Thursday, November 9, 2017

Cane and Silk Review and Some Thoughts

A review on the Cane and Silk fiberglass fly rod. This rod has now been fished by me for some time. The particular model is a 6'  2-3 weight 3 piece. I fished it with both a 2 and a 3 weight DT floating line and found it handled both lines well, but I seemed to have done better with the 3 weight. The action on the rod is soft and its presentation of the fly was delicate. While I did not fish this rod on bigger waters "like the Farmington" I feel it would handle that task very well. There are some small streams where the added length this rod offers will be an asset and I look forward to many days fishing this fine rod.


Last week at a presentation I was part of the interest in this rod was very high. The quality of the workmanship and the affordable price were key.

Some of my friends posing with the Cane and Silk rod.




I have had several requests on how I set up my leaders for fishing small streams. It's pretty simple and has worked for me for years. This diagram shows how I do it.


Some classics on there way to West Virginia....I took this photo in an attempt to create a little quiz for a future give-a-way...stay tuned.

Lastly I would like to mention the tragic death of Roy "Doc" Halladay....great pitcher and over the years has offered us many memorable games. As a Red Sox fan I remember many a game we faced against him.







38 comments:

  1. Hi Alan,
    Nice spiders - definitely more than just a hint of North Yorkshire about them......
    Alistair

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      Alistair they just keep on working. Those Yorkshire gents knew their stuff.

      Delete
  2. Alan
    Outstanding review. Photos of the rod and brookies are just gorgeous. Fine piece of equipment.

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    Replies
    1. TROUT1
      Thanks
      Pete the rod and the brookies really compliment each other. It is a quality rod.

      Delete
  3. Alan
    Awesome looking fly rod, glad it suits your needs on the many small stream you fish.
    I never set up my leader/tippet combo without my trusted tippet ring. I've been using them for years and wouldn't fish without the little gem. By the way I use the smallest ring "2mm" I can work with. Thanks for sharing

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    Replies
    1. Bill Trusell
      Thanks
      Bill it's one fine piece to my arsenal.
      I love the tippet ring.

      Delete
  4. Sad about Roy Halladay. Outstanding pitcher. Unfortunately from the pictures on TV, I suspect pilot error.

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    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark he retired so young and now he's left us so young. What a competitor. Its pointing to pilot error.

      Delete
  5. Nice finish on that glass. I'm looking for a light 3/4 this winter. Chris Barclay's 64p is very interesting to me as is something on a Kabuto blank. Nice rod and great snaps as always. Great stuff.

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    Replies
    1. spike
      Thanks
      Spike, Mike does a super job with the fit and finish of his fly rods. If I were shopping I would look at his offerings and give him a call.

      Delete
  6. Alan
    How does the green rod compare with the previous "orange or amber" and the white model you fish.
    the green color looks lighter than the pics in the cane and silk website
    how do you like spigot vs tip over butt ferrules?
    thanks for such great posts.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      The green rod, is somewhat softer and casts with a bamboo like feel. I don't own a bamboo rod but have cast several of them and the green rod is close to that. It is also longer that the other two rods I own.
      The Amber, and the White are similar to each other, both are excellent for small stream use.
      A spigot ferrule gives the rod a feel of being one piece. I think they are far superior to "tip over butt" and they seem to cast better.
      The rod I featured is what Mike calls "Sage" color and the one on his site is "Lizard" green.

      Delete
  7. Really love the looks of that rod. The friends you had gathered seemed to like it as well. Ditto on Doc. The good ones seem too often to leave early.

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    Replies
    1. Ralph Long
      Thanks
      Ralph, that rod was the center of attention, and with good reason.
      True on "Doc".

      Delete
  8. Alan, that is a nice looking rod and a good picture of it beside the brookie. Thanks for the diagram of your leader set up.

    Indeed a shame about Roy Halladay. Not only a great pitcher, but from what I hear, a good man as well.

    Sam

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    1. Parachute Adams
      Thanks
      Sam I'd like to say that the brookie wanted it's photo taken with the rod, but that would be fibbing.
      Sam he pitched some gems, especially against the Sox.

      Delete
  9. As always Alan, excellent photographs and nice write up, and your correct these Yorkshire folk old & new know their stuff, the current UK River champion 3 years in a trot is a Yorkshireman, so its something they breed into them. It might rub off on this scotsman living in Yorkshire...lol

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    Replies
    1. George
      Thanks
      George I wish it would rub me some. I've only scratched the surface on these North Country flies.
      They are very versatile, and that simplicity factor is right up my alley.

      Delete
  10. Hi Alan,
    First time posting on this excellent blog! Regarding the 3' furled leader in your diagram, do you make your own or purchase one that length?
    Thanks!
    Dave

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    Replies
    1. BirdFish
      Thanks
      Dave I hope you'll continue to keep posting.
      I purchase the furled leadres from "Feather Craft", they offer the leader in 3-4-5 ft lengths.

