The Spey Rod

No discussion of the Spey Rod should omit reference to its historical origins, reason for its design characteristics, and functions. The Spey Rod and Spey Casting originated in Scotland on the River Spey, the 2nd longest river in Scotland. It gives its name to both the type of rod that evolved there and the type of casting technique generally associated with Spey Rod. Our purpose is to examine the history and construction of wooden and bamboo Spey rods and not the techniques used in Spey Casting. The River Spey is found on the east coast of Scotland. It rises in Loch (Lake) Spey in Invernesshire and travels nearly 100 miles before it reaches the North Sea at Garmouth. Much of this river would be unfishable due to the steepness of its banks, its swift and dangerous wading conditions, and its heavily wooded character. Many of the finest salmon fishing on the Spey is to be found in places virtually impossible to fish with a conventional overhead cast. There is insufficient room for a back cast and wading is very hazardous. Mike Maxwell, in his fine book on Spey Casting sums up the evaluation of the Spey Rod as follows: 1. No searching for “back casting room.” 2. No wasted time “false casting.” 3. No catching “tree fish.” 4. No dangerous wading. 5. Ability to fish areas unfishable by other techniques! (Art and Science of Speyfishing, page 5) Almost every sporting activity in Scotland seems to involve defying gravity in one manner or another. An emphasis on physical prowess is evident in the weight of early Spey Rods and Reels. The 1924 Hardy’s Catalog lists the weight of a Hardy 13’ Gold Medal Spey Rod as just over a pound (16 1/4 oz.). Add to this an appropriately sized reel, say a ‘Uniqua” or a St. George, and you have another 14 oz. This does not include the line weight. Despite the weight of these earlier Spey Rods and the difficulty of line maintenance, these rods caught fish and could throw incredible lengths of line, if necessary. In Edwardians Go Fishing by Cornwallis West, we are told that in 1927 a certain Mr. Midwood killed 303 salmon in fishing the River Naver in 50 consecutive days. His best day’s “bag” was 21. Not all Spey Rods were bamboo in the early days of Spey Rod evolution. There were Greenheart Rods with spliced joints as opposed to ferrules. The “Grant Vibration” Rod is one such instrument. In 1895, Alexander Grant used a 17’ Green Heart Rod of his design to cast 65 yards of line at a tournament in Inverness. It is reported that Grant routinely hooked fish at a distance of 50 yards. (The Almost Complete Angler, Timothy Benn, p. 18) Thus, it becomes apparent that using these wooden Spey Rods involved both strength and coordination. It should be obvious that this type of casting and fishing did not involve the dry fly. The dry fly has never been very effective in Scotland as a lure in salmon fishing. Two of the greatest names in salmon fishing in North America, Edward Ringwood Hewitt and the late Lee Wulff, fished dry flies for salmon in Scotland with very limited success. The Spey Rod is essentially a rod for subsurface angling. This is how and why it evolved. Also, since salmon run earlier in Scotland than in North America, bigger flies are used to attract them. These are both difficult and dangerous to cast overhead. The Spey Cast keeps them away from the caster, so the danger of getting oneself hooked and other such mischief is greatly reduced.

