We also caught lots of big lenuk and grayling, really as many as we wanted, but we only had the 5wts in hand briefly as taiman were the main goal. I'll try to post up more pictures before I head out to cycle Oregon in a couple days.
Pretty much gave up riding for fishing the past few years. All saltwater, some via motor boats but mostly via Kayaks. Lining up my primary retirement hobby. Mostly Stick to the inlets and very calm water vice more open water of the Chesapeake Bay like I did in my late 20s. I have an extra Yak if anyone visits Va Beach.
Summer of 2019 was a Spanish Frenzy. The bigger one jump in my yak without being hooked.
I did not make the blank. It is an impregnated cane blank, based on a Payne 98 taper, from the long established English firm Chapmans which I bought in 2016 just as the business was closing.
When I was a school boy my passions were fishing and cycling and it was my ambition to build my own bike frame and split my own cane for a fishing rod. I have now built several steel bike frames but it looks as though the creation of a bamboo rod blank will remain unfulfilled.
I did, however, machine the ferrules and reel seat hardware myself out of aluminium bronze, sometimes called naval bronze. It is stronger than the more traditional nickel silver and I like the colour. It will gradually oxidise and become more brown over time. For the wooden part of the reel seat I used a piece of mahogany given to me by my late father, who died just over a year ago. It seemed a nice way to remember him.
Well spotted! The butt cap is glued in place with quick-set epoxy but the pin is just pushed through from side to side and not glued so the butt cap could be removed by knocking the pin out and using a bit of heat to soften the glue.
Because the cane is impregnated, no varnish or other surface treatment is needed. I treated the silk with a few light coats of water based acrylic varnish which I think is more in keeping with the matt finish of the cane than a traditional varnish or epoxy coating.
It works really well as a rod, as a Payne 98 should, but I have yet to catch any fish with it.
Likes: 
Issimo
Re: Fishin'
Originally Posted by mnoble485
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