Tennessee Valley Angler

Insane has taken up the ol’ ball and chain. I advised him to run away to Montana and be a fly-fishing guide, but he’d have none of it. Apparently he’s “in love” with Katie. And so, on Saturday, May 17 the two were wed at Oak Park Baptist Church in Huntsville, AL. Pondering Insane’s personality traits might lead one to question whether Katie should not be the one carrying the nickname “Insane,” but we’ll just try to think about more pleasant things. I was suckered into being a groomsman. TVangler contributor Jason Kelley showed up in a suit! I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t actually shaken his hand. He and I both agreed that our outfits weren’t suitable for fishing, but we’d be willing to try it if given half a chance (we weren’t). It was quite a day. We’ll try to post a few photos later. The newly weds should be in Jamaica by now.

Feather inlay on the 6 wt rod I built for my father. Ring-neck pheasant and brown rooster hackle.

I am finally getting caught up on my rod-building work. Over the last two weeks I managed to finish up my father’s 9′ 6 wt fly rod and my own 7’6″ 4 wt fiberglass fly rod. I’m including photos of my father’s rod with this post. I’ll try to get some of my fiberglass rod for later in the week. You can see the feather inlay on Dad’s rod to the right. I used two feathers from a ring-neck pheasant and a brown rooster hackle feather. I didn’t quite get all the fibers sorted like I wanted, but I think it turned out nicely. I used a maroon silk thread for the windings with a beige silk trim band, which complimented the feathers well. The blank is a 9′ 2 piece Rainshadow RX6 blank. It’s deep blue with a nice medium fast action. I used chrome snake guides and a chrome stripper with ceramic insert. I wanted to use an agate stripping guide (because I think they’re cool), but Dad said he planned to use it for bass as well as trout. I reluctantly decided the ceramic insert would hold up better to a 6 lb bass running out all his line and backing. The reel seat is an REC nickel silver piece with black ash insert. Handle was bought pre-shaped from Angler’s Workshop. Dad’s planning to use this rod during our Yellowstone trip. In fact, every fisherperson going on that trip will be using one of my rods at least part of the time, so I’ll really begin to see how they perform in the real world. This rod was promised to Dad at Christmas. Only five months late. I’m mostly happy with how it turned out. I like the colors and feather inlay. The silk thread is really classy. My finish work is getting better, but I still had a wider overrun on a few of the wraps than what I’d like, and the line of the overrun on one of the guides wasn’t even. I wouldn’t have made much of a surgeon. The hands just aren’t steady enough. Overall though, I believe it’s my best work to date. You can see other photos of the rod below. Click them for larger images. Continue reading Insane Gets Hitched and Other News