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Our purpose in writing this paper is concerned with constructing Bamboo Spey Rods. The source of tapers for Bamboo Spey Rods is somewhat difficult to obtain. A museum, such as the Atlantic Salmon Museum in Doaktown, New Brunswick, Canada, formerly the Miramichi Salmon Museum, has a good collection of Bamboo Salmon Rods. I was kindly allowed to “mike” a Dickerson Rod there in 1999, but I don’t know if this practice is still in effect. A good solution would be for some person to offer to measure all the rods in their collection once and record and reproduce the taper specs. Parenthetically, it is appropriate to mention at this time, that the design of the Spey Rod was an empirical process of “trial and error.” Modern principles of engineering were being developed in the 19th Century, but the ability to compute rod taper design, ala Everett Garrison, was probably not too common in the United Kingdom. This is not to say that the technical skill to plot rod design did not exit in 19th Century Scotland. It was simply that they used their engineering skill to build things other than Spey Rods. One ghost that should be laid to rest regarding rod tapers is the so-called Castle Connell “Kick-Taper.” As Spey Casting relies on the controlled momentum and motion of the rod and line to cast, it was reasoned in Ireland, that weakening or reducing the caliber of the middle section or joint of a 3-piece rod would allow the heavy tip to “kick” or otherwise impel the cast to turn over. These “hinged” top-heavy rods were very popular in Ireland, but took some time to learn to cast, if one was accustomed to a “standard” Spey Rod. This is not a case of intra-Celtic bias, rivalry, etc., just a matter of preference. This debate has gone on for years. Here is what an author by the name of “Unique” has to say about Castle Connell Rods in his book, Gun, Rod, and Saddle in 1869.

Some persons, particularly Irish fishermen, are attached to double action rods, that is rods with so much elasticity in them that they display two movements, one up and the other down when suddenly used. I do not like them for more than one reason, the movement of the wrist in striking the fish, while raising the butt, throws the tip down. Also, if you fish against the wind they will be found most difficult to manage and excessively tiring. There is a rod made in Castle Connell, principally for salmon, of the above pattern; it has many admirers, still I can speak from only what I know and my verdict is to leave these rods to their present advocates.

If a person wants to make a Castle Connell Rod and can find one to copy, by all means do it. Opinions are based on personal tests and preferences and some people may prefer a rod of this design. I would question the wisdom of trying to design one’s own Spey Rod from “scratch.” Why reinvent the wheel? Over a century and a half went into designing rods for Spey Casting. There probably is very little a lone rod builder could do to improve on the designs of Hardy, Cummins, Farlowe, Sharpe, etc. Spey Rods are like cricket bats. If you want to make one, get one to copy. Don’t try to come with a new and better design.

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A Spey Rod is like any other bamboo fly rod, only more so. It takes more bamboo for the rod, more metal for the ferrules, more cork for the grip, etc. Also it is subject to different torque and stress than a rod used for overhead casting. The twisting and rotational motion involved in the Spey Cast led the Hardy Brothers to develop several different ferrule designs to cope with the problem of rod sections slipping out of alignment. These included a steel-locking ferrule, a treble grip ferrule, and their highly successful “Patent Lock Fast Joint.” George Leonard Herter, never one to keep his opinions to himself, called the screw lock ferrule “a masterpiece of making a simple mechanism complicated.” (Professional Rod Building and Manufacturing Guide, p. 40) Torque and twisting is a force to contend with in Spey Rod ferrules. Mike Maxwell, whose book was previously mentioned, deals with this problem of sectional twisting by recommending the use of candle wax on the male rod spigot. He feels that the twisting and friction in aligning the sections melt the wax and help keep the sections of the rod “lined up” (Maxwell, p. 200). This book was written in 1994, so the problem of sectional movement in Spey Rods is still with us, be it a bamboo or graphite rod. Good close tolerances in a ferrule or Super Z design are a necessity in a ferrule for a Spey Rod. How much sectional movement will arise with use is an unknown quantity. This phenomenon is not a problem with rods used primarily for overhead as opposed to Spey Casting. Because of the size of the butt and mid-section of Spey Rods, “double building” is a necessity. The Hardy Gold Medal Rods were double built in the butt section, and also the middle in rods over 14’ long. Gold Medal Rods also featured a tapered and tempered spring steel center for added tensile strength. George Leonard Herter didn’t like this either. While having no problem with double building the bamboo butt, Mr. Herter objected to the use of steel in the cane, saying the rods were slow and heavy in action (Herter, p. 82). The Hardy Brothers were probably the premier “state of the art” Spey Rod designers and builders in the realm of bamboo. Putting a steel center in a cane rod took some pretty sophisticated technology. One area where we are ahead of the great old rod making firms is in adhesive technology. With our good glues today, the need for a multitude of intermediate wrappings is eliminated, unless one desires them for appearances sake. Also, impregnation of some sort could strengthen the rod and eliminate the perceived need for a steel backbone. There are extensive appendices to these somewhat random thoughts on the story of the Spey Rod for as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Appendix A presents information on the Super Z Ferrule. Included are illustrations of ferrule types, rod tapers, grips, and other fittings and a detailed description of ferrule making techniques, since ferrules of the size necessary for Spey Rod making are not easily obtainable.

