MODELS IN DEVELOPMENT
November 2024
I have not had the energy that I used to have for rod shop work, but the last season has found me working on a series of prototypes for two hand salmon / steelhead rods that were cast and even fished this past season. I call the action 'Scottish' in acknowledgement that it has been developed in conjunction with Topher Browne, renowned salmon angler and author of Atlantic Salmon Magic. The two hand rods I have built in the past are progressive in action, while these rods are more semi-parabolic with flatter tapers in the butt and stronger tips. It has been a lot of work, and I am very happy with the resulting rods. The rods I am currently working on are 12' 10" long in three piece, spliced-joint configuration. One model casts a 600 grain head / line, while a second handles 523 grains. I am so excited about how these rods turned out that I am also planning to build shorter rods at about 11½ feet for much lighter lines and I will likely build these as ferruled rods rather than with spliced-joints.
I have played with different types of dimensions of grips, also varying the length of the lower hand grip. The top rod with its ventilated grip allows the caster to feel the rod loading all the way into the handles. I position the reel-seat so with a Hardy 3¾" wide spool Perfect mounted one can hold the rod on the grip and find the balance to let the fly swing without working to hold the rod tip up.
Here is Topher test casting one of the prototypes on the Deerfield River this fall:
Large, lightly flamed culms ready to head into the shop for splitting, node pressing, milling and other processes to produce two hand rods.
~A note about further experiences fishing the 964-2 and 965-2 ‘wet-fly / dry fly’ rods (TRS). My wife Jean and I have both fished these long trout rods quite a bit in the last couple of years and feel they are the most efficient rods we have used for simply hooking and catching fish. At 9½ feet the extra length makes line control and high back-casts easy even when presenting flies at distance. The only real drawback is that their length combined with rather extreme tip action makes it more of a challenge to net a fish by oneself. A very long handled net is useful in avoiding over-stressing the relatively soft tip and even better is getting a buddy to net better fish. The action, based on the old E.C. Powell Truckee River Special does take some getting used to, but when we make the adjustment in casting the rewards can be great.
October 2020
John Shaner of Hardy North America has been responsible for a growing interest in the tradition of the "North Country Fly" or fishing with "Spiders." I've very much enjoyed tying and fishing flies along that style, sometimes in this country called "soft hackles." A couple years ago John introduced me to Rob Smith, one of the current authorities on this style of fly and author of "The North Country Fly / Yorkshire's Soft Hackle Tradition." Rob asked me if I could build a 10 foot bamboo rod for #4 or 5 line as he felt it would be perfect for that fishing, requiring a long rod for great line control of relatively shorter casts. My initial response was that I could, but it would be painfully slow and cumbersome. He had planted a seed with the question, however, and I am not one to shy away from this kind of design challenge.
Many years ago, when I was still living and building rods in California, Jim Adams came by the "Split-Cane Co-op" shop that I shared with Mario Wojnicki, carrying an armload of wonderful condition and unusual E.C. Powell rods. He knew of my interest in Powell rods and it was a treat for me to see so many in such great shape and have the chance to cast some unusual models. One of these was the "Truckee River Special" which at 9½ feet cast a #5 line. It was designed by Mr. Powell to make short casts to pocket water such as on the San Francisco Fly Casters water of the Truckee River and had a quite radical tip action. Mario and I both cast the rod and neither one of us liked it; the extreme tip action was fine for short casts up to about 25-30 feet, but once the strong butt got involved in longer casts it had too much tip vibration. However, in traditional "Spider" fishing, most casts are quite short and often up and across, requiring a long rod to control the line and fly drift. The thought occurred to me that maybe a design based in Powell's "Truckee River Special" would work well for what Rob was asking me. With that in mind, I also re-designed the last foot of the tip taper to be steeper than Powell's and combined this with a finer tip as well.