      Delete
    2. Thank you, Alan. I will pick one up. I just started using the tippet rings this year, the real small ones. Have you ever noticed any issues using one when fishing a nymph down deep, say 3 or 4 feet. Does it impact the drift? I am fairly new to nymphing.
      Thanks!
      Dave

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    3. Dave I can't offer you very much info on fishing nymphs. I do not fish them often, as a matter of fact I only have a couple of them in my box. When I do fish one it's usually by itself and I fish it like a wet fly.

      Delete
  11. Alan, I have been waiting for this post. The picture of the rod is very nice,I'm trying to get a hold of mike but I haven't heard from him yet. I really want one of his rods, I know I will enjoy it. He sure does nice work for the money.

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    Replies
    1. Brad Basehore
      Thanks
      Brad, you have made a good choice in selecting one of these rods. I know you will be happy.
      Did you call Mike? He usually responds to his phone calls. Let me know.

      Delete
    2. I called three times on successive days no response. I don't know if he is away on a trip or what. I'm hopeful we will be able to make this happen.

      Delete
    3. Brad, Mike told me he contacted you. And I understand you have a rod coming your way, awesome.

      Delete
  12. I have the 5' 2/3wt Cane & Silk in the honey color. The rod is a amazing piece of artwork and the build quality is beyond exceptional, far exceeding the price point. Performance wise these rods are the real deal. It's spot on in small streams and smaller rivers, but I wanted to fish smallmouth on the housy, and that's a big ask for a rod in this class. I talked to Mike about it and he told me "get a deep bend in the rod and it'll do the job" he was correct, it worked flawlessly. The rods casting accuracy is beyond belief, in close and at its limits, its like a laser pointer. For reference I use 444sl 3wt, a furled leader and about 5' of tippet. I have a lot of miles on this rod, in every stream imaginable, it's worked perfectly. Have patience with Mike, he's a busy guy and rod building is his hobby. I could have used heated rod guides yesterday but that's being picky.

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    Replies
    1. Bob Dibble
      Thanks
      Bob I have that same rod and I love it. I've had it over a year and can find no faults.
      You have just made a glowing endorsement and one that is true.

      Delete
    2. Bob,
      So happy to see another smallie addict on the Hous- they are an absolute blast. I use a 7 1/2 foot 3/4 weight(graphite) for them. If you have not tried it- fish the white fly hatch next August- the larger fish are most active during the hatch.

      Delete
  13. OK,Wonderful stuff.
    Allan, Bob, Ralph (who also has one heck of a blog and stories worth saving on FAOL-wonderful stuff and highly recommended)- you guys are just killing me. Is there anyway that interested gents can meet to look at your rods? I am sure that Cane and Silk would love this to happen- might just result in a couple of orders.
    Maybe some evening at a library central to the state?
    Just a suggestion, there might be readers that want one of these rods but are leery of ordering the "wrong" rod? For example, I am interested in a longer rod- maybe Allan's 6 footer?
    It might be a fun evening- at least for the chatter.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      You make some good points. The meeting though would be a bit tough to accomplish I think. I can only say that between myself and Ralph we could give you are opinions on the rods we have, and Ralph has a few different styles, lengths and line weights and can give you better info on those.
      My thing is small streams, but have fished that little rod on the Farmington and it handled it well. A call to Mike at Cane And Silk would also help, wonderful guy.

      Delete
    2. A fly rod length and weight is about as subjective as it gets. Modern fiberglass rods are well suited for small streams as they perform better than graphite at shorter lengths, and provide for better "feel" casting, strikes, etc due to the softer action. Years ago glass rods suffered from slow line speed, not the case today, although they're not like rocket ship graphite rods, the line speed of glass matches perfectly into smaller water fly presentation. I can assure you that Mike knows a lot more about this than I do, the proof is in the rods he builds.

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    3. The "new" glass is truly better. I have a 70's vintage Cortland as well as an Eagle Claw. While they were fine at the time they do not compare with my Cane and Silk.

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    4. good morn
      like many- i started my fishing life with glass- a cheap Heddon 6 weight which was sold when graphite came about.
      As luck would have it,and being in the right place at the right time- similar to deer hunting- a gent was "throwing out" two rod tubes at my town dump. the rod tubes contained two classic fenwicks in mint condition,
      -a 7 for 5/6 and a 7 1/2 for a 6. Both are wonderful rods- when i feel nostalgic, both are brought out on the water. I understand fully the appeal of glass. Fortunately, my graphite rods were from the early years and have medium/moderate actions - not the stiff canons being built today. thanks for great posts

      Delete
    5. Wow what a great find...Fenwicks, they produced some fine rods. I love the resurgence and interest in our fly fishing past that fiberglass was.
      I to take my Cortland out and maybe this will be that day.

      Delete
  14. Allan,
    Good day and thank you.
    i am sure there would be enough interest to invite Mike to speak at a local fishing club meeting. Perhaps CT Flyfishers or Farmington Anglers. Although I suspect the local flyshops might not see any humor in his being there.
    BTW- as a longtme follower of your blog - good luck during deer season.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      You have said a lot in a few short words, and I agree.
      The CT season opens Wed. and hopefully a tag will be filled. I appreciate your following and hope I can continue to provide interest.

      Delete