Appendix A The Super Z Ferrule was introduced by Louie Feierabend of Pearl River, New York, in 1948. The advantages of this design were so unique that a patent was granted to its inventor. During the time these ferrules were available to rod makers, from 1948 until the early 1970’s, they were sought after because of their strength, simplicity, and high quality. When these ferrules ceased to be sold, except for the small caches that appear occasionally even today, individuals world wide, who appreciated the inherent advantages of the Super Z Ferrule, started to copy them for their own and others’ rod making. From time to time various individuals and firms have entered the ferrule making business and their products were generally good. As there is a continuing interest in the Super Z Ferrule, there are some specifications for this style ferrule, ranging in size from 10/64” to 17/64.” An excellent discussion of the Super Z Ferrule can be found on pages 105-121 in A Master’s Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod, by Everett Garrison with Hoag Carmichael, Winchester Press, 1977. Everett Garrison was a civil engineer and used his technical training to good advantage in his renowned rod making. He fully appreciated the Super Z Ferrule Design.

If someone endeavors to make ferrules using these specs, the following tips, gained from making ferrules for over 30 years, may be of interest. The raised portion on both the male and female ferrules, just past the serrations, is very important. It functions as a “stop” to prevent the ferrule from slipping or being pushed back into the collet, when it is being turned, polished, etc. I prefer to hold the male ferrule blank in a 3-jaw chuck for all “heavy work” such as drilling and reaming. A live center is really necessary to support the female ferrule when turning it to size. I personally like 304-B free machining, non-magnetic stainless steel for making ferrules. Information for turning this and other alloys can be obtained from any of the good technical manuals available. Refer to the same books for drilling and reaming rpm’s and feeds. A heavy weight, sulphur based cutting fluid is suitable for drilling and reaming. Brownell’s universal Do-Drill is excellent for this work. Don’t try to ream a full 1/64” in the female ferrule, if using stainless steel. Instead, drill the female within about .008 using the appropriate undersized number or letter drills. Let the metal cool between borings, to minimize scoring the interior wall of the female ferrule. Clean out any errant chips of metal with a cotton swab before reaming. Apply plenty of cutting fluid in rough hole ferrule before reaming. It is “handy” to remember the collet size is the same diameter as the reamer for any given ferrule of Super Z design. Ream with ferrule blank held in chuck in “back gear.” Always wait for work to stop revolving before withdrawing reamer, otherwise scoring will occur. Use a “dead smooth” file for final polishing. I personally like “Crocus Cloth” for final polishing.

Regarding serrations on the ferrules, there are several ways to accomplish this

necessary task. A jeweler’s saw and very fine file will work if one is careful. A very fine circular saw of 2” or 3” diameter and .008 thick mounted between the head stock and tail stock in a lathe on a horizontal arbor works well. Set up a fixture consisting of a small vise on the tool post cross feed of your lathe. Make up a collet holder for your collets to hold the ferrule being serrated. Mount this in a hex nut, which functions as an index

head, and carefully raise the ferrule under the revolving saw cutter head. Cut through only one side of the ferrule wall at a time. In other words make 6 cuts for a 6-sided rod per ferrule. If an attempt is made to cut through both sides of the ferrule, the fragile “legs” cut by the serrations will tear out. While this all sounds involved, it really isn’t. The convenience of being able to make ferrules on demand for any rod you may make is worth the effort and time it takes to learn the process. If a person has access to a lathe with collets, it certainly is worth consideration.

