2021 Cressy Cane - 19 - 21 March

Despite the travel difficulties we managed to have a three day March gathering in Cressy with a smaller group of attendees. Autumn is a wonderful time in Tasmania. The winds have settled, the day is cool in the morning but warms gradually to a lovely temperature for fishing or casting at Haysies pool.

This was always going to be a smaller and different gathering. We had 13 participants attend. The smaller number allowed for a more relaxed format with easy discussion and chat. I really liked this it and from the feedback received - I wasn’t the only one. I think future gatherings should allow for more of this format.

We did though have a program so some of the topics that were discussed were : Practical aspects of rod building such as heat treatment/tempering. Hollowing rods with Mark Rampant really pushing the boundaries of hollowing which led to a casting session of solid v hollowed rods. Changing the taper to accomodate hollowed rods.

We had a good discussion on ferrules. Metal. Fibreglass. Bamboo. Spliced. With an emphasis on the Bamboo ferrules technique. The Intrinsic method v the Extrinsic method. I would encourage you to explore these beautiful ferrules. They are functional, organic and cheap too. For more information, see the extraordinarily detailed article on Bamboo ferrules by Nick. T and Jim Morris article on fibreglass ferrules. (These fibreglass ferrules are also very interesting. They allow the bamboo to flex through the join. The rod ‘feels’ lighter and loads very smoothly through the casting arc.)

Cressy Cane motivated me to make my first Bamboo ferrule - on a Madake Para 15 and I also hollowed the 8’ 5wt Swedish Blonde rod.

Haysie gave an invaluable presentation on Tasting notes. These are the personal notes that he records when casting a rod. So rather than recording a rod with emotive comments like “ sweet“ and so on , Haysie records many aspects of the rod in a format that is worth repeating for your own note taking.

Here are some of Peters points : He starts with the grip. The size, shape length and material. Does it fit well in the hand. Do I like it? Describe the aesthetics. The finish. No of guides. Reel seat etc. Casting. Cast short. Medium. Long. Note how well the rod casts at different lengths of line. Does the rod load and unload well? Can you cast just the leader? Repeat the above for the roll cast. Does the tip bounce? Do I need to haul the rod? Does it need a Haul? Is this a good fishing rod? Is this the right rod for my fishing? Points out of 10. And so on... As you can see it is much more valuable to record different elements of the rod. Casting different rods at Cressy Cane ( or when you are casting in your local park) is an essential part of the gathering. So being able to think carefully about the function allows for a deeper understanding for rod comparison.

We discussed in some depth - loop shape of the flyline in casting with a particular emphasis on the top leg. A deeper bending rod with increased tip deflection will create a different loop shape to a ‘tip action’ rod. These differences are worth exploring.

Then we spent a lovely few hours in the sunshine, casting and recording a range of beautiful cane rods and finished the afternoon with gin and tonics at the casting pool.

With such perfect fishing conditions, we kept Saturday afternoon free for fishing Hoppers on a stunning local river. This is one of the few rivers without willow infestation and not subjected to water abstraction and the pressures of intensive agricultural processes. This afternoon was a highlight for many. Peter and I rotated the anglers on a ‘One chance and you’re out’ basis so we made our way up the river laughing and joking and catching lots of plump wild trout.

Finally, I’ll leave you with some comments from new cane friend and attendee Jim Jones ; “ can I say that it was and is and will be a further privilege and pleasure to attend such an extraordinary event at Peter’s lodge; to meet, share, disclose, expose, learn, teach and taste the food of bamboo - Maddie, Peter, Bamboo Dave and everyone else who was there or wanted to be - the contribution of sharing the practice of making, building and employing these fine instruments and the physical landscape underneath the Western Tiers that Peter unfolded before us during the weekend for the application of fishing the spit cane fly rod, was extraordinary and sublime. I was personally shocked to see so many trout that we cast to, on the allotted down-stream Lake River beat, that refused to engage with the essence of that which defines Cressy Cane.”

(The Program of Events for the year is listed here with the Gallery images below)