eagle claw featherlight rods

[WebFreeman]

Did they used to market those as combo rods? Seems like there was a kit or a pack rod version or something like that.

[drew03cmc]

Sounds like I might wanna grab one of them to fish in the local streams around the house as well as small trout and bass streams in southern Missouri!

[Terry Beeson]

OK... my 6' 6" should be on the way and just won a Pflueger 1494 made in '66... Should make a sweet little setup.

Now if I can just get this dang knee to let me stand long enough to use it...

[Danoinark]

Man I should have worked a deal for some commission on those feather lights....

Dano

[Crippled Caddis]

Found the 7'er in stock at the Mt. Home Supercenter and picked one up today for $18.96 + tax. Popped a Hardy Marquis 5 with a fresh WF5 on it when I got home. The rod loved it but was only bending about the 1st third of the rod so I suspect a 6 wt. will work the blank a little deeper for poppers and streamers when it warms up. In the meantime I'll fish the 5 wt. for a while to see how we get along.

So get them while they have them.

I'm still chuckling about putting a reel on it that's worth so much more than the rod cost me.

[Guest flyfishBDS]

CC said: Virtually all graphites are rated for a one or two weight lighter line than what they need to fish comfortably. The manufacturer rates them for the line that will give them the best odds in the 'parking lot wars' of casting for distance when choosing a rod. That is almost always a line too light for bringing out the best in the rod under actual fishing conditions. A line that is one or two weights too light to fish well will allow the prospective buyer to carry more line in the air and cast further simply because it will load the rod properly under those conditions. And ALWAYS bear in mind that the maker is concerned with selling, not with fishing.

I should probably keep my mouth shut but I find this sort of rubbish pretty hard to stomach, sorry CC I respect a lot of what you have to say but in your rush to endorse what you like, you don't have to smear the integrity manufacturers and by association every fly shop in the country to back up your opinion. I'll say that most of the fly rod designers Ive met, whether they are graphite or cane, ACTUALLY FISH their rods and they don't add 2 line weights to do it. Jerry Siem at Sage is one of the smoothest most effortless casters you will ever see, Tim and Steve Rajeff (Echo and G Loomis) are superb casters and fishers, Rick Pope and Jim Shulin at TFO helped my casting immensely with their practical knowledge.

A rod 2 line weight under IS NOT easier to cast for distance unless you have a pretty good skill level. In fact getting to a 40 cast is way way way way way harder, because you probably need 50' of line to load the rod fully instead of 35. Overlining by 2 lineweights might cover some casting inadequacies but not for long.

Dano: Your having issues with being tired _ come over I'll give you a FREE casting lesson and we'll see if we can't get you casting more efficiently with your existing rods within a couple of hours without buying a whole bunch of new flyline to convert everything to a noodle _ which might be fine dinking around but will kill you in wind and heavy flies. The simple fact is pretty much every fly caster over powers the cast and doesn't use the rod. Its like a heavyfooted driver will use more gas than one who operates more smoothly. The average fly caster also spends too much time with the line in the air and not in the water You shouldn't need to do more than 2 back casts, most of the time one to reset your line for a drift. Mate I'm lazy too LOl so I have a bunch of other tips to make life easier and ensure that the only thing tiring your arm is catching fish

Back to the above point. The fact is every rod will carry a range of line weights, even cane and glass, and will perform differently with those weights, and different tapers. CC you like a slower action fine, no problem with that, but equally I like a faster action but one which will still throw at 15-30 for sightcasting, and I mean still throw a loop. Some stiffer rods I'll upline by 1/2 a line weight. Its personal preference. Yep I can throw fishing casts at 60' plus, but majority of my casting is 25-40, and that is the range my rods work for me. And I'd suggest that is the range for most fly fishers Two line weights and your generally starting to get the tip collapsing and throwing tailing loops way more easily.

A rod that is properly balanced with the right line will be slower and require less of the actual work of each cast to be done by the caster. I think that is one of the primary causes of graphite being indicted for being harder on the human body than cane and glass.

