fish the Leonard - advice wanted
Moderators: pmcroberts, uniphasian
fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#1Clock is ticking this season to successfully fish my COVID purchase of a Leonard 38H. I have already decided it is the only rod I will bring on a Driftless trip in the coming weeks. I have yet to catch a trout on bamboo. I am so chagrined... but so ready.
So, I have more of a poll with which to take your advice.
7 1/2' 2/2 38H Baby Catskill of respectable post-fire vintage (ca. 1975); I've only lawn cast it (406 DT4F) but I really need to fish it - finally!
One tip is about 1 1/8" short; the repaired tip top is good, but the top silks on the first guide (@ 5") are fractured and in need of repair. Short tip is currently unusable, and I've procrastinated too long!
2nd tip is perfectly fine and ready to fish.
Having a bamboo rod of modest value on tight unknown waters for the first time - what should I do?
A) Practice a sound repair wrap on your short tip, with good Chinese red silk & Helmsman spar. Leave the good tip at home, and catch a fish on your best repair, and let the chips fall, fishing with one tip for the 3 days. If you start now, there's plenty of time to do a good job that can always be re-done later.
B) Don't mess with a rewrap - leave that to an experienced pro. Meanwhile, do a field fix on the busted guide threads that can be undone easily over the winter. Some tape or wound tippet, for example, could make the short tip eminently castable for your trip. Bring both tips, but fish the scabbed short one, with backup.
C) Bring both tips and fish the long tip with zeal. If something happens, c'est la vie. You can always field fix the short tip around the campfire and try tomorrow.
A Leonard with 2 broken tips is nothing new, and can always be made whole in most cases.
With a modest Leonard 4wt in-hand, what's the right call? What's a legitimate field fix for a busted guide?
I don't wish to de-value the rod by some ham-fisted mistake. But then again, the rod needs to have a life.
Why worry? It's really not that collectible. I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks for reading a long post.
Bob ~JoeBolt
So, I have more of a poll with which to take your advice.
7 1/2' 2/2 38H Baby Catskill of respectable post-fire vintage (ca. 1975); I've only lawn cast it (406 DT4F) but I really need to fish it - finally!
One tip is about 1 1/8" short; the repaired tip top is good, but the top silks on the first guide (@ 5") are fractured and in need of repair. Short tip is currently unusable, and I've procrastinated too long!
2nd tip is perfectly fine and ready to fish.
Having a bamboo rod of modest value on tight unknown waters for the first time - what should I do?
A) Practice a sound repair wrap on your short tip, with good Chinese red silk & Helmsman spar. Leave the good tip at home, and catch a fish on your best repair, and let the chips fall, fishing with one tip for the 3 days. If you start now, there's plenty of time to do a good job that can always be re-done later.
B) Don't mess with a rewrap - leave that to an experienced pro. Meanwhile, do a field fix on the busted guide threads that can be undone easily over the winter. Some tape or wound tippet, for example, could make the short tip eminently castable for your trip. Bring both tips, but fish the scabbed short one, with backup.
C) Bring both tips and fish the long tip with zeal. If something happens, c'est la vie. You can always field fix the short tip around the campfire and try tomorrow.
A Leonard with 2 broken tips is nothing new, and can always be made whole in most cases.
With a modest Leonard 4wt in-hand, what's the right call? What's a legitimate field fix for a busted guide?
I don't wish to de-value the rod by some ham-fisted mistake. But then again, the rod needs to have a life.
Why worry? It's really not that collectible. I'd appreciate your feedback. Thanks for reading a long post.
Bob ~JoeBolt
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#2A mix of A and C would be my choice. Fish the good tip, thats why you bought the rod, to fish and enjoy it, right? Do a quick repair but actually with thread on the short tip as a back up, or maybe the use the short to start with, but take both tips. That’s what I’d do FWIW.
Don Titterington
Desert Canyon Rods
West Linn, OR
Repairs/Renovations
Custom Builds
Desert Canyon Rods
West Linn, OR
Repairs/Renovations
Custom Builds
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- Guide
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Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#4throw some thread on short tip, take both tips. fish best tip. no regrets that way. fix short tip during cold weather.
