The Featherlight

Posted By on July 5, 2010

Eagle Claw Featherlight #5/6
Pflueger Medalist 1400 series
The $50 system – ready to go!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This all started innocently enough with a $50 gift certificate to one of those online “discount” fly fishing outlets.  As I clicked through pages of CHEAP equipment on their site, I was beginning to wonder if I could find $50 worth of stuff I really needed when I came across a blast from the past . . . the Eagle Claw Featherlight!
 
This is the rod I started on in Colorado back in the 70′s.  We fished the RioGrande and Gunnison drainages with a 8 foot 7 wt. bright yellow Eagle Claw and either a J.C. Higgins automatic or Pflueger reel.  The method I learned from my father and grandfather was pretty basic – all wet flies, all the time.  I can’t remember them ever using a dry fly and the whole fly selection consisted of three patterns; a Muddler minnow, a Wooly worm, and a Coachman wet.  These were all fished “across and down” on a swing and then slowly stripped back.
 
Anyway, I had no idea Eagle Claw (Wright McGill) made these rods again until I saw a post a few weeks back by Cameron on the Fiberglass Manifesto.  A synopsis was that they were decent rods for the price and fun to fish.  If you flip the canoe or break a tip in a tailgate, you’re only out $28. 
 
So, I decided to have a little fun with a new project . . . just how much can you do with a $50 fly outfit????????
 
I matched the rod with a “old model” 1400 series Pflueger reel (“old” meaning the models they had prior to a rim control) to get as close to what I grew up with as possible.  I got the 7′ 5/6 wt. rod just to have a little lighter action for pond bass and bluegills.  With free shipping and an old 6 wt. line, I have a whole outfit for just over $50.
 
As for casting, the rod REALLY isn’t that bad.  It’s a two piece and the tip section is fairly light while the butt is pretty stiff.  This takes some getting used to in the cast but you basically have to SLOW DOWN and let the tip throw the line.  You can get aggresive with it and load the butt section for some long, “hauling” casts but the results aren’t that pretty – and that’s not what a $28 seven foot rod is designed to do.  Think a handful of #8 poppers and a case of PBR!
 
So, this will be a nice little diversion during the dog days of summer.  Stay tuned for various fishing reports as I take the Featherlight out and see what it can do.

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About the author

Joel Hays has been a professional guide since 1990, and has guided professionally in Colorado and Texas.

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North Texas Fly Fishing Adventures with Joel Hays

Imagine wading through ten inches of clear water,trying to be as quiet as possible. Fifty feet ahead is a pod of large fish "tailing" on the flat. You strip out fly line, make the cast, and pull your fly in front of the lead fish. After agonizing seconds the fish spots the fly, rushes forward for a quick grab, and feels the hook. The silence is broken as the fish accelerates across the flat, quickly exposing backing on your screaming reel. Sounds like a great day on the coast, or even an exotic bonefish flat, right? Actually it's a great description of the usual day my clients have fishing for Carp on the flats of Lake Ray Roberts where many clients are blown away by the water clarity and the actual ability to sight cast along miles of flats. Big spooky fish in shallow water. They fight and tail like Redfish and can sometimes rival Bonefish in nervousness. This is an EXCELLENT WAY to hone your flats fishing skills and test your "eyes" where it's more about stalking the fish than simply stumbling upon them. You will be a better flats angler!