I've just listed a fly rod over on the Available Rods page of this site - it's a 6'-0", 3 pc / 2 tip bamboo fly rod made for a 3 or 4 weight line. This rod is a new, never fished Custom Series bamboo fly rod. This is the highest grade of rod I offer. Based on a classic bamboo rod taper, this is my version of the Paul Young midge rod - a legendary taper loved by anglers for generations. This rod has a nice medium action that will suit many different fishing situations. It will cast your smaller dry flies, wets, & nymphs all very well. While the original Paul Young taper was a true 4 wt rod, I believe that some anglers will enjoy this rod with a 3 weight line as well. This rod is housed in a very fine, hand-made leather covered rod tube which has been custom made to fit this rod. Made from a rich brown leather & aluminum tube, these leather rod tubes are hand stitched in my rod shop. They feature a lid that is fit snugly to the tube, which will ‘pop’ like a ferrule when opened. It also has snap closures & an adjustable shoulder strap. A very fine way to house this fine fly rod. This rod features: - A nice, medium action - Nickel-Silver cap & ring style reel seat with curly walnut wood spacer - Cigar shaped cork grip - Nickel-Silver winding check (in front of the cork grip) - Nickel-Silver strap & ring style hook keeper - Beautiful, natural stone agate stripping guide in a Nickel-Silver bezel - Chromed, stainless steel line guides & tip tops - Nickel-Silver ferrules - Rich, dark brown silk thread guide wraps tipped with orange silk - Custom fit brown cotton flannel rod bag with orange embellishment stitches - All housed in a handcrafted brown leather rod tube You might note that the dark brown silk thread wraps, the rich brown leather of the rod tube, the walnut wood in the reel seat, & the brown custom rod bag all harmonize cosmetically together to make this outfit a true matching set of high-grade fly tackle. add a complete set of matching leather accessories to the rod!!In addition to the leather rod tube that comes with the rod listed above, I’m offering a complete set of leather fishing accessories for an additional price. Each accessory, including the rod tube, have been made from the same leather hide, making this a truly complete set & matching outfit. Each accessory has been hand-made in my shop, just as the fly rod offered above. This additional set includes: -Full leather fishing bag - perfect for a day along the stream. -Leather Fly Wallet -Leather Leader Wallet -Leather Mini Fly Wallet I’m proud to offer you this complete set of a high-end bamboo fly rod & matching leather accessories. Each item has been made in my shop with care & attention to every detail. To the best of my knowledge I am the only craftsmen working today who can make & offer a complete matching set of fly rod, rod tube, & accessories having all been made under the same roof. I’m sure that any angler will be proud to own this collection of fine fishing equipment. This set is available at a special price, when you combine it with the 6’-0”, 3/2 Midge rod listed above. For more info about the rod, rod tube & the matching accessory set please visit the Available Rods page of this website. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact me & I'll be happy to help you in any way that I can.
One of the coolest things about being a rod maker is all the interesting people I meet & get to know. My friend, artist Lew Wilson, is no exception. To say that Lew is a dedicated artist would be a huge understatement. You see, for the last 36 years, Lew has been on a mission that has taken him all over the country - & that mission has been to raise people's awareness of our rivers & waterways, to encourage them to protect them & keep them as Nature intended. That's a cause I think all fly fishers can get behind, don't you? From a recent press release: "Lew's epic journey has recently documented America's foremost endangered river--the Colorado--throughout 2016 and 2017. This group of photographs is part of his series depicting rivers of the Great American Migration, as told through his masterful amalgamation of hand- painted black and white photographs. After surviving a near-fatal accident in the Colorado Rockies in the wake of 9/11, the Vietnam Era veteran and career artist of Christian faith found that his recovery from this event only strengthened his belief that the "power" of art can "still" make a difference to young and old alike in nurturing "A Good Earth." A conscious belief that Lew walks with through his love, as an artist, is inspired by God's wonders of nature. Just as in the time of the early colony of artists who ushered in America's first major art movement--the Hudson River School--the scenic Hudson River Valley and Kaaterskill Clove area of New York that continues to inspire artists." Now, after more than three decades of documenting & living with our nation's rivers, Lew is attempting to establish a physical gallery for his artwork. That would be quite a gallery!! Over 30 years of work (& still going), Lew has created quite a large body of work.
