Magoo

I'd like to get a few reel seats made from Black Ash burl. Preferrably stabilized wood, or a CA finish.
I don't want a high gloss finish, but the more "depth" the better.
I'd like to get 2 or 3 turned for REC BUL-5 hardare, and maybe a couple more for some yet-undermined sliding band harware (potentially mortised if you've got the setup).

I'd be happy to pay a "market price" for these, or work something else out (extra wood in the order, extra hardware, etc).

PM me or respond in here.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

I've just bought my first bamboo rod. I've done as much reading as I can find online about the care and feeding of bamboo, and feel pretty comfortable there (tho' I'm a bit torn on the "nose grease" debate).

I've got one nagging question. I read somewhere -can't find it again- a post somewhere(?) that read something like "Never give your bamboo rod to someone unfamiliar with bamboo to test cast..." Something about the damage (a bad set?) that could be inflicted on the rod by some unwitting caster. So my question is, as someone new to boo, what should I NOT do?

Thanks

I need a nice wood insert for some BUL-5 hardware. The walnut I ordered is a nice color for the blank, but it's very straight grained and just "plain" looking. I'm looking for something with a some figure to it in a nice, American hardwood. Not too dark overall, more in the tan-honey-gold-blond range (no redheads on this one ). Walnut, box elder, a lighter black ash, maybe cedar... .

FWIW, the blank is a Sage SLT and the hardware has the pewter finish (BTW a very nice match for Snake Brand blued guides ). The grip wont be layed out/ corks chosen until I decide on a spacer.

I hate to order something from a store not being able to see it first. I suppose my other option could be to order a dozen and return eleven of 'em.

So... If anyone has any "extras" laying around, or one or two you can bring yourself to sell, or have some wood and some spare time I'd sure appreciate it. PM me or post in here - I think I remember not being able to post pics in PMs (?). I'm happy to pay a fair market price (?!?) or try and dig around for something for a trade.

Thanks in advance

After a frustrating trip trying to find clear water in the greater Yellowstone area, I headed up to Helena to meet up with Rovercat/Brian for a bit of Grayling fishing. As is so often said in here, I've yet to meet a board member I didn't like. Brian is one heck of a nice guy and guaranteed to make you laugh.

After a gourmet DQ lunch and getting all of our gear into my truck, we headed up to a little lake not too far from town.
The lake:




We only fished for a couple of hours or so, but had some luck on Prince and prince-like nymphs. We each got 2 or 3 and missed handfuls more. The biggest fish were just at or under 12", but you've gotta love the Grayling . It'd been over 15 years since I'd caught one, and it was great to see that funky fishy come wriggling out of the water. Strikes generally came when the nymph was at a dead stop. There were some rises (lots more as we were leaving - of course) but they weren't interested in the damselfly I tried, which was the only thing I could see buzzing around.

My fish pics come out awful. It was my first time in a tube, I didn't set it up too well for myself, and I was spending concerted effort just to not drop stuff - myself foremost . My "best fish" pics turned out to be shots of an empty stripping basket as the squirrely bugger juked, jived, then slipped back into the water. Pretty ineffective fish porn, but here it is anyway:

Brian with his ~12" fish:


This is awful, a grayling with everything but the signature fin...


Oh, there were more pics - and they were even worse .

Thanks again to Brian for your hospitality.

I need some help finding some options for a short (7'6" or less), med-fast to fast action, 4wt blank. The number of sections is not too important, though theres no reason to shoot for a 5-7 piece blank. The build is for a friend, and those requirements are fairly strict. I might be able to stretch it out to 8' long.

Cost of components is not really an issue. He doesn't want any platinum or diamond inlays . I'm trading this rod for tree work around my house, and I'm in for at least $500 even at way under his commercial rate. I couldn't talk him into taking money to do work here, but his grin gave him away when I offered a "anything you want" fly rod .

I looked around and starting listing candidates from the well known "premium" brands, but I'm sure I missed some possibilities. I'm afraid if I waited for a custom rolled blank, I might well have a large pine tree in my bedroom . I did find some cheaper blanks (Rainshadows), and I know I could build him several rods for the price of some of these blanks, but I think one "premium" rod is the way we're going to go.


So here's my current list. Any additions or comments?


manufacturer/ model/ length/ action/ # of pieces/
Gatti/ FR704-3PA/ 7'0"/ ?/ 3
Gatti/ FRM604-2/ 6'0"/ F/ 2
Gatti/ FRM664-2/ 6'6"/ F/ 2
Gatti/ FRM704-2/ 7'0"/ MF/ 2
Gatti/ FRM764-2/ 7'6"/ F/ 2

Winston/ LT 479-5/ 7'9"/ MF/ 5

Sage/ 470-3 TXL/ 7'0"/ MF/ 3
Sage/ 479-4 VT2/ 7'9"/ M-MF ?/ 4

Scott/ S4 480/ 8"0"/ F/ ?

St Croix/ LU 476-4/ 7'6"/ MF-F?/ 4



Thanks-