Alexander Grant - rods - History/ VARIABLES

Walter & Group...

I didn't have room to insert all of this information including the attached pictures in my last message.

 

John Sally sends this interesting bit of history along with his pictures. Apiece of our rich fly fishing heritage !!! :

Hello Gordy:

Thanks for the valuable learning material every day from you and the group.

Enclosed are a few pictures of an original Alexander Grant rod that I was able to see on a visit of the Inverness museum while on Vacation in Scotland.

The rod pieces were cut at a 45 degree angle and held together with leather thongs which were soaked at the river, and tightened as they dried..

Thought you might find them interesting,

Alexander Grant matched the wood pieces in his rods for constant bend, or in other terms his rods were? tuned? as he was a fine Highland fiddle maker. If you look closely at the second picture you can see the folding rod eyes, used for helping to trap the line against the rod and load the rod on the pick up. I believe the Greenheart wood used to build the rods were pieces left over from building the lock doors of the Caledonia canal as greenheart is not native to Scotland.

 

John Sally

Burlington Ontario Canada

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John... I can just imagine Grant soaking his leather bound rod in the river in order to take it apart for his trip home ..... talk about taping your ferrules !!!!!

Gordy

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                                         More on Variables

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From Peter Lami .... a condensed opinion :

Gordy,

Strictly speaking, there are only two (2) RULES that are constant and never change.

1. Rod tip must follow a straight line path
2. Eliminate all slack from the rod/line system

The other three (3) Essential RULES are not actually VARIABLES at all.  The combination of acceleration, pause and stroke length is actually a simple harmonic motion.  By matching rod bend (stroke speed/acceleration) with rod arc we are able to achieve RULE #1.  Too much rod arc for a given amount of bend in the rod produces a convex tip path.  Too little rod arc for a given amount of bend produces a concave tip path?tailing loop.

Peter Lami

 

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Peter...     Then can I take from this that you consider everything beyond these two rules to be variables ?

 

No "right" or "wrong" answers, here.

 

Gordy

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From John Bilotta :

 

Gordy,

 In our discussion of variables, I am just wondering if you would consider the caster a variable?

After reading some of the responses,  I do because their size, ability and experience would impact, modify, alter,  the quality of the cast.  Is that way off base?

 John Bilotta

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John,

Fair opinion... especially since we don't have an "official definition" of VARIABLES !

I'd favor the idea of variables affecting the OUTCOME rather than the quality of the cast.

Gordy

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