"juju" Coherence 10 foot 2 piece

"Did you bring the juju, do you have it, or know how to get it"?  Ever have that feeling that success at  fishing, or almost anything you do has almost 100% to do with your attitude?  Well it does.   Almost 100% but not totally..... There is a secret to the juju. 

Over and over again successful fly anglers say that it's not the fly, is your confidence in it.    This is a sort of magic called "juju." That being said, having the right tool for the adventure and application also can help make the experience a little more enjoyable.  Sure you can dig a ditch with a spoon, but it's much easier with a shovel.  So choosing the right tool for the application is just being smart. 

But there is more to the story of the juju.  Many years ago on a remote hike in the Adirondack Mountains in search of wild trout I met a magical enchanted woodland river Gnome.  The Gnome's name was David and he was dressed in typical Gnome attire with red cone hat and blue jacket and grayish white beard.  We were at a special place called Snake Pond just off a creek.  In fact the pond was actually a slew of a huge back eddy off the creek.  I was there looking for brook trout.  

How I got to know David was a mix of a mishap and Davids curiosity.  I was testing a new canoe design I was working on in  which the canoe was ultra light and was made of a semi translucent airplane fabric.  Truth be told my canoe began to sink while on the pond, and on me coming to shore David snuck up on me to see what this odd material was.  I sensed something looking at me, like you know there is something there like a bear or a skunk, but it was much more calm and friendly.  I turned and David was there with a glimmer in his eye and a smile that was barely seen due to his heavy thick beard.  He spoke to me with his mind as if to say that we were already friends.  He was the size of a chipmunk. or smurf.  We began to talk to each other with words and share our stories and ways of life and culture.  He was 200 years young, and the last time he spoke to a "tall one" as he called them was about 30 years ago.  Somehow he chose me.  

I went there many times to see David, and he showed me his hidden garden and some of the Gnome ways, but most importantly he gave me some of his "juju."  He taught me what the juju is and how to use it.  For years and years I caught fish everywhere I went and I had a sixth sense to read the water and know what to do while outside.   

Later I went back to see David after there was a bad storm and I was worried he would be gone.  He was gone when I got there.  I remembered there was a secret way to access his home that was under a big Granite Rock that had trees growing on it.  The place was marked with some turquoise stones that he placed there for me to help find it when I came looking for it, as it was so well hidden.   David was gone, as he told me Gnomes only stay in one place for a season or two...  that is their nature and their culture.  But he left the magic turquoise stones at the doorway as a way to say goodbye to me.  I kept those stones and I incorporated them into the reel seat of this fly rod.   

David too was a fly angler as it was much easier to make a rod out of willow and fly line from his own hair, than to make a conventional fishing rod with monofilament type line.  David taught me many things about nature, and life and mindfulness.  I took what David gave me from his magical enchantment and I incorporated it into this rod.  Davids secret message to access the juju is written on this rod under the shield logo on the rod. 

There is a technical side to the rod too.  

We made the "juju" for a few specific purposes.  

1. for casting in a boat or stillwater and casting sink lines and bigger flies but not be a stiff rod that loses feel and sensitivity. 
2. For Great Lakes Steelhead fishing where having a soft tip for light tippets is needed and a strong butt section is necessary because the streams are generally smaller than traditional steelhead rivers. 
3. The Rod is 2 piece to decrease the chance of failure and also to make the rod smooth to cast.   Ferrules technology has advanced tremendously over the years, but not having 3 or more ferrules simply totally eliminates the risk of a weak area in the rod. 

The juju meets both these criteria very well.  And the added length makes the rod a terrific lever to cast and with oversized guides it shoots line like a dream. 

Medium Fast Action.  10 foot 2 piece 6 weight.  

1 inch fight butt

camo acrylic magically enchanted turquoise flake reel seat with black hardware

peacemaker grip

oversized chrome guides

rod bag and aluminum case about 62" long and 1 5/8 that can be used as a walking staff. 

The juju has a lot of thought into it.  The guides start with an oversized tip top and go right into size 3 single foot chrome guides.  This was done to aide in winter fishing and help with shooting line with less resistance.  The guides end with a size 16 strip guide.  The strip guide is located 32 inches from the butt section, so if you lay a steelhead down next to the rod, the strip guide is an indication of 32 inches long.  The top of the shield is an indicator for 24 inches. These are sort of built in lie detectors.  

The grip is the peacemaker grip which is a great grip size for all hand sizes and also nice if you are wearing gloves.  

There is a small 1 inch fight butt, and an uplock seat so that when the reel is attached you have more clearance for the reel to spin if you have baggy clothes on.   The reel seat material is an enchanted magical acrylic that is guaranteed to attract positive vibes and enhance your "juju."   Inscribed on the rod is the magic saying that is the secret to the juju.  We do not disclose this message on the internet.  

we are starting with a limited release of 10.  

 I just returned from fishing Lake Erie Tribs. The fishing was really tough this weekend. Tons of guys fishing and the water was super clear and skinny. The fish were considerably pressured and really spooky, so the ten footer was a must to be successful. I managed to land 19 on the new 10’ 6 wt coherence and the rod performed flawlessly. It has absolutely no trouble casting little flies with zero weight. I used a modified 7 1/2 ft George Harvey slack leader with  5x tippet. The fish were caught on flies from 12 down to a 16 and the rod turned them over beautifully.  I did throw a few streamers to see how it handled the bigger stuff and it was a dream to cast. Hardly any effort required to get this rod to do what I wanted. I built a sighter into the leader, so I used the rod Euro style in the swift water and used a suspension rig when fishing slower runs. The rod is super sensitive and light, but at no point when fighting a fish did I feel like the rod couldn’t handle the situation and the fish was able to be controlled and maneuvered around rocks, logs and sticks. When I asked Jordan about building this rod, he said he had a  vision for a rod that could be the perfect Great Lakes trib rod, and I honestly think he did it with the “juju.” Thanks, brother! I know you guys have seen a lot of grip and grins over the years, but I wanted to share one just so you could really see how clear and shallow the water was and how appropriate and versatile this rod truly is.  Ken