Jonas MagnussonDuring the casting session before the club meetings, I have been using my teaching rod. Many casters have commented on the rod´s handle, and all have liked the tactile feel of it.
So, let’s face it we aren´t getting any younger. I broke my underarm in the eighties and it had to be operated to avoid it looking like Picasso’s goat. Resultant I have paresthesia in my right thumb. Then there was the Dupuytren’s contracture and then the arthritis of the base joint of my thumb (carpometacarpal 1) led to parting ways with my right trapezium bone. This is to be expected and I bet a lot of the club’s members have some of those ailments and some others too. With arthritis in our hands, it becomes more difficult to close the fist. I find it hard to get a good grip on the cork of a fly rod now.
What works very well for me is to make the handle thicker. I can get a much better grip on my rod if I do that. I have found that by wrapping my rods with bike handlebar tape I get a firm grip and it is not slippery at all. The wrap is soft and pleasant to hold, and my hand does not slip.
Of course, you can go and buy fly rod tape but any product with “fly” in it will be priced much higher than the bike handlebar tape. Try it out – it is cheap, and you might like it.
