Grape Ck Outing With Two Weight Field Trial 23Jun20

Jim, Scott and I headed down to Grape Ck today. It was a mostly a very nice day though we did unfurl the canopy on the Crusher during lunchtime rains. I caught a number of browns including a couple nicer ~14"ers like the one shown where Jim took the pic of me (it was just before lunch and I was at the agreed meeting spot and hooked up basically just as they arrived) and several other ~10"ers like those shown. It was a decent day for me but the rest of the team were not as lucky - except to say we were all in a very cool and very remote spot. The 4WD road down was as brutal as ever and was even littered with longhorns on the way back out.

The wildflowers were strange and gorgeous.

 

This outing also saw the first field test for the drc #1, a 9ft 2wt rod. The blank and parts were pretty inexpensive but the rod was fine. It does not deliver as refined and accurate a cast as my factory rods - there is a smidge of left-right error introduced on the shot but the cast, feel, and balance are excellent. Sure landing decent fish with it, especially since we left the nets at the car, was a bit challenging, but fun.

Finishing The drc #2 - A 10.5' 4 Wt Eternity2 Euro Nymphing Rod 22Jun20

I took my recently fashioned custom handle and mounted it to my cool $200 cobalt blue Rainshadow Eternity2 10.5' Euro nymphing 4wt blank with an ALPS RA7 aluminum and graphite reel seat. I then wrapped it up with guides and markings using my ALPS rod wrapper. I used 2 stripping guides given the length and I even had to design my own guide spacing as Batson didn't have a recommendation. I also added 18" and 22" measurement threads in silver so I don't have to use a Sharpie afterward as I do on my manufactured rods. I was much improved skill-wise with this build and prefer the 2 footed snake guides over the single foot ones I used last time, even though they are heavier. I bought blue thread specifically for this rod but I didn't like the match to the cobalt so wrapped again using the grey like my last build. I find it best to use an inexpensive lighted & magnifying pair of "glasses" for seeing the details. I loaded the rod with a super simple trout taper, almost  flat, line loaded onto a cheap Ross Cimarron reel, given this rod is for tight line nymphing, not casting. The backyard trial was mainly one of checking action on backhand and forehand roll casts of different length and wow 10.5' really helps. The rod is heavy and forward weighted to my hand (how could it not be at 10.5') but tip responsive, which is needed for feeling the strike without an indicator. I may need to go back and put on a fighting butt just for balance sake. Proof will be in the field of course but it looks very nice. I did have to fashion my own rod case, and await the sleeve, as this thing is so long nothing regularly sold fits. Tight lines.

Creating A Custom Fly Rod Grip 18Jun20

I'm building a new fly rod and wanted to kick it up a notch by building a fully custom grip. I first bought an appropriate assortment of cork rings; these all were .5" thick with a .25" center hole and 1.25" diameter and cost $.25-$1.00 each depending. My rod is cobalt blue so I did start the handle with a subassembly of a burnt ring then six "blue wave burl" rings topped by a thin divider ring @ grip mid-point. I assembled on a simple 1/4" bolt with fender washers and a wing nut. I put paraffin on the bolt so I could get the piece off after gluing all the rings together with Titebond III (I like the stronger bond and longer working time, learned when assembling speakers recently). I tightened down and let set overnight

Not too custom so for so let's get to some harder stuff. I envisioned an "arrow" design for the top half of the grip and I could achieve this with some sectioning and reassembly of some rings. I used appropriate jigs and a very fine jig saw to cut slices of rings as well as sections of rings. To hold glued sections together I used a zip tie around the circumference and pressed down with a fender washer to assure alignment. After drying overnight I cut off the ties and sanded the flat sides flat again.

I next freed the "blue wave" subassembly from the bolt and placed it on my .25" mandrel. Again I used paraffin to assure the grip would come free when needed. The mandrel is where I built up the top of the grip, compressed it after gluing, and will later use it in my rod lathe to fashion it into the correct handle shape. I used my homemade ($7) grip compressor assuring by measurement that both sides were of equal compression, and let the rings dry overnight.

Once solid I took the mandrel of glued cork rings and loaded them into my rod lathe... I did buy the tail stock and tool rest for the lathe and easily installed those (I can't say I used the tool rest much). I cranked it up all the way for turning cork (vs just winding thread). I prefer a full wells grip and had a design in mind & measurements I wanted at different points on the grip. I have a cheap plastic "micrometer" that is very useful in measuring along the way to a finished grip. I progressed in tool use from a Stanley scraper to a 4-way file to 100 grit sandpaper to 220 grip sandpaper during the turning process. I did try to catch the leavings with a vacuum while turning but clearly there was more cleanup required.

I was unsatisfied with the finished reel seat inset from my last build (when I used just a blade drill bit) - it was chipped and irregular from the bit moving in the center hole. I searched and found a purpose-built tool for this task called Crafty's Cutter. I epoxied my new ALPS RA7 reel seat with a carbon fiber insert and measured the diameter and depth needed for the inset on the new grip. I also taped the outside of the base of the grip to provide a little stability. I then used a vise and power drill with my new tool and cut the proper inset.

My first fully customized fly rod grip is done and I think it looks pretty cool. I've not seen a design like it and it'll mate to my chosen rod blank well. Some finish with water-proofing but that's not necessary - I like the naked cork feel anyway. I skipped the fighting butt on this handle as it's bound for just a 4 wt rod. More on that build in another post but the process henceforth will be similar to the drc #1.