I built two rods initially, one with a #15 ferrule and one with a #14 ferrule, both at 9½ feet, the same as the Powell "TRS". The last foot of the tip has quite a fast taper, while from that point back to the grip I employed one of the E.C. Powell mathematical progressions. Another difference between my new designs and the original Powell is the hollow-building which on my rods is progressive and goes much further up the tip than what Powell employed. When I first cast the resulting rods, I was amazed at how good they were. They were not limited to just shorter casts, and especially the #15 ferrule 5 weight rod is a generally useful rod for most trout fishing. The #14 ferrule 4 weight rod is a bit more demanding of the caster with its very delicate tip, but surprising me with being so much better and more practical for general trout fishing than I had expected. Both designs have tips that come into action easily and combine these relatively delicate tips with butts that get progressively stronger coming into the grip. They are not only great rods for the soft hackles initially considered, but also great dry fly and nymph rods. The extra length gives much more line control and easier reach for close to moderate distances. They are for me ideal for most trout fishing, but I would not recommend them in situations requiring very long casts; in that case I still prefer a rod with a stronger tip like many of my other more traditional designs.
Many years ago, when I was still living and building rods in California, Jim Adams came by the "Split-Cane Co-op" shop that I shared with Mario Wojnicki, carrying an armload of wonderful condition and unusual E.C. Powell rods. He knew of my interest in Powell rods and it was a treat for me to see so many in such great shape and have the chance to cast some unusual models. One of these was the "Truckee River Special" which at 9½ feet cast a #5 line. It was designed by Mr. Powell to make short casts to pocket water such as on the San Francisco Fly Casters water of the Truckee River and had a quite radical tip action. Mario and I both cast the rod and neither one of us liked it; the extreme tip action was fine for short casts up to about 25-30 feet, but once the strong butt got involved in longer casts it had too much tip vibration. However, in traditional "Spider" fishing, most casts are quite short and often up and across, requiring a long rod to control the line and fly drift. The thought occurred to me that maybe a design based in Powell's "Truckee River Special" would work well for what Rob was asking me. With that in mind, I also re-designed the last foot of the tip taper to be steeper than Powell's and combined this with a finer tip as well.
I built two rods initially, one with a #15 ferrule and one with a #14 ferrule, both at 9½ feet, the same as the Powell "TRS". The last foot of the tip has quite a fast taper, while from that point back to the grip I employed one of the E.C. Powell mathematical progressions. Another difference between my new designs and the original Powell is the hollow-building which on my rods is progressive and goes much further up the tip than what Powell employed. When I first cast the resulting rods, I was amazed at how good they were. They were not limited to just shorter casts, and especially the #15 ferrule 5 weight rod is a generally useful rod for most trout fishing. The #14 ferrule 4 weight rod is a bit more demanding of the caster with its very delicate tip, but surprising me with being so much better and more practical for general trout fishing than I had expected. Both designs have tips that come into action easily and combine these relatively delicate tips with butts that get progressively stronger coming into the grip. They are not only great rods for the soft hackles initially considered, but also great dry fly and nymph rods. The extra length gives much more line control and easier reach for close to moderate distances. They are for me ideal for most trout fishing, but I would not recommend them in situations requiring very long casts; in that case I still prefer a rod with a stronger tip like many of my other more traditional designs.
Having cast these first prototypes on the lawn, I was anxious to test them on the water. Jean and I took a trip west for a few weeks in September, fishing mostly Wyoming and Montana. Jean used the #5 line rod the whole time and did very well with it casting everything from Grasshoppers to #20 Renegades and Pheasant Tail Nymphs. I chose to fish the #4 line rod for the whole trip with the exception of one afternoon. These new rods are redefining the way I approach rods for trout fishing. I simply find them to be more efficient tools for most of the trout fishing I do. The line control, high back casts, delicate tips and the lifting power of the butts combine to make a very practical trout rod. The only real drawback I found fishing the #4 line rod was on windy days like one often has in Montana, it was more challenging to place the fly accurately compared to some of my other models. At the same time, the delicate tip action presents the fly so softly and beautifully that it makes other rods feel clunky.
The aesthetics of these rods are very much inspired by the original Powells in having golden brown color preserved wraps and I used one of the Powell wrap patterns I particularly like between the grip and stripping guide. I also leave the varnish glossy as this works best with the wrap treatment. I am so taken with these designs that I have already designed and split bamboo for a 9 ft. #2 line rod and a 9'3" #3 line rod based on these same principles. Even a #16 ferrule salmon rod may soon be in the works...
The aesthetics of these rods are very much inspired by the original Powells in having golden brown color preserved wraps and I used one of the Powell wrap patterns I particularly like between the grip and stripping guide. I also leave the varnish glossy as this works best with the wrap treatment. I am so taken with these designs that I have already designed and split bamboo for a 9 ft. #2 line rod and a 9'3" #3 line rod based on these same principles. Even a #16 ferrule salmon rod may soon be in the works...
