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TH or DHD?

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Paul Arden
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TH or DHD?

#1

Post by Paul Arden »

Just curious as to why the IFF decided to call the Double Handed Dildo a Two Handed Rod? I just can’t take that seriously.

What I’m really interested in, is if this is a recent thing - as of the Instructor tests - or do they have a long tradition of calling it thus? I’m pretty sure that the one-handed rod is the single handed rod in the US?

One/Two/buckle-my-shoe. Single/Double.

So obviously they’ve got it wrong :p

Cheers, Paul
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Lasse Karlsson
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Re: TH or DHD?

#2

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

Are you fishing for an argument here?
Must be a language thing, because no one would take a dobbelt hånds stang serious here, but a tohånds stang everyone understands 😉

Also much better than the spey rod naming of past....

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Re: TH or DHD?

#3

Post by Viking Lars »

Single = 1 hand; Double = 2 hands...

Potato-potaato, although I see your argument as it comes across slight inconsistent, but I'm cool with it :-).

L
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Re: TH or DHD?

#4

Post by Paul Arden »

I just wonder if they changed it to be different or if there was some history behind it. Perhaps Magnum will know the roots of the Double Handed name?

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Re: TH or DHD?

#5

Post by Magnus »

Hi Paul

Double Handed Dildo(DHD) came to be applied to fly rods about 2 decades ago by your perverted imagination Paul, and has fuck-all to do with rods or casting.

Historically, meaning I glanced at a few old adverts and catalogs, fly rods were called fly rods, grouped by length, sometimes grouped by target species, ie trout, seatrout and salmon. Salmon fly rods were longer, for use with heavier fly lines and two hands, grips above and below the reel - double-handed is simply a synonym. At that time no self respecting fly fisherman would be seen fishing a single handed fly rod for salmon (though they were caught with single handed rods and a few SH grilse rods were about) oh and boat rods, we had rods for fishing lochs and loughs for trout, seatrout and salmon. (This was before the fucking Norwegians decided to decimate wild seatrout and salmon with their salmon farms.)

Some years ago when a fuckwit American (re)invented Spey Casting and realized he needed a rod for Spey casting which, of course, could not be done with any old fly rod including the ones he had used to invent Spey casting. And so the Spey Rod, Spey Line, Spey Reel (possibly the stupidest of the species) were invented. About the same time the Switch rod was invented, another American invention, possibly from the same American fuckwit. This was a re-invention of rods with functional grips below the reel - used for sea-trout in this part of Scotland - longer versions used as boat rods for sea-trout, grilse and salmon in Ireland. Light enough to be cast single handed, with the option of using the lower grip as a casting aid, especially handy for roll and spey casts, and handy when fighting larger fish.

Again historically, meaning I made this up, we now fish for almost any fish with fly rods so grouping them by species has become patently absurd. So the term two-handed or double-handed - who the fuck cares?

Magnus
(Written while having a GTN induced migraine - hence the spelling)
"Actually I can't because you are right! " Paul Arden 8/6/2019
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Re: TH or DHD?

#6

Post by Paul Arden »

:D :D
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Re: TH or DHD?

#7

Post by Viking Lars »

[flash=][/flash]Magnus, how old are you? I ask because I can’t wait to reach the age where being this grumpy is not only acceptable, but almost expected 😬.
Regarding switch rods - I seem to remember a Daiwa called CC98, I think? They were what we today perceive as a “switch rod” as far as I remember. Long (10-11’ I think) singlehanders (oh fuck - sorry - onehanders) with an enlarged fighting butt (have at it, Paul 😉). Am I hallucinating or were they real?
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Re: TH or DHD?

#8

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

They where real Lars, but there's hardys much older than that (showing my age here 😉) and being grumpy is for anyone, age not required...

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Lasse
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Re: TH or DHD?

#9

Post by Magnus »

Lars

Grumpy for a reason - have you tried a GTN spray? :) Don't. So glad you feel free to comment on my mood.

I'm not familiar with a Daiwa CC98 rod. I think that was composite, like WF98 was their Whisker Fly Range - had a Kevlar wrap around the outside. They were made in all sorts of lengths and line-weight.

In a sense I agree with you, in the UK we had rods which could be used single and double handed long before the name Switch was invented, I imagine you may have had similar? From the 80s into the 90s it was common for rods 10ft or longer to come with a screw-in extension grip, some were supplied as an accessory with a new rod, some you had to buy the grip extra. That required a reel seat with a screw in butt. The lower extension was long enough to hold and use as a grip, not the wee stub we see now. Hardy for example made rods for loch fishing with fixed extension grips below the reel seat, 10ft 6in to 12ft, the rods were designed to cast single handed, with the option of using the extension. Back then typical Loch style rods could be 10ft 6in here, longer in Ireland maybe 11ft 6in ? at that time a 10ft rod was a short boat rod.
That goes back to when cane and glass rods were normal, it was continued as carbon rods were developed. That style for seat and extra lower grip all but died out starting in the 90s, so it is rare for me to see a new rod with that style of screw in extension. (I think Zpey have some sort of plug in extension at the moment on their Switch rod? So you can have straight or bent. (Does anyone still think the cranked Zpey grip is advantageous?))

The terms Switch was invented more recently in the US to describe rods with a grip and a half at the butt. The lower grip was/is a fixed part of the butt, often turned rather nicely, always shorter than a full lower grip, the upper grip was sometimes a simple full wells turning, as often a longer more complicated grip. I associate these with RB Meiser, but that could be simply because the first time I was handed a Switch rod it was a Meiser. Switch rods initially were from about 10ft to 11ft 6in? They were throwing lighter salmon lines, heads etc.

A final thought on this. The 'Switch' rods I see now are tending to be more fully short double handed rods rather than single handed rods with the option to add some lower hand. The grips have changed, as have the lines - which have yet to have a standard applied.

This video (below) shows a more recent evolution in this still shifting subject. Trout Spey. I've enormous respect for Simon Gawesworth, superb caster and nice chap. But I cant help thinking this is getting things confused. I have no issues with the idea of using lighter DH rods for trout, the line designation and ratings are all-to-cock - so a #4 rod needs a #7 line? - hope that's not too grumpy for you Lars, wouldn't like to offend your delicate sensibilities :)

"Actually I can't because you are right! " Paul Arden 8/6/2019
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Re: TH or DHD?

#10

Post by Paul Arden »

The whole line thing is a mess. It's the line weight that determines what weight outfit we are fishing, not the rod. If the line weighs a seven at ten yards then you are fishing a seven weight, it doesn't matter if the box the line came in says 4, 5, 6, 12 - it's still a seven. And it doesn't matter what the rod says either, it can be a 2 or a 12 written above the handle, it's still a bloody seven outfit.

Any other way of looking at this is just a mess. The rest of the world can do what they want, and the Spey classifications are f'ked up. I think we should make a point of this and use the line measuring database to clarify this point.

I mean FFS if my line weighs a seven it's because I'll be fishing a streamer. If it weighs a four it's because I'll be fishing small flies.

Choose the fly, choose the line, choose the rod. It's not rocket science but try doing it the other way and it's a black art.

Cheers, Paul
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