You can help Lew establish this gallery, so that his message of the importance of clean rivers can carry on for generations to come, by purchasing prints of some of his work. These would make excellent gifts for not only anglers who would enjoy a gorgeous view of a favorite fishing river, but anyone who wants to see nature's beauty everyday. Through the website imagekind, you can purchase a Lew Wilson print. There are different sizes available at all different price levels, making this a great opportunity for folks on every kind of budget to purchase Lew's work & help his message carry on well into the future. Please take a look at Lew's prints by clicking HERE. You can learn more about Lew & his art, by clicking HERE. I can honestly say that Lew is one of the most dedicated people I've met in the mission to keep America's rivers & waterways clean & pure. As a fly angler, dependent on clean, cold water for my passion, I can't thank him enough for all his efforts. Please help Lew carry his message on to the generations that will follow us. As Lew says, "rivers have a message". That message is one worth listening to. The water was low & clear in the stream, which is why I was using a 4x tippet that day. I knew with the size of fly I was fishing, I should have gone up to a heavier tippet, but I was worried that the fish would see it. That's why I was using 4x that day - or so I told myself. It seemed like a good idea at the time, anyway. The fishing was slow that day & maybe my mind wondered a little bit. I think that happens to all of us when the fishing's slow & the weather is nice. I had been at it for some time, trying different drifts & approaches with nothing to show for it except a couple of chubs & one nice Fallfish. I was drifting my line through some medium sized rocks when it happened. A large bass shot out from nowhere & thrashed my fly! I set the hook & readied myself for a good fight, but the bass had other ideas. It simply turned it's head & - snap(!) - broke off my fly, leaving my limp line & leader to float slowly down stream. The situation called for profanity, so I let go with an expletive. We've all been there. In my excitement over what had just happened I told myself that the bass had broken me off by snapping my tippet. My goodness, it must have been even bigger than it looked!! Imagine the power that fish had. It had to be the biggest bass in this stream, for sure. Right? Well..... When I got my tippet back in my hand & calmed my mind a bit, I began to think things over & soon realized what had really happened. That bass didn't snap my tippet just by turning it's head, it had help. The more I looked at the situation, the more I realized what had gone down here. The bass struck my fly, for sure, but in my haste to set the hook - & the way the fish turned it's head - my tippet rubbed hard against the rocks. The fish hadn't broken my tippet, the rocks did. Actually, I broke my tippet off against the rocks when I set the hook! It was me (slaps forehead). When the fish rushed my fly, I was so focused on the fish that I ignored everything else. If I had only waited a split-second longer to set the hook....... So there in a matter of seconds I went from a hero in my mind, who could draw the biggest bass in the world out from hiding to hit my fly, to just a fool who got over-excited & broke his tippet on the rocks. Now that I think about it, maybe that bass wasn't as big as I first thought.........But at least I had some action!!
I've always said that fish are great equalizers: they don't care how rich you are, or how old, or how smart you are, or even how much you know about fishing. Fish long enough & they will make a fool out of you sooner or later. Plus, if I've learned anything, it's that when the fishing is slow & your mind wonders & you think nothing is going to happen, that's probably exactly when it will happen!! Some of you may have heard the term 'mirror matched tips' in regards to a bamboo fly rod & wondered what that meant, exactly. Well, it has to do with the nodes on a rod that has two tip sections. Let me explain.... When we make a bamboo fly rod, we have to deal with the nodes. These are like knots in a piece of wood. The grain of the bamboo often changes direction a bit here & so the nodes must be straightened out & flattened by the rod maker. It's also because of this irregularity in the bamboo grain at the nodes that we don't want two nodes next to each other on adjoining strips in the finished rod. As a result, the rod maker must stagger the nodes in the layout of the bamboo strips, so no two nodes are next to each other. There are several different methods of staggering nodes in a bamboo fly rod & each has it's place & uses, depending on how the nodes are spaced on the raw bamboo. This is where mirror-matched tips sections come into play. The term mirror matched tips basically means that where you see a node in one tip section, you will see a node in the other tip section in exactly the same place: This is the mark of a very fine bamboo fly rod & shows the attention to detail the rod maker gave to the rod. The idea being that, as no two pieces of bamboo are ever exactly the same, we can give each tip section the closest we can to the same 'feel' when the tips are mirror matched like this. It also proves beyond any doubt that the tip sections were made from the same larger piece of raw bamboo, which can also help to give some consistency between the two tip sections.
Of course there are many rods made with two tip sections where the tips are not mirrored in their node placement. Most of the time this is no big deal & it doesn't mean that the rod is inferior in any way. Often times the raw bamboo a rod maker has to work with will not allow for mirrored tips. In fact, some of the sweetest feeling bamboo rods I've ever cast did not have mirrored tip sections. As bamboo is a natural, growing plant, Mother Nature often has as much to say about exactly where the nodes go as does the rod maker. Now the next time you hear a rod collector, vintage rod dealer, or any bamboo fly rod aficionado mention a rod with mirrored tip sections, you'll know exactly what they're talking about. October is here!! With it comes some great fly fishing opportunities, too. This is probably my favorite month of the year for many reasons, but mostly it is because the fishing can be incredible in this month. Trout are back to the activity of eating more & spawning as the water temperatures come back down. The cool nights & gently warm days are great for aquatic insect life & the trout that eat those bugs. Plus, as this is a busy time of year for most folks, the fishing pressure is usually much less now than in the spring of the year. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission is actively stocking adult trout right now all across the commonwealth. If you're planing a trip here for some autumnal trout fishing, be sure to check their stocking schedule for times & locations HERE.
Trout aren't the only show in town this time of year, either. This can be a fantastic month for bass fishing, too. If you've never fought a bass on a fly rod you are missing out on some of the best action you'll ever experience! In fact, it's a great month to pursue all kinds of fish with your fly rod - from crappie to bluegill & even pike - the fish are (or soon will be) trying to put on extra pounds for the winter. This aggressive feeding can make for some fantastic sport for us anglers. Make some time to get out there & enjoy some October fly fishing. You'll be glad you did!! |
The Pliant RodNews 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. Celebrating two decades of making custom fly rods!!
leather accessoriesCases, bags, wallets, & other fine leather angling accessories.
See more photos from the rod shop & stream sides!
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.
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