Bob- I couldn't agree more. It's the fisherman that makes the rod, not the rod that makes the fisherman.
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: The Old Fishing Pole
>Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 20:18:41 EST
>
>I've been a fly fisherman for almost fifty years now and I just received
>copies of the
>latest fly fishing catalogs in the mail. Perusing the pages that contain the
>newest models of fishing rods, I saw phrases like: ultra high modulus
>graphite, advanced taper design, and nano titanium; all desiged to whet my
>fly fishing interest and make me say, "I got to have one of those." That is
>until I see the prices: $500, $600, $800. and sometimes more! How times
>have changed!
>When Dad first took me fishing at Cottage Lake, we used two old, bent
>Montague bamboo rods. Each one had a four or five-inch set in the tip
>section, and my rod had two guides attached with black electrician's tape.
>We still caught quite a few trout and perch on those old rods that would be
>considered antiques in today's world.
>When I was about eight or nine, I received my very own fishing rod for my
>birthday. I'm sure the cost of the rod was less than ten dollars. It was a
>hexagonal shaped, steel telescope rod. When fully extended, it reached
>nearly nine feet in length, and when the sections were collapsed, its compact
>size was three feet. When I extended the rod, I had to be careful not to
>pull too hard or the sections came apart, and as I found out on more that one
>occasion, difficult to put back together. If the tip got bent, you just had
>to bend it back in shape, and the ability to lengthen and shorten the rod was
>an advantage when fishing brushy streams. By today's standards, my telescope
>rod was a super heavy weight. By the end of a day's fishing, my right arm
>felt as though I'd been lifting a ten pound bar bell, but that didn't matter
>to me because I was enjoying what was becoming a life long passion.
>One evening, when Dad and I were fishing from a boat on Cottage Lake, I was
>trying to make a long cast when my telescope rod just broke in two. I
>dejectedly reeled in the half of the rod that fell into the water. Dad said,
>"Son, it's rusted out. I don't think we can fix it. Maybe it's time to get
>one of those new fiberglass rods like we saw at the sporting goods store."
>My next rod was fiberglass, and it was a dandy rod, too -- light and
>flexible. Now, I have three graphite rods that are wonderful fly rods, even
>lighter and more flexible than the fiberglass. Who knows what's next in rod
>technology. What I do know, though, is that they don't make a rod today that
>would come close to providing the excitement, the thrills, the satisfaction,
>and the feeling of prideful ownership that my old telescope rod gave to me
>all those years.
>
>May your pole never break, Bob Martin
>
