| The modern period has been dominated by the | | | | amount, and the invention of methods of altering |
| development of new materials, and there is no | | | | the specific gravity of the PVC coating (and |
| doubt that without plastics, fly fishing as we know | | | | hence its buoyancy) gave the product greater |
| it would be unrecognizable as a sport, although the | | | | flexibility than anyone had ever dreamed of in a |
| basic principles would be the same. | | | | fly line. |
| Glass-fiber rods first appeared in the late 1940's, | | | | The Reel. We are very nearly up to date on the |
| but it took a while for the new material to be | | | | subject of gear, but is one small piece of the |
| adopted. Suppliers showed varying degrees of | | | | jigsaw puzzle missing. At the beginning of the |
| enthusiasm for the material. Hardy's first glass | | | | modern period, it was unusual to find fly reels |
| fiber rod was built in 1954, and after a period in | | | | with exposed rims. The last twenty years have |
| which glass and cane uneasily coexisted, their first | | | | seen a surge of nostalgia, and it is fascinating to |
| carbon fiber rod followed in 1976. Rod weights | | | | see the designs appearing that imitate reels of a |
| plunged, reaching the point where line weight | | | | century ago. |
| became a consideration in rod handling. A modern | | | | The Salmon Fly. In a sign of growing American |
| fifteen foot carbon fiber rod typically weighs | | | | dominance in the field, hair-winged patterns didn't |
| around the pound mark, and a nine-foot rod three | | | | take long to make the transfer across the |
| and a half ounces. | | | | Atlantic. The hair-wing had become a significant |
| If anyone wonders why fiberglass did not replace | | | | influence on British patterns by the 1960s, with |
| split cane overnight, the answer lies in the table. | | | | many traditional patterns being adapted to allow |
| Glass rods weighed much the same as their split | | | | hair-wing ties. The origins of the tube fly are less |
| cane equivalents, and offered the fisherman few | | | | certain. We know that North American native |
| advantages other than price. Carbon fiber, on the | | | | people tied lures for salmon on quills as long ago |
| other hand, approaches half the weight of either | | | | as the nineteenth century, but the idea seems to |
| split cane or glass. Once the technical problems of | | | | have entered mainstream salmon fly fishing during |
| using the new material had been solved, carbon | | | | the 1940s. |
| fiber rods entered mass production and neither of | | | | There is an interesting post-script to the |
| the older materials could offer any contest. Cane | | | | development of the hair-wing salmon fly. |
| was swept away by the mid nineteen eighties, | | | | Fishermen took a long while to give up their |
| although it is making something of a comeback on | | | | affection for the fully-dressed 'gaudy' fly, and it |
| aesthetic grounds. | | | | was commonly stocked by quite ordinary tackle |
| The Fly Line. As with rod development, the | | | | shops well into the late 70's and even early 80's. |
| post-war period was dominated by the | | | | As it became harder to find fully-dressed flies, |
| development of new materials. The taper on | | | | collectors moved in, and a substantial market in |
| these lines could be controlled to a precise | | | | "specimen-tying" began to emerge. |