Most casters don't know how little effort they can use to properly load the graphite rod with the designated line not D+2. That is the primary cause of over effort! Get the rod to load and unload, Use the stop to extract what you have from the rod.

I would also suggest that the "power" or "effort" exerted by a good fly caster into the rod is close to the same however the inherent nature of the graphite will give a better return in terms of a tight loop/better line speed

The other factor lies with the weight of the materials themselves. Cane and fiberglass have more mass that actually assists with loading the rod for the cast. The lighter weight of the graphite actually is a deterrant in that instance, requiring YOU to take up the slack by doing more of the work.

The only comment Im close to agreeing to. In that I think the current desire by fly fishers for lighter is better, (go back 5y and it was faster is better, before that higher modulous is better) has gone too far. Light feels nice in the shop buyt I prefer slightly more mass (like a heavier baseball bat) for casting

Faster implies that reduced timing factors are demanded of the caster by the inherant nature of the material and reversing muscles groups abruptly simply puts additional demands on them that the average sedentary fisherman isn't 'tuned up' to do without noticing it at the end of the day. The slower, less demanding and more rhythmic timing of cane and fiberglass matches the abilities of the average, slightly out-of-shape (whether from simple lack of muscle tone brought on by reduced work requirements of the current era or advancing years) flyfisherman. In simplistic terms cane and 'glass are a better 'fit' to the abilities of our own physical infrastructure than graphite. If we will only allow them to do so they will make of our day a more enjoyable and less stressful experience. And when you get right down to the nut cutting isn't that what we seek? Stress reduction through fitting into the natural cycles of a non-artificial world?

Perhaps its just me and my fast twitch muscles but I find slower rods to require more thought as to timing as opposed to faster rods which fit my natural timing better. Anytime you have to think about casting a rod its not for you. There should be a natural flow. When I have people choosing rods I give them a range to cast and ask them which rod was easiest to cast, which rod did they forget about how they were casting. These are the rod for you. Having taught a bunch of people to cast over the years I still think a moderate fast action rod is the easiest for most people to handle, particularly those transitioning from spinning tackle

If anyone else is interested in efficient casting send me an email to let me know

I'm thinking this could be a good opportunity for a casting clinic _ free participation bring your own rod _ get to meet a few faces from the board. Either the 4th or 25th of Feb.

If there is enough interest Bryce and I will set it up

You might need a little help, you might need a lot but we can guarantee at the end of say 2 hours you will go away with a lot better idea of the practicalities of fly casting and how to self analyse what is going right and wrong with your cast.

We will also cover FISHING casts, as opposed to the casting class casts

and efficiency in how to fish.

Those who know us will also tell you we are very serious about having fun

So you are also guaranteed a few laughs, and a good time.

Cheers

Steve

[Danoinark]

Steve

I suspect I may be to old in my ways, and I realize being self taught to cast certainly has it's downside. I know that technique is important but like the basketball jump shot, it may or may not be executed properly but if it goes in the goal then the end result is the same. I suspect I am capable of throwing close to 60 feet of line during the right conditions whether its a slow rod or not. I have never had an occasion to do that though. I prefer to fish close in which helps me be more in tune with the target, the fly, the drift, and ultimately with the fish. How does the newest modulas, z azis, super duper razz matazz fly rod that throws line a mile and makes 1000's of julienne frys help catch anymore fish than an IM6 graphite, cane, or glass rod past or present? I do have to believe there is some hype associated with some of the manufacturers today. This certainly is not a slam against them or fly shops that sell their products. I just want to know how they make any difference? And that is a serious question from me. It has nothing to do with price or flash. There are some cane and glass rods today, even new generation, that rival the cost of high tech graphite long rods. The ultimate answer, to each his own, to coin that adage again. the prize for fishing is to have fun, enjoy the quiet sport and do it on your own terms. Thanks for your post mate.

Dano

[Guest flyfishBDS]

Hey Dano,

Let me say I was very careful not to draw into the rod debate other than to say that you don't need to buy 5wt rods and put a 7 on them.

