While sorting tackle for an upcoming trip to fish the blue-winged olive hatch on the Frying Pan River, I briefly pondered if I should include my Hidy 8-foot, 4-weight split bamboo fly rod. I’d already included a 4-weight graphite rod that I’d been fishing a lot over the winter months.
There was a time when I fished bamboo almost exclusively. Initially, my friend John Gierach got me interested in bamboo rods, and it took off from there. I never had the instinct as to what constitutes a great bamboo rod like John does, or for that matter what makes for a great big game hunting rifle or sweetheart side-by-side shotgun. Whatever that sense is, it’s innate. Nonetheless, I’ve accumulated a stack of bamboo fly rods over the years.
My ex-wife called the fine tackle that some of my fly-fishing friends and I own “boy jewelry.” She was referring to the finely crafted split bamboo fly rods, wooden landing nets and fancy reels that we “dress” our fly rods up with.
None of this tackle is required to catch a fish. You can catch a trout on a $15 fly rod matched up with a $10 reel and inexpensive fly line. I know fly fishers who are highly proficient with these humble tools. But I don’t think just catching fish is the point when it comes to fine tackle.
My two closest friends both have this innate attraction to fine tools for outdoorsmen. Along with John, the other is a horseman and big game hunter. I recently talked with him about the fine things outdoorsmen use.
“Maybe it comes down to an appreciation for craftsmanship. An older well-made saddle, such as the Frazier saddle that was made in Pueblo, Colorado, is functional and a prized possession to riders. It may be collectable, but it’s a lot more fun if you use it,” he said.
That’s an important point in the “fine things” equation. The people I know who are attracted to fine things aren’t collectors. They don’t leave this stuff on a shelf and look at it; they use it in the field. I’m reminded of an old Lefever side-by-side shotgun that I took to a gunsmith, because it didn’t fit me. He suggested that I lengthen the stock.
“Will that affect the value?” I asked.
“It’s not worth anything to you if you can’t shoot it, is it?” he said.
My discussion with the horseman/big game hunter went on to consider hunting knives. You can skin a deer or elk with most any kind of knife. A finely crafted knife with a Damascus blade doesn’t make the skinning any easier than it would be with a decent quality knife you buy at the hardware store. But, the knife with the Damascus blade just feels better in the hand and, in a sense, it can be said it honors the animal. In primitive societies, it’s not unusual to see highly decorated, practical hunting and fishing tools.
For modern outdoors people, these fine things become part of their outdoor legacy. You pick up and cast a fine split bamboo fly rod, and it becomes part of your body. You feel the cast, and when you hook a trout and play it to a finely crafted net, it’s a joyous event. At some point, you realize that a human being made your fly rod in his or her workshop and test cast it before he sold it to you. He puts his name on it and will stand by it. The same goes for the landing net. There’s something to be said for that. These are the things that get passed down through families, along with the stories that go with them.
But, that’s as much I know about it. For a better feel, you’ll have to ask somebody who has the instinct for these fine things. I’m one of those people who appreciates the fine things but could be as happy fishing that inexpensive fly rod with the $10 reel. When it comes to the fine things, I just follow the advice of my pals when I’m lucky enough to come across a fine fly rod or beautifully machined fly reel.
The people I know who have that instinct for fine things are natural born horse traders at heart, too. Years ago, I remember when one of them tied a bunch of flies and traded them for a sweet knife.
These guys can look at a table with bunch of fly reels on it and pick out the one that is perfect for them. It’s not a matter of how valuable it is, although it often is valuable, but more its ability to enhance their outdoor experience. It may just be their confidence in knowing what they like that separates them from me, but I envy the way they find these fine outdoor tools, use them and take care of them.
So, back to where this conversation started. There was never any doubt that I’d take the Hidy rod to the Frying Pan River. I’ll dress it up with a sweet Hardy lightweight reel, which was the first fine thing I ever bought. I’ll fish it for at least of portion of the trip, too. I have history with that rod and reel, and it feels good when I cast it. In some sense, I even believe it can change my luck.
