Protecting a sharpes scottie decal.

[Dave Westburg]

I've been chasing steelhead and salmon in the salt water with a 9' sharpes scottie specialist impregnated rod. The salt water seems to be hard on the rod's decals. They are breaking up. Here's a recent picture of the rod. You can see that that the sticker is coming off.



Any bright ideas on how to protect the stickers. Also, anyone know where I can but sharpes scottie replacement stickers.

[60InchDV8]

Hi,
I collect and use Scotty’s for trout and salmon fishing. The finish is impregnated but I use a spar varnish overcoat on the decals to protect them. I may have a contact in Scotland where I sourced mine or some extra decals for you. Which ones does your rod have that need replacement?
Regards from the Restigouche....Jim

[Dave Westburg]

Thanks for the spar varnish idea Jim. I'll try that.

The decal that I need is the Scottie Dog. 1 need one right now but wouldn't mind buying 2-3 so I've got some replacements for the future. Everything else is still intact.

You fish the Sharpes two hand rods for atlantic salmon? What are they like spey fishing? I use a CND 14'4 9 weight and a Rio Mid-spey line for my winter steelhead fishing and a 13'6" Sage 7136 for my summer steelhead fishing. The only type of fishing I still do with graphite. What Sharpes rods would be good for steelhead?

Do you have any spliced Sharpes rods. How do they fish and what tape are you using?

[para_adams]

I've got extra spar varnish if you'd like to put some over that label.

[60InchDV8]

I use the 12 foot 8 wt spliced cane Sharpes for Great Lakes“migratory rainbows” here in Ontario and the 9 wt spliced 13 footer for B.C. Skeena watershed and Thompson River Steelhead. I know a skilled angler could land a large steelhead on the 8 wt but I would rather tail it within 15 minutes to ensure better odds of survival. An exhausted steelie or salmon is easy prey for bears, sea lions, eagles, seals and eels. The spliced 14 foot 10 wt and the 15 ft 11 wt are true salmon spey rods that are capable of landing a trophy Springer within my goal of 30 seconds per pound for a successful release.
The Sharpes spliced switch and spey rods are a few ounces heavier than modern hollow built rods that can only roll cast short head Scandi lines and require stripping in 70 feet of shooting line to make a 100 foot cast. The Sharpes taper is stronger with swelled spliced joints that allow using a wide variety of lines, including mid and long belly floating and sinking spey lines. I’ll use a CD Sinking Scandi Line with a mono shooting line for depth control for winter steelheading but I can also use a floating Wulff TT spey line with a 70 foot head with a sinking furled fluro leader. This is an advantage as it reduces shooting the running line for a better tangle free presentation. By elevating your rod tip, you can lead your fly through it’s swing and avoid stripping in wet line that freezes your hands and ices up the rod guides. You strip and coil 20 feet of dry running line and the rod rod picks up the 70 foot head during the spey cast. The spliced taper flexes throughout with its parabolic action and casts the line in sinc with your body motion, more so than with your arms which makes casting less fatiguing. even with the 15 footer.

Traditionally, spliced joints on greenheart wood rods were bound with a leather strap. The elasticity of the leather allowed the spliced joint of the original greenheart Grant Vibration spey rods to fully flex during casting for a powerful transfer of energy with a one piece parabolic feel right through the handle. The Sharpes spliced cane rods were modeled on these greenheart spey rods tapers for a lighter feel. Rather than leather, most anglers opt for wrapping them with electrical tape, leaving a 1/4 inch open space between each tight wrap. I prefer clear electrical or hockey stick tape, as both have the necessary elasticity and their transparency enhances the beauty of the bamboo’s impregnated dark stained finish.

[Dave Westburg]

Very Intriguing. I may need to look into a Sharpes rod for winter steelhead. I use a mid spey line because I can single spey or double spey without having to strip in between casts.