SO, WHO’S THE KLUTZ?

When you’re out fishing with a fly rod that costs about twice as much as you told your spouse and you take a  tumble with it, is the first thing that enters your mind “ I hope I didn’t bust that rod?” The fact that your arm is dangling at a weird angle is of secondary importance. If the fly rod is broken,  are  you out a bunch of bucks? Maybe not.

Most quality rod makers guarantee their rods unconditionally for 25 years some for life. If you break it by doing something stupid like slamming it in a car door, they will repair or replace it at no cost. 

Merle White of Mesa worked at an Orvis fly shop in Spokane many years ago. He told  me about a guy  who came in one day and bought an 81/2 foot top -of -the- line fly rod which at the time sold for over $300.

When he got home, he called a couple of his fishing buddies to come over, have a beer, and see the new rod. When they arrived, he carefully removed the rod from its carrying tube and then from the cloth sleeve. He assembled the rod and they all admired its fine workmanship. He then lifted the rod  to make a  pretend cast only to put the tip into the whirling ceiling fan. The 81/2-foot rod was now an 8-foot rod.

Within an hour of having purchased the rod, he was back at the shop with a two-piece rod that had become three pieces. Merle sent the rod back to Orvis and in about a week the customer had a new rod at no cost to him.

There’s more! The next day he went fishing with his buddies in his boat on a nearby lake. When they came in and docked, they put all their  gear onto the dock before getting out. Rods included.

You guessed it. He stepped up onto the dock right on his new rod, breaking it above the grip His 81/2 foot rod was now a 2 foot rod with extra pieces. Orvis replaced it again with no charge. Merle said the must have moved because he never saw him again.

Merle was telling me this story as we were driving down to the East Fork of the Black and I got laughing so hard I had to pull of the road and stop. Boy, I though. what a klutz!

Whoa! Wait a second ! Who was it who, a few weeks ago, had rolled up the power window of his car and chopped off the tip of his new Orvis  8ft. one -weight,  a superb rod that should last a lifetime.

Yep, I did. Orvis replaced it.    But wait! That’s not all! I did the same thing to the same rod just a few weeks ago. Duh!

I think it is a good investment to buy a quality rod and get a no-questions asked guarantee. In a period of 13 months, I have had five fly rods repaired or replaced.   I didn’t roll the car window up on all of them.

 Reg “Chip” Chipman

Chip owns and operates Arizona Mountain Flyfishing guide service in Nutrioso, AZ.