My Process

Crafting the highest quality rod is my prime objective as a rod maker. The distillation of taper design to it's golden mean and generating a visual cadence that is second to none is my mission. A fly rod is for fishing, thus the two requirements for a great fishing rod are cadence in delivery and preciseness. When those factors are aligned the end product is a superior fishing rod. There was a time that I made split cane rods and I literally slept on top of my equipment. Now years later, I am lucky enough to have a facility to make rods, turn hardware, turn cork, and turnkey the entire process. I am a very cautious rod maker in that I only use the best raw materials I can get my hands on. All of the culms I use are very high grade culms with dense power fibers. All rods are made using a spiral node stagger. Every model that I make comes with two numbered mirror tips.

“There is only one theory about angling in which I have perfect confidence,
and this is that the two words, least appropriate to any statement, about it,
are the words ‘always’ and ‘never’.”
~Lord Edward Grey

Taper Design

For the most part, my rods have a faster action than other bamboo rods and generally speaking have much finer tips. The various 2 piece and 3 piece models that I offer adapt to their given set of circumstances very, very well. They continue to adapt. Rods are meant to be fished and their tapers are not based on blasting out as much line as possible , or weighing next to nothing. Instead I base all design on the ability to fish the clock. Curve casts, roll casts, steeple casts, etc… these are simply the manipulations we go through to catch fish. Your ability to fish the clock will be greatly enhanced with a rod that adapts well to its given set of circumstances.

“It is not how abundant nor how considerable our catch be, but rather to the sport
and manner in which our quarry, the noble trout is angled.”
~J.B. Martin

All of my rods are proprietary in that they do not have anyone else's hardware on them. Each one of them is started and completed by my hands only. All of my rods are built with a spiral node stagger and each rod originates from a single culm. I do not purchase wood spacer blanks, I find my own hardwoods and rough cut dozens of them. I have them all stabilized before turning them. Each cork grip is turned for its intended rod and proportioned accordingly. Each of these rods has a point of view both in taper design and fit and finish. These rods are not an amalgam of different parts and pieces fitted together in hopes that they all work as a single thought.

The Details

It is important that I discuss with my customers their casting style and types of fishing that they tend to do before I make them a rod. Everyone has a wrist and arm that is educated differently depending on their casting style and how they fish. Everyone likes different rods for different reasons.

I require a $300 non-refundable deposit, and will give my customers an approximate month of completion of the rod ordered. The remainder of the dollar amount is due upon completion.

Bamboo fly rods are very time consuming to create. They are useful artifacts that represent sometimes hundreds of hours of work but are meant to fish with for a lifetime. Each rod represents a very large window of time. There are no time-saving shortcuts.

“If time was something I could buy, I would purchase chunks of it and go fishing.”
~C.J. Bova