A good check for determining stock blank length when cutting and getting out

stock is to convert fractional depth to decimal, add both together for female and cut and face stock accordingly, allowing 1/32” to 1/16” additional for water check. Center drill, and drill and ream after “facing off” stock.

The dimensions of the Super Z Ferrules shown here are based on the table shown

on page 114 of A Master’s Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod. Using the length of factor B (i.e., male slide length that actually engages female ferrule) and multiplying this figure by .833 and adding the resulting figure to factor B, one arrives at the overall male ferrule length. This includes shoulder, slide, and serrations. The length of the female ferrule includes the following: slide depth of female ferrule, water check or baffle, and core depth where the female ferrule is attached to the rod butt. The depth of the female ferrule that receives the cane is the same as the overall length of the male ferrule. Thus, by adding “factor B” shown on page 114 of Garrison’s Book, plus the total length of the male ferrule, one arrives at the overall length of the female ferrule. If the number or figure for the barrel length falls between two decimal figures, say .914,which is between 58/64” and 59/64,” I prefer to “round up” to the next fraction rather than down, believing that the little extra length gives you more of a margin of safety to prevent drilling through the end of the male or the “baffle” or water check in the female. The increase in weight of a few thousandth of an inch of metal is negligible. This rounding up is factored into the overall length of the male ferrule. It is not the depth of the female ferrule or the slide length, which is left the same as in Garrison’s book on page 114. The wall thickness on a Super Z Ferrule is 1/64” or .015625.” Knowing this, the other dimensions are easily computed.

As drilling and reaming are the least pleasant aspects of making ferrules because

there are lots of heat, hot chips, smoke, etc., exercise reasonable care not to bore through from one side of the female ferrule into the next chamber. In other words, leave a reasonable amount of stock for a baffle or water check, anything between a 1/32” and 1/16” is good. As nice sharp drills make his part of ferrule making more pleasant, a “Drill Doctor” sharpening device or something similar is a good investment. A skilled machinist can sharpen drills “by eye,” but most of us are not that good. If one tip of the drill is just a bit larger than its mate, the drill will not cut to its nominal size. This is worth bearing in mind. Dull tools are an abomination especially in rod work.

I cannot over emphasize the importance of the shoulders or stops just adjacent to

the serrations on the “cane ends” of each ferrule. These little welts prevent the ferrule components from slipping back in the collets when they are being turned. When turning

the male ferrule, there exists a certain amount of spring at the end of the slide being turned. One obviously can not use a live center here to keep the work from being pushed away from the cutting tool, as is possible when turning a female ferrule. The answer to this problem is to have sharp cutting tools; refer to the machinists’ hand book for a tool shape appropriate for the metal you are using and take light cuts; .005 tool advance per pass is the maximum I use per pass. Referring to your micrometer and using a fine file, dress that “damned little knob” down that will invariably appear on the end of the slide so that the ferrule “mikes” evenly from the “back” near the collet to the unsupported end. When the ferrule is about .001 larger than the female, I stop using the cutting tool and resort to judicious use of a “dead smooth” file and abrasives. Strive to achieve a nice smooth even fit. This is easier to write about that accomplish, but perseverance has its rewards. We all have rejects that may be kept as size gauges, etc. A piece of surgical tubing or inner tube is useful in the trial fitting of ferrules. Beware of the sharp cutting tool and lathe center if you are fitting the female ferrule to the male held in a collet on the lathe. Sometimes when one pulls the female free, the pleasure of that nice popping sound is offset by having one’s hand hit a cutting tool or lathe center. It is better to “back them off” down the lathe bed than to cut oneself.

Good luck! Howard Roger Bartholomew (518) 827-4643 or (518) 827-6463 Give me a call if you have any questions!