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DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT! By Reg “Chip” Chipman AZOD Contributing Writer
The average fly fisherman has 2 ˝ rods. Maybe it used to be three and Mr. Average got a little clumsy. Two rods should be a minimum. Whenever you go fishing you should have a backup rod handy. Rods get broken. I always carry a spare rod. I didn’t until one day I went fishing with my neighbor Tom Conto. When we got to our destination and started assembling our rods, I soon discovered that I had the bottom half of a 4wt and top half of a 2wt. Very incompatible. Fortunately, Tom was driving that day. “Not to worry,” said Tom. Reaching into the back of the car, Tom handed me a fly rod with matching halves. “Always carry a spare,” he said with a grin. That was good advice. Since that time I have had to use a backup on more than one occasion. Had Tom not had a spare we would have been at worst inconvienced, because we could have driven the 50 minutes back home and gotten a rod. If you are up here in the White Mountains from Phoenix or Tucson, you have the option of going to the nearest town and buying a new rod or doing something else besides fishing unless you can make a rod repair in the field. I can do a lot of things with duct tape but rod repair ain’t one of them. My choice for a backup rod is a 4-piece. If I am going to be any distance from my vehicle, I carry it in its tube on my backpack that has side compression straps. Even an 8 ˝ -foot 4- piece won’t be extending over your head, so getting through brush and under low limbs is not a problem. If you really want to be compact, consider a 5-piece or even a 7-piece rod. Cabela’s 5 -piece rods cost $85-$90 and break down to lengths of 18 to 23 inches. The 7-piece, when disassembled measures 15 to 17 inches depending on the rod length. It comes with a carrying case that measures 20 inches. The cost is $135-$145. The spare rod, don’t leave home without it. Even if you never need it, maybe your fishing buddy will. - END -
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