LAST OF THE TRIPS FOR AWHILE

I always forget these photos post in the order I download them . . . the last shot is an eastward-facing view from Rose Canyon, before that is one of the Brown Trout that were stocked as fingerlings a fews years back - so nice to catch a fish there with a tail & fins! Family obligations will keep me off the mountain for a few weeks, so I'm glad to got try my different bamboo rods in April. I have to say, I had more fun casting the Phillipson Pacemaker over the 8 1/2' Heddon Black Beauty I used the week before so the Heddon may go on the market to pay upcoming college bills. The second shot is a special spot where I was able to close my eyes and reclaim my soul. You don't get the chance to hear running water in Southern Arizona very often, I may wait until the monsoons to see what happens here. The first shot was taken at the end of the day, I hated to leave but the band (& practice) was calling. It's been awhile since I was tempted to stay until all light and the heat of the day was gone, it would have been well worth it.

RECENT HIKES & FISHING TRIPS

I've taken advantage of some days off during the week to fish and hike my local sky islands. Rose Canyon Lake produced a ton of fish a couple of weeks ago when I went with my buddy Fly Rod McLeod, I even caught my first browns at Rose Canyon. A week later they kicked me - only 3 fish all day - my excuse is they had just been stocked the day before so they had not evolved into "fly" fish yet. That's my 8 1/2' Heddon Black Beauty Rod resting on my backpack. I've had some very nice hikes at Madera Canyon - found a wonderful resting place recently - I closed my eyes, listened to the leaves, the trickle of the the stream and felt the caress of a light breeze. Quite enchanting, words don't do it justice, almost makes one believe in wood nymphs.

RECENT RESTORATIONS - THE AMHERST

I really wish I had taken some "before" photos here. The grip was ridiculously long so I cut a bit off and worked it into a cork reel seat. It wound up being a 6'9" rod that flips a short, powerful cast with a 6 wt. line. My fishing buddy and band mate Bob Diedrich wound up with this one.

RESTORED RODS

I started restoring rods about 16 years ago. Read about it, tried different finishes and some hideous thread combinations. If you look at "Rods for Sale" you'll one on a Montague I did in 1994 - I think I was going to sell it to a Cowboys fan. I cursed silk threads because I came to find out you have to put about 6 coats of preserver to prevent bleed throughs when you dip the rod, but that's an entirely solo post on it's own. Because of business and my band, I stopped about 5 years, but have resumed again. Here are a couple of recent projects.

This is an HI Lucky Strike I did for a friend from TU. It was just for display so I kept the original guides and replaced a few. Some sets in the tips were easy to fix and this was my first dip with a new batch of varnish that turned out well (I store the dip tube and do the work in my Music/fish room vs. the garage, temp makes a huge difference.). We were both happy.

A Weber Monogram made by Heddon. I bought this from a fellow member of TU about 13 years ago and finally got it done. I really like the way the reel seat cleaned up. I was going to wrap in the original Black & White Jasper but my vintage 00 silk kept snapping so I used the same thread I use for Orvis repairs and it went well with the cane color. I look forward to fishing this one.

RODS FOR SALE

For members and friends of OPTU (Tucson, AZ) - here is a listing of restored bamboo rods along with a few extras that don't see the water. E-mail me at gcastillo3@cox.net or call my office, 883-2886 if you see one of interest to you.

Kane Klassic 8 1/2', 3-pc 4&5 wt. - SOLD

I bought this at the TU National Convention in 1999 and it never "did it" for me. It's a lovely rod, but it's a slower action that bends deeply to the grip. I have only fished it 4-5 times, took it to Yellowstone once. Cast it to see if you like the action. New rods on the Kane Klassic site run around $1400-1500 presently.

Unknown Blonde Cane - 8 1/2 3 pc. 5 wt. - $150.00

This rod was in pretty bad shape when I found it - some cracks in the mid and one tip section. I wound up shortening rather than try to repair. I also put on a new reel seat and turned a custom made grip for it. That's why every section is a different length, but it is a very nice rod casting-wise. I should research the ferrules and find out the make, the cane on the butt section swells nicely. Try this one out, if you like "tippy" rods, this one will work for you.

