Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The Reddington






I had been admiring my friend Chris's 8.6 ft Reddington CT when he purchased a very nice sage rod and reel so needless to say he was in the market to sell his old rod. I have been meaning to expand my very small fly rod collection so I quickly inquired about the CT. I tried the rod out at my favorite old pond on a chilly late September morning. I was pleased to land four fish in the process of the rod trial. The rod performed spectacularly and I was able to back hand and side cast very far and with ease. The CT excelled in the overhanging forest which dots the shoreline of this lake and I was able to fish the small but extremely productive cove in a much more productive manner.
I continued to fish away from the honey hole and tree choked cove and found an area where I could put the rod through some long casting paces. I was happy to have a longer 3 wt that I could cast farther and more accurately, yet I would still have the feel of a light fly rod which I must say is addicting. I have found it very hard to graduate to a heavier rod but i will be acquiring a bigger stick soon for bigger trout and rougher water.
I began to target the rising bg's around the shore, which I could happily do for hours. I switched to a secret blue gill killer I had purchased from TJ hargroves a couple of days before. I should take this opportunity to explain the environment of this shady looking fly shop. I arrived at the shop one Saturday morning to my surprise the shop was a very old house right on Manchester road. I opened the door to a cacophony of raised and grizzled voices from the old timers who every Saturday right at opening time swarm the fly tying table which is messier and more cluttered then the disaster in my house. They were arguing about technology which quickly changed into a argument concerning hackle. I must say I love this place because i will take every opportunity i have to look at things I won't buy but I love to listen to the guys haze and poke fun of each other.

The shop has a very homey atmosphere and provides daily coffee and in the winter there is a crock pot of chili or some soup like substance. Nothing against feather craft but if I'm going to drop a large sum of money on flies or fly fishing gear I want to feel like I am at home. This place is amazing in every sense of the word because it is covered in gear in no apparent organization or order. I think Hargrove just crams things where ever there is room and you know what I admire that because the other shops are very sterile and organized or are setup to make you spend more money by highlighting special buys. I am not trying to push the fly shop on any one but it is important to know that they are a small independent shop that is not short on character. Any ways back to the fly fishing...

I placed a cast next to a sunken log which and twitched the small bead head fly with a black chenille body and black legs. The image of the log erupted into a red ear which broke the surface with my fly in his mouth and I set the hook and had a great fight on my hands. I had a great time with this rod and i could not help but agree with Will about the rods ability to cast like butter.













3 comments:

  1. Rod
    You are doing some of the things I have done when purchaseing a new rod---try it out. I have found that you can always find a new spot for another fly rod. I have 3 but Chris keeps taling about his 2 wt. --as if I needed another rod. Are you using Chris's Reddington fly rod here--I have a 5 wt.reddington and really like it. Check out one of my last post involing a huge spot I landed using the 5 wt. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry Ron you are not Rod, that is another blogger--sorry for the confusion

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have only one thing to say: "Told you so"

    ReplyDelete