Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Got an email advertisement from Sportsman's Warehouse this morning, hawking a "terrific" sale with up to 60% on fishing gear. So naturally, I checked it out. And one thing that immediately caught my eye was a "Lamson Guru" fly fishing reel for the bargain price of... $239.99. Wow. I took up fly fishing back in the 1960's. And I was fortunate to have the tutelage of a number of old-timers who sadly are no longer with us (but they'd be WELL over a hunnert - even over a hunnert and twenty - years old if they were). And obviously, we had a lot of conversations about equipment; the relative benefits of bamboo vs fiberglas rods (graphite rods weren't even science fiction yet), line material, reels, and so forth. Oh... and of course, fly tying. Now, on the subject of reels, there was a generally accepted philosophy: the reel was nothing more than storage for the line. The line was considered the most important component of the rig; next, the rod, and lastly the reel. Those gentlemen would snort derisively at the mention of expensive reels. Some of them had really nice, handmade rods from Abercrombie & Fitch or Orvis, but with cheap, simple reels hanging from the butts. "That's all ya need! Want to put on some drag? Just lay your pinkie on the spool edge!" Heck... I don't think I spent ten bucks on my first fly reel - and still have it! I've added some "nicer" ones to the collection over the years, but now that I'm an old fart myownself, I too snort derisively at the thought of a reel "marked down" to a mere two hundred forty bucks. Not to mention the ones with a comma on the price tag! So, that all said, it got me to reminiscing. And of course, when thinking about fly fishing, Badger Mountain Charlie naturally comes to mind right quickly. He is missed. AND I had saved the link to a thread from seven and a half years ago.... 2017 BMC Thread A young Hardpan, over 50 years ago - not fly fishing; using a 1/4 oz silver Kastmaster on six-lb Trilene line on a perfectly adequate but nameless, long-forgotten Long's Drug Store spinning rod and reel (later stolen). Half-Breed Pete, his brother Mike, and I had snuck into "Fishing Strictly Prohibeted!" Whale Rock Reservoir. The fishing was good, and we even escaped the rangers in a foot race outta there! Wisely, common sense has long since prevailed, and that reservoir has open to fishing for quite some time. 7 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 (edited) Me ‘n’ BMC! August 2016. We spent the day and had pizza for supper!! We spoke often on the phone and I miss him greatly!! Edited August 9 by Blackwater 53393 5 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 well I was thinking of BMC a couple days back I was digging around in the shop and found the first fly rod I ever bought along with it's reel and fly line a NO name chrome single action reel , straight (no taper) line and a spun glass rod got it all for a buck at a junk store that was the start of the down fall into the sport , originated by the Earl De Sade ( the wrong spelling ? ) might have to take it out this weekend , to catch a couple of panfish (sunfish) CB 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: Got an email advertisement from Sportsman's Warehouse this morning, hawking a "terrific" sale with up to 60% on fishing gear. So naturally, I checked it out. And one thing that immediately caught my eye was a "Lamson Guru" fly fishing reel for the bargain price of... $239.99. Wow. I took up fly fishing back in the 1960's. And I was fortunate to have the tutelage of a number of old-timers who sadly are no longer with us (but they'd be WELL over a hunnert - even over a hunnert and twenty - years old if they were). And obviously, we had a lot of conversations about equipment; the relative benefits of bamboo vs fiberglas rods (graphite rods weren't even science fiction yet), line material, reels, and so forth. Oh... and of course, fly tying. Now, on the subject of reels, there was a generally accepted philosophy: the reel was nothing more than storage for the line. The line was considered the most important component of the rig; next, the rod, and lastly the reel. Those gentlemen would snort derisively at the mention of expensive reels. Some of them had really nice, handmade rods from Abercrombie & Fitch or Orvis, but with cheap, simple reels hanging from the butts. "That's all ya need! Want to put on some drag? Just lay your pinkie on the spool edge!" Heck... I don't think I spent ten bucks on my first fly reel - and still have it! I've added some "nicer" ones to the collection over the years, but now that I'm an old fart myownself, I too snort derisively at the thought of a reel "marked down" to a mere two hundred forty bucks. Not to mention the ones with a comma on the price tag! So, that all said, it got me to reminiscing. And of course, when thinking about fly fishing, Badger Mountain Charlie naturally comes to mind right quickly. He is missed. AND I had saved the link to a thread from seven and a half