I am storing his fishing tackle while he is on deployment.
Including a "practice fly rod". http://www.fishwest.net/Merchant2/merch ... de=flyshop
Stan
John
I'm tracking your new fly rod.... it should arrive next week . You don't return to Hawaii from deployment for a month or so , right?..... So no hurry. Look at the bright side, you'll have an extra "fly line" and "butt section" in case something else breaks.
Oh, did I not mention what happened to your "practice casting fly rod"???????
Well, I was teaching Fishing Merit Badge to bunch of Boy Scouts. I didn't have the room to use a regular fly rod, so I borrowed yours. I figured the Practice Rod was just perfect, and it was. Four foot was just the right size and it quickly gave the boys an idea how the fly rod worked and was different from a spinning rod in how you cast.
The boys were sitting along the wall and one person at a time came out and took a turn on casting the practice rod. They quickly caught on to the rhythm of fly casting...... back and fourth, back and fourth. Well it was nearing the end of the class and boys were moving around the building going to their next classes.
I turned from the boy doing the casting to answer a question... when we all heard this kind of "snap, crackle, and pop"..... then yelling and pointing, and people scattering in all directions. Kids, in this case 11 and 12 year olds, are very much like cats.... in that if they see a piece of yarn skittering accross the floor.... they chase it. (Not all back casts of a beginning fly caster remain in a tight loop off the ground.) So as the back cast straightened out behind the caster and slid along the floor. Some of the boys who had entered the room tried to step on it. Young boys are quick. When the force of a forward cast meets the resistance of a stepped on fly line..... the results are not pretty. Insted of a 2 piece rod.... you are now the proud owner of a 5 piece rod. (with a new one on order)
I've seen the same thing happen to several of my ultra-light spinning rods. A fish on the line and "Bubba-Bass-Pro" sets the hook hard enough to "cross their eyes".... You always loose about 2 or 3 inches of rod tip. ( a new tip guide can be put on) But I've never seen a rod tip break in 3 places....
When relating the story to the fellows at the fly shop, I was offered a deal to sell the practice fly line in order to defray costs. Seems he wanted an extra line for his practice rod. But I figured you'd want to keep it. They all agreed that in the future they would be more careful when practicing their casting around cats, dogs, and young children.
Well, John, you take care now.
Semper-Fi
Aloha,
Stan
(Pictures of John with assorted fish)
