Students
Jack Crokett, Bernhardt Pederson, Cathal Roberts
Project Description
Our project is designed to create a fly fishing rod and reel, which is a relaxing and therapeutic hobby of our group. The design of our project breaks down into two main components: the rod and the reel. First off, our reel was created from a 4″ by 4″ by 4″ wooden turning block. Some interesting features of our final design are that the outer walls of the reel are only 3⁄8 of an inch thick, which allows the reel to be lightweight and balanced with the light bamboo rod. While being strong enough to take on river-based fish ranging from a few pounds heavy, our sturdy but lightweight reel allows a fisherman to feel every bite and action of a fish. Additionally, the divet in our reel is 3⁄4 of an inch thick and about an inch deep, thus allowing 100 yards of fly fishing line to spool up the reel.
Moving onto the rod, our rod consists of eight, quarter-inch wide strands of bamboo that we cut and sanded down from one large 3-inch wide diameter bamboo pole. In doing this, we cohesively glued and tied these eight smaller strands into one collectivized, circular grouping. This process allows our rod to have maximum strength and flexibility, without the chance of it snapping. In total, our rod is six feet long; however, it is divided into two halves, which allows our rod to be carried and storied more easily. The base or lower half of our rod is roughly 1 inch in diameter, while the upper half is 15/16 of an inch to allow a tight fit rod, that can also be pulled apart when storing or carrying. Lastly, all elements of our rod and reel are sanded down to provide a smooth and ornate look that also provides maximum comfort when gripping it.