I recently got a new set of planing forms from fellow rod maker Jeff Wagner & folks, I'm very excited about them!! This is a huge upgrade in my shop equipment!!

The planing form is the definitive tool of the bamboo rod maker. It is a complex tool unique to the making of bamboo rods. If you want to make a bamboo fishing rod, you're going to need some kind of form. You see, the planing form holds the bamboo strips that make up the rod at the proper angle & at the proper depth to form the taper of the rod. As you can imagine, it's important that the forms be very accurate if you want to achieve good results in the finished rod.

Through the generations, there have been many different types of planing forms, but these days the vast majority of rod makers use those that are adjustable. This design is made of two steel bars with a 60 degree groove cut down the middle. A pair of bolts (one to push the bars open, another to close them) is placed every five inches or so, with a pin in the middle to keep the bars straight & level. 

Years ago - maybe about 15 years ago - I made my own set of adjustable steel planing forms. These are the ones I've been using to make my bamboo fly rods on all this time. I was proud of them & they served me well, but as I used them there were certain things I noticed that I would have done differently, if I were to make another set. Well, it takes a lot of time to make a set of forms & I was always so busy making rods that I never got around to it.

Enter Jeff Wagner........I'd always heard good things about the forms he designed & sells from his shop. Finally, I decided to take the plunge & make the investment to get a set of Wagner planing forms. Am I ever glad I did!! Holy cow, these things are sweet!!

Fist off, these Wagner forms have a superior bevel in them. This gives me more range as a rod maker, allowing me to make rods with the finest tips possible. Also, these forms are much longer than the forms I made, which not only allows me more freedom in adjusting or tweaking classic tapers, but also just makes certain situations much less of a headache. All in all these forms will allow me to make a wider range of rods!!

The adjustments on these new forms are made with regular hex head bolts. This is a very nice upgrade to my old forms, as I needed an Allen wrench to make adjustments on those. The threads cut into the steel bars of the Wagner planes are perfect & precise, making adjusting these forms so smooth & easy!! 

The surface of these Wagner forms are perfection as well. The surface of any planing form is so important for accurate, level bamboo strips. Jeff's forms are precision ground for a fantastic surface finish - I can almost shave in the reflection of them!!

Folks, this isn't an official endorsement. I'm not getting paid in any way to say these nice things about these forms. I just wanted to share with you my honest opinion & my pleasure in this new rod shop tool that will help me to make a wider variety of rods & better serve my bamboo rod clients.

I am so excited to start cranking out more bamboo strips on my new Wagner planing forms. These truly are the best on the market today in every aspect. Plus, Jeff is a skilled rod maker who not only teaches classes on how to make bamboo rods, he stands behind his products, too. For those of you fellow rod makers out there looking for a decent set of planing forms, do yourself a favor & get the best - a set of Wagner forms. These forms a dream to use for rod makers! Thanks, Jeff!!

Fresh from the shop, another batch of mini fly wallets has just been completed!! For all of you who have been waiting for them , thank you for your patience while they were being made up. I now have a supply of brown & green mini wallets in stock & ready to go out the door for any of you who want to have one of these handy little wallets.

Made in my shop, these handy wallets are ideal for hanging from a lanyard, your fishing vest, fishing bag, a belt, & are small enough to fit in your shirt pocket; plus they make great gifts for your angling friends & loved ones!!

They are available in light-weight, yet strong duck canvas that can dry out quickly when wet, or in leather for those of you who prefer the traditional good looks & the durability of leather. 

In addition to the canvas material, I also offer these mini fly wallets in black or brown leather, too. These leather minis have durability with classic good looks!

To see more photos & to read a whole lot more about these mini fly wallets, please visit the Accessories page of this website & scroll down to the section on mini fly wallets. If you have any questions about them, & to get a some for your very own, please contact me & I'll be happy to help you.

Get ready for some late-summer fly fishing by having your most used flies close at hand with these mini fly wallets!! I hope you're all enjoying your summer!!

In a previous post, we discussed the book "The Trout and The fly" by Brian Clarke & Mike Goddard. In it they show the results of years of study & experiments into how trout feed, their behavior, how they see their underwater world, & what it all means to the fly angler. After the book was published, a short film was made based on the concepts by the authors. Here, then, is that film divided into four parts. Enjoy!!

I've been adding to my supply of leather in the shop & I just got two new hides of very fine leather. One is a gorgeous tan / brown color, the other a rich chocolate brown. Both make beautiful fly wallets.

