"Steve Cain" wrote in message
...
My wife went to a school book fair and found "A Good Day's Fishing" by
James Prosek. A children's book, he goes through his tackle box
looking for what he needs for a good day's fishing and in the process,
he examines his lures and what they're good for. My son was rapt, and
now that's "Daddy's new favorite book" (the old one being "Goodnight
Moon"). We got out my tackle box and looked at the spinners and
plastics and plugs, and it was a grand time.

To keep it going, I gave him my first fishing rod, an ancient Zebco
404. He was extremely excited, and insisted on bringing it to bed with
him. I wouldn't let him put it in the bed, so I tucked it in the
corner so he could see it from his bed. This morning, as I was
dressing him, he pointed at it and said, "That's my fishing pole,
Daddy." It felt good.

Like all fishing poles given to little boys, the original owner (I
know the guy intimately and I know he was hard on gear) gave it quite
a collections of nicks and scrapes. The windings are pretty beat, the
guides a bit bent and the reel rough. I want to clean it up. I can fix
the reel, certainly. A few new bearings and a good dose of CLP and
we'll be on the way. The fiberglass is another issue. Do you guys have
any recommendations for good books on repair of rods? I tried the roff
archives and found Dale Clemens "Fiberglass Rod Making," but it is
long-since out of print and $40 on Amazon. Any other suggestions for
instructions?

You can get information at www.rodbuildingforum.com
When he gets a little older hopefully still entranced by the process then a
rod blank
cork handle reel fitting and card of rings makes a very acceptable present.
If you were in the UK my old pal Steve Parton would set you right for
the ideal kit and I bet there are plenty of guys with his love of fishing
your side of the sal****er with the same passion for rod building.
DerekW