A New Old Friend

Last Fall I saw a craigslist post from a man who had a bunch of rods to sell. I took a drive to Sanford one evening and took a look at his stock. Most were spinning rods but there were a few fly rods in the mix. I had envisioned a slightly larger selection of big sticks, and I really didn't have much business buying anything but the seller was a very nice old gentleman full of fishing stories, so I felt like I should get something, so as to make his, and also my, time worth it. The above rod was purchased for $10. I think it's 8 1/2 feet long, fiberglass, in a 6 or 7 or 6/7 weight. The handle is blue foam and she has a double ring downlocking reel seat of some type of metal. It had obvious use and the brand was worn off, as were the rod specs. It felt pretty nice in the hand so home she came. I didn't use it once, until yesterday.

A $3 reel from the e-store and some old 8 weight floating line would finish off the outfit and I decided to give her a go on Saturday on Crystal Lake. As you can see, there was still a good amount of ice on the lake, but there was about 50 feet of open water I threw some buggers and streamers into.

I'll be damned if that old rod didn't load well and fire some tight loops out there. She was pretty money in the 40 - 50 foot range, even with a big beadhead and streamer dropper. As I slowly made my way around the shore in the open water, I wondered what fish the old rod had battled with in her days. The stories she might have. I badly wanted to put a good bend in her, not only for my pleasure but hers as well. No such luck this time.