Snow

It is the ninth of November and a damp forty-three degrees here in Crooked Eddy. Precious rain is coming they say, to be joined by snow tomorrow morning. Yes, snow.

I would be happy to see a white cap on the mountains, as snow would melt gradually and seep into the ground where rain would run off. Snow would replenish the aquifers, something the Catskills gravely need, though we would need a lot of it, well more than we will see this time.

I took a virtual trip yesterday morning, joining the second Lo o Bamboo Rodmakers Gathering from Berlin, Germany. My friends Tom Smithwick and Peer Doering-Arges presented their thoughts and experiences on making fly rods with the new Vietnamese bamboo that Peer has brought to market through his company Springforelle. Rodmakers from Germany, Sweden, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Australia and the United States, among others, talked of their experiences and asked questions producing an interesting event. Those meeting live in Berlin enjoyed the opportunity to cast and admire one another’s rods, something the rest of us couldn’t manage via the internet, though we were with them in spirit!

I enjoyed the chance to speak of the highlights of my first rod making experience, and the smooth, powerful 7’9″ 3-piece 4/5 weight rod I crafted from Lo o. Many, like me, told the group that they had little to no need to straighten either strips or glued rod sections. Had it not been for the wonderful straightness of the internodes of Lo o, I might still be toiling in the Catskill Rodmakers Workshop, trying to straighten strips!

Peer has encouraged me to continue making rods, despite the new pain centers planing helped me discover in my arthritic wrist. The desire is certainly there, though the extra wear and tear on my casting wrist worries me significantly. I do have some flamed splits from the second, shorter internode of Lo o that Peer had given me last September, enough perhaps to make a single tip rod of 6 1/2 feet.

At first thought, a rod of that size might be expected to cast a 3 or 4 line, but there are other intriguing possibilities to consider. What about designing my own taper for a “little giant” type of rod powerful enough to cast a 6-weight line? A three-piece variation of the 6′ 4″ Paul Young Midge taper is another idea worthy of consideration. Who knows what my gray season brain might dream up?