Blog Archives

Custom Fly Fishing Rods by Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker

NEW - Accessories Sets for Fishing Bags & Wallets!!

6/27/2014

There's a new way to get your fishing bags & wallets - I'm now offering them in sets!! This is a great way to get all the accessories you want & save a few dollars, too when you buy them in groups.

Set one consists of a fishing bag (large or small), a leather fly wallet, a mini fly wallet, & a leather leader wallet. You get all four items, in the colors of your choice, for one price. The set with a large bag is only $130, while the set with a small bag is $120 + shipping. This is a savings of $30 from buying these items individually.

Set two includes the wallets. You get a leather fly wallet, a mini fly wallet, & a leather leader wallet all for only $95 + shipping. This set saves you 15% from buying each of these wallets individually.

These items are all made in my shop. We've spent a lot of time designing & testing these accessories to make sure that they're of top quality & functional. In addition to the wallets & bags we also offer soft wool-lined reel cases, rod bags, & rod tubes.

Every accessory offered can be made to your specifications. I often hear from anglers who need a rod tube made to a specific length or a reel case made to fit a certain reel. It's not uncommon for anglers to acquire these & other items without their original tubes or cases & want to protect them. We can make up a tube or case to meet your individual needs. Many of these accessories make for nice gifts for friends or that special angler.

With these new accessories sets, you can now get outfitted for less. For more info about these sets, along with all the different wallets, fishing bags, cases, & other items offered please visit the "Accessories" page. If you have any questions or have a specific need for an accessory, please feel free to contact me.

American Rivers

6/24/2014

I first became aware of the American Rivers organization through the work of artist Lew Wilson. This group of dedicated people work to restore & preserve our rivers & wetlands.

Based in Washington, D.C. & founded in 1973, they have been a big part of helping our waterways. In those 40 years they have removed more than 200 dams; gotten over 12,000 miles of rivers designated "wild & scenic"; & cleaned up about 16.5 million pounds of trash from our rivers. For us anglers, think of them sort as a Trout Unlimited for all American rivers.

Evidently something like 65% of our drinking water in America comes from rivers. But these folks aren't just concerned about that. They also do this work so we all can enjoy the rivers for fishing, hunting, swimming, boating, & other activities.

What I really like about what they do is that they remove old dams. Folks, there are a lot more dams than you probably realize. I'm not talking just about the big concrete monsters. There are many small dams constructed of wood, concrete, stone, & other materials on a lot of small streams & rivers. Many of these are very old & have outlived their usefulness today. In many cases removing these old dams greatly improves the stream, the fishing, canoeing, & other opportunities to enjoy the stream. If you go onto their website (http://www.americanrivers.org) you can see a map of the country showing the dams that have been removed.

Another reason I like the work this group is doing is because they understand that a river is more than just the main channel. They understand that a healthy river needs clean tributaries & wetland, too. So they do the work necessary to improve & preserve the entire river system - not just the popular places of a river.

As far as I can tell the folks at American Rivers are doing the work all of us anglers wish could be done when we see a river in need of help. There are 3.5 million miles of river in the USA & most of them need some kind of help big or small. Needless to say, they could use all the help they can get. To find out more information about them & how you can help, please visit www.americanrivers.org & give them a hand if you can.

Joan Wulff: Legendary Fly Caster & Angler

6/23/2014

I'd like to put a brief spotlight on Joan Wulff today. The reason for this is because I was talking with a young angler who wasn't sure who she is. As I explained more about her, & just how influential she is, it amazed me that she could go unnoticed by some of us these days. So for those of you who aren't very familiar with her accomplishments, let me tell you of a few.

Joan has been casting a fly rod since she was a young lady in school, about 1937. She was also the first female to win the National casting competition. In fact, she was the national champion from 1943 to 1960 in distance casting. At the time she broke a record with her cast of 161 feet. Can you imagine that!!???!!

For a long time she was quite popular at fishing shows, giving casting demonstrations. She married Lee Wulff (another famous angler) & together they started the Wulff School of Fly Fishing where she taught casting. She was also the first female professional angler to get an endorsement deal with the Garcia company in 1959. She has authored columns about fly casting for more than 20 years for Fly Rod & Reel magazine in addition to writing books about fly casting.

