There have been a couple photos and a video that have surfaced in the last few days that really show off how strong and flexible fiberglass can be as a fly rod material. The first assumption that some will make in seeing these examples is that fiberglass is nothing more than a whippy stick but the thing to consider is that within that bend, and it doesn't have to be this extreme of course, you have the ultimate in tippet protection, as the fly rod works as a long shock absorber, and you are also leveraging the weight and fight of a fish across the entire length of the fly rod blank.
Oh yeah, and you can feel every head shake and movement that the fish makes deep into the cork. It's very thrilling if you've never experienced it before.
WARNING...these photos and video might make you cringe. They do me.
Cortney Boice shows off the flexibility of the 2nd generation Blue Halo blanks which I hear are pretty stellar. The blanks are also on sale right now and worth checking out.
The Swift Fly Fishing Epic 686 takes a series of serious abuse with some "thugs" in Switzerland and it seems to handle it just fine, though don't expect me to try this at home with my own Epic 686.
Lastly, Shawn Combs of Orvis shows off the bend of the Superfine Glass three weight with their fancy gadget at the Orvis media event this past August. I'm kind of surprised no one in the crowd didn't yell "BREAK IT" but instead Shawn backed off the pressure. I'm not sure it would have snapped anyway.
GLASS IS NOT DEAD. Believe that.
Oh yeah, and you can feel every head shake and movement that the fish makes deep into the cork. It's very thrilling if you've never experienced it before.
WARNING...these photos and video might make you cringe. They do me.
Cortney Boice shows off the flexibility of the 2nd generation Blue Halo blanks which I hear are pretty stellar. The blanks are also on sale right now and worth checking out.
The Swift Fly Fishing Epic 686 takes a series of serious abuse with some "thugs" in Switzerland and it seems to handle it just fine, though don't expect me to try this at home with my own Epic 686.
Lastly, Shawn Combs of Orvis shows off the bend of the Superfine Glass three weight with their fancy gadget at the Orvis media event this past August. I'm kind of surprised no one in the crowd didn't yell "BREAK IT" but instead Shawn backed off the pressure. I'm not sure it would have snapped anyway.
GLASS IS NOT DEAD. Believe that.
5 comments:
I'm interested in building up a new rod from either an epic blank or blue halo blank. I don't have any experience with either one. I really like the lamiglass honeys, and I'm afraid these 2 blanks will be too "fast" for my liking. Since you do have experience with them, I thought I'd ask you.
@swalker9513,
I built the yellow rod in Cortney's photo from Blue Halo, that 7'6" 4w blank from them reminded me VERY much of the action of a Lamiglas honey blank. They're not fast at all.
My first spinning rod (and subsequently my first fly rod) was a 6.5' Pflueger I inherited from my grandfather. That thing should have snapped countless times horsing fish around, pulling the johnboat on my uncle's lake to a snag, being thrown across the stream to get to a neighborhood pond... It suffered pretty much every "rod no-no" in the book. The only thing it succumbed to was being closed in a door. My dad cut a section of golf club shaft and made a cast, and it was back in action.
It's still in my parent's garage, and I use it anytime I am home and feel like wetting a line.
Bendo is always a good thing!
I'm liking that Epic pic!
almost forgot, I have an old Heddon glass ultralight spinning rod that would put the bendo in that Epic to shame...
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