Phoebe's Latest Album Punisher Dropped Early 18Jun20

I pre-purchased Phoebe's latest album, her second, Punisher, on Bandcamp and it dropped about a day earlier than expected. She probably didn't want to step on Juneteenth or something. Punisher is an over-attentive fan... but I'm not put off; it's probably a double entendre. Anyway, it's very good, as you might already know from the first 3 songs already circulating: Garden Song, Kyoto and ICU. However, to take in the whole thing is awesome. From Bandcamp I was able to get a very good quality 24bit/96KHz but it is mixed in current loudness styling. Still sad stuff including desperation, broken love, grim outlooks and out-there emotions all poetically rendered... and then sung and played with mad skill. She's still collaborating with Conor Oberberst (Halloween), her boygenius mates (Nashville Too), someone very bass like Berninger (Garden Song), and others. The album is more orchestral and complex and uses samples of sounds and self-harmonizing (Punisher). I like all these songs and Chinese Satellite & Savior Complex most but sheesh, why choose... "i kNow tHe eNd." Clearly this is another keen offer from the outsized but understated talent, and Punisher is and likely will be one of the best albums of 2020. So yeah, close it making cheap crowd noises in your throat, 'cause right now there are no crowds, but you deserve applause.

UPDATE: Wow I found the Garden Song backup vocalist. From an obscure interview Phoebe said: “So on ‘Garden Song’ my tour manager sings with me—he’s 6 ft 7. He’s a Dutch man named Jeroen. I realized he had the voice of an angel when he was singing Mitski with me in the van and he was two octaves below me and I was like ‘You sound like a Dutch Matt Berninger from The National.’"

A Roger Clyne Primer 16Jun20

Yea, we are ~8 albums in but there's still so much to hear about Roger Clyne. He and his bands deliver sw punk, Americana, rock and more - all independently produced with keen effectiveness. Kala & I met in the Soronan dessert and love it. So does Roger Clyne; so do the Gin Blossoms. The earliest days saw Wheelie as the 1st drop - this set of raw tracks are out of print and can only be bought with a ~$250 investment on eBay or AMZ.

Fortunately all tracks were re-released on the studio debut with band, the Refreshments, completely awesome vibe on Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy. Enter Down Together ("I could eat some gum and have my breath so minty flesh to kiss you"), Mekong ("if your bottle's empty help yourself to mine"), Banditos ("look deep into my eyes like I am a supermodel - the United Federation of Planets where they speak English everywhere; I got the pistol so I keep the pesos, that seems fair"),  Suckerpunch ("I was never cool enough to get a job at a record store"); Nada ("I'm just waiting for the coal black soul of mine to come alive."). So much more in the intro set. Only one track was un-re-recorded, Psycho, except I found it on an crap movie and obscure soundtrack for "An American Werewolf In Paris." Both Refreshments offers are anxious and very fine but all things change and some folks needed to move on. Listen carefully. These formative offers were maybe the best, but years of keen alt stuff was coming.

Then the transition with some of the band and a guitarist from Gin Blossoms, another fine band from the valley. Don't believe we were in a musical desert, we were raging. Roger Clyne moved on with skill to form The Peacemakers. He is well understood throughout the southwest and is adored for live shows from PHX through Mexico (we've attended and can attest). He never gave up the rights to his stuff - the wicked independence is the stuff of legend. The offers  under RCPM (Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers) are more musically refined and they're always supported by the Peacemakers for years, an awesome and refined backing band. Honky Tonk Union 1999, Sonoran Hope and Madness 2002, then my fav to date Americano! 2004, Turbo Ocho 2008, The Independent 2014, Native Heart 2017. Gr8 catalog... yea, I paid him for all this stuff.

The Brewhouses Are Open & We Enjoyed 16Jun20

Kala and I headed to COS from the central mtns "the back way" today. GR8 day. We stopped at ORB through Frisco for the 2nd time this recent outing to Summit. Last time we were dubious as the seating was all downstairs inside - we did cans with a boon - two months of pickup on the Summit Club. Today though - the place was way open, it's huge and beautiful. The upper deck can not be bested 'xcept for my own deck. They've been serving more west coast bitters, OK by me.

It was slow over Hoosier behind some heavy stuff but on the flat & straight lanes I was able to pass through So Park. It was hot as we entered El Paso and needed "dinner." Our 2nd fav brewhouse is Cerberus in COS - too they have gr8 bar food. We hit our 2nd brewery "open for me" today and it was awesome. Go - they have their shit together with distance, outside seating, and, yeah - it's Cerberus. We enjoyed the brews and of course lamb sliders and grilled cheese brisket - in addition to Arlo, a hazy collaboration and fine sunshine, though we scored position A in the yard with perfect shade.

A Brown, A Chair Update & A Hike11Jun20-12Jun20

I hit Jurassic Pk section of the Blue as flows had dropped from >200cfs to just 185cfs and I'd been waiting for a great outing on this section of the Blue. Unfortunately no-one was catching much - I had some 16" browns and remote released a nice cutbow. I wasn't bold enough to take the 2 weight but I was hoepful of pigs. Perhaps I'll go again while in Summit but this spring season has not been as good as ones' passed here.

Kala and I continued with some chores @ the Nest - we stained the deck chairs today. Our south facing deck means sunshine galore and this is an annual task.

After staining we hit the trail above the Nest and got to Lily Lk the normal way but returned to the house via Salt Lick. A fine 6 mile and 1K of vert on a 75° day (vs 90°+ in COS).