Montague Rapidan, 8 1/2' 3 pc. 5 wt. - SOLD

One of my earlier efforts and I made an unfortunate choice in thread color - I used a blue with silver trip and some yellowing over the years has turned it to a teal look. Considering the low esteem most have for these rods, I have been pretty pleased with its castability. WF5 & DT5 lines work well with it, it has fished well for me.

3/5/09 - I am restoring a couple of rods that I will list in a couple of weeks. I had an inquiry and may post a Phillipson Pacemaker when I finish a repair wrap. Be looking for a separate post for examples of recently restored rods. Thanks.

HEDDON BLACK BEAUTY & PHILLIPSON PACEMAKER

So I spoke too soon, I should have said the Granger Special was "one of my favorites" (I also see I need to clean and polish it since I just did the cleanup on that Heddon 13). This Heddon made the trip to Yellowstone as well, but I have been a bit more careful with it. As you can tell by the bag, it was in great shape when I found it. I like the action with a 5 wt. line, but I have never cast it on the same day as the Granger or the . . .

Phillipson Pacemaker (I'm lucky enough to have a 6 wt. twin of this one) I bought here in Tucson. I thought I paid to much at the time ($500 total for both) but I haven't regretted the move once - at least after my wife finished shaking her head. This rod punches line out quickly and it's easily handled some healthy rainbows on Lees Ferry. Like the others, it has been in the park and done quite well. I generally take 3 rods when I fish Yellowstone Park, a 4, 5 & 6 wt. The 6 wt. is usually one of my plastic rods (yeah, I have a few of those, but have sold them much easier than the bamboo). From now on, the 4 wt. will be my new Thomas & Thomas so that leaves room for only 1 of these 5 weights and next year will probably have to be the Heddon 13 I am restoring.

Next time I will post shots of rods that I will advertise in the local TU newsletter - I have too many languishing. Honestly, they will be mostly lower tier production rods with a couple Chubb Montegue wall hangers. Hope someone sees this one day.

Gilbert Castillo

BAMBOO RODS

Well, it's time to discuss another eccentricity. Flyfishing is consuming enough, the band has taken away fishing weekends but my move to cut gigs in half has allowed me to resume work on a score of rods. Pictured is my long-time favorite, a Wright & McGill Granger Special 8642 I found when I was visiting my parents in Lubbock. I'm a fisherman first, collector second - as proof, this rod was near mint when I bought it, complete with the plastic cover over the grip. I'm of the school that believes these rods were made to be fished and that's what I did. It's taken trout in Yellowstone, New Mexico & Lee's Ferry, but I've never used it for bass or bluegill.

I had to force myself to use other rods and I have plenty. I just can't spend the money for the high-end rods, most of my collection includes production rods, most obtained in trade when I restored a rod. The most I ever spent was on a Kane Klassic from the National TU Convention in Colorado, 1999, the least was $10 for an HI to practice restoration (actually a servicable bass rod after I completed it). The Kane Klassic was much too wimpy, and I vowed never to spend that much again, especially since I loved the action of my Granger, Phillipson & Heddons much more. My plan is to sell the Klassic and replace it with a couple of project rods.

Okay, I am going to inventory my assortment, possibly post it, but will post pictures of the progression - I am currently working on a Heddon #17. If anyone ever reads this and shares this passion, judging by the activity on EBay, I know you're out there, drop me a line. Share a tip or ask a question.