I try to always offer fly wallets from a variety of different leather, to give you more options. I now have fly wallets available for you in eleven different types of leather!! Where else are you going to get so many choices in quality leather fly wallets?

Folks, I honestly believe that these are among the finest leather fly wallets available on the market today. Made right in my shop, the quality of the materials & construction are superior to anything else out there, making them also the best value you can possibly get in a leather fly wallet. The edges of each wallet are dyed black & buffed for beautiful, finished edges. I'm really proud of these fly wallets.

To see all eleven different types of leather fly wallets I currently have made up in stock, please click HERE. These two new wallets are listed as #5 & #11. To see more photos & to read more about these leather fly wallets, including all the other accessories that are made right in my shop, please visit the Accessories page of this website. By all mean, please feel free to contact me anytime with any questions you might have.

"The Trout and the Fly" was a groundbreaking work by British authors Brian Clarke & Mike Goddard. Although it was published back in 1980, the information in it is still very relative to fly anglers today. The book focuses on trout behavior & how the angler's interactions with the trout, via the fly, effect the trout's behavior. Basically, the book looks to establish how trout naturally behave & then makes points on how the fly angler can take advantage of those behaviors to better fool the trout with the artificial fly. Trout behavior hasn't changed all that much over time, so even though this book came out in 1980, it's still right on the mark.

Trout can be very difficult to see in the water. One of the most useful parts of this book teaches us how to find & see trout in their environment. To me, this was very helpful information. Trout are very well hidden & easily frightened, so finding & seeing them without scaring them away is a difficult task. I've always believed that I scare more trout than I ever see or catch in a day on the stream. But, there are certain things to look for, certain flaws in the trout's camouflage that anglers can exploit to find the trout. This book goes into great detail about these techniques. Finding & seeing trout is a skill all unto itself & takes practice. This book will help you improve those skills a lot.

The other part of the book discusses how trout see. In this part, the authors take us into the world of the trout & we get to understand what it is like for the trout living under water. This is especially helpful, as the book teaches us just what a trout sees as our flies enter into their field of vision. We can't fool very smart trout consistently if we don't know what the trout is seeing & how. This part of the book, too, is especially helpful & will be eye opening to many anglers.

This book wasn't written in a season. The authors worked for years, doing exhaustive research both on the stream in in books. The result is this book which really uncovers all the layers of the mystery to what trout actually see & how they disguise themselves from predators. It's a well written, concise book filled with extremely valuable information to any trout angler.

Don't be put off that this book is over 30 years old. Trout still act the same as they did back then. Don't think the book won't help you because the authors are British, living & fishing across the ocean. The natural behavior of trout & their physical vision is the same anywhere trout live. You don't need this book to catch a lot of trout, but reading it & doing exactly what the authors say will most certainly help you to catch more trout, more often, & especially those very difficult experienced trout who aren't easily fooled by us anglers. 

Over on the Available Rods page, I've just listed this awesome 7'-6", 2 pc / 2 tip, 4/5 wt bamboo fly rod. Folks, this is a very nice rod. It has a moderate - fast progressive action that makes casting it a very nice experience. This "progressive" action means that the more power you give it while casting, the further down towards the grip it will flex. If you just give a little "flick" of a cast, only the upper part will flex. It's this progressive action that makes this rod so comfortable & enjoyable to cast with plenty of reserve power & casting accuracy. While those experienced with bamboo rods will truly appreciate this rod's action & feel, if I were to suggest a rod to someone who was just getting into bamboo fly rods this would be the rod I would put in their hands. 

This rod will be at home on most trout streams. It will cast dries, wets, nymphs, & small streamers all equally well. It's a very good all-around trout rod, for sure. If you were heading out the door to go fly fishing & you weren't sure what conditions you might meet up with that day, this would be the rod to take with you.

Photos are great, but you can also see this rod in living color motion pictures in the video below!! Check it out:

This was made as a demo rod & has never been fished, only seeing action casting on the lawn. It was made to demonstrate how great progressive action bamboo fly rods feel & I think it does just that. It is a very nice rod & one that I'm proud of. As this was a demo rod, I've reduced the price significantly making this a chance to have a very nice rod at a reduced price.

Please visit the Available Rods page of this website to read more about this rod & to see more photos of it. Please contact me if you have any questions at all. I think this is one rod most anglers would enjoy adding to their arsenal of fly rods.