OK, the the serious snowstorm that was centered in the Northwest has finally passed beyond Oregon. We have 19 1/2 inches of snow here at the house. Fortunately, my morning commute to my workshop is only about 120 feet, and I have a great heating system in the workshop.
My latest rod is now complete, and it will be heading out to Iowa today. A wonderful progressive action 8′ 0″ 4 wt hollow-built rod that will be a great match to Iowa spring creeks. Here is a look at the rod before it heads out my door.
A nice 8′ 0″ 4 wt hollow built Signature Series rod.
Just finished the guide wraps on a new 8′ 0″ 4 wt Hollow Built Signature Series Fly Rod. The next step is to apply several brush-on coats of varnish to the wraps, and then it’s on to the dip tank to varnish the complete rod. This rod will be going to Willa, a good friend in Iowa, when it gets completed. She has big plans to fish this rod on several Iowa spring creeks….it should be a great match for those waters.
Guide wraps ready for varnishing.
I just put the finishing touches on a batch of beautiful figured English Walnut reel seats for my bamboo fly rods. You never quite know how they will look from the starting blocks of walnut when you turn them down on the lathe and then apply the finish. Here is the “before” and “after” look.
Figured English Walnut Blanks Ready to be Turned on the Lathe
And the finished product
Mary Ann and I took advantage of the great weather this week and hit the Crooked River yesterday for some November Fly Fishing…yep, here in central Oregon we get to fly fish year around! She took out her 8′ 0″ 5 wt Spring Creek Series rod and I choose a 7′ 6″ 5 wt Freestone Series rod for the day. The white fish are spawning in the river now so small orange egg patterns were the go-to fly for the day. We caught an equal ratio of whitefish to rainbows, and lost track of how many fish came to the net. Here are a couple of photos of our day.
A couple of anglers happy to get on the river with our bamboo fly rods.
Fish On! A 14 inch rainbow.
A nice 12 inch rainbow that came to my net.