Three

I made a visit to my friend Dennis Menscer’s rod shop yesterday, the result of a surprise phone call after breakfast. Though I have been feeling less than energetic, Dennis’ call perked me right up. He was calling to ask if I wished to stop by and pick out the finished blank for my long awaited eight-foot three weight Menscer fly rod!

Now why a three weight bamboo rod you might wonder, and why an eight-footer unsuited for the little Catskill mountain brooks. In truth, I have been thinking about and searching for such a rod for the past four years. During that time, I have cast every rod I could get my hands on, with but one convincing me that it had the attributes I was looking for. Of course, with luck being what it is, that rod was one of a kind and it wasn’t for sale.

In 2019, Dennis had designed and made an eight-foot rod for a two weight line and brought it along to the Catskill Cane Revival in Roscoe. I was enamored of that rod and it’s crisp and effortless casting, though I felt that a two might be too light to regularly handle the outsize trout I stalk each summer. It did not take long for me to start needling my friend about designing a similar wand for a number three line.

Indeed, a four weight will be clasped in my left hand on many a summer’s day, but there are those periods when river flows are scant, and more delicacy becomes warranted. I have made no secret of the fact that I think an eight-foot rod is the perfect foil for stalking the amazing wild trout of these Catskill rivers, thus that need for utmost delicacy meets the utility of the eight-footer and the desire for the power still required to fish fine and far off. A number three fly line, particularly one with a long, gradual taper delivers that ephemeral combination.

Last year, Dennis responded to my constant worrying by telling me that he was designing such a rod. I missed getting my hands on the prototype, as he had a standing order for the first finished rod, but I did get a chance to cast it before it was packed into it’s tube and shipping container. Amazing, I told him, consider my order placed! There is something about a Dennis Menscer rod, a magic born of decades along these Catskill rivers coupled with the deep knowledge gained from countless restorations of vintage rods created by past Catskill masters.

Since that day, I have been hoping that the rod might be finished in time for summer 2024, and now I know that it will be. There is a special little Hardy St. George Junior reel, already spooled with a touch of backing and a new vintage Orvis Spring Creek DT3F fly line patiently waiting in my armoire. That long discontinued line boasts a fifteen-foot taper and my favorite dun gray coloration. It is stealth personified.

Day 99, and rather than thinking of spring, I’ve passed right through and harbor dreams of summer!