Blending Old and New - The Fisherman

Blending Old and New

As much as I love playing with and fishing the latest and greatest products, there is something to be said for going “old school” every so often. This past winter I finally sat down and wrapped a blank I had been eyeing for a while, a Lamiglas BT 108 3M. This is a 9-foot fiberglass blank that has been around for many, many years. It has been touted as a great lightweight surf rod, capable of tossing plugs and eels up to about 3 ounces with ease. Like many fiberglass rods, it is very whippy and features a parabolic action which flexes deep into the reel seat under the load of a good fish. I not only wanted this rod for myself, but I also built it with plans of it being my son’s first rod when he eventually begins joining me in the night surf. I built the rod to handle 20-pound Fireline and a Van Staal 150 reel, the beginning of old meeting new.

A somewhat blurry photo of the night’s catch
A somewhat blurry photo of the night’s catch, proof that there’s more to a memorable catch than breaking a personal-best.

The way the 2019 surf fishing season has been going for me, the rod didn’t see any use until late July. I was finally into a halfway decent bite with fish into the 30-pound class, so I figured it was a good time to christen the rod. I started off the night throwing a Super Strike darter on my go-rod, a Lamiglas 132 1M, and quickly landed a few bass in the teens. I swapped out for the 9-footer and wanted to make the rod’s first fish special, so I clipped on an original Danny plug crafted by the late Danny Pichney. I don’t know exactly when the lure came off Danny’s lathe, but I figure it has to be at least 30-plus years old. I rewired the plug with some modern swivels and rigged in my standard single-treble hook manner (more old meets new). The first few casts were uneventful, but then I had a solid whack, which I totally slept through. I kept at it, working the same general area where the edge of the defined rip line softens into an eddy, and the water erupted. I set up on the fish, it took a short run and was quickly brought ashore. It was no giant, but a quality fish of which I would have paid a pretty penny for just a few weeks earlier as I was amid a 24-day long string of skunkings. I had my camera already set up on shore, so within 30 seconds of landing the fish I held its tail in the wash before it kicked off in a welcomed spray of water on this hot and muggy night.

I landed several more fish on the night, nothing over 15 pounds, yet it was a night I’m sure I’ll remember for years to come. With any luck when the time comes to pass the rod on to my son, he too will make a lasting memory of his first fish on the rod.

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