TRADING POST
The Trading Post is for rods, reels, target flies and plugs and other paraphernalia used in casting games. We are sorry but we cannot list generalized fishing tackle on this page. We know what equipment is useful in these games and what is not. The master (or slave) of this website cannot participate in any way in any transaction arising from a listing here. The listing will contain the seller's or seekers choice of words describing the item in question and an e mail address. We note that expensive equipment does not confer an advantage in casting games with the exception of the larger distance rods which can be expensive because they are not production items. Some antique plug casting reels can be costly because they are historical items valuable to collectors but these beautiful old reels likewise confer no competitive advantage other than the pleasure of using equipment from the golden age of target casting. Values can be researched on the net as you have no doubt discovered and vibration rates of rods can be used as a guide to capability. Many highly successful casting game practicioners use bamboo because they like it. They seem to do just as well as their space age friends. The only games which can tax the abilities of the rod are the distance events and it is generally technique rather than the rod which most affects performance.
Fly rods used in accuracy games are generally medium stiffness. My 8'9" 7 wt rod that Steve Rajeff recommends for dry fly vibrates at about 181 and throws a 7 wt. double taper to the fifty foot target. The 8'6" 6 wt. recommended for the trout fly, which involves roll casting to the fifty footer, vibrates at 174. This rod is 3" shorter than the dry fly rod and a shorter rod has a higher vibration rate for the same line rating. The rods used in accuracy games are not specialized in any way. They are ordinary off the shelf fishing tackle. Some people use an 8 double taper weight for the dry fly but the rules for the trout fly require the use of a 6 wt line so the rod must follow the line. It has to be soft enough to load for the twenty foot target and strong enough to produce a tight loop at the fity footer. The plug rods are even less demanding. Old fiberglass rods work just fine and I am in fact casting a $3.00 fiberglass plug rod in 1/4 ounce. I will keep cutting a half inch off the tip until it gives me the toss I want or I have to give it back to the second hand store that sold it to me. I'll then find another old rod and see if it will do it. The trick is to get all three plug rods - 5/8 oz., 3/8 and 1/4 - synchronized so they all have the same action with different weight plugs. This is not so important in fly events and I don't cut fly rods down. Somewhere in the closet there will be one that works. It is imperative that the fly rod load reasonably well with twenty feet of line or less. The leader must be nine feet in trout fly so if the first target is as close as the rules allow - 20 feet in Skish games for instance (look at the rules section to see how to play skish)- you need a fairly soft rod to cast ten feet of fly line or less. Then you must make that rod perform at fifty feet.
My 9 ft.8/9 weight bass bug rod vibrates at 163 but will put the bass bug out to the seventy footer with ease. It will not produce as tight a loop as a stiffer rod but its' suave approach to the first five targets up to fifty feet more than makes up for its' larger and less reliable loop on the seventy foot. High end 9' 8/9 rods will vibrate 182 or so and are fine for bass bug but the softer rod is even finer for me.
TRADING POST
1. Ye old computer slave is in the market for a Sage steelhead distance rod. These Sage rods are marked Anglers Fly Distance, 9' 10 wt. They were not sold in stores but solely through the American Casting Association. They are very thin walled and not suitable for fishing due to the danger of breakage. They vibrate at about 229, comparable to my Sage 9' RPII 11 weight Tarpon gun vibrating at 226. I have one but my wife is in the process of deciding that it would be a good rod for her so I need another for myself. We practice together so two rods are a boon to our marriage. Slowsnap.
2. Your host also wants a large arbor light weight fly reel made in the thirties or forties. I have no brand names available but the reel I want will be like an Indiana reel but perpendicular to the fly rod rather than mounted flat against the fly rod. It may be five inches in diameter with a four inch arbor. In the distance events we are required to mount a reel capable of holding the entire line and are sometimes required to come up to the casting box with the running line and shooting head wound on the reel. A large arbor reel makes it easier to straighten the line for the casting. Slowsnap
3. The third thing I want is a set of old South Bend aluminum targets. These were made in the forties and fifties and may be sitting around someone's garage or attic now. They are good to cast to because the sound of the fly bouncing off the metal is different from the sound of the plastic judging ring used with them. It is sometimes hard to tell if the fly hit the inner ring or the outer one. Slowsnap
4. While we are at it, my library needs old books on fly and plug casting. Not books on fishing with chapters on casting but books devoted solely to casting and published before 1965. Who knows, if you sell me your grandparent's old book I may review it on the Book Reviews page. Slowsnap
6. For Sale: Assorted removeable plug rod handle/reel seat assemblies for use on your blank. These may or may not be suitable for your blank so, if you need a removeable handle, e mail me and start a discussion. Sam.
Mitchell 308 spinning reels, which are marked as manufactured in France, are desirable for 1/4 and 3/8 ounce.
7. For Sale: Loomis Salmon Fly rod ( seventeen foot spey rod for casting the salmon fly event in tournaments) Current model (2000) Loomis blank built up with guides and reel seat.
U.S.$ 495.00. Contact Gord Deval