Dec. 24, 2012
Joe,
I had the pleasure of casting the new rod today and it is wonderful; none of the shock waves and collapsing line that I typically experience with bamboo rods. The ferrules fit snugly without the usual struggle and they pop as mandated. The reel seat is not only elegant but is more secure than any ring seat that I have seen. There is something special about bamboo but when it is combined with components machined by the builder that makes the rod even more so. I am very satisfied with this rod. Thank you and I am really looking forward to our next project.
Best regards,
Kevin
Rainbow Trout
“Hey Joe,
This rainbow was caught on your 8′, 3 pc, 5 wt. I have another picture with a bigger fish, but it’s not loaded. I’ll send it when I get home.Thanks again for your great work!
Kerry Smeester ”
Everything That I Expected
“Hello Joe,
I finally got the rod and it’s everything that I expected in performance and appearance…it’s beautiful! …. perfect… I took it to the Oakland Casting Ponds (Oakland, CA) and … I can roll cast 40-50 feet no problem and I can throw a DT 5 wt line 55-65 single haul…I’ve been practicing alot lately because I want to get my Instructor Certification from the FFF…I think a better caster will make a better fly fisherman and rod builder… The rod sleeve is very nice and so is the rod tube…the packaging was excellent… I looked at the wraps and it’s very hard for me to tell where they begin and where they end…I can’t believe how pristine it looks (in real life…not just in pictures online). I don’t know how you get the wraps so smooth and don’t use CP or Threadmaster. It is both a work of art and a fly rod that gives me confidence at the fishery of my choosing… Kind Regards,
John P. Rivera…Serial #1001”
First Fish on My Joe Arguello 3 Weight
” I recently picked up a new rod from Joe Arguello. It is a 7 foot, 2/2 for a 3 weight. All of my bamboo rods are comissioned with a particular stretch of water in mind, and this particular rod is my Boulder Creek rod. I fish Boulder Creek more often than any other water, and consider it my “home water.” It’s a small-ish creek filled with small-ish fish, and I know just about every foot of the creek very well. When I first visited Joe, I actually had in mind a 5 weight rod for bigger water, but as I test-cast some of his tapers on his lawn, the little 3 weight was just so sweet, that I changed my mind and asked him to make me one. In the past, I’ve fished Boulder Creek with a 4 or 5 weight rod, but I’ve always thought that a slightly lighter rod would be better suited for this water, and Joe’s 3-weight was the perfect fit. I finally picked up the rod last week, and today I finally took it to its namesake Boulder Creek to fish it. The day started out sunny, without even a breeze. The Creek was running slow and low, and the water was so clear, I could see all the way to the creek bottom, even in the deepest sections. The slow, shallow water meant that the casting had to be from a relatively long distance, and very delicate, or the fish would be spooked. I tied on a lightweight furled leader, 4 feet of 6x flouro tippet, and a small Royal Wulf. The Arguello rod performed very well in these conditions. It turned over the long, lightweight tippet nicely, and allowed for very careful and delicate presentations. It wasn’t too long before I hooked into a pretty little trout. This being Colorado, it wasn’t too long before the weather began to change. After a while, the wind kicked up, and soon I was casting into a strong breeze. I ended up casting a lot of side-arm, to keep the fly line close to the water and out of the wind as much as possible. The Arguello rod turned out to have enough backbone to force the light, 3 weight line into the wind. Conditions were challenging, but the rod handled it with aplomb. By the end of the day, conditions changed again, and I’d worked my way upstream to a part of the creek with small pools seperated by riffles. Here, I was casting very short distances, with just a couple of feet of fly line out. Again, I was impressed with the rod’s capabilities. My only discomfort with the rod was a result of my long use of heavier rods to fish this water. Many days of fishing Boulder Creek had conditioned me to set the hook very gently, to avoid yanking the small fish out of the water and launching them over my shoulder. With this new, lighter 3 weight, I had to shrug off this conditioning, and put a little more “umph” into the hook set. By the end of the day, I had the hang of it. If you’ve read this far, you can probably tell that I’m really happy with the rod. It’s a terrific fishing tool, and it also has beautiful fit, finish, and cosmetics to match its function. (I particularly love the golden brown wraps, which nicely complement the dark cane.) I’m looking forward to many more days on Boulder Creek.”
Update!
“I took your rod out to Boulder Creek again today. Caught this nice fat Brown.When I got out of the car, and the wind about knocked me down, I was thinking that I probably should have brought a 5 weight, and that your 3 weight would be overwhelmed by the wind and impossible to fish.I shouldn’t have worried. Your rod punched line into a really really stiff wind. Casting conditions were very challenging, and it handled it extremely well. It’s amazing how much power this little rod has, and yet it has a beautiful soft touch when it loads, even at short distances. I love this rod more and more every time I fish it.Thanks again for making me such an awesome rod.”
Kai Larson
Great Rod
“Hi Joe,
I tested out the new rod today, just great. I was fishing a 14′- 8x tippet with a size 20 Henryville Special and casting into the wind. Great Rod !!
Ed Miknevicius”
Amazing Rod
Joe,
This rod is amazing. The last picture is our guide with a 21 inch fish that he had to muscle out of a tangle of roots. He was impressed with the castability too!
Bob
Everything I had hoped for
“I’ve long had a fascination of bamboo rods and the process for building them. In the early 90’s I met Joe and saw his work. While I love owning and fishing fine bamboo rods, and Joe’s are some of the finest I’ve seen and cast, my grand vision was to build my own. Unfortunately for me various circumstances got in the way of me realizing my dream of taking a class from Joe and building my own rod. Then I learned that Joe had moved back to the Longmont area and I contacted him to sign up for my lessons. The experience was everything I had hoped for and more. After the lessons were over I have a rod of my own that I built, I have my shop set up so I can make more rods and I got to cast several of Joe’s rods, and each of those casting sessions was educational and enjoyable. Joe’s workmanship is top notch and his teaching skills are excellent. He approaches every situation with patience and a sense of humor and that made the lessons as enjoyable as they were educational. I can’t say enough good things about Joe as an instructor, a rod builder and as a friend, which I feel privileged to be able to call him now.
Thanks so much for everything Joe!
Al Ritt”
