Dickerson rods I have known..........

Originally written by me and some friends 2002-04 for the Virtual Fly Shop, Flyfisherman Magazine Online. The Cracker Barrel has been published in book form with the limited first edition hard cover sold out and a paperback version will be available early 2011.

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fishnbanjo
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Dickerson rods I have known..........

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Post by fishnbanjo »

The title of this Cracker Barrel segment might be a bit
misleading since it actually is more than about knowing individual Dickerson
rods, it will be about Dickerson rods I currently own or have owned.

So welcome to the Cracker Barrel, I have a wonderful pot of
Bolivian Ceneproc that I have delivered freshly roasted by Matt’s Coffee in
Pownal ME where Matt uses a traditional Italian woof fired roasting process.

Let’s start at the beginning and that finds me approaching
my 50th birthday, it was late fall 0f 1999 and I would be turning 50
in Feb. 2000. I had been experiencing a lot of pain in my right hand from an
injury I had sustained in 1977 and playing my CA 1922 Whyte Laydie 5 string
banjo was no longer a joy so I decided I would sell the banjo and find a
fitting bamboo fly rod for my upcoming 50ththe obvious problem was
where to sell the banjo and what fly rod to purchase.

Sometimes putting the cart in front of the horse is the
right thing to do and by that I mean I needed to figure out what bamboo fly rod
I wanted more than any other and my two favorite makers were Eustis W. Edwards
and Lyle L. Dickerson although I had not owned a Dickerson previously.

Knowing which makers I’d be pursuing  I then focused on how much to sell the Whyte
Laydie for and how best to do this and after checking out the various banjo
sites that allowed sales I had a very good idea of what the value of the Whyte
Laydie was and that the best sales currently had been on eBay so I planned on
using eBay to sell the banjo.

I offered the Whyte Laydie for sale and had quite a few
inquiries and the bids began to happen. Ultimately the winner was one of the
earliest inquiries I had and due to the value of the banjo I was asked if the
new owner could meet with me to consummate the sale and I agreed.

We met in MA at a little spur mall that had a sort of flea
market and what not shop visible from the main highway. The new owner was
thrilled with the Whyte Laydie and paid me with cash which would become my next
bamboo fly rod.

The next few months found me hounding the various offerings
of Edwards’s rods since Dickerson rods were not often found on eBay at the
time. I continued to bid, add various rods to my queue to watch and all I had
to show for this was cash still in hand as I never came close to being the high
bidder or the price was what I felt too high to bid again.

I had come to the sad conclusion that it was not in the
cards to own a rod by either maker at the time when the Dickerson 7613 was
placed on eBay from a TX seller. I contacted the seller about the rod since he
had not placed any photos of it in the auction and his description was a bit
fuzzy. We exchanged emails and he told me he did not believe the bag to be
original to the rod and he was not sure about the tube, the rod itself had but
one tip and he did not know if it ever had a second tip as he purchased it as
it was being presented.

I was in a tough position in that I was bidding on a rod I
could not see since the seller’s wife had their digital camera and was on a
business trip. With the addition of the bag not being original, the tube
uncertain as being original and the rod having but one tip I felt out of my
element so I sought counsel from Dr Gerald Stein who co-authored the Dickerson
Rod Book with rod maker Jim Schaaf who also happened to own the Dickerson Rod
Shop.

Dr Stein was very patient, and helpful, I emailed the seller
with the idea of possibly getting a five day inspection period since we both
knew the price of the rod was going to be quite high and I wanted an
opportunity to cast it and discuss if it were original with Dr Stein and the
seller agreed to give me an inspection period.

The auction ended with my being the high bidder, I secured a
bank check and sent it overnight to the seller and he shipped the rod upon
receipt and the wait began.

The rod arrived and I unpackaged it to see a tube I was sure
I had seen that came with a rod by Paul Young and when I unscrewed the cap a
brown bag appeared which I was certain was not by Dickerson. I then removed the
7613 from the bag and found it had arrived sound and it was beautiful.

I lined the rod with a 5 wt line and went out to cast it and
immediately fell in love with it as the beautiful loops and presentation were
fitting of such a gorgeous rod. I then admired Dickerson’s signature on the rod
shaft and the original owners name placed there by Dickerson but what was the
icing on the cake was the rod was built the same year I was born so we were
both 50 years old!

I snapped out of my reverie long enough to send an email
with some photos and measurements along to Dr Stein as we had discussed in
earlier emails prior to my winning the rod. In under an hour I received a reply
from Dr Stein stating he felt it was an original Dickerson and that he had
spoken with Jim Schaaf about making a second tip for me if I decided to keep the
rod and have a second tip for fishing it thereby keeping the original tip from
any possible harm. I thanked Dr Stein and told him I would indeed contact Jim
Schaaf when my wallet had resuscitated. I next contacted the seller and told
him the 7613 had indeed found a new home.

As the months passed I cast and fished the 7613 as much as I
could reserving it for non rainy days and for places where I could travel
without worrying where my next step would be and each outing gave me more
pleasure than the previous so I knew I had to contact Jim Schaaf about making a
second tip for the rod.

I called Jim and we spoke at length about Dickerson, his
shop and his rods. Jim said he would be happy to make a second tip for the rod
but that in order to guarantee it would fit the rod properly I would have to
send it to him and he gave me very distinct instructions on how it was to be
packed and what shipper I was to use. Following Jim’s instructions I packaged
the rod and shipped it overnight insured with signature required upon arrival.

Well the coffee pot is empty, be with us next time for part
II in the series about Dickerson rods.

 

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