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#5I guess I don't really understand why you can't fish the short tip now? Is there something structurally wrong? Is the tip top loose or just a bad wrap? If the tip top is loose, reset it with a good thermoset resin like Ferr-l-tite (sp?). Either way, put a drop of varnish on the bad wrap. Fish the short tip for the rest of the season and save the good tip for reference for a proper repair job on the short tip this winter. Still, bring both tips to the river just in case. My .02.
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#7A tip down less than 2" on that rod won't make a world of difference, some difference sure but not a world. I'd do a quick repair and take the shortie as an emergency replacement. Imho.
- Erik F. Helm
- Guide
- Posts: 100
- Joined: 01/17/12 11:18
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#9Thanks, Erik! Your post inspired me.
I have the jig set up now for a try at a credible guide repair, and will be talking with a Driftless Guide soon. Fingers crossed. I normally get skunked!
I love your setup. Great share.
Bob
I have the jig set up now for a try at a credible guide repair, and will be talking with a Driftless Guide soon. Fingers crossed. I normally get skunked!
I love your setup. Great share.
Bob
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#12As my late eldest sister used to say to anyone concerned about their attire, "A knight on a galloping steed will never know the difference!"
That maxim certainly applies to this repair! My silk burn is rather a tell, eh? But the correct Gudebrod 326, three light coats of nitrocellulose (courtesy of Sally Hansen!), and a matchstick of Helmsman to seal, and the short tip is ready to fish! All guides got a wakeup coat of cheat cp and a paper bodkin of new varnish. The whole tip looks much better. So excited, can't wait.
Thanks to so many for the good humor and encouragement - so many great tips and a wide variety of techniques - doing is learning. Cheers all.
- Erik F. Helm
- Guide
- Posts: 100
- Joined: 01/17/12 11:18
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- Guide
- Posts: 191
- Joined: 04/17/13 06:27
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#15Oof. Totally refused by scores of stocked Driftless rainbows today...
I went full Monty with waders and wading belt, etc. and tried hard to stalk them.
Thought it would be a sure thing, but should have known better - they refused everything of every stripe.
All I could do was watch.
The guys downriver on Power bait absolutely cleaned up and took stringers home. Oh well, it was great wading and casting practice in very tight conditions.
Erik Helm was a very patient and expert guide on Monday. So glad to have fished the Leonard with him. I was absolutely terrible, but have a growing list of things to work on. Thank you Erik for the votes of confidence, and for putting me on pretty brown trout!
Below is my prototype fly and tippet desk-cum-lunchbox. It got a good workout this week, and it sure is one of a kind! It displays everything in front of you on a black work surface for ease of knotting with failing vision. Also holds extra reels & a soup and sandwich lunch!
Cheers.
Bob ~ JoeBolt
I went full Monty with waders and wading belt, etc. and tried hard to stalk them.
Thought it would be a sure thing, but should have known better - they refused everything of every stripe.
All I could do was watch.
The guys downriver on Power bait absolutely cleaned up and took stringers home. Oh well, it was great wading and casting practice in very tight conditions.
Erik Helm was a very patient and expert guide on Monday. So glad to have fished the Leonard with him. I was absolutely terrible, but have a growing list of things to work on. Thank you Erik for the votes of confidence, and for putting me on pretty brown trout!
Below is my prototype fly and tippet desk-cum-lunchbox. It got a good workout this week, and it sure is one of a kind! It displays everything in front of you on a black work surface for ease of knotting with failing vision. Also holds extra reels & a soup and sandwich lunch!
Cheers.
Bob ~ JoeBolt
- Erik F. Helm
- Guide
- Posts: 100
- Joined: 01/17/12 11:18
Re: fish the Leonard - advice wanted
#16Stupid stocker rainbows can be difficult. Try Liverwurst. Anyway... you landed 6 brown trout on our little expedition! All wild. Congrats sir! The Catskill rod was blessed with fish on a hand-tied Catskill fly... wonderful!