Twist & Shout-  No!

Thoughts on assembling a fly rod

I was in the 10^th grade when Chubby Checker introduced us to The Twist.  I was a senior in High School when The Isley Brothers released their version of Twist & Shout.  I was about to turn 50 when Quentin Tarantino made Pulp Fiction including the famous dance contest scene with Uma Thurman and John Travolta and Travolta, in particular, does a version of The Twist.

But what does this have to do with flyfishing?  We have significant people on both sides of the debate over how you attach the sections of a fly rod together.  Some say twist them on while other say to simply push them together.

The Twisters

Lefty Kreh joins the folks at G. Loomis as being in the twist category.  Th it does.e theory is this “locks” the two pieces together a bit more than simply pushing them together.  I do not doubt that it does.   I have two concerns about it, however:

1. How do you twist just the right amount so your line guides are straight?
2. Those who promote pushing the push claim that twist hurts the graphite that has been added to the been added to the fiberglass. The claim is that over the course of the years, twisting the pieces together will weaken them, particularly the female section.

The Pushers

Which brings me to the folks at Sage who tend to favor pushing the multiple pieces together.  It’s simple and straightforward.  Line them up and push them together.  I realize the arrogance of saying that I like my answer to this age old dilemma more than Lefty Kreh’s answer.   All I can say is that while Lefty designed several of my rods, he did not pay for them.

Agreeing on One Thing- Ferrule Wax

But whichever method you use, I hope we can all agree on the value of using ferrule wax on each of the male portions of our ferrules.  It seems to do two things:

1. It helps keep the section of a rod from coming apart while casting.  This is not a minor concern.  One of the ferrules on one of my nicer rods had a tendency to slip just a tad in casting, I loaned the rod to a friend over a decade ago.  The ferrule slipped just s smidgen (about the same amount as a “tad”) so when a fish got on the ferrule failed and broke the rod.  I sent it back to the manufacturer along with a letter of explanation.  The repaired (or replaced) rod has not given me and trouble.  I use ferrule wax on it religiously.
2. It makes I easier to pull the pieces apart when it is time to pack up the rod.  How does it know how to do that since it seems to be the opposite of the first task?  There’s an old joke about how a thermos knows to keep the beverage hot or cold.  Maybe this is a fact of similar mystery.  But it works.  In all truth, there have been times when I resorted to twisting a ferrule to release it instead of simply pulling straight.  It usually makes the pulling straight work better.  Do not  use any od wax you have laying around the house, however.  Scented waxes have oils and other qualities which are not good for the coating on the fly line and can have a negative impact upon the finish of the rod.  Orvis sells a small puck (it looks like a small hockey puck) that has worked for me for 14 years.

Good luck in the method you use.  Be careful and don’t force things too much.