Dickerson Rods I have known Part III

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 Part III

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Post by fishnbanjo »

Welcome to another segment of the Cracker Barrel. Last time
we left off with my sending Jim Schaaf payment for the tip Dickerson had built
in 1974 and Jim finished off for my 7613 and he also inspected the rod and took
care of some minor issues to ensure its longevity. People like Jim, who sadly
passed this year, are special folks and you are more than likely to meet a few
like him in this wonderful world of bamboo fly rods. Well the coffee pot is
full and the stove stoked for another segment so garb a cuppa and well get on
with it.

I had been rather generous about letting folks try my rods
but the 7613 was new territory for me, my Whyte Laydie banjo had fetched a good
amount when it sold because it had appreciated in value since I first purchased
it and I never had any qualms allowing others to play it but I had a hard time
initially allowing the 7613 to be more than fondled.

I was going to be up on Kezar Lake for vacation when Jeff
Knapp told me he would be at Tim Pond for some fishing and his friend Streamer
would be there as well. I had recently purchased a scarce EW Edwards Deluxe
from a dealer in CT who was just down the road from Streamer (rod maker Wm
Abrams who also wrote for the Cracker Barrel on the VFS) and he said he’d
deliver it to me when he came to Maine for some fishing so I contacted him and
told him I’d meet him at Tim Pond.

Although Streamer and I had never met we had conversed on
many occasions either through private messages on VFS or Clark’s Classic Fly
Rod Forum and through email. I knew he had a great deal of admiration for both
Eustis Edwards and Lyle Dickerson and built clones of their rods and as I said
he had been friends with Jeff for a long time. I was always comfortable with
Jeff and basically handed him any rod I ever owned to fawn over and cast to
give me his thoughts and figured this might be my chance to break the ice with
allowing the 7613 to be more than just fondled.

I got to Tim Pond just before lunch and had some time to
catch up with Jeff and his lovely lady Cathie. We also had some time to break
out some rods and cast on the lawn at Tim Pond and I handed Jeff the 7613. Jeff
was up to date on the whole story of the rod and looked at it appreciatively
then cast it and that faraway glow came over him telling me he was smitten. I
told Jeff it was a wee bit quicker than the Payne 101 clone I had which was my
favorite taper but never actually casting a real Payne 101 I had no idea how
true to the original my clone was.

The lunch bell rang and everyone went into the camp kitchen,
since I was just a day guest I asked if I could bother the cook for a cup of
coffee, yeah I am sadly addicted to the bean. The cook owned the place with her
husband and told me to go set with my friends and she’d bring me out a lunch as
well on the house, I thanked her and took my seat.

After lunch concluded I grabbed another cuppa and a few
cookies from the endless fresh baked cookies from Betties oven and we went out
to continue our casting and waiting for Streamer to get there. We heard the
Jeep before we actually saw it and Jeff said “he’s here” as the Jeep came to a
stop at the end of the parking area. Streamer jumped out and gave both Jeff and
Cathie a big hug and I went off to string up my 101 clone to cast it against
the 7613.

When all the hellos were out of the way I walked over to
Jeff and said “I was right it is faster than my 101” Steamer heard what I said
and asked if I had a 101 with me and I said I didn’t but had a clone made by
REC using Payne cane and silks. He then asked what rod was I casting that it
was faster than the 101 clone and I said a Dickerson 7613. He looked at me and
asked if the 7613 was a clone as well and who was the maker, I told him that
Lyle Dickerson made it and he asked if I was banjo and I said ‘I am”.

We talked for a bit then I handed him the 101 and he cast it
and told me it was a very nice rod and well made and understood why I was so
fond of it as it was an excellent casting rod. I then handed him the 7613 and
on his first cast he scrunched up and stopped, then cast again and stopped,
looked at the rod, then at me then began to cast again for several minutes. I
saw in his body language what Jim Schaaf probably felt when casting it.

Steamer handed me the 7613 and told me that it was not what
he expected and asked if I saw him looking at the rod and I told him that I
had. He went on to say then momentarily he felt he was casting an Edwards as it
was the least Dickerson like Dickerson rod he’d cast until it hit the sweet
spot then it felt like a Dickerson, it has the faintest little kick like a
parabolic but not a parabolic. I understood what he was telling me as I called
it a push button as it gave you the feeling like you were giving the signal to
the line and leader to make their delivery.

Streamer went on to tell me about different 7613 models he
made, the L, m and H just as Jim Schaaf explained it to me on the phone and
like Jim Streamer said it was the lightest 7613 he’d ever cast and called it an
LS for Light Special. I told him a little about the original owner that I had
been able to dig up and the land he’d donated for a preserve and the many small
streams within it and that Jim Schaaf told me he felt it was made to be a small
stream rod where casts were 40’ or less and Streamer agreed with Jim. I told
Streamer if he wanted to he could take the measurements of the rod to add to
his tapers, he went to his Jeep and grabbed his micrometer and did this while
having lunch in the camp Kitchen. Steamer is the only person who offers this
taper, in fact he makes a 4 piece 7613 which has all 4 tips, the L,M,H and the
LS.

As I traveled to various gatherings my group of rods grew
and somewhere along the way it became known as Pandora’s Box. As I said I had
never had a problem letting anyone fondle and cast my rods until the 7613 and
after that meeting with Streamer the 7613 was given out willingly since it
needed to be shared. My travels took me many places and it wasn’t until I got
to the Michigan Rod Makers Gathering in Grayling MI would I get to cast an
original Payne 101 and was heartened to know my clone was as close as you got
as the original felt like my old friend while casting.

I managed to add a Martha Marie by the Young Rod Co, built
by Jack Young and Bob Summers as told to me by Bob when I visited with him at
his home on the Boardman River, see the photo of this meeting in the Cracker
Barrel Book. Most Martha Marie’s were 6 wt’s but this one was a true 5 wt just
like the 101 and the 7613, I called them my trio and they got lots of attention
when folks got to cast them.

It was during a fishing trip in VA with some folks who were
a mixed bunch as far as tackle is concerned, i.e. most fished graphite, some
fished fiberglass and a few fished bamboo. I thought that since more of them
were the more efficient graphite wavers who thought bamboo was better at being
a tomato stick then a fly rod I would have some fun with the trio and
challenged them to just give a few rods a try but don’t pay any attention to
the rod except the number I gave them as I would ask their opinion when they
were done casting them.

Everyone was told simply they were casting 3 different 7’6”
2 pc rods by different  makers and they
were all 5 wt rods, I would give them a number and all I wanted them to do was
lawn cast them and getting them to do anything they would do either during
actual fishing or lawn casting exercises then I would ask them to simply rate
them 1, 2 or 3 by writing the rod number in each position.

My personal 1,2 and 3 for the trio was the 7613, the 101 and
the Martha Marie. The opinion of the group came out 1,2 and 3 as the 7613, the
Martha Marie and the 101. I have repeated this several times over the years and
it has always come out the 7613 as the #1 rod and the 101 and Martha Mare
taking the #2 or #3 spot behind it. Well the coffee pot is empty and I hope you
enjoyed the end of the 7613 story, next time we’ll discuss more Dickerson rod
models.

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