Hardy Carbon, for People Who Love Boo Rods!

[Mostyn]

Mostyn you are kind enough to give you apologies, Thank You. Don,t let it cost you another thought.

Thank you; and I wont!!

[Ernest]

I know nothing about Hardy Carbon rods, and if someone says they're great rods, then probably they are.

But if someone loves bamboo rods, why not just stick to the bamboo rods? They can be expensive, but they don't have to be, and my cane rods do whatever I want them to do in small streams, without the need for a alternative.

And if someone says they (unconditionally) love bamboo rods, I'm afraid they have not had the experience I have had with bamboo. Some of my cane rods are perfect for their purpose. Others have been absolutely terrible fishing tools. It's not the material; it's what the rod maker makes of it.

I currently have very good rods made of bamboo, glass, and graphite. I have had poor rods, for my uses, of each material, and have discarded these over the years.

[Mostyn]

I know nothing about Hardy Carbon rods, and if someone says they're great rods, then probably they are.

But if someone loves bamboo rods, why not just stick to the bamboo rods? They can be expensive, but they don't have to be, and my cane rods do whatever I want them to do in small streams, without the need for a alternative.

And if someone says they (unconditionally) love bamboo rods, I'm afraid they have not had the experience I have had with bamboo. Some of my cane rods are perfect for their purpose. Others have been absolutely terrible fishing tools. It's not the material; it's what the rod maker makes of it.

I currently have very good rods made of bamboo, glass, and graphite. I have had poor rods, for my uses, of each material, and have discarded these over the years.

Must agree with you Ernest,

I've had a couple of cane rods that I didn't like using or they didn't perform as I expected!!! But that also applies to other rods in glass or carbon. I mix and match my rods! BUT; and here's the but : I've been refining my tackle over a few years, until I found something I really like using. I am now pretty much sorted in the stream fishing type of rod and reel I use; and also the fly lines I use! I really do like fishing with both types of rod. I absolutely love being out with my 6ft.3in, #3, Cane Rod, and an LRH Reel fitted with a silk line, It is a truly magical experience, the outfit suits me perfectly! Then one day a friend gave me his Hardy flyweight 6ft, #2, weight to try, now I've tried many 6ft fly rods in my time - but the flyweight Rod performed like my cane rod (a soft action) and so extremely lightweight! So I bought myself one! I also had a couple of 7ft, stream rods, I sold them to buy the hardy Featherweight 7ft, #3, weight. yet another extremely lightweight and soft actioned rod, similar to the action of a cane rod! And before anyone says "They're not like Bamboo" I'd agree! Although they do posses a good deal of the characteristic's of a boo rod. I love fishing lightweight tackle and find that the Classic Lightweight Range of rods and reel suit me fine! Took me quite awhile to discover a range of tackle that I'm really happy with! Including my lightweight Cane Rods!

[Ernest]

Mostyn,

You wrote that your Hardy Featherweight is "another extremely lightweight and soft actioned rod, similar to the action of a cane rod!" But what is the action of a cane rod?

These are some of my cane rods between 6 and 7 feet in length:
1) L. Torkelson (a local maker) 1970's era rod. Very delicate and slow action rod made to protect the low breaking strength of the fine tippets we had 40 years ago. Best balanced with a 3wt line.
2) D. Hook (a local maker) 2006 era rod. Slow action. Bends into the handle. Good overall rod if you like them slow; I like it for small wet flies. 3 wt.
3) Homemade banty made of parts of 2 rods. Slow action, much like #2. 3/4 wt.
4) Homemade banty made of parts of 2 rods. Crisp "dry fly" action. 4 wt.
5) Paul Young Company 1960'e era "Midge." Crisp action. 4 wt.
6) J. Tschida (a local maker) 1970's era rod. Parabolic action workhorse that handles everything from small dries to heavy weighted streamers. 4/5 wt.
7) Shakespeare Company 1930's era "Diana." Stiff as a poker. Need some line out to be loaded at all. Good rod for throwing heavy or wind resistant flies into the wind. 5wt.

All of these will see small stream action in 2011. When I drive out to my favorite stream, I'll look at the water first, and then choose, usually between #2, #4, and #6, depending on the flies I'll be using and the stream and weather conditions.

I don't know what the action of a cane rod is. It's all over the place just within this subset of my short cane rods.

Ernest

[Mostyn]

Hi Ernest,

I owned a Paul Young 7ft.3in, #4, weight. Too stiff for my liking! When I was speaking of actioned comparisons; I was taking in to account the accepted concept by most people that the action of a cane rod is somewhat slower than that of a Carbon rod equivalent! But as you say, that's not always the case! My heaviest line # weight for stream fishing is a #3, weight. I've even underlined some of my stream rods to see how they react; and found some positive results! In 55, years + of fly angling, I've probably heard every theory there is about cane rods! I now discount most of them; and formulated a love of cane rods that's based on the lightweight way I enjoy fishing! My Tim Harris - Little Vixen (Cane Rod) is 6ft.3in, #3, two piece with second tip; and is as lightweight as many comparable carbon rods, it has a soft through action; but not sloppy; and there is nothing that could tempt me to part with it! I find that true knowledge is gained from experience, but certainly not gained by listening to someone with a fixed opinion. I'm always open to the opinion of others; but not necessarily accepted, although very interested to hear what they have to say! A narrow mind will miss a great deal of information.

I chose what rod I'm going to use before I leave home! I'll fish that rod reel and line no matter what the conditions of the water when I arrive there! Adapting to any situation.

Mostyn

[Ernest]

Mostyn,

You would like #2 from my list. It'a a 6'3" slow 3 wt. It works for a reasonable range of flies and conditions. The maker Denny Hook is a friend of mine, and he gave me the rod several years ago. It's a lightweight little rod, but I've caught browns to 20" on it and never felt undergunned.

You wrote " I chose what rod I'm going to use before I leave home! I'll fish that rod reel and line no matter what the conditions of the water when I arrive there! Adapting to any situation." If it works for you, then you'll get no argument from me. I don't know anything about your stream conditions. My reason for carrying several rods is this. When I leave the house I'm not even sure which stream I will be fishing. Within an hour of the house we have everything from small, low gradient meadow streams, to faster pool-and riffle streams running through the woods, to one big brawling river. Then there's water levels, wind and weather, and variable hatches. I can't very well adapt within that range with any one of my rods.

Ernest

[Mostyn]

Hi Ernest,

I can see your point! A friend that I sometimes have the pleasure of fishing with; will take two rods with him while fishing a medium sized river! He uses one for dry fly fishing and the other for nymph fishing. I sometimes use a 6ft, or 7ft, #2/3 weight rod on medium sized rivers and taken fish up to almost 3LB in weight; and safely returned them to the water! That wee rod your friend made for you sounds wonderful; and I'm sure that I would truly love it! So if your finished with it? Just let me know! Although, I'm sure it's a special rod, just for you! There's something special and magical about a cane rod that's been made specifically for yourself!

Regards

Mostyn