Glass Geek Get-Together

I will be the first to admit that I am a huge glass geek. As in, fiberglass fly rod geek. I love fiberglass fly rods. They fit my casting stroke perfectly. They are perfect for all of the fishing that I do, which is mostly small stream trout fishing and the occasional panfish and bass trip to a lake or medium-sized river. Fiberglass rods let me feel the rod loading and unloading, doing most of the work for me. And they are not the most technologically advanced things out there, just like me. I am a huge glass geek, and I am happy to say so.

And, I am happy that I am not the only one out there! I have a couple of fly fishing buddies who are also glass geeks, and I don't think they would mind my saying that about them. Peter and Greg might not be as geeky as I am, but they have their fair share of geekiness. The three of us get together fairly often during the short summer months here on the frozen tundra of Minnesota, with the sole purpose of casting fly rods in the yard next to my office building. Yesterday was the first such get-together of the calendar year, and boy did we have fun!

Greg (foreground) and Peter (background)

It was a relatively balmy day up here, with temps hovering in the low 60s, and a moderate-to-gale force wind out of the east. And the problem with the yard at my office is that it sits across the road from a large open field, with nothing in it to break the wind. So I would say that the wind was at gale force more than it was at moderate... It made casting a little troublesome, but it was nothing that three bonafide geeks couldn't handle.

We didn't bring all of our glass rods out, just some of our newer acquisitions. Greg has been getting more and more into rod building, so he brought a Lamiglas and a Fenwick that he recently finished, along with a couple of others. The new builds were beautifully done, and they both cast great. They will be nice additions to Greg's arsenal.

Rods

Peter didn't have any new rods to bring, but he brought some of his favorites, including a Lemon Drop and a couple of Chris Barclay's rods. He also brought out his bamboo rod, an 8' no-name rod that throws a 5wt line very nicely. We all gave it a go, decided it was a bit on the heavy side, and then went back to our glass rods.

I showed off my new 7'6" 4wt Winston glass rod, along with a couple of others. Everybody seemed to like the Winston a lot, but it is a Winston, so that makes sense. My 8' 5wt Diamondglass and my 7' 3wt Orvis Superfine got rave reviews, as well.

I'm sure this won't be the last get-together of the year. And, if things work out for all of our schedules, there may be a Second Annual Kinni Mini Glass 'Clave later on in the summer, which will be open to all glass geeks or even glass geek wanna-be's. Keep an eye out here, for more info!

Greg, showing how crazy the wind was at times...

Peter with his Orvis Superfine

Comparing notes...

Rods. If you ever get invited to one of our get-togethers, make sure you don't step on any rods!

Peter, gettin' it done with what I believe is my Diamondglass...