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Doggett at Large by Joe Doggett | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor
When you find a piece of equipment that really suits your style, buy a backup. As soon as you don’t, the item will be discontinued and no longer readily available. Here’s another tip when dealing with manufacturers of outdoor products: “New and improved” sometimes translates in the field or on the water to “cheaper to make and less reliable.” Certainly, this is not always the case. Many new-of-the-year products are significant upgrades over previous models. Most current top-end rods and reels are the finest the sport has known. Technology has advanced so much that many of today’s midrange models are superior to the highest grades available 10 or 15 years ago; however, the top quality comes with a price. You can expect to pay several hundred dollars for the finest casting rods and reels, and at least twice that amount for the best fly tackle. But, returning to the original premise, the backup for a prized older model might be obtained for a fraction of a comparable current issue. Rods, unlike reels, have few parts to wear out. And, to repeat, this is a proven product in your hands; you know the delicate tweaks and subtle actions that make it sing across the water. For example, my all-time favorite fly rod for serious rainbow trout fishing in Alaska (25- to 30-inch-plus fish) is a 9-foot, 6-inch G. Loomis IMX 8-weight. The four-piece “travel” rod is at least 20 years old; they phased out IMX years ago. IMX was top-of-the-line composition but a bit sketchy. The blanks occasionally broke
against little or no abuse, but when you got a good one, you really got a winner. This old rod is an ounce, maybe two, heavier than current top rods, but big deal. I mean, what difference in the real world (opposed to the gloss of marketing hype) does that make for a big, tough angler. Or even a skinny, wimpy angler. Come on—4 ounces versus 3 ounces, and that’s a tripkiller? That particular “excruciatingly heavy” rod is a marvelous blend of extra length for mending line and tight crispness for driving aggressive casts. At least it is for me. I’ve caught several thousand rainbows on that stick during annual late-summer trips to Alaska; no doubt, it would be a great bonefish tool, as well, but I don’t dare risk stumbling over a rum bottle and breaking it down on a tropical flat somewhere. That discontinued rod is my on-going reminder to double up. Try to locate one in excellent condition now. Some new rods from top houses are better, no question, but I know exactly how to make that old 9-6 IMX boomer spring to life. Rods and reels often improve each few years but manufacturers always are looking for ways to cut costs. The savings of even a few pennies per unit can add up and, to repeat, the cost cutting might come at the expense of quality control. Old-timers might recall Winchester’s questionable call in 1964, when benchmark models such as the Model 70 bolt rifle were cheapened and classics such as the Model 12 pump shotgun were dropped. Not all of their newer models were junk—but by most reviews they just weren’t as good as older, more-expensive-to-make ones. The cachet associated with a “Pre-’64” Winchester continues to carry a handsome price tag on the used gun racks. Fortunately, the newer Winchesters again are excellent. But I’m straying from the original premise of covering yourself. Even if the product is a shiny 2010 model, if you are truly pleased with its performance, act on the assumption that a bean counter somewhere will push for the corporate decision to drop it. Admittedly, some doubles are more cost-
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Cover Your Backups ERE’S ONE SOLID LESSON LEARNED DURING 50 years of outdoor adventures: Double up.
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ly than others, but nobody can accuse me of not following my own advice. I purchased a new Chevrolet Tahoe two-door “Sport Package” SUV in 1995 and liked it so much that I bought a second one in 1999—the final year for the shorter two-door style Tahoe. A quail hunting and bay fishing friend, Norman Frede, put the bug in my ear. Of course, he’s in the business of selling Chevrolets, but the plan made perfect sense to me. The first Tahoe increasingly was relegated to beach detail. By 1999, it was a highly evolved “beachmobile” with after-market Yakima watersport roof racks, a front grill, and any number of obnoxious surf decals. An interior roof rack accommodates up to six rods and reels and, traveling solo, you can lower the passenger-side leather seat and insert a 10-foot Fry longboard. With the rear seat down and the back filled with tackle bags and coolers and surfing accessories, the vehicle maintains a “cocked and locked” attitude for upgraded beach potential. Many afternoons, while working at the Houston Chronicle, fellow outdoor writer Doug Pike and I would bolt for the garage (“Screw the staff meeting!”) and blast down Highway 288 to Surfside. But the price for this cavalier state of readiness was an increasingly salty aura. The Beach Tahoe was an offensive choice for squiring around town, hence the shiny new Town Tahoe. The latter vehicle still looks good, with clean paint, tender mileage and the ever-socool slightly jacked rear end. It is a real SUV, not just something you take to the supermarket. It was paid off years ago and remains reliable—not a free ride, but a lot cheaper than outfitting in a new rig. Every few months someone offers to buy it, and every few weeks I congratulate myself on having the wisdom to double up. And, no, the Beach Tahoe is not for sale either— although, oddly, nobody seems interested in that one.
E-mail Joe Doggett at doggett@fishgame.com