Okay not really. But there I was standing in Sportco at the checkout line with an honest to God- $17.00 authentic yellow Eagle Claw spin rod in all its glory. I felt like an idiot just holding it (upside down of course- reel seat up) and who else could of possibly witnessed this spectacle that could have made me feel worse than the General himself. I suppose he was picking up some tackle for himself ( yup I saw what he was buying too... could those have been pink finnesse worms? Hmmmm.)
I think he recognised me as someone who passes himself off as a coniesiuer of tackle, looks at me and gave this infitessimal shrug, eye rolling frowny sorta face and turns away without even a "hey". I can't really blame him- what would I have done if the shoes were reversed? So, there I am and for an instant I wondered what was my best plan for recovery. Should I blurt out an instant confession that the rod is not for me? That I broke a house rod out at a friend of a friends house on Hood Canal, screwing around trying to snare crabs off the deck at high tide and got snagged up. (No alcohol involved of course.) Or should I bow my head and just feel sorry for my pitifull condition.
I think this will take years to fade away.
The shame...the shame of it all...

Some of those rods are great fro attaching to a downrigger or for slinging out 6 ounces of lead.

Bill used to work at Sportco if I'm not mistaken. He was working their booth at the March Sportsman's show anyway.

He was working there yesterday when I was there.

Aaaaahhhhh, my wife has these yellow tomatoes you see, and uuummm, ahhhh, Ya that’s it she needs the tomato stakes to match so I thought this would be a good idea.

He still works there.

Ohhhhh... ya tomato stakes. Why didn't I think of that?

Sorry you had to go through that, JTD.

Bill works there part time from what I understand. I visit Sportco at least once a week and I've seen him there all the time. Great guy and kinda funny. He once wanted to charge me 350.00 on a Steelhead Flyfishing guide on any river in WA. Tooo high for me. Would rather go with D.Dickson for 200.00.

JTD, methinks you may have missed a good opportunity to get to know Bill and his savy wit by asking him to autograph that Claw, so you could say you owned a bonafide "Herzog signature" Eagle Claw rod. I can just hear him now.

I've actually fished an E-Claw with Bill before (a few times with a bobber!); mostly just to get a rise out of him and share a few laughs. Bill has certainly brought alot of laughter and joy into my life, not to mention all the fish. In addition to his wonderful humor, he is greatly appreciated by many for graciously sharing his deep passion and knowledge of our sport, underscored with wisdom that fishing should be fun, safe, respectful and rewarding and that fisherman should really not take themselves too seriously.

Next time you see him say hi and give him my best regards.

I'm sorry, but I don't get it!

Is Herzog too high falutin to fish with an Eagle Claw?

Or are you too special to be seen with one?

I have one for a DR rod and it's great!

I've caught every kind of fish I've ever caught on Eagle Claw rods.

I have Fenwick, Shakespear, Alstar, Lamiglass, a white one, A Shimano, and 4 or 5 other ones, and they all catch fish.

But then I use Penn reels and drink water out of the faucett too.




herm

never understood the reasons why people get down on penn and eagle claw. they make great tackle, especially penn's saltwater reels

i make a point of never buying some fruity sounding shimano "convalescence" or whatever they call their damn reels

Alot of sporting goods dealers and those who work at sporting goods stores tend to bash the products that have low profit margins....like Penn. It that old sales game ya know

I love those little yellow Eagle Claw 5' rods for trout. Even an 8" trout will make the pole double over. Lots of fun.

carl,
I too love those 20.00 five foot feather lite eagleclaw POLES. They are the ultimate trout rod.

Caught my first summer run steelhead on ana eagle claw not far from where the general LOST one a few weeks ago.

Who cares what you fish with?As long as you are out there fishing!


Bill you been reading your hate mail as of late?

My post was not meant as Bill Hertzog hate mail at all. Actually exactly opposite.
Herm- You and Chum-Man's reply was just as funny. I had to re-read it to make sure you weren't kidding. And yes to answer your question, I think I am too special to be seen, with a $17.00 tomato stake. Most importantly and preferably not by a respected authority in our sport. Maybe I could have tried to blend in more at the time by wearing an orange foam front Fishing and Hunting News hat and a torn tee shirt with some beer slogan on it.
Mooch- It doesn't surprise me that I didn't think of turning it around at the time. Hind sight is 20/20 and that would have been classic. Those type of comebacks always come for me after the fact.
I originally thought I would share what I thought was an embarassing moment laced with irony. I thought that throwing someone's name out on the web may have been inconsiderate, but Bill is a public figure in my sport so why would it be different sharing a story where Tiger Woods caught you at a minature putting range?
Just a thought.

JTD,
I was refering to his e-mail not this post.

I believe one of the drawbacks of being a public figure is that you are more likely to hear from the negative than the positive.Kind of ike these boards get at times.That is why I referred to at as his hate mail.