years ago.... 2017 BMC Thread A young Hardpan, over 50 years ago - not fly fishing; using a 1/4 oz silver Kastmaster on six-lb Trilene line on a perfectly adequate but nameless, long-forgotten Long's Drug Store spinning rod and reel (later stolen). Half-Breed Pete, his brother Mike, and I had snuck into "Fishing Strictly Prohibeted!" Whale Rock Reservoir. The fishing was good, and we even escaped the rangers in a foot race outta there! Wisely, common sense has long since prevailed, and that reservoir has open to fishing for quite some time. That open faced Mitchell spinning reel you have on your rod was/is one of the finest pieces of equipment I ever owned. I didn't fish with flies all the time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 given its size on the rod . I figure it to be a GM 300 , it might be a 308 , both very good reels got some of each in the Collection (obsession) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 I still have the Fenwick fly rod and Pfleuger 1595 fly reel I bought in 1956 when I was 15. I still fish with them every year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I have an OLD rod that is wrapped very close to the pic , it is a Garcia , and it is wearing a 308 I think Dad got it at Gibson's Hardware , some where around 1970 CB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 5 hours ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said: given its size on the rod . I figure it to be a GM 300 , it might be a 308 , both very good reels got some of each in the Collection (obsession) Yep. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 9 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said: That open faced Mitchell spinning reel you have on your rod was/is one of the finest pieces of equipment I ever owned. I didn't fish with flies all the time. 9 hours ago, Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 said: given its size on the rod . I figure it to be a GM 300 , it might be a 308 , both very good reels got some of each in the Collection (obsession) Ya know... that was something like fifty-two years ago; memory tends to be a mite fuzzled. But I think the reel was a Garcia Mitchell 320 - picture below. As I said, it was stolen about 1975 or '76 when some lowly bilgerat broke into my Otto, my '73 Super Beetle, and swiped it - along with a bunch of other cool stuff. So - what piqued the memory of what it was? Something actually kinda cool! One of my old frat pards, "Stewballs," and I decided we wanted to take up surf fishing. But we were both starving college students, and not blessed with a pile of expendable cash. So, we decided to go in partners on a surf rig. I had admired the Garcia Mitchell 302 - a huge saltwater version of the reel I already had, the 320! So, I bought the reel, and Bobbo bought some generic but functional rod and we were off and fishing. Now, I actually lusted after a particular rod - a 12' Fenwick PS 120 surf rod. Man... I Jonesed for that rod! A perfect mate to the Garcia Mitchell 302! Alas... it was not to be. But we made do, and fun was had! Life goes on, and Stewballs and I eventually went our separate ways. And he had - and likely still has - the reel and rod. I think I last saw it about 1977. Of course, I have acquired others since then.... So jump ahead thirty-five years - 2012. I was sitting at home alone one night, sipping on a nice whiskey, and reminiscing about fun times. Fun times fishing! And on a whim, I popped onto Ebay and punched in Garcia Mitchell 302 - and there it was~! Reasonably priced*, so I punched the button and a week later it was here! I spent a few evenings fondling that reel, and dreaming about the "good old days." Then I put it away, and put it out of my mind. Another jump - to 2020. Sassparilla Kid and I were visiting a buddy, Bobby Stargaard. Sadly, Bobby is no longer with us, but he was a terrific guy - and loved fishing. Trout fishing! Nothing else, though! So we were hanging out in Bobby's shop, and as we were leaving, he turned to The Kid and said, "Hey, Ry - one of my clients gave me an old fishing rod, and I ain't got no use for it- want it?" "Why sure, Bobby!" sez the kid, and graciously accepted the somewhat long parcel. And, when we got home, he casually unwrapped it. And of course, there it was - an apparently never used, 1974 vintage, Fenwick PS 120 surf rod! I was stunned! The kid smiled, and said "Gee, Dad ~ now I just need a reel!" I grinned, said "wait here," and moseyed off to a closet - then returned a moment later and handed him that Garcia Mitchell 302. When I told him the story, he was totally jazzed. As was I! I never owned my dream surf combo, by by golly, my kid does! And has enjoyed the heck out of it. *There are right now a bunch of GM302 reels on Ebay; relatively inexpensive - hundred bucks or less. I saw one Fenwick PS120; damaged and repaired - $150) Garcia Mitchell 320 Garcia Mitchell 302 . 