Joan was inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2007. Below is a brief video from that induction, giving some more info about Joan's life & work.

Joan Wulff is easily one of the most influential anglers of the 20th century. A hundred years from now anglers will know her name - & they should. Her accomplishments are many, but her dedication & kindness to passing on her knowledge & skill to other anglers is inspiring. It is grace in motion to watch her cast a fly line.

Bronson Flylite Reel Now Available

6/19/2014

For those of you who don't know, Bronson made fly reels from the early 1900's until sometime in the 1970's - if I'm not mistaken (please let me know if I have that wrong). During that time they made a lot reels.

These days, they're big with ultra-light fly anglers & for good reason. They do their job of holding the line, have a decent click drag, & don't weigh very much. This reel weighs only 3.6 ounces. Plus, they have a very distinctive look.

This reel features a brass back, counter weight, & pillars. The spool is decked out in Bronson's gun metal finish. I think it makes the reel look distinguished. While it's not marked by any manufacturer, I'm almost certain it's a Flylite reel from comparing it to know examples - many of which are not marked either.

So if you're looking for a good little reel that can hold a 4 wt line or lower, than please visit the "Available Reels" page to see more photos & to read more about this reel. If you have any questions about it, please contact me.

Oh yeah, & this reel comes in a fitted soft-sided reel case, too. Having been cleaned & lubricated, it's all ready for you to line up & take fishing!!!

Book Review: "The Book of Fly Patterns" by Eric Leiser

6/17/2014

At 367 pages & measuring about 10 1/2" wide by 8 3/4" tall, this is a larger size book. It claims to include the recipes for over 1,000 fly patterns. While I didn't count each pattern listed, I believe this claim because there are a ton of patterns listed in this book. Having an index makes finding specific patterns much easier, too.

The book lists the fly patterns by their style & each gets a section of the book:
I - Surface patterns
II - Subsurface
III - Attractor & Baitfish
IV - Color Plates

In addition there's also a section of the book that deals with fly tying materials, hooks, etc (the listings of dealers might be a bit dated).

Throughout the book historical notes are made for those fly patterns that have any historical significance. There's also some tying directions & descriptions for different aspects of fly styles. In other words, there are general explanations on how to tie wet fly hackle or dry fly wings, for example.

That said, this is NOT a book for the beginner. There aren't enough "how-to's" shown for someone just starting out in fly tying. For the beginner, I would point you in the direction of Eric Leiser's other book, "The Complete Book of Fly Tying".

These days the internet has pretty much all the fly tying patterns & info you'll ever need. But for those of you who enjoy a good, informative book - or don't always have internet access at the tying bench - this is a great book to have. With all those fly recipes listed, you're sure to expand both your knowledge of flies & your offerings to the fish.

New Reel Available

6/13/2014

There's a another, newly-listed reel on the "Available Reels" page. This one is in like-new condition & I don't think it's ever been used more than 2 or 3 times.

It's a nice reel that has a wider spool, so it allows for more line & backing to be put on. This keeps your line from coiling tightly. It's made from aluminum & doesn't weigh much at all, but it's a pretty sturdy reel. The click drag is nice & strong, too. This reel comes clean, lubricated & ready to fish. It even comes with a free reel case!!

If you're interested in this reel, or have any questions about it, please feel free to contact me.

I'm going to be adding another reel or two in the next few days, plus we have plenty of the reel cases in stock that some of you have been asking about, too. In addition to the new mini fly wallets, I'll be offering some special accessories & accessory package deals coming up shortly as well. So please check back here often or get in touch with me for your summer fly fishing needs.

Single Foot Line Guides

6/13/2014

I sometimes get asked by fly anglers which style of line guide is better on a fly rod, single foot or snake-style. It's a decent thing to wonder about, considering that you see both styles on rods. The only thing I can give you is my opinion based on my observations & experiences.