September 2017
I now have a set taper and design for the 'G.M.S. Special' as outlined in my November 2016 post below. It took a number of prototypes to get the tip / butt balance to our satisfaction as well as a grip / reel-seat configuration that worked well and suited the rod. As you can see from the photo below, the grip and reel-seat are evolved from the old Paul Young 'ventilated grip'. I should be able to post at least one of this special model rod for sale some time this coming winter.
I now have a set taper and design for the 'G.M.S. Special' as outlined in my November 2016 post below. It took a number of prototypes to get the tip / butt balance to our satisfaction as well as a grip / reel-seat configuration that worked well and suited the rod. As you can see from the photo below, the grip and reel-seat are evolved from the old Paul Young 'ventilated grip'. I should be able to post at least one of this special model rod for sale some time this coming winter.
November 2016
One of the more interesting and challenging rod design projects I have been involved in had its genesis in a request from my friend, expert angler and artist Galen Mercer. Galen loves to stalk large individual fish with very light tackle; about a year ago he asked me if I could build him a #2 line rod, preferably in the eight foot range. I told him I thought I probably could, but that it was outside of the parameters I had so far developed rods for. After about a year of prototype work, I now have a design that works very well at 8 feet with a light action for #2 line. I have put some prototypes into Galen's hands and joined him in casting them to determine where we want to be. These are hexagonal, semi-hollow rods with micro ferrules and super-fine tips weighing right around 2 oz. I'm still hoping we will have time to test the prototypes on rising fish before the serious snow flies this winter, as it would be good to hook and land some good fish on this light tackle. I expect to make a small run of this model rod in the coming year, of course planning to keep one for myself.
March 2014
I am making progress on the projects already described in the January 2013 post; the staggered ferrule rods and the 8'3" 3 pc. #5 line quad. I brought both prototypes with me to Kathy Scott's 'Superboo' in Maine this February which was my first opportunity to cast them as we have had a very cold winter this year. Both prototypes are good, but not quite where I want them. The staggered ferrule rod is an 824-2 df 'Special' (8'2" 2 piece) and I felt the tips are a bit stronger than I want for the sweeter feel in close. I will be building the tweaked taper of this rod in the coming months. The 835-3 df HB prototype is a very good rod, but a bit stronger than I want, just a bit too fast. I have now built ferruled blanks for that model and they deflect right where I want, so I look forward to casting this rod when it is finished. The weather is starting to break, so casting will soon be available locally without making a trip to a gym in Maine!
I am also now building a run of seven foot #3 line 2 piece solid rods, the 703-2 df; this is a model I haven't built in many years. My original version of this model from the 1980's and 90's I felt was always more of a #3-4 line rod, so just a touch stronger than I want for the easy loading action I prefer for small stream fishing. Some of my favorite fishing in the past few years has been finding high country, very small streams in the mountains of Montana that very seldom if ever see a fly. For this fishing I really want a rod which loads easily with a very short line as the casts are often from 15-30 ft. Fishing one of my favorite meadow stretches last year I used a couple of different rods, but my favorite was my 7' #3 line rod from Tom Morgan (bamboo). That is now my benchmark for the latest version of my own 703. I now have prototype blanks ferruled up and they deflect right where they should and I am thinking I will have a rod as good as Tom's rod (or maybe even better?). I will be testing this new version on the upper Willowemoc in New York's Catskills this spring and then again in Montana in August. For this same fishing, I also look forward to finishing a Tom Morgan designed glass rod at 7'3" for a #3 line. With Tom's design work, I have really been appreciating the special qualities of fiberglass and it also brings me back to my early years when I loved my first Fenwick glass rod in the 1960's.
January 2013
My design project for the coming year will be to develop staggered ferrule trout rods based on the idea behind my 'Tournament Trout Fly' rod. The 'TTF' rod is 8'6" for a DT 6 line, while these trout rods will be generally shorter, from 7'9" to 8'3" for #3 and 4 lines.