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 truth be told , I have LOTS more fishing stuff , than I will ever need or use up as I was , at one time a guide here in Beaver Lake , in AR , every thing from ultra light to med lite salt water bait casting , spinning , fly fishing in abundance , I also repaired rods and reels running a small shop with the guide service been tied up with other stuff , but plan to get back on the water a lot more often CB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I can play, made about 1975, for dry flies 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Never cared much for fishing. I enjoyed deep sea fishing when I went with my dad a few times in the early ‘60s, but I really don’t have the patience for it. My son and youngest grandson like to fish in the local lakes and the river now and then. I could catch what I need if I was hungry, just like hunting. I know how, but others get more out of it than I do. I always got a kick out of the exchanges between Badger and CB and some of the other fishermen here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Used to love deep sea and freshwater both and enjoyed many memorable experiences. Kind of like dating - you never know what you'll catch. Pun intended! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 About a week ago I saw an ad for tofu, and that made me think of him and his comments about it. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Okie Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Good Morning, Hardpan and other nostalgic fly fishers. This thread sure brings back some fond memories...... .......Sycamore Creek, Northeastern Oklahoma, in the mid-50s, where my Dad dropped me off to fish all day while he was at work. I was 12 years old and an avid reader of Outdoor Life, Field and Stream and any other outdoor magazine I could find. Those experiences imprinted me with a love for clear, cold streams with rocky bottoms, and sight fishing for panfish and small "linesides" (bass)......first with spinning rod and stream-caught crawfish, then with my first fly rod. .......Burney, Ca (where my Dad was working), seeing the most beautiful fish I had ever seen....a golden brown trout with red and black spots the size of a dime and as long as my arm.....caught by a neighbor boy, in a small meadow stream you could step across, on a worm. .......NY state (where I was transferred to work in the 60s) and where I really learned to fly fish while enjoying the "Charmed Circle of the Catskills (mountains). written about by Outdoor Life....helping found a local chapter of Trout Unlimited....fishing local rivers as well as travelling to fish for trout, steelhead and salmon. That's when I learned that there are definitely times when a fly reel is needed to do more that just hold the line....as in a drag to slow a runaway steel head. .......South Korea (while on work assignment) ....meeting local fly fishers, fishing the eastern mountains with them...catching Cherry Trout (sancheono) found only in Korea, Japan and Russia. And all the while accumulating the tools of the trade....from Mitchell spinning reels to many fly reels....Pflueger, Ross, Orvis, Cabela, Valentine, Streamline, Vom Hoff, Bogdan...and of course rods to match. Lots of time spent at the tying vise filling the fly boxes before a trip - like I now fill the ammo boxes before a cowboy shoot. Sorry for rambling on, but as I mentioned at the beginning I was imprinted at an early age and have enjoyed a lifetime of fly fishing A writer who wrote about the joys of fly fishing under the pen name of Sparse Grey Hackle used a name that well describes me now.....sparse, grey hackle. OO 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Hey! Hardpan!! Thanks for startin’ this thread!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Nearly 20 years ago I complained on the Saloon about having a bad fishing day. Charlie posted and told me “If you are getting stressed out when you’re fishing you are doing it wrong.” I remember that every time I go fishing. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Great memories. Thanks for sharing. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 A BAD day fishin' beat the fire out of a good day at work CB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 I thought I might have a chance to meet him once. It was late in his time with us and didn't get to happen. Don't know why, but I can't bring myself to delete the PM's we sent back and forth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coyote Kid, SASS#54714 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Sometimes I wonder which one to use. Or should I go up to the garage and get the other ones. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Buck Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Fishing is my passion. Cowboy Action Shooting is my hobby. I have fished all the west coast, the North West, Alaska, the South Pacific, Bahamas, and South America all while fly rodding. 