If you have two tips for your rod, you should rotate the tips, so you fish tip #1 one day and tip #2 the next. This will prolong the life of the tips and ensure they wear consistently. Tip #1 will have a single trim wrap on the tip top and/or ferrule. Tip #2 has two trim wraps on the tip top and/or ferrule wraps. It helps to rotate the tips in the bag. When you remove the butt section from the bag, grab the tip next to it for fishing and put the other tip in the slot next to the butt section of the sock for you to grab the next time you fish the rod.
Assembly, Disassembly & Ferrules I use the following phrase when assembling or disassembling my rods: Rod together, hands together. Rod apart, hands apart. Line up the guides and make sure the flats line up as well. Then gently push the ferrules together. The fit will be tight. Always make sure the ferrules seat completely. There is a shoulder in the male slide that should be flush with the shoulder on the female when properly seated. Never twist the rod or ferrules when assembling or disassembling the rod. Always push the ferrules straight together and pull them straight apart. If you have a hard time putting the ferrules together, clean the inside of the female and the slide of the male. Use a soft cloth (old t-shirt) and a little alcohol to clean the male slide and a q-tip with alcohol to clean the female. The alcohol might not even be needed. Just be very careful not to get alcohol on the varnish! Never use sandpaper on the ferrules. Steel wool is probably even too much. The ferrules are lapped properly before they leave my shop, so a little cleaning now and then should be all that's needed. A couple pieces of rubber cut from an inner tube make great ferrule pullers. I always have a couple in my vest just in case. |
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It's a good idea to rotate the rod when playing a large fish. Your rod will be less likely to take a fishing set when the rod is rotated throughout the fight. After a good fight with a nice fish, you may see a set in your rod. Sight down it to make sure she's straight. If not, give it a bit of a wiggle in different directions. This should work the set out. I've had sets from fighting wild brown trout and with a little wiggle the set works it's way out and by the end of the day the rod goes back to straight. If it's a more serious set, some counter bending with your hands, bending the rod in the opposite direction of the set and held for a minute or two, will also help remove a set. If the set persists for more than a day or two, please contact me about it.
You'll notice I don't usually use hook tenders. Why should I when there's already at least 7 or 8 already on the rod! I use the line guides to hold my fly. Wrap the leader around the reel foot and hook the fly in the stripping guide frame or the next snake guide up. This will keep the fly away from your hand while carrying the rod and usually ensure the leader knot is already outside the tip top guide. Please don't use the cork grip as a resting place for flies. The hooks will dig out the cork in short order and you'll soon have a fine bamboo fly rod with an unsightly, ratty & worn grip.
If your fly gets caught in a tree, the brush, a rock, log, etc., do not use the rod to try and free your fly. Don't yank on the snag to free your fly. Do not bend the rod against the snag. This is a quick and easy way to break your rod! Walk over to the snag and free the fly with your hand or point the rod straight at the snag and pull the line to break the fly off at the tippet. Flies are cheap, fine bamboo fly rods are not.
When you return to your vehicle after fishing, put your rod away first. Dismount the reel and set it aside and immediately take down your rod, wipe it down with a t-shirt, bandana or other soft cotton cloth before putting it in the sock and aluminum tube. If the butt section of your rod has a ferrule plug, it's best to put the reel seat down in the sock, so the ferrule plug is at the top of the sock. If there's no ferrule plug, I usually put the ferrule down in the sock, to prevent dirt and debris from entering the female ferrule. This goes for mid sections too. If there's a plug, put the section in the sock with the plug sticking up, otherwise I feel it's wise to put the female ferrule down to prevent dirt from getting into the female ferrule. The tips should always be stored with the ferrules down in the sock. When putting the sock into the tube, make a circle with one hand at the top of the rod tube, so you can gently guide the rod into it's tube for storage. Making sure the line guides don't knock or hang up on the lip of the tube as the rod is gently slid to the bottom. Try not to let the rod drop forcefully down into the tube. I leave the cap off the tube to let the rod breathe until I get home. Upon returning home, your rod should be removed and wiped down again. The rod can be lain out to dry in a safe place or returned to the bag for safe storage. Your Schliske Bamboo fly rod can be hung to air out in the sock by the loop sewn into the top. You can also put the sock back into the tube and leave the cap off to air out. You don't want to put a rod away wet and cap the tube. This can cause mildew, bacteria and rot to your fine bamboo fly rod.
I would recommend a yearly polish with a good paste wax such as Butcher's bowling alley wax to polish and protect your fly rod. It's not essential, but it can help make the varnish shiny after use and adds a protective coat on top of the varnish.
Try to avoid using cleaners, polishes, line dressings, fly floatant, etc that have silicon in them. Red label Mucilin is a great line dressing that doesn't contain silicon. Gink is a fly floatant that doesn't contain silicon. Silicon will not damge the rod, but if it ever needs any repairs or refinishing, the silicon can interfere with new coats of varnish to create unsightly spots in the finish.
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