Single foot line guides were developed to reduce the overall weight of the rod. This might be something to consider in extreme cases of very large rods - especially when you're making a large surf rod or a really heavy bait casting rod. For fly rods, I feel that the weight isn't really an issue. Sure, they might be a little lighter because there's only one thread wrap used to secure the guide, but I don't think it's that noticeable where the 'rubber meets the road' along the stream. That small amount of weight reduction probably isn't really going to be noticed if you're using the rod for the usual fishing situations.

Single foot line guides do cost a little more, & thus add to the cost of the rod. They are also a little more tricky to put on a rod. At first you wouldn't think so, but lining up all those guides with only one foot is harder to do than the normal double footed snake-style guides. Plus, it takes a little more practice wrapping the one guide foot - securing it to the blank while wrapping it with thread. In fact, if they are not installed on the rod correctly by the rod maker, they will eventually come off the rod. Great care has to be taken to make sure that the guide foot is secured to the rod properly or there will be trouble in the future.

There are other arguments in favor of single foot guides, too. Some say that because there's only one wrap, this allows the rod to load better allowing you to feel what the rod is doing & maybe even shoot line better. While this might be true, again, I think that this effect is hardly noticeable in actual fishing. Based on my experience of fishing with both types of line guides, I just don't buy many of the arguments for single line guides giving better performance, with maybe one exception........

If you were making a rod solely for the purpose to cast great distances, like a tournament rod, then you might want to think about using single foot guides with ceramic inserts. These are guides that actually keep the line from touching the rod blank, & so reduce friction. Also the ceramic surface is slicker, & would allow the line to shoot better & further reduce friction. However there are rules in tournaments & you'd have to make sure such a rod was legal to use in whatever competition you were having it made for.

There have been many rods made through the years just for distance casting in tournament, but that's all these rods were made for. I don't think there's many of these "specialized" rods that you would want to take fishing because they lack other necessary characteristics that become extremely important when a fish is on the end of your line.

So, in my opinion, if you choose to have single foot guides on your rod that's fine. Unless you're getting a rod that's either very big or very small / light in weight, choose them because you like how they look. To me they can look stunning on a rod - if they fit into the overall aesthetic theme of the rod. For most of us, myself included, I don't think you'll be able to notice that much of a difference in your normal fishing between the two styles of line guides.

The Anticipation of Expectations

6/9/2014

He stood proudly along the banks of the stream. All the many chromed metal accessories that hung from his clean, starched vest shined brightly in the mid-morning sun. His poly-blend waders made from the most modern materials known to science were creased down the middle of his legs. Their logo, prominently displayed in pure white letters, was exposed through the open middle section of his vest, letting everyone know this was a serious angler. Surveying the stream with a firm expression he looked like a cross between a high ranking official in some futuristic military & a one man band. Either way he was prepared, being decked out in every accessory possible from that finest of gentlemen's outfitter catalog.

The rod he held in his hand was the finest money could buy. It was split-bamboo hand crafted just for him to his exacting specifications by an old, wise rod maker from a forgotten, tucked-away part of the country where trout live & it snows a lot in the winter. Fitted with the finest components that could be attained, it was a beautiful casting tool of the highest order. It had taken three years for the rod maker to craft. Even more importantly it made him feel, - no, it made him look - like a master fly angler. One gaze upon him from his fellow anglers would demand respect.

As he tied the fly onto his leader & confidently stepped into the stream he casually asked himself, "How hard can this fishing thing really be"?

The Roll Cast

6/6/2014

I use the roll cast in my fishing all the time - maybe even as much as 90% of the time. Most of my fishing is done on small to medium size streams, too so that could be a big reason why. But no matter where you fish, you're at an extreme handicap if you don't know how to roll cast, or can't do it very well.

The roll cast is going to open up all kinds of fishing for you. It's easier to get into places where a back cast would be impossible & it's going to make you way more accurate in tight quarters. That's good enough, but it's not just for tight quarters either. The roll cast can be the answer to your troubles on windy days, too.

I could go on all day about how it's the most underrated cast but instead, I'll just share this video with you about it. The instructor in this video does an excellent job of showing us the roll cast.