30 plus years ago I couldn't afford a nice fly rod or reel, so I took a class and built a couple of fly rods made from Sage seconds. Still one of my favorite rods, although now, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to buy one or two! About that same time, I was looking for a wood drift boat but couldn't afford one of those either, so I built one! Still probably one of the most difficult projects I have ever undertaken! Today, the "Diamond Rogue" has well over 1,000 river miles on her and going strong. We just sold our place in North Carolina and are moving to Pennsylvania. I plan on spending the next 20 years fishing the world class Delaware! JB 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 I was astounded by the rule books BMC shared , after reading some of them , I was not sure it was even legal to fish up there that said , the rules here are getting harder to understand , too many zones ect , thankfully not near as bad , as some places CB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 years back when I was runnin' with a bunch of river rats , on the Red River (Lake Texoma ) when we would get a rod that was not catchin' it would get put in the rod box , to think of its non catching ways as a guide , I always had a couple rods extra , for just such cases CB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) 9 hours ago, Michigan Slim said: I thought I might have a chance to meet him once. It was late in his time with us and didn't get to happen. Don't know why, but I can't bring myself to delete the PM's we sent back and forth. SAME HERE!! I have a couple from ‘Bama Red as well!! Edited August 12 by Blackwater 53393 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Okie Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Johnny Buck, that's a beautiful boat ....and all those Sage rods and Abel reels aren't bad either. With over 1000 river miles on the boat, I'd say you are ready for the Delaware. I'm sure you have done your homework and know that the Delaware is, in my opinion, the best trout river in the Eastern US and one of the best in the entire US and Canada. It's crowded but has great hatches and lots of good fish. The lower part of the river has excellent smallmouth fishing as well; occasionally a smallmouth will take your streamer meant for a trout and run you into the backing in a few seconds. From Pa, you also have access to some decent steelhead fishing in Northern NY, tributary rivers and small streams feeding the great lakes. I have a good friend who lives in Pa just south of Binghamton, NY. We have spent many hours floating the Delaware...both East and West branches, as well as the main from Hancock down. Also, steelhead (and some salmon), wading, not floating, around Pulaski, NY. I'm not an expert by any means, but do have a bit of experience in the area that you are moving to. You are welcome to contact me by PM if there might be questions I could answer or information I might be able to provide. Best Regards and "Tight Lines". OO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Buck Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 Okie, that was really nice! Thank you! Sounds like you have been to a few places that most will never have the pleasure to visit! When we bought our property last year my wife bought me a book on fishing the Lower Delaware. Normally, what I do, is hire a guide for the first few times so I can the learn the river, the hatches, the put-ins, the take outs, shuttles etc. Nothing worse than encountering the unexpected and being stuck or out classed! I have never seen so many drift boats, fly shops etc. Our property is in gated community with 5 acres minimum on a private lake stocked with trout! Now I just have to teach wife how to row! Her best day fishing in Seattle she caught 1 bass, two trout, and a diamond ring! Needless to say, she loves to fish! We are essentially moving for trout!!! The movers come Monday! JB 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 I grew up in West Michigan. We had a few trout cricks around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted August 15 Share Posted August 15 i was a fly fisherman for a while , kinda got to the point i couldnt get around as well in the areas i needed to fish so i sold off my three rods/reels/lines - mine were good qulity , i still have my family heirlooms on the wall in my office - the bamboo rigs for decoration , im third generation fly rod ...i was the president of our local club for a few years , but i grew up a bass fisherman and i still do that , ive dabbled in musky/northerns too still do , soon as my boat gets out of the shop ill be back at it this fall , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted August 15 Share Posted August 15 as soon as it cools down a mite , got 97 on the front porch , will get the old Alaumacraft out on the water chasing the white bass they school up chasing shad , can be a real blast it get into a popper or a streamer will get them to take a swipe at your line I tied up some wolly buggers in silver figure the 6 or 7wt , should be heavy enough CB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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