In last week’s column I attempted to answer grandson Tecwyn’s request to equate fishing quality from the time I was his age until today. I explained that there were two parts to the answer. One was the numbers and quality of the fish, and the other comparing the gear. The first part was covered in last week’s column.

My recollections of the numbers and quality of the fish in the forties are not too far different than they are today. However, the memories of the quality and convenience of the gear in those days stand out in stark contrast. There is totally no comparison between the two.

Rods were made from steel or bamboo. They lacked the resilience and light weight of the fiberglass and graphite rods of today that enhance the fighting qualities of the fish. There were no spinning reels back in my days and no monofilament fishing line. Bait casting rods and casting reels were crude affairs. The first reels did not have the level winding feature and adjustable drag options of today’s modern models. One of my favorite casting rods was a True Temper solid one piece steel five and a half foot model with a Pflueger Trump reel. At the time I thought it was state of the art. The line was made of silk and came in one color, black.

Fly rods were either made of bamboo or steel. Bamboo rods were all hand made beauties that cost an arm and a leg. They were far too expensive for a kid with my means. The lines and reels were similar to today’s but with nowhere near the quality or light weight. Telescoping steel rods were very popular for both fly and bait fishing. The big improvement in them was the hexagon shape which kept the line guides in line. They were heavy and cumbersome.

A tubular steel two piece rod was developed early in the forties that was the first really innovative rod that promised that new and better things were about to happen in fishing gear. The trend ended abruptly with the start of WWII and the end of production for sporting good products. I was lucky enough to get one of the two piece steel rods just before they stopped making them. It was a Gebhardt six ounce nine foot beauty and I loved it. I lost both my True Temper bait casting and the above fly rod in a garage fire. In the end it proved to be not such a great loss since huge strides were emerging in the development of fishing tackle and all other sporting good implements.

The technology that was advanced tremendously by the urgency of the war effort opened the flood gates to new development that has never ceased. One has to be in my age bracket to begin to appreciate the full impact of the pleasure that has been gained.

It is not the fishing tackle alone that has made the difference in sport fishing and all outdoor sports. It is all the other accessories combined that improve the experience. It’s the boats and motors and the raingear and clothing improvements that keep one warm and dry and able to allow added fishing time to busy shedules. It’s the camping gear and too many other incidentals to mention.

I would have to say the most important new innovation to come out of the period of heightened scientific research and technology following WWII was the spinning reel and line. It provided a whole other dimension to sport fishing.

One other important addition is the depth and fish finders which make it possible to locate and determine where in larger bodies of water fish are holding. The development of the Ground Positing System or GPS allows the fisherman to return to the exact same location where good fishing was experienced in the past in huge bodies of water where no landmarks can be observed.

All in all, fishing is as good as or better than it ever was with good populations of game and all other species of fish. It is more comfortable, the fish can be preserved better and it is a lot safer.

As a general rule many things in life appear to me to fall short of what my perception of them was in the old days. It is not true for everyday activities we have to perform within our physical capabilities. Advances in technology have made them much easier. The opposite is true for those things that were based on a code of ethics and morality. The nation’s moral compass is not pointing the way it did when I was growing up.

We have come a very long way from the days when Lester Chamberlain and I fished Brandy Brook with our homemade fishing poles and that’s good.