Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

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raven4ns
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Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by raven4ns » Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:01 pm

What do you use to separate the sections of a cane rod when your hands are extremely cold as in salmon fishing? With trout fishing it's not so bad because the weather in Nova Scotia is fairly warm at the end of trout season. However, salmon fishing is another story and towards the end of salmon fishing the temps can be very cold and my hands don't work as well...lol. Your suggestions will be much appreciated, thank you.
All the best,

Tim
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Smuggler
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by Smuggler » Thu Apr 09, 2015 2:07 pm

Well whatever you do don't twist.

If you can just take it home together and do it in your house. I do that in the winter time if it's too cold.
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by hankaye » Thu Apr 09, 2015 3:28 pm

raven4ns, Howdy;

I don't own anything that is made from bamboo and try to keep my hands warm,
that said, I'd think the something along the lines of those flat rubber jar lid grippers
might work ???
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitc ... ign=google
only a suggestion ...

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PhilA
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by PhilA » Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:44 pm

I have the same problem. Not with salmon, but with cold tired fingers. I use two tools that allow a better grip of the rod sections. The first is a pair of rubber jar openers (as described above).
Image

I fold a jar opener over each section of the rod, and they give a much better grip than hands and fingers alone. This works most of the time.


Sometimes, however, cold fingers just aren't sufficient for a good grip even with the jar openers. In that case, a second pair of homemade tools comes out.

Image

Image

Each is a bundle of six 3/16" wood dowels tied together with Span Flex, which is a stretchy rubber fly tying material. A material similar to Span Flex comes under many different names, and any of them would work. Stretchy rubber legs would probably work also.

I fold a rubber jar opener over each rod section, and then wrap a dowel gripper over each jar opener. The bundle is now ~2/3" to 1" in diameter, instead of a thin little rod. My whole whole hand can then be brought to bear on the grip (not mostly the fingers). The stretchy connections of the individual dowels allows a good even grip all around the rod regardless of its diameter (tip, butt, etc.).

The combination of rubber jar openers and dowel grippers has never failed. (Knock on bamboo.)
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by William Anderson » Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:09 pm

Chris Stewart (our friendly TenkaraBum) was kind enough to include a small patch of a foam grippy material, looks exactly like the little cushioned rubberized mat you put under your carpet to keep it in place, and I've seen it in the grocery store as a kind of gripper. He offers it as a way of dislodging tenkara rod sections if they are stuck. I would make the assumption that this little piece of material would be a huge help when your hands are too cold. You could buy a 3'x5' piece at Target or HD and share enough with everyone you know. I believe Chris sells them on his site for convenience.

w
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raven4ns
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by raven4ns » Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:19 am

Thank you everyone for your responses. I'm off this morning to find some grippers and a few other items I need. If winter doesn't soon lose it's grip I'm going to need to rethink fly fishing and look at ice fishing. Thank you again for the help.
All the best,

Tim
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by Hans Weilenmann » Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:34 am

raven4ns wrote:What do you use to separate the sections of a cane rod when your hands are extremely cold as in salmon fishing? With trout fishing it's not so bad because the weather in Nova Scotia is fairly warm at the end of trout season. However, salmon fishing is another story and towards the end of salmon fishing the temps can be very cold and my hands don't work as well...lol. Your suggestions will be much appreciated, thank you.
Use bigger, stronger muscles.

No, I do not suggest extra time at the gym 8-)

An approach you way want to consider is to use your thigh muscles to aid the process. Place rod behind your legs, in the crook of your knees - and your hands holding the rod, on the outside of each thigh.

Your hands are tasked to guide/hold the rod, and keep it straight - while pushing your legs apart in a controlled and deliberate manner.

Does that description of the procedure make sense to you?

Cheers,
Hans W
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by letumgo » Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:24 am

Hans - I've needed to use that method on a few occasions. Ruard taught me that maneuver.
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by PhilA » Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:21 pm

Hans Weilenmann wrote:An approach you way want to consider is to use your thigh muscles to aid the process. Place rod behind your legs, in the crook of your knees - and your hands holding the rod, on the outside of each thigh.

Your hands are tasked to guide/hold the rod, and keep it straight - while pushing your legs apart in a controlled and deliberate manner.
Cheers,
Hans W
I've used that method also. One time my grip on the tip section slipped due to weak fingers, and my ever-so-strong and speedy legs quickly removed the adjacent snake guide on the rod. That's when my search for improved grippers got serious. --Phil
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Re: Taking a cane rod apart with cold hands

Post by Hans Weilenmann » Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:50 pm

ThirdMeadow wrote:I've used that method also. One time my grip on the tip section slipped due to weak fingers, and my ever-so-strong and speedy legs quickly removed the adjacent snake guide on the rod. That's when my search for improved grippers got serious. --Phil
*chuckle*

I did say "in a controlled and deliberate manner."... 8-)

Cheers,
Hans W
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