more details about how the grip was made? I've never seen one like this and was very impressed at how comfortable it is and how cool it looks.

Thanks!

Jerry


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:28 am • # 65 
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..the perfect dink rod?
At least it LOOKS perfect!


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:29 am • # 66 
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The handle was pretty easy to build. First, gather some bark. I go to the beach by my house. The Puget Sound Beaches have a lot of drift wood and bark to collect. Then find some birch bark on e bay or somewhere else. I drill the bark on the press with a 1" hole bit with center drill. Then I sand the rings flat so I can glue them together. Then cut the birch bark into 1" squares and drill a hole thru the middle of them. Make sure to clean any of the birch paper off of the bark squares. I then put them on a mandrel and glue them together with titebond 3. Put them in a handle clamp overnight. Turn on lathe. When finishing use thick ca glue and the bark dust to fill in the inclusions as you go. When you get the handle where you want it finish sand with 1,500 to 3000 grit sand paper or micro mesh until it is smooth. Then wipe it down with mineral spirits. Let dry then finish with a couple coats of spar or your favorite varnish.

There is a picture of a couple of the grips on the first page of the thread.

A couple hints, use a lot of glue, wear a full respirator and eye protection, (the bark dust is nasty) make a concerted effort to get rid of all the birch bark paper. Have fun and send me pictures!


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 2:59 pm • # 67 
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I got a chance to cast the rod today with Ryan and Jerry in attendance. Just for grins I tried my 0000 line that I have spooled on my Forbes Trico, a micro reel. I just dropped the reel in my pocket and cast the rod with no reel at all. It cast very well in this configuration and I would recommend the 1.6 ounce Forbes Avon with a 000 or 00 Sage line, but did not have one along. Don


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 3:41 pm • # 68 
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Here are some photos of Don and Ryan catching fish on the rod today. And as you can see, we were in a typical Texas "wilderness area"--note the houses and driveway in the background Image

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:48 pm • # 69 
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Looks like fun- quite a bend with those greens


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:48 pm • # 70 
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Pacchef, the rod will be off to visit Oklahoma soon. I'll get it in the mail this week. Thanks again for your generosity in doing this!


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 6:06 pm • # 71 
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Like Jerry said thanks for sharing this with us!


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:14 am • # 72 
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No problem guys. Glad your enjoying it.

Andrew


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:58 am • # 73 
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Yes sir thats one fun little rod you got there.
Now Im gonna need something lighter after fishing that.
Thanks for sharing and nice work.
-Ryan


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 4:44 am • # 74 
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Ditto on the thanks. Not many 1 weight canes out there. Don


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:56 am • # 75 
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Who has it now?


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:59 am • # 76 
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pacchef23 wrote:
Who has it now?
I still have it. I've been emailing Doug about sending it out to him but he's totally buried at work right now and won't have time to fish it for several more weeks. Doug is the last on the list right now so should I hold it for him for send it back to you? It's packaged and ready to go.


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