SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

Shown: leveled guide spline face up in v-blocks with one  height gauge on the spacer the other on the guide spline I recently had a conversation with a Ontario bamboo rod maker about the number of both bamboo and graphite rods out in the marketplace that have misaligned reel seats. By this I mean the reel seats on the rods are not aligned true with the guides on the guide given spline. The result is a reel that hangs askew or at an angle relative to the guides. This is due to the fact that either the manufactures or rod makers are not truing up the seats to the spacer dead on or using a jig of some kind to measure proper alignment prior to the assembly. For several years now I've used this little trick I developed using two v-blocks and two hieght gauges and have shared it with some some of my fellow rod makers.  To get the alignment dead on you need to locate the intended spline for the guides and level it using two v-blocks. Level the spline guide side up by placing the rod in...

During the coarse of a cold winter day while working my mind wanders towards more important things, like finding another stream in the spring with some wild Browns or Brookies. I scurry off into another room while mid-sentence with a strip of cane and snatch a book off my shelf. I turn to a page with a map of North Eastern Maine and start following my previous chicken scratches then veer off of a more recent Sharpie dot from two years before. Hmm... I wonder if there is a gas main road there that will take me upstream. A plan is hatching before my eyes. Before I persuade myself that the price of gas is too high, and doubt the weather conditions, I quickly close the book. I wander off to squint for another few hours at tiny strips of cane and consider going fishing in the middle of February. My insatiable thirst for wild trout is hitting me during the coldest season. I've been told I could shoot wabbits and goats and pigeons and mongooses and dirty skunks and ducks. Could you ...

I heavily endorse the following lines for my rods: Phoenix silk lines, Terenzio silk lines, Cortland Classic Syllk DT, Cortland Classic 444 DT, and SA XPS DT Lines . These are fairly well tested, well liked, and used commonly for bamboo rods currently. As far as silk lines go they are very expensive but they exemplify some of the best attributes and properties that complement a classic bamboo rods action.  Above from left to right: SA XPS DT, Terenzio Silk Lines, Cortland Peach 444 DT, Phoenix Parallel Lines, Phoenix Silk Lines, and Cortland 444 Classic Sylk Lines If you are worried that the maintenance of silk lines is too much to deal with, don't, they last a very long time. After using silk lines wipe them down with a small square of chamois or soft t-shirt cloth (carry a 4"x4" square in your vest), and apply mucilin. If I fish it for five hours or more, I simply wipe it down for two minutes, apply mucilin and start fishing again, no big deal.  I treat my “plastic ...