I for one took your (JTD) post as nothing but a little self-deprecating humor and got a good laugh out of it.

Mooch's suggestion about having him autograph it was priceless!

Thanks for the laugh!

Don't know Bill personally, but I do know Eagle Claw. My favorite kokanee rod is a very old 7' Eagle Claw with a Penn 109 reel. The slightest nip from a koke and that rod bucks!

What? This is all news to me. I thought every boat on the salt was required to have a least one yellow rod for mooching and downriggin'. Does this mean I need to pitch all my penn reels?

Hmmm, I appreciate your self-deprecating humor, but am troubled by your apparent insecurity (t.i.c.). I caught my first steelhead drift-fishing with my $10 yellow Eagle Claw salmon/steelhead rod, coupled to an Ambassador 5000c, along with most every coho I've caught since. And my first fly-caught steelhead and hundreds of trout came to my $9 yellow Eagle Claw fly rod. Ain't no way I'd ever be embarassed to be seen with my Eagle Claw rods, altho admittedly, I prefer other rods now and have for years, especially for fly fishing.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Salmo g.-
I am surprised that you would even respond to this goofy post. Your constructive criticism usually caps most political or biological oriented threads putting things in perspective.

In all honesty, to quote a friend, "I would fish in a mud puddle with a shoe string if that is all I had." (Winterrun to be exact) But I am afraid that that story would not be intresting or humorous and in this case you and I do have other choices. Everyone has to start somewhere, but I bet it wasn't the rod that made that fish memorable. It has nothing to do with insecurity. Opinion noted.
Thanks

Hey I loved my 67 Bug that I drove through high school and college and it got from point A to point B just like every other car.............................but I think I might have to slink down in the seat if I had to drive it to my 20-year high school reunion.

I think the same principle applies here. I think most of the "crusty" crowd here landed their first fish on a yellow glass rod.......I know I did.

Buying an Eagle Claw anything would be akin to buying femine products for your wife at the supermarket.....just a bit too embarassing for me. The only thing worse would be seen purchasing pre-tied 3/0 - 4/0 25# SLIP TIE eagle claw salmon leaders (even if they have the fancy nickel hooks)

Way to take one for the team JTD

Ouch!
Thanks JNT

P.S. Who was the photographer that took that picture for your avatar anyways?

Dan S.- Exactly!

I seem to remember some guys using Snoopy poles for steelhead not to long ago.

I just thought I would throw that out there.

JNT

littlefish - that's SO true. i don't think you can call yoursel a salmon fisherman if you don't have that old starfire with a 209 mounted on it somewhere on the boat. bonus points if the 209 has the old colored handle that penn used to put on them ages ago

I'm still using a 209 as my main salmon reel. I've got three of them I use that I paid from $9.95 to $14.95 for years ago when they were on sale.

I used to wait for a sale... and then I'd get me a reel.

Used to use two of them back when it was legal to "two rod" in the sound.

Just had all 3 reconditioned by Georg (does the work for Outdoor Emporium) and they're probably good for the next 20 years now.

Sure I did........last year with the chrome bumpers, 1st year with a 12v electrical system and larger engine.

They're still Bugs though.........

Ok, so who is Bill Hertzog, and why would you care what he thinks anyway?
Do your own thing, man, do your own thing..........

Don't tell anyone, but I have 3! All loaded with 30lb power pro on Penn 109's!! Use 'em for guests when trolling. Come to think of it, I caught my first salmon off them. And they never break like my fancy Lami's or Loomis.

I actually bought a new one last year from the GI Joes sale last year -had this really cool foam grip.

Full Freezer

Zen Leecher-

OHHHH STOP!
Please, you are killing me! That is the funniest thing I have heard today.

Man ...nothin' like a foam grip on yer fishin' pole. Makes me wanna go catch some bluegill. I think everyone is in agreeance that tackle is a status symbol. It's like automobiles....If you haven't driven a Ferrari or a Porsche you just wouldn't understand. And if you haven't, you probably resort to the tired reasoning/cover up that your 74 'Vette with the off brand raised white letter tires would "eat up any Porsh". There are a lot of fun pursuits than can be made better with superior technology. Good day.

Notice how when speaking about an Eagle Claw we have reverted back to calling it a pole and not a rod.

I own an Eagle Claw Salmon Pole. It serves one purpose, I loan it to neighbors who ask to barrow a fishing pole for the weekend. If they said Rod they may get a better selection.

I use an old Penn 209 and a rod that must be 70 years old that has seen Alaska back when you could walk acrosd the water on the backs of salmon. Still works, but I'm saving for a new one. The Eagle Claw 5' rods are great for trout. But I would not like to be caught byh Bill buying one, I would rather have a G. Loomis fly rod or sumthin...