A Winter Visit to Rose Canyon Lake

A beautiful sunny day in Tucson so I was hoping the road and path would be open to the lake. There was snow on the ground and the melt had water flowing in. Browns were stacked up at the inlet, but the shallow water made them very skittish. I wanted to try the 9 foot Granger with the DT6 Sylk line - a bit much of a rod for the small browns, but it came in handy when I moved to the small shoreline on the southwest side. Trout were rising but I caught them all on soft hackles and Zug Bugs. My 8 1/2 foot Heddon #13 just loves a Triangle Taper 5 wt. It's so nice to be able to slip away for some nearby fishing, but I have a hankering for smoked trout so I may try for the Rainbow stockers next.

Montague Fishkill in Progress

An elegant 9.5' rod that was part of a bundled buy. I wasn't able to cast it in its original state, but it is a light rod and I am thinking it will have power and delicacy with a 6 wt. line. The varnish was totally shot and I still have some polishing left to do on the fittings, but I really like the color of the cane. The yellow silk thread should pop when complete. I am about to give the butt a final clean with 0000 steel wool, then the alcohol wipe before I tackle those intermediate wraps. 

 Okay, got in the finished shots.  Really like the way it turned out, an elegant 6-7 wt. rod.  I will probably try to sell at the next OPTU swap meet.

Granger Favorite 9050

Okay, time to return to the confessional. This is one of the first rods I ever received in trade for a restoration job. I was living in Corpus Christi, TX at the time. It was 18-19 years ago (before my youngest was born. I restored a JC Higgins rod (it had heavy sentimental value) and got to keep the Granger. I was just starting out and didn't keep any notes or photos as I do now. I think it was in rough shape and I don't think the name stamp had survived. I used a (now) hideous combination of brown with tan trimming and I couldn't pull off the thin intermediates so they were twice the size. I used the hand-rubbed tung oil (the last time). I now know it is a 9050 by using a caliper on the ferrules, I also know it was made between 1935 and 1938 because the reel seat is marked "Pat. Pend". Luckily I more or less followed the intermediate pattern and I was able to use Michael Sinclair's marvelous book as a guide. The grip is new and I to trim a bit more, but wanted a slightly larger diameter, if I ever sell the rod, I will turn down to original specs. I totally respect these classic rods now and will change wrap colors only on the most generic rods or if I am replicating a sentimental repair job. I implore any of you just starting out, if you have to refinish/restore, stay true to original colors, save the decals/stamps even if only a trace remains. I took the rod to Yellowstone last year and appreciated the power while fishing the Lamar & Soda Butte on windy days. It was blind luck I stumbled into this rod - Grangers and Phillipsons have become my favorites, bar none.