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A few weeks ago, I took my nephews out on the opening day of trout season here in PA. I decided to bring along the first fishing outfit I ever bought which consists of my fiberglass Eagle Claw Trailmaster #M4TMUL-6-1/2 foot fly/spin rod and my Garcia Mitchell 408. Both of these prized possessions hold a special place in my heart with many firsts including my first trout and bass. Both left me for awhile, but now sit proudly in my "fishing" room after I fulfilled my desire to have them together again.

The magical combo required much thought and planning, not to mention quite a few weeks of cutting grass for the much needed cash. The Eagle Claw rod was purchased after making the difficult decision on what rod to buy based on weeks of hearing the virtues of this yellow beauty with its aluminum tube, pack-a-bility and unconditional lifetime warranty, extolled on The Fishin' Hole. Before long, Jerry McKinnis convinced me I had to have a Trailmaster!!! Even though it was also a fly rod, that really never entered into my decision making process. The fact it was a pack rod did pique my interest since I had ideas on how this could benefit me.

The Garcia 408 was the reel I decided belonged on my rod after the salesman told me I needed to cast right and wind left because I was right handed. That logical revelation inspired me to become a left hand cranker for life. Even though I now owned one classy fishing outfit for a kid, I still had to figure out how to catch trout which took me MANY weekends of frustration before a stocked rainbow FINALLY fell victim to a properly drifted red salmon egg.

I used that rod for several years until I accidently lost the tip section on a hike out of the woods after a successful day on a local trout stream. I didn't drive or have a friend with a car at his disposal in those days so when I couldn't get my mother to drop me off, I would hop a bus or hitchhike to the stream all dressed up in my hippers, vest & hat. Because of my method of transportation, I used to stash the aluminum tube in the woods while fishing since even in my bait & lure fishing days, I was inclined to cover a lot of water. Later I had the brilliant idea to leave the tube at home and just carry the sections in the cloth rod bag in my back pocket. That's how I lost the tip.

Despite backtracking over 5 miles in the dark with a flashlight, I never found that tip section. My carelessness basically gave me reason to retire the Trailmaster and I did after that ill fated trip. Losing that section proved to be a blessing in disguise as I later came to realize. About a year or so after that incident, I began fly fishing and my short career as a fly fishing only snob which made me decide to give away all of my spin fishing tackle in the mistaken belief I would never fish any other way. I kept the Eagle Claw, I guess because of the missing tip section or possibly because it could be used in the proper manner, as a fly rod.

After college and my fly-snobbery period, I started getting sentimental about my old spinning tackle. Opportunity presented itself and I manged to trade the guy I gave my spinning reels to; a clarinet for my beloved Mitchell 408 and a 300 I purchased later. Many years of absence and newer fangled quiet reels made me forget how sweet they were with the quiet clicking sound that you hear when you retrieve. Now all I needed was a new tip on the Eagle Claw and I would be back in business!

I contacted Eagle Claw; after all I did have a lifetime unconditional warranty. I explained my dilemma but was informed I would have to pay for a new tip section. When I inquired about my "lifetime warranty", I was told that "Eagle Claw doesn't have lifetime warranties". When I mentioned to them that I could fax a copy of the warranty card I saved all of those years they said, "forget the cash, just send in the rod". A few weeks later my Trailmaster arrived with a new tip section, metal ferrule and all!!

Since the rebirth & reunion, I have trotted that rod & reel combo out on a few occasions in recent years but the quarry has been panfish or suckers, never trout. Using my old outfit brings back wonderful memories of warm days fishing as time stood still, when the smell of a small camp fire and Campbell's Pork & Beans hung in the air and "worm dirt" was packed under my fingernails; glorious days when catching ANY fish was a heart pounding event. So I guess it was only natural that I decided to take my outfit with me trout fishing a few weeks ago, hoping to sneak in a few casts in between the untangling and unsnagging I expected to do with two kids in tow. Well, I got in more than a few casts and did something I haven't done in the 25+ years it's been since I lost that tip on that final trout fishing trip…

…I caught some trout on the Trailmaster!!!

And you know what? It was as exciting for me a few weeks ago as it was when I was a kid catching my first trout on that rod many years ago. Despite the fact I now have other trout memories to compare it to, the experience was still magical!!

So I guess you can go back again, as long as you have the glass, the gear and the memories!

Thanks for letting me share this!