Today I received my dream rod, a new, unfished Dickerson 8014. It's actually a miracle rod, when you come to hear the story. As many of you know, the
outstanding Michigan rodmaker, John Pickard, recently took ownership of the Dickerson rod shop from Jim Schaaf. During the process of inventorying everything
that was part of the purchase, he made several interesting finds, including a not-quite finished out 8014. It was signed by the Master himself with an obvious
aging hand. As he had acquired all of Dickerson's materials, he finished out the rod as Lyle would have done, using all the original materials. This rod
had three tips, one a bit lighter than the others, but all magnificently crafted by Lyle himself. John finished out the varnish just as Dickerson would have
done, light to the touch so that the threads appear three-dimensional, not swathed in varnish. For those of you who own, have seen, or have cast one of
John's rods (I have one of his model 7625, a Dickerson 7613-type taper), you know the quality of his workmanship and his reverence for Dickerson's body
of work. Many of you also know that John is presently offering Dickerson reproduction rods using pre-embargo cane (and he has all of that Dickerson hardware).
I was the fortunate one to be in the right place at the right time to get almost certainly the last expression of the original Master's art. Having John
finish it out is all the better as it represents a true nexus of past and future in bamboo fly rods. Today I placed the 8014 in my rod display case next to my
1937 Dickerson 801510-D, two rods separated in time by over half a century, yet intimately and inextricably connected. Attached are some photos I took this
evening. Under better light, I'll add some more soon.
