I haven’t posted for quite a while so I wanted to provide an update. I’m in the process of re-designing and updating my WEB site. I’m pretty excited about some new additions. This past several months, I’ve been working on a new Fast Action Series of bamboo fly rods that will be available very soon. These rods are great for anyone looking for a faster action rod that throws large flies well in windy conditions, or, just looking for something with a very nice fast action. Also, I will now be offering custom Bamboo Wading Staffs that I’ve been building. These are one-piece wading staffs built from the same select Tonkin bamboo that I use for my fly rods. Stay tuned in the weeks ahead for my updates.
Fishing my local creek in October
I made it out to my favorite local small creek this past week with my good friend, Joe. I fished my 6′ 8″ 3 wt bamboo and Joe took out his 7′ 0″ 4 wt bamboo that he built in my workshop. This creek runs right below my house and gets almost no fishing pressure, so we had the water to ourselves for the afternoon. This is some of my favorite kind of fly fishing…getting out on very small local waters with light bamboo fly rods. We found several willing native rainbows in the 6″ t 11″ range ready to take assorted nymphs and dry flies.
My favorite small rod with a classic Pflueger 1492 reel.
Joe fighting a nice little rainbow
A nice fish landed!!!
We each caught several of these colorful native rainbows.
Olivia Elia – Guitar Builder Profile.
Our dear friend, Olivia Elia, is not only a fantastic bamboo fly rod builder, she is also an accomplished Luthier, working at Preston Thompson Guitars here in Sisters, Oregon. She was just profiled as an “up-and-coming” young guitar builder in Acoustic Guitar Magazine. They even chose to highlight her on the cover of the most recent issue. We’re so proud of what Olivia has accomplished, both in her bamboo rod building and her guitar building. Check her out in the November/December 2022 Issue of the magazine.
Olivia Elia – Profile of a Guitar Builder.
Fishing, Fishing, Fishing!!!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on my Blog…been fishing a lot this summer. Mary Ann and I spent 6 weeks fishing in Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. In Oregon we fished the Owyhee River, in Idaho we fished the Salmon River, Marsh Creek, and Bear Valley Creek, In Wyoming we fished the New Fork River, Savery Creek, North Platte River, and Encampment River. In Colorado we fished the Frying Pan River, Yampa River, Service Creek, and the Poudre River. And, we used a variety of bamboo rods along the whole trip. Here are a few random photos from our “summer vacation”.
The Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, Idaho.
The Salmon River
A beautiful Salmon River Cutthroat.
Marsh Creek, Idaho
A Marsh Creek Cutthroat
The New Fork River, Wyoming with our great guide, Ryan Hudson.
A beautiful New Fork Rainbow
Mary Ann fighting a Savery Creek Rainbow.
Cicadas were the bug-of-choice at Savery Creek
A Savery Creek Rainbow
A Frying Pan River rainbow that took a PMD Comparadun.
The Yampa River in Colorado
A beautiful brown that came to the surface for a dry.
A Yampa River Cutbow
Euronymphing on the Poudre River in Colorado
Service Creek, Colorado
A nice Service Creek Brookie
A new custom rod I just finished
I just finished a new rod for a customer who was looking for a fast action rod that he could travel with. We decided on a 7′ 3″ 3 piece 4 wt rod. I don’t normally build fast action rods, but I modeled one of my other rods to meet his interests. He chose an English walnut reel seat with engraved hardware, and Royal Hunt primary silk thread wraps on the guides. We were both extremely happy with how it came out…a great fast action rod for small streams. Here are a couple of photos.
A great fast action rod with English walnut reel seat and Royal Hunt wraps.
A beautiful 7′ 3″ 4 wt rod.