Gilbert Castillo

ARRIVACA 10-15-2008

It was eight degrees cooler today, it had been much cooler over the weekend, 80 when I arrived. I tied up some Chaos hoppers since I had seen so many (natural, not foam) last week I decided to try for bluegills until I saw/heard bass working. Once again nothing doing when I trolled a marabou streamer, but the red-legged hopper started producing the the minute I laid it into shaded pockets. The first 5 were all feisty, healthy nine inch fish. I worked up the west bank to the dam and unlike last week, every likely spot produced a take. Lost the first fly, lost the next one (green) to a fish since I tied a quick knot, got nothing with natural Baby Doll and went back to a yellow hopper that produced all the way back to the launch area. The largest 'gill of the day (first picture) was over 10 inches long - a ton of fun on a fly rod. I took a break in cool grove under rustling leaves & saw a full moon come up over the Rincons on the drive home - one of those magical days you won't forget.

Gilbert Castillo

Arrivaca 10-8-2008

I knew it was a bit warm (high was about 90), but I wanted to see if the topwater bite was on. I had not fished Arrivaca in a couple of years - I fished it in it's heyday before the huge fishkill in the 90's - I'd have to consult my fishing journal to pin down the year. I've never duplicated the 28" bass I caught on a deer hair frog, but there is always enough to keep me coming back. The water levels were the highest I've see in years and I was impressed with the bankside growth. I didn't see a lot of topwater activity, I did hear some working deep in the, but managed to get a large (10") bluegill and one 11" bass - both on an Olive Baby-Doll I tied. I did get several takes from bluegills that would hit a bigger bug, but ignored a smaller topwater. I was surprised that that streamers & buggers trolled on a sink tip line failed to produce anything. I think I'll try it again next week as this weekend is going to be cooler. I'll try to post a picture of my bug next week.

Gilbert Castillo

Yellowstone 2008

Okay, so it took 3 years but I am so glad I got the opportunity to return. I made this year's trip with Bob (singer in our band, client & friend) who went with me in 2005 and his lifelong friend, Tom. On the top right is a shot of them on the banks of the Firehole. The shot on the right is Bob on Middle Creek, East of Yellowstone Lake - I had never made the drive in my past 11 visits - a very pretty steam, but the fish were too small for Tom's taste. We encountered the Buffalo while making the hike down from Fishing Bridge (1 mile before you can fish). In years past, I would find pods of fish in the holes I have fished since 1987, but I haven't seen any since 1999. Looking back on my journal entries it seems that the river in park above the falls has become a "walk and search for 1 fish" type of water. Very sad, used to encounter good rises to BWO in the fall, this river is just not what it once was whether it is the fishing pressure of populations have dropped due to the Lake Trout.

Soda Butte and the Lamar have been my go-t0 rivers since 1996 - the first shot is a 'Cut from the Bridge Pool and the next 2 are on the Lamar just downstream from the Confluence Pool. These rivers are very crowded during the time of year I favor and I am very worried about them being loved to death. They still fished very well in spite of the beautiful weather which precluded any cosmic hatches. Well, I should say sustained - we were driving back to the hotel one evening and saw clouds of insects forming vortexes in the sky - had several flying ants come into the car so we fished ant patterns the next day and sure-enough, they worked.

We had to take Tom to Jackson in the middle of the week so we did some quick fishing on the Gibbon and Firehole before spending our last day on the Lamar (Soda Butte was just too crowded and if you do a little walking you can find some good pools. My best fish of the trip came from the Lamar on #14 Royal Wulff in faster water than I would have imagined. In the slower water a #18 Wulff, along with #17 Ants and BWO Sparkle Duns brought the fish up regularly. We only saw a few Drakes come off but a #12 Drake pattern worked in faster water. Reading the posts after my trip showed that some weather finally moved in and kicked the hatches up a notch.

I usually spend half my nights in Mammoth since we fish the NE and to catch the Elk in rut. We always run in for a few beers at the Blue Goose and found a great place for steaks (Raven Grill). I have resolved to fish more in the future and will cut back gigs for the band (http://mlcaz.com/) to twice a month even though the band money more or less funds the trip. It was very good for the soul even with the realization that I have been making this trip since 1987 and quite a few things have changed. The terraces at Mammoth used to run and leave them bright white - most have stop flowing now - you know you're getting old when you witness geologic change. I better get in my fishing while I can.