The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

My favourite cane rods that I own all started out life in a different form or made for another purpose.
Mainly salmon and trout fly and spinning rods converted to coarse fishing rods.

I also know many of you own such rods and I think it would be very interesting if these rods had their own section in the Traditional cane rod section.

That is a nice idea Terry, I have at least four such rods, the most recent only completed a few weeks ago and the varnish still hardening off .
I will sort them and make a post . I know Jeremy has or at least has built a few as well , and I am sure there are many others , which just shows that a well known makers rod maybe is only as good as a “ bitsa”

David

Old Man River wrote: ↑Fri Nov 18, 2022 9:51 pm That is a nice idea Terry, I have at least four such rods, the most recent only completed a few weeks ago and the varnish still hardening off .
I will sort them and make a post . I know Jeremy has or at least has built a few as well , and I am sure there are many others , which just shows that a well known makers rod maybe is only as good as a “ bitsa”

David

Reading this made me have a count up David and I think I'm at 9 rods now that have been converted to my needs!
I think at first it was the cost of a new cane rod that started my fascination with doing this.

I always keep a lookout for good quality cane at bargain price's one of my favourites cost me £12 at auction!

As I cannot 'convert' any cane rods myself, I have tried to find 'Hybrids' of cane and fibreglass. I presume they were made at a time when fibreglass was becoming popular so cane was being 'used up'. They may not be for the purist, but even Hardy produced some examples from this transitional period!

In my "cash strapped" early Teens I cobbled together several such rods the majority of which were awful. It taught me much about rod actions and how the various materials worked (or didn't) together which stood me in good stead for future projects.

Anything that recognises the worth of usable cane rod, whether it has a name on or not and whether it is a 'bitsa' or not, is worthwhile in my opinion. Re-manufacturing is a craft in itself.

Great idea. I have a couple myself.

EricW wrote: ↑Sat Nov 19, 2022 10:37 am Anything that recognises the worth of usable cane rod, whether it has a name on or not and whether it is a 'bitsa' or not, is worthwhile in my opinion. Re-manufacturing is a craft in itself.

Absolutely spot on sir

In between being busy helping family with a house project...still! To help relax I have a couple of such projects on the go.They have reached the varnish stage.

I have others in the collection which all get used and they always bring comments when I am on the bank normally when moving swims as I like to keep hidden away and enjoy my own company for a few hours.

Enjoy your outings.-Nige.

It's so nice to cobble something together with odds and sods from salvaged cane sections.
I've done several although only have one in my rod rack at present.
Wal is the Grandmaster of the art and has produced some really beautiful rods from bits and pieces.
I like Terry's idea about a "bitsa rod" category in the Traditional Rods section, it may well encourage others to have a go and there's plenty of advice available from those who have had a bash.
It's fairly easy to produce a really nice useable rod for next to nothing, and if it doesn't quite work out as you'd hoped it can be modified to suit.