But what I meant by offering a casting lesson wasn't to rebuild your cast just offer some ways to reduce your tiredness, fishing at the ranges you do now. No new rods no new lines, just more efficiency. I reckon I can do it pretty easy. I have practice lol. And the point of this was to reduce your tiredness off the 9'ers

As I mentioned above first off fish the rod which fits you and your casting _ the one which makes it easy for the type of water, flies etc.

That may be CC's slow rods or my XPs it doesn't matter. Cost, brand name, sales pitches etc doesn't matter. And I tell that to rod shoppers here. Hell I tell them to go cast other rods which we don;t carry lol. And if you make it over bring that featherlight I'd like to try it.

And if a new rod is easier to cast then my view is your going to enjoy your fishing more, because you have less tanghles, less casting, more fishing.

Now let me say first off and (Ive written this before too) that the introduction of new rods is driven by sales. The rod designers are constantly refining rods but when we get to see them is when the sales of the previous edition have slowed to a threshold point.

To continue Sales trends determine what happens in rod design. Go back 15-20 years and everyone wanted higher modulous until the market discovered that reaching too far mean an incredibly fragile rod. 5-10 years ago and the race was speed _ faster is better until we got some rods which were absolute boomsticks.

You'd be surprised how many new IM6 rods I have in the shop, and continue to come onto the market. Modulus hasn't changed much in a decade

Currently the watchword is lightness and I think we are getting to the end of that obsession by fly rod buyers. What I am saying is that we push the end of the envelope and then come back to sensible levels.

Its the same with reels, everyone wants a pretty large arbor for trout, a Formula 1 style drag system when for the most part they don't use the drag, never have to take up line fast etc etc. They are a waste but a very pretty waste _ LOL I love the look of mine _ divorce present to myself lol

And providing what fly rod buyers want isn't a bad thing _ remember buyers aren't held at gun point to buy these. I do like watching people leave the shop all smiles with their new purchase or better yet coming back to say how much they love their rod. That means Ive done my job.

If you love your new rod _ or your old rod for that matter _ your enjoying fishing more and that is a GOOD THING

But back to rods, Im not sure they have been too many great leaps in technology rod design from one model to the next (roughly 5y), 2 models and you can see the difference. Then there are differences in styles between the rods, and the technology in the current high end rods filters down over time. The entry midpriced rods these days are way better than when I started.

Since you mentioned Sage I'll still say I think the XP 9' 5wt ""FOR MY PERSONAL FISHING" is the finest Ive ever cast. But there is a whole world of people out there who don't like it. The Z-Axis which replaces it, doesn't suit me as well, but I really think its slightly slower feel than the XP is better for more casters (back to that mod-fast ideal) than maybe the XP (which was a HUGE seller).

I can tell you what the ZAxis or Boron Xii or Streamdancer, or G2 feels like to me. But the only one to judge whether you will cast,fish,enjoy that rod better is you and your checkbook _ oh and maybe the treasury department if she balances the book. LOL

[Guest flyfishBDS]

Don't want to disrupt the thread _ so Ive a new section in Casting Discussions on Efficient Casting and Fishing _ If your really bored it might fill in some time

Now to get things back on track

EAGLE CLAW FEATHERLIGHT RODS!!!!

[Danoinark]

Steve said:

But what I meant by offering a casting lesson wasn't to rebuild your cast just offer some ways to reduce your tiredness, fishing at the ranges you do now. No new rods no new lines, just more efficiency. I reckon I can do it pretty easy. I have practice lol. And the point of this was to reduce your tiredness off the 9'ers

Dano ~ And I would certainly take your offer up. I may be old but in this game one can always learn and I have been meaning to come over anyway....

Steve ~And if you make it over bring that featherlight I'd like to try it.

Dano ~ That rod in price was the cheapest I ever spent, but the dang thing sure casts to my liking.

Steve ~ And if a new rod is easier to cast then my view is your going to enjoy your fishing more, because you have less tanghles, less casting, more fishing.

Dano ~ Agreed.

Steve ~ But the only one to judge whether you will cast,fish,enjoy that rod better is you and your checkbook _ oh and maybe the treasury department if she balances the book. LOL

Dano ~ And right now I am in the red with the banker, but she still loves me