Rod Swap - Payne 98

Here's a few pictures of the Payne 98 that Lee mentioned in the Rod Swap post.  This was my first swap.  It was Lee's idea and I was honored to be included.  Swapping rods with another rodmaker intimidated me a little.  I've made rods for friends.  They're the very best bamboo rods they've ever fished...and the only ones.  Swapping with Lee and Rick is a little different.  They know what's supposed to be and what's not.  But I didn't worry too much.  Rick and Lee are pretty easy going about most things.

Rick got this rod.  I've wanted to make a Payne 98 ever since I cast one of Al Medved's masterpieces at SRG a few years ago.  So when Rick mentioned a 98 I was good to go.  I looked up the tapers on Rod DNA and found two totally different tapers.  They're the same length, but that's about the only similarity.  I ask Rick about it and we decided to consult a guru.  So with a little help from Dennis Higham we picked a taper.  I used George Maurer's version from 'Fundamentals of Building a Bamboo Fly Rod' with a slight adjustment at the ferrule station for a 12-10 stepdown.

There were a couple firsts for me with this rod.  It was my first time to make a step down ferrule and the first time to use resorcinol.  I really like the step down ferrule.  It took a little time to work through the pencil drawings made at SRG with Lee and Alan Kube.  But with a couple e-mails to Alan, I think I figured it out.  Alan has reviewed my step down dimensions since then and the spreadsheet is posted in the downloads here on the blog.  I'll probably make step downs from now own.

The resorcinol was great.  It was easy to mix, didn't stink, easy to apply and plenty of open time compared to Titebond.  And best of all, it was really easy to sand the glue off the blank after it cured.  Titebond is a pain to sand off.  I don't know if the glue lines are visible in the pictures, but I thought they looked very cool on the blond blank.  I understand the purple lines become more pronounced over time so it will be interesting to see at SRG in a couple years.

I almost didn't get it done in time for SRG 2009.  I've been very focused on improving the finish on my rods.  This was the first rod in the new dip tube.  I'll never go back to a drain tube.  But I still had trouble getting the finish right.  The last coat went on the day before the gathering so I didn't get to cast it until the last day of the gathering.  Probably should have waited a few more days, but I wanted Rick to cast it and it was my last chance for a year.  I thought it cast really well as a four weight.  It's fast, as advertised, but not so fast that I couldn't feel it load.  I'm looking forward to Rick's comments on the taper after fishing it for a year or two.

And about the broken tip on Lee's rod...it was a 37 inch brown, jumped three times at least four feet out of the water...well, maybe not.  Actually, I don't know what happened.  I was really into the rhythm of the rod after landing several 12 to 14 inch browns at the top of Smith Island.  That perfectionist (slightly modified by Lee) fits my casting stroke like a dream.  The first time I cast it a couple years ago I knew I had to have it.  So I was casting this sweet little rod and hooking up on almost every cast when the whole world fell at my feet on a hook set.  It was like the tip of the rod or something was lying at my feet in the water.  For a couple seconds I thought all was good.  Just a loose fitting ferrule.  It's happened before.  No such luck.  It was a clean break flush with the ferrule tabs of the male.  I felt bad for me, but I really felt bad for Lee.  I knew he would be disappointed.

I thought about what to do on the way back to the truck.  Don't tell Lee and just fix it.  Or...put it on the shelf until SRG next year and show it to him then.  Or get it over with and give him a call.  I really didn't want to tell him about it.  But I made the call.  I just wanted some thread to match the colors to remount the ferrule.  But Lee insisted on making a new tip.  I really didn't want him to go to that much trouble but I knew it would be futile to argue.  The rod arrived back in my shop a few days ago with a new tip and a shorter version of the original.  Can't wait to get it back on the water! 

David