I will also be making a rod that I haven't tried to make in over 25 years, an 8'3" 3 piece quad for #5 line. When I first started making bamboo rods in the 1980's, I was friends with the guys at Winston and they would come for dinner at my house in Pleasantville, NY every year before the outdoors show in Suffern, NY. It was Tom Morgan, Glenn Brackett and Jerry Siem and Jerry put forth a challenge for me to make a rod he thought would be a very good length / line combination. His suggestion was for a rod 8'3" long in three pieces for a #5 line. I accepted the challenge and made a number, 4 I believe, of rods to meet those specifications. They were really nice rods, but they were honestly better with a #6 line than with a 5. That was before I started hollow-building and of course the new rods will be my semi-hollow quad design I've used for many years now. It took me a while to get back to it, but I am splitting the bamboo for the rods now.
January 2012
After a very inspiring trip cross country this summer, I will this coming winter be developing a new series of rod models which will be dubbed 'Tournament Grade'; these will be the lightest feeling, fastest rods I have ever built. They are the result of insights gained from years of hollow-building and taper development and new component configurations. You will be amazed at how the tips stop on these new rods. I will have some early versions available to cast at the Somerset Show in January and finished models ready by the time of the gathering on the Henry's Fork in June. I look forward to putting one of these rods in your hand.
As part of this process of taper development I will be building a series of one-piece semi-hollow rods, including an 8½ foot rod for #4 line and likely an 8 ft. and 8'3" rod for #3 line. There was a time when an 8 ft. rod for #4 line was the holy grail for me, this back in the 1970's and 80's when I was first studying bamboo. It is exciting for me to now have far surpassed what I felt was possible so long ago. These new insights in the last year are now making possible even longer rods for lighter lines with exceptional performance.
About five or six years ago I was given a batch of Japanese bamboo from Yukihiro Yoshida, who not only builds rods, but also manages a grove of bamboo from which he gleans the raw material for his rods. Some of you will know Mr. Yoshida from the Somerset Fly Fishing Show in New Jersey where he has made an appearance for many years now. This winter I will be splitting this bamboo for the first time; it will be used on an experimental basis to make some light line rods from this unusual material. From my initial inspection, it looks to me as though the Japanese bamboo has a much thinner layer of power fiber than does Tonkin or Tsinglee Chinese bamboo. This thin layer of fiber, however, looks under magnification to be very tightly packed. I look forward to trying it with both shorter solid rods as well as longer light line semi-hollow rods. I also have another piece of Japaese bamboo which is waiting for me in California. It came through Mr. Akimaru, another Japanese rod maker of some renown and whose work I admired at last years' gathering on the Henry's Fork. It has a very clean look to it and has been treated according to traditional Japanese methods to add resiliency. If I am diligent I will also have a rod made from this material by next June on the Henry's Fork.
One of the more interesting and challenging rod design projects I have been involved in had its genesis in a request from my friend, expert angler and artist Galen Mercer. Galen loves to stalk large individual fish with very light tackle; about a year ago he asked me if I could build him a #2 line rod, preferably in the eight foot range. I told him I thought I probably could, but that it was outside of the parameters I had so far developed rods for. After about a year of prototype work, I now have a design that works very well at 8 feet with a light action for #2 line. I have put some prototypes into Galen's hands and joined him in casting them to determine where we want to be. These are hexagonal, semi-hollow rods with micro ferrules and super-fine tips weighing right around 2 oz. I'm still hoping we will have time to test the prototypes on rising fish before the serious snow flies this winter, as it would be good to hook and land some good fish on this light tackle. I expect to make a small run of this model rod in the coming year, of course planning to keep one for myself.
March 2014
I am making progress on the projects already described in the January 2013 post; the staggered ferrule rods and the 8'3" 3 pc. #5 line quad. I brought both prototypes with me to Kathy Scott's 'Superboo' in Maine this February which was my first opportunity to cast them as we have had a very cold winter this year. Both prototypes are good, but not quite where I want them. The staggered ferrule rod is an 824-2 df 'Special' (8'2" 2 piece) and I felt the tips are a bit stronger than I want for the sweeter feel in close. I will be building the tweaked taper of this rod in the coming months. The 835-3 df HB prototype is a very good rod, but a bit stronger than I want, just a bit too fast. I have now built ferruled blanks for that model and they deflect right where I want, so I look forward to casting this rod when it is finished. The weather is starting to break, so casting will soon be available locally without making a trip to a gym in Maine!
I am also now building a run of seven foot #3 line 2 piece solid rods, the 703-2 df; this is a model I haven't built in many years. My original version of this model from the 1980's and 90's I felt was always more of a #3-4 line rod, so just a touch stronger than I want for the easy loading action I prefer for small stream fishing. Some of my favorite fishing in the past few years has been finding high country, very small streams in the mountains of Montana that very seldom if ever see a fly. For this fishing I really want a rod which loads easily with a very short line as the casts are often from 15-30 ft. Fishing one of my favorite meadow stretches last year I used a couple of different rods, but my favorite was my 7' #3 line rod from Tom Morgan (bamboo). That is now my benchmark for the latest version of my own 703. I now have prototype blanks ferruled up and they deflect right where they should and I am thinking I will have a rod as good as Tom's rod (or maybe even better?). I will be testing this new version on the upper Willowemoc in New York's Catskills this spring and then again in Montana in August. For this same fishing, I also look forward to finishing a Tom Morgan designed glass rod at 7'3" for a #3 line. With Tom's design work, I have really been appreciating the special qualities of fiberglass and it also brings me back to my early years when I loved my first Fenwick glass rod in the 1960's.
January 2013
My design project for the coming year will be to develop staggered ferrule trout rods based on the idea behind my 'Tournament Trout Fly' rod. The 'TTF' rod is 8'6" for a DT 6 line, while these trout rods will be generally shorter, from 7'9" to 8'3" for #3 and 4 lines.
I will also be making a rod that I haven't tried to make in over 25 years, an 8'3" 3 piece quad for #5 line. When I first started making bamboo rods in the 1980's, I was friends with the guys at Winston and they would come for dinner at my house in Pleasantville, NY every year before the outdoors show in Suffern, NY. It was Tom Morgan, Glenn Brackett and Jerry Siem and Jerry put forth a challenge for me to make a rod he thought would be a very good length / line combination. His suggestion was for a rod 8'3" long in three pieces for a #5 line. I accepted the challenge and made a number, 4 I believe, of rods to meet those specifications. They were really nice rods, but they were honestly better with a #6 line than with a 5. That was before I started hollow-building and of course the new rods will be my semi-hollow quad design I've used for many years now. It took me a while to get back to it, but I am splitting the bamboo for the rods now.
January 2012
After a very inspiring trip cross country this summer, I will this coming winter be developing a new series of rod models which will be dubbed 'Tournament Grade'; these will be the lightest feeling, fastest rods I have ever built. They are the result of insights gained from years of hollow-building and taper development and new component configurations. You will be amazed at how the tips stop on these new rods. I will have some early versions available to cast at the Somerset Show in January and finished models ready by the time of the gathering on the Henry's Fork in June. I look forward to putting one of these rods in your hand.
As part of this process of taper development I will be building a series of one-piece semi-hollow rods, including an 8½ foot rod for #4 line and likely an 8 ft. and 8'3" rod for #3 line. There was a time when an 8 ft. rod for #4 line was the holy grail for me, this back in the 1970's and 80's when I was first studying bamboo. It is exciting for me to now have far surpassed what I felt was possible so long ago. These new insights in the last year are now making possible even longer rods for lighter lines with exceptional performance.
About five or six years ago I was given a batch of Japanese bamboo from Yukihiro Yoshida, who not only builds rods, but also manages a grove of bamboo from which he gleans the raw material for his rods. Some of you will know Mr. Yoshida from the Somerset Fly Fishing Show in New Jersey where he has made an appearance for many years now. This winter I will be splitting this bamboo for the first time; it will be used on an experimental basis to make some light line rods from this unusual material. From my initial inspection, it looks to me as though the Japanese bamboo has a much thinner layer of power fiber than does Tonkin or Tsinglee Chinese bamboo. This thin layer of fiber, however, looks under magnification to be very tightly packed. I look forward to trying it with both shorter solid rods as well as longer light line semi-hollow rods. I also have another piece of Japaese bamboo which is waiting for me in California. It came through Mr. Akimaru, another Japanese rod maker of some renown and whose work I admired at last years' gathering on the Henry's Fork. It has a very clean look to it and has been treated according to traditional Japanese methods to add resiliency. If I am diligent I will also have a rod made from this material by next June on the Henry's Fork.