I am not an excellent, world champion fly caster. However, in my three decades or so of waving a fly rod I've found the roll cast to be the most important of them all. So instead of trying to cast a line a half mile, use your feet to get into position & use a roll cast for both accuracy & stealth to catch those fish hiding under the brush, rocks, or other cover. If you haven't tried the roll cast in a while, get out there & practice it some more. You're going to be glad you did the next time your standing along the stream, reading the water.

Flame Treating Bamboo

6/4/2014

Some Anglers really go for the appearance of a bamboo fly rod that's been flame treated. The color of the bamboo can range from a light honey color to a dark brown, depending on how the rod maker treats it. Either way, flame treating typically involves exposing the bamboo to an open flame for a certain period of time which results in the bamboo getting darker in color.

Take a look at the photo below. The bamboo on the left side is natural - that is, it hasn't been cooked or touched with any flame or heat. We refer to this as "blonde" bamboo. The right side of the bamboo piece has been flamed with a torch. (there's also a leaf node in the middle - a natural imperfection which shouldn't be used in the rod)

Now the darker bamboo won't be quite that dark in the final rod, as you need to sand away the outer enamel of the cane, but you get the idea.

Today it's fairly typical for rod makers to give at least some flame treatment to their bamboo &/or to cook it inside an oven, or maybe both. Both of these (cooking & flaming) are done to temper the bamboo. Cooking the bamboo in the oven is a slower process, the flame method is quicker. The oven - usually - doesn't darken the bamboo as much either.

Why do we do this? Well, the theory is it's done to drive out excess moisture from the bamboo, thus making it more resilient & spring-like, giving it more bending strength. I should mention that the verdict is still out on this. There's no real hard science either way about tempering bamboo used in a fly rod & every rod maker does it a little differently, based on their experiences of what has worked for them in the past. There was a time when rod makers didn't put any heat on their bamboo. Those were the days when all rods were blonde rods.

Some time around 1914, the famous & legendary rod maker Eustis (E.W.) Edwards discovered that by exposing the bamboo to an open flame he could both temper & color his bamboo. The darker colored rods quickly caught favor with anglers & soon many rod companies were darkening their bamboo.

Some even took it to extremes, making their bamboo rods very dark - almost a chocolate color. This is accomplished by cooking the bamboo in an oven with some very caustic chemicals. The fumes of the chemicals increases the darkness of the bamboo, but the fumes can be very dangerous & harmful to breathe.

These darker, flamed rods led to new aesthetics. Rods became what some consider to be more elegant, with subtle colors of wraps & blued metal. Blonde rods started to fall out of favor with both anglers & rod makers. It didn't hurt that rod makers found that flaming the bamboo also helped to hide small cosmetic imperfections in the blonde bamboo as well.

Personally I don't like to make my bamboo too dark - & certainly no caustic chemicals for me, thank you very much. I like a light to medium honey colored rod. I think this gives the bamboo enough tempering & it darkens it just enough to allow the color of the rod shafts to harmonize with just about any color of silk thread wrap.

As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of you will want a flamed rod, while some prefer a lighter colored rod. I like them all. Ever since E.W. Edwards first put flame to bamboo it's become a regular "look" in fly rods. Maybe someday blonde rods will become the rage again & the trends will come full circle?

<<Previous

The Pliant Rod

News from the shop of Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker along with industry news, profiles of interesting characters, reviews, history, & whatever else strikes our fancy. Your comments & feedback are welcome. Please email me your thoughts.

These rods are available right now. please Go to the "Available rods" page for more details:

There are currently no available rods for sale. I will be adding more rods here very soon, so please be sure to check back often. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me to inquire about the next rods to be listed & with any other questions you might have.

hand stitched leather accessories

Cases, bags, & other fine heirloom quality leather angling accessories.

NEW!! SEE MORE ROD PHOTOS!!!

Please visit my Flickr pages to see even more rod photos including those available for sale, different rod features, & more. I'll be continuing to add photos there, so check it often.

Watch Some Videos!!

Take a look into the rod shop & see some rods in living color motion pictures!! Check out my youtube videos.

the pliant rod: