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Custom Fly Fishing Rods by Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker

State of The Rod Shop Address

12/31/2012

It's time once again for my annual "State of The Rod Shop Address". So, without further ado, let's get started:

This past year was a good one over all. There were some challenges along the way & some obstacles to overcome, but all in all it seems to have worked out well.

More than one of my suppliers for materials that I use to make these fly rods either went out of business or quit selling the items I use. It's getting harder & harder to get some of the quality materials that I like to use. Prices for everything are going up as well. Sadly, I've had to raise the prices of my rods. This was a hard thing for me to do, as I've fought for years to keep my prices where they were without compromising the quality of the rods & using as many American made components & raw materials as possible. I want to keep my prices as low as possible so more folks can enjoy a custom made fly rod. Fortunately I've been able to keep the price increase small, $30 to $50 depending on the rod ordered & without compromising the quality of the rods at all while continuing to use many American made materials.

This next year I will finally be introducing a low-cost Prudential Series graphite fly rod. It will be available in many sizes & in 2,3, or 4 pcs. It should be a great addition to the catalog. The blanks, etc will be made right here in the USA & the price will be very reasonable for a custom fly rod - well under $300!!! This is exciting, as it should offer (for the first time) a rod that has the quality of double that price. Many anglers pay more than that for their first or second graphite rods, so just imagine a custom rod, made to your specifications, for under $300. I can't wait to get them out there to you, hopefully by early next spring in time for fishing season everywhere.

I'm also going to be experimenting with some new (new for me) tapers & rod sizes this year. There is a long list of rods I want to make, but have never gotten around to making. This year I want to take the time to try some of these out. This helps me grow & learn more about my craft of rod making. You'll probably be seeing these rods on the "Available" page as they get completed & after they've been tested out by me & my friends.

I also want to continue to improve this website. I want to add more info on it, based on the questions I get from anglers & other topics that I feel are important but are maybe not covered enough in fly fishing books, magazines, & other websites. I'm also going to re-arrange how some of the items on the Available page are shown, to make it easier for you to find what's there.

This past year I got to meet even more anglers & make more friends. That's where I'm really blessed - by meeting & getting to know all of you out there. The fly fishing world is a tight knit community, I think, & the fact that I get to work with so many good & decent people really makes what I do enjoyable. I was able to make some really nice rods that I'm proud of this year & that's all because of you folks. I thank each & every single one of you who ordered a rod or accessory form me (you know who you are). I couldn't do this without you.

I'm a really lucky guy. I get to do what I love - make fly rods. Each morning when I get out of bed I'm looking forward to going to work, making your fly rods. To me it doesn't get much better than that. No matter what challenges we face, no matter where our economy goes, know that I'm going to be working hard to make the best fly rods I can make. I'm going to continue to expand this "labor of love" in 2013 so that you get a level of service from me that you can't find anywhere else. I'm looking forward to next year & the rods I'll make & the new friends I'll meet.

Thank you all for your support & friendship. I hope you all have a healthy & happy New Year. May it be your best one yet!!

-Chris

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. Passes Away....

12/27/2012

It is sad to hear about the recent death of retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. He was an American hero & icon, best known for his command of the coalition forces in the first Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm. Sometimes called "Stormin' Norman", he was a four star general in the US Army & a highly decorated Vietnam veteran. The list of his service awards goes on for miles.

Schwarzkopf was also an avid fly angler. He made no secret that it was a huge passion of his. He was a fisherman all his life, but when he was stationed in Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, he took some fly fishing lessons & never looked back. He had said that Alaska was probably his favorite place to fly fish & that sounds like a good choice to me.

He was a generous man & he used the sport of angling to give back to others. In the mid-1990's he, along with actor Paul Newman, co-founded Camp Boggy Creek. This was a place where sick kids could go for a week to fish, swim, hike, etc & forget about their illnesses for a while. It's free for the kids, too & relies on donations to operate. The camp is located in Florida where Norman lived in retirement. He had talked about the fun he had teaching the kids to fish at the camp.

It's being reported that he died on Dec 27th in Tampa at the age of 78. His service & dedication to this nation was inspiring, as was his kindness to others. There will never be another like him.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

12/23/2012

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffers For Any Fly Angler

12/20/2012

With the last few days of Christmas shopping left before the big day, some of you may be wondering what additional, small gifts to get the special angler in your life to help round out the gift giving this year. I've compiled a small list of things to put in your favorite angler's stockings for Christmas morning. The beauty of this list is that all these items are easy to find in most stores & none of them is very expensive.

So, if you're wondering what else to get an angler for Christmas at the last minute, consider the following ideas:

1.) Small, pocket-sized flashlight. These are easy to carry & come in handy when trying to tie a fly to your leader in twilight or the dark. Plus, if you'd stayed on the river after the sun went down, you might be very glad you had this on the walk back to the car.

2.) Handkerchiefs. These have about a million uses in the fly vest or fishing bag. They're great for cleaning your hands after releasing a fish, cooling your head on a very hot day, etc.

3.) Nail clippers. Most anglers carry a set of these. Most anglers are always wishing they had a better pair of them too.

4.) Small pocket knife. When you need one, nothing else will work in it's place. Besides having a million practical uses, a pocket knife can save your life - at least according to the Boy Scouts.

5.) Chamois cloth. These are great for drying off a fly rod or other equipment after a rainy day on the water.

6.) Bicycle inner-tube. Don't laugh, but having two small pieces of this stuff is a life saver when the ferrules of your bamboo fly rod won't come apart. What do you do if you can't get the rod, that's longer than the inside of your vehicle, apart? By using two pieces of inner-tube rubber, you have a stronger grip on the rod sections & can help you separate stubborn ferrules.

7.) Tweezers. These are very handy for many things, like removing hooks or splinters from your body, or when cutting hackle off your fly to imitate naturals along the stream. Another item that nothing else will work in their place.

8.) Small first aid kit. These come in a variety of sizes & can be found in hardware & drug stores. Some have all the essential in them & are small enough to fit in a pocket. Hopefully it will never be needed.

9.) A compass. A great thing to have for those who trek into the great unknown to fish.

10.) A flask. No need to explain here, but it should be noted that its use can effect the use of the previously listed items.

I hope these ideas help those of you who need a small, last minute gift for an angler. All of these things will certainly come in handy when needed.

Some Myths About Bamboo Fly Rods

12/17/2012

In the future, I hope to write in more detail about the differences between bamboo & graphite fly rods. For now, though, I'd like to briefly touch on a couple of topics regarding their differences.

First off, lets talk about overall weight of the fly rod. Today, the trend in fly rod design is to make everything about the rod lighter. Getting a rod down in weight as low as possible seems to have become an obsession with fly rod manufacturers. They give many reasons for this, but unless taken to extremes, the weight of a rod is not nearly as important as it's action. Lighter is not always better.

A well designed rod that has some heft to it, without being so heavy as to feel like a buggy whip, has distinct advantages when fishing in normal situations. For instance, you can feel the rod loading the line much easier & can judge your back & forward cast with a lot less work & without looking over your shoulder. The heavier rod will also do more of the work for you when casting - especially when you first start your back cast as you pick the line up off the water. Furthermore, if the rod is well balanced, progressive in action, & has the proper amount of line guides in the correct locations, you won't notice the weight of the rod at all. What you will notice is the easy, smooth casting once you get your casting timed to the rod's action. If your casting a good designed rod correctly, your wrist & elbow will not be tired at the end of the day & you'll be casting as smoothly as you were that morning.

The second myth about bamboo rods that I want to address is the idea that they're slow in action. In fact, they are like fly rods made from all materials: some slow, some fast & everything in between. Modern manufacturing techniques, glues, & taper designs now allow the rod maker to produce bamboo rods with many different actions & characteristics. Perhaps you will notice that a bamboo rod flexes, or bends, a little more than a graphite rod when playing a fish. That is bamboo's strength. It has much more tensile strength than graphite (or fiberglass) rods - more than