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Custom Fly Fishing Rods by Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker

How To Choose A Rod Maker

5/29/2012

With so many choices out there, I'm honored each time someone picks me to make their fly rod. I know you have many large tackle manufactuerers & other independent rod makers out there to choose from. I recommend all anglers own at least one rod made by an individual rod maker, even if you choose another rod maker besides me. I'm not so naieve as to not recognize that there are other excellant, trustworthy folks out there making rods like I do. But with so many folks out there calling themselves rod makers, how do you decide which one to do business with? Rarely do I opine here on The Pliant Rod, but I make acception here to offer you my opinions & advice when choosing a rod maker. Here are some things to consider when searching for a rod maker to make your custom rod:

Obviously, you should look for a rod maker with a good reputation. Bear in mind though that reputaion isn't everything. The rod maker you're considering might not have a reputation at all, - especially if they're up & comming. That's okay. You might find that you can get a great rod at a much lower price from a maker who's trying to establish themselves. Also keep in mind that in today's world of the internet & annonimity on the web, one bad apple might say something negative about a rod maker they never would have said in person. Don't let one bad report spoil you on any business.

I think you're going to enjoy the process of buying a rod from a rod maker if you find one you connect with. So interact with the different rod makers whose work you're interested in. These days this is mostly done by email or over the phone. Contact them & ask questions - even questions you think are dumb. You deserve answers to any questions you have. If you're considering having this individual make a rod for you, then you should feel comfortable contacting them. Keep in mind that if you're buying a rod from someone, you're not bothering them by asking questions from time to time.

It's your money & you deserve good customer service. That means in addition to answering all your questions, the rod maker should never pressure you into buying, never ignore your requsts, & keep you updated about the progress of your rod as it's being made. Wait times are something you'll have to content with when having a rod made for you. Some rod makers have longer wait times than others. Many times this is because some makers sit around waiting for orders to pile up so they can fill them all at once & make rods by the batch. For some makers, their work is in high demand & they can truly be back-ordered by a year or two. No matter what the situation, the rod maker should inform you of how long you'll have to wait & keep you updated as the time goes by.

I would suggest, no matter how "big" a name someone has, that you never buy a rod from someone who acts like they're doing you a favor by making a rod for you. No one is that good. Treating clients anyway less than fair is unprofessional, regardless of how long they claim to have been making rods. In addition, immediately dismiss any rod maker who implies that you don't know anything. It's your rod. You'll be the one fishing with it, not them. Remember that old saying, "the customer is always right"? A good maker will want to offer suggestions to you & will tell you if they think you might be making a mistake with your choices, but in the end they will always leave it up to you & give you what you want.

So look for a rod maker who is kind, friendly, & helpful. Look for someone who's going to treat you like a friend & not just a paycheck. You not only want to happy with the rod you're buying, but also with the process of having it made for you. If you find one of the many rod makers who strive to treat their clients honestly & fairly, you'll more than likely have also made a friend.

Memorial Day: Remember Our Fallen...

5/26/2012

As we enjoy the long weekend with picnics, family, friends, & fishing let us not forget the reason for the holiday. Please take a moment to remember those who gave their lives defending our great nation. Please also say a prayer for their families & loved ones who have also suffered the loss.

On Monday, when the holiday will be observed, join in the National Moment of Remembrance by pausing for a moment wherever you are & with whoever you're with at 3:00 pm local time. This is the very least we can do.

To learn more about the National Moment of Remembrance, please click HERE.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

Boy Scouts of America Fly Fishing Merit Badge

5/23/2012

Back in 2002, the Boy Scouts of America established a fly fishing merit badge. If you're looking for a way to give back to your community by being a mentor, this is a great way to do that. Believe it or not, all those days you spend fishing could help a young boy earn a merit badge!!

Through Trout Unlimited & the Federation of Fly Fishers, the Boy Scouts are working to help develop young, responsible fly anglers. Some of the requirements to earn the merit badge include safety while fishing, knowledge of different knots, fly tackle, flies, matching the hatch, & all the other basics of the sport. Boy Scouts must demonstrate the knowledge & ability to cast both overhead & roll cast accurately.

In addition to all this, scouts must also be knowledgeable about the local fishing laws & regulations. They must also catch at least one fish & then clean & cook the fish (where local regulations allow).

So why not use your knowledge of the sport to become a counselor for this merit badge for your local boy scout troop? If you have the time, I'm sure they'd love to have the help. Plus, you'd be doing your part to pass the knowledge, enjoyment, & traditions of the sport on to another generation......all while spending time on the water. Sound like a win-win situation to me!!

For more info about the fly fishing merit badge requirements, click HERE.

To learn more about how you can get involved please visit HERE.

Fly Fishing Techniques: Line Length & Feet

5/20/2012

Here are a couple of basic tips for improving your casting accuracy when your on the stream.

Let's say your fishing a nice run of water where you know there are at least half a dozen nice trout spaced out along the length of the run. Well, you quietly enter into the water & wade to a spot where you can get your line to drift where the trout are probably at. There are two things you want to keep track of as you fish this run & they are the length of line you have out & where your feet are.

First, find something to aim for like a tree branch or a root protruding from the water. It's much easier to cast to an object like this than it is to hit an open space of water. With each cast, keep letting out more line until your casts are reaching just in front of your target. Once you get the distance figured out, take note of how much line you have extended from the end of the rod. In order to be consistent & reach the same location every time you cast, you'll need to know how much line you have out. As you begin to catch some fish, you can adjust this length of line to hit different parts of the run, especially as the trout move in the drift. I know of some anglers who actually mark their fly line at different lengths with a ink marker. This way, they know when they've let out 20 or 30 feet of line, etc.

The other thing to consider in this situation is where your feet are. If you're fishing a run, you've figured out where the trout are almost exactly, & you know the amount of line you have out, make note of where your feet are. By doing this you'll know that your casts are hitting the same exact spot every time. You can put all of these things together to get really good accuracy consistency from cast to cast as you work your way down through the run. After you quite getting any action in one spot, simply move a few feet down stream. You'll have the length of line & you feet to use as a reference to find the trout.

These techniques work especially well when you're fishing to trout that aren't rising & also when fishing a seam in the water. A "seam" is the part where slower water & faster water meet, usually resulting in a "slick" section of water. Wherever you see a seam in the water, fish it. Trout love to hang out under these, because they provide food & are next to some kind of underwater cover - which slows the water down & creates one half of the seam.

Don't Do This To Your Fly Rod...

5/18/2012

This trout season, I've been lucky enough to spend some time along the streams, meet some nice folks, & talk fly fishing with them. There have been days this year when the weather was so nice, many anglers were on the stream. I've noticed something quite a few of these anglers have been doing - so many that I thought I'd mention it here.

What I've seen is when some anglers string up their rods for a day's fishing & put the fly in the rod's hook keeper, they pull the line waaaay too tight. This creates a bent rod tip. They walk around like this, with their rod tips bent. Please don't do this to your rod. It creates unnecessary stress in the rod tip & will - over time - make a weak spot in your fly rod. Even worse, some anglers leave the rod like that in the car or truck as they drive around. It's just not a good idea to do this.

So, when you're stringing up your fly rod & you put the hook of your fly in your hook keeper, reel all the loose line back onto the reel, but only to the point that the fly line isn't dangling & your rod tip is STRAIGHT.

This is what a rod looks like when the line is pulled too tight against the hook keeper:

That is a big, fat, no-no. Here is what your rigged up rod should look like as you walk along the stream:

You wouldn't put mustard on your pancakes.
You wouldn't lick poison ivy.
You wouldn't clap between movements of a symphony.
You wouldn't ask a lady how old she is.
You wouldn't sit on a porcupine.
You shouldn't bend the tip of your fly rod unnecessarily. It doesn't matter if you spent thousands of dollars or just a few bucks for your rod, don't shorten it's life by keeping the line too tight. Someday, probably at the worst time possible, you'll wish you hadn't.

5ft, 3wt Bamboo Now Available & More Rod Photos To See...

5/8/2012

If you read my annual "state of the rod shop address" at the begining of the year, you know I have a lot of improvements planed for this year. I've been very busy lately & I thank all of the clients & friends who are the reason for my heavy schedule. I've even had a couple of days on the water which were just fantastic. A lot goes on behind the scenes at any full-time rod maker's shop & today I have two pieces of news I want to share with you.

First: I've just listed a new rod on the "Available" page. It's a 5ft, 2/2, 3wt Classical Series bamboo rod. The story behind this rod goes like this: I've been wanting to get into some lighter rod designs for a while now to help out the anglers who like to use ultra-light tackle, - especially in bamboo. While searching out old tapers to modify & doing some experiments, I decided to give this 5 footer a try. Boy am I glad I did. I'm so very happy with this rod taper that I'm adding it to my regular list of "standard" tapers. After making the rod, I couldn't believe how well it could cast a line, so smooth & effortless. It's moderate-fast action responds nicely, especially good for a short rod (it's a natural reaction to cast a shorter rod more quickly. It takes a real knack to cast a slow, short rod). Everyone who has handled & cast this rod agrees that it is a sweet little rod.

The rod comes with an aluminum down locking cap & ring reel seat with a bubinga wood specer, chrome line guides, nickle-silver winding check & ferrules, orange silk wraps with black tipping, & comes in a padded zippered-top rod tube & a matching rod bag. The price is $550 plus shipping. You can read more about it & see more photos of it over on the "Available" page. If you're interested in this rod, or if you have any questions send me an email.

The second bit of news from my shop is about photographs. I try to show as many photos of rods on this site as I can, so you can have a good idea of both what I do & what you're getting. I will continue to add photos here on this site, but will also be adding others to my pages at flickr.com. I'm doing this so I can continue to expand the amount of information & photos while not bogging down this website with too much unnecessary stuff. There are a lot of rod photos I've wanted to show you, but they didn't exactly have a place here. These flicker pages will allow me to do that. There I can get into other fine details by showing photos that focus more on specific rod features, functions, sold rods, available rods, before & after restorations, behind-the-scenes photos, etc. This is something I've been meaning to do for a while now. I'm just getting these flicker pages going now, so be sure to check them often.

I hope you all are having a wonderful & safe trout season. Please contact me anytime to discuss fly fishing or to ask any questions.

Paul H. Young

5/6/2012

Paul Young was a legendary American rod maker. His rods are some of the most sought after by collectors today. It’s common these days for his rods to sell for thousands of dollars. His rods command such high prices because they’re scarce & because they were such well respected fishing & casting tools of high quality.

We’ll pick up the story of Paul Young when he became a professional taxidermist in Detroit in the early 1920’s. It’s enough for this article to say that he grew up a hard working farm boy & outdoorsman, becoming a very skilled hunter & angler. In the early 20’s he worked as a taxidermist for a while in J.P. Eppinger’s taxidermy factory. He was so good that customers would request him specifically. The job at Eppinger’s didn’t work out so Paul & his wife Martha decided to open their own taxidermy operation in their Detroit home. Many of his customers from Eppinger’s followed him to his own business – a testament to how good he was.

In his home / taxidermy shop Paul & Martha had many photos of their fishing trips & catches on display. Many of his customers would ask questions about rods, flies to use, where to get them, etc. Soon Paul opened a tackle shop next door. This gave him access to many different types of fly rods. It wasn’t long before he was designing his own rods. He specifically wanted to lighten rod weights. His main focus was on two piece rods, using a node spacing similar to that of Payne & hand flaming his cane. Mostly, Young wanted his rods to have both delicacy & power. The compound tapers he developed to accomplish this were a true innovation to fly rod design.

By 1927 Martha had issued their first catalog. In it they listed four models of rods ranging from 7 ½ to 9 feet long made to his compound tapers. They proved to be a hit. Anglers across the nation, thanks to the catalogs distribution, were crazy for these new rods. Within two years Young became a major name in the tackle business. Demand for his rods quickly out paced his ability to fill orders from his small shop. The solution for Paul was to contract with Heddon & Wes Jordan at South Bend to build blanks to his precise specifications & tapers. These blanks were then finished at Young’s shop.

Through the 1930’s demand for his rods & his low prices enabled Young to do alright during the Great Depression. For example, he offered a model called “prosperity rod” for about $10. While $10 was no small sum during the depression, this rod was a bargain when you consider the quality of Young’s rods. As demand for Young’s rods continued to grow, so did his catalog. He began to offer lines, leaders, flies, & many other types of tackle. By 1935 he also began selling rods by other makers like Payne, Thomas, & Edwards all selling for $50. He also sold reels by Hardy, Pflueger, & Bristol-Meek.

Perhaps the rods Young is best known for came about after WWII. The midge, Perfectionist, Martha Marie (named after his wife), & Parabolic series were introduced onto the market with great success. In the early 1950’s Bob Summers would begin working in the shop along side Paul’s son Jack who joined his father in the late 30’s. Bob & Jack would carry on together after Paul died in 1960. Summers stayed in the shop until the early 70’s, eventually striking out on his own, as Summers has become one of the few rod makers who could truly be called a master rod maker.

Throughout the years, the Paul H Young Company made all its own reel seats & ferrules. They also sold blanks & hardware for those that wanted to build their own rods at home. So, along with finished rods, they also catered to amateur rod builders.

After WWII all rod sections were glued with a phenolic resin that water couldn’t penetrate. The blanks were dipped in a coating of Bakalite, rather than traditional varnish as well. This is no doubt because of Wes Jordan who invented this process of rod finishing & had been making blanks for Young. It was believed that this process would allow the rods to hold up much better over the years than traditional varnish.

It’s believed that the total production of Paul Young rods is somewhere around 6,000. This makes them somewhat scarce. However, you can still find them on the collectibles market if you’re looking. Overall his rods were of excellent quality that, when combined with there being fewer of them, makes for some high prices today. It’s little wonder why some collectors lust after these rods. Perhaps the most collectible Young rods are those later rods with compound tapers like his parabolic series (Para 15, Para 16, Para 17). All the later Young rods have flame treated cane, serial number, & as well marked in ink. Of course, Bob Summers has carried on the Paul Young influence in his incredible rods as well. Maybe for many anglers wanting a Young rod today, their most economical route would be to employ a competent rod maker. No matter how you get your hands on one, many anglers agree, the rod tapers by Paul Young make some of the best casting & fishing rods you can find.
_______________________________________________________________

The main source for this article is the book “Classic & Antique Fly Fishing Tackle” by A.J. Campbell. Lyons Press. 1997.

the pliant rod:

How To Choose A Rod Maker

Memorial Day: Remember Our Fallen...

In Flanders Fields

Boy Scouts of America Fly Fishing Merit Badge

Fly Fishing Techniques: Line Length & Feet

Don't Do This To Your Fly Rod...

5ft, 3wt Bamboo Now Available & More Rod Photos To See...

Paul H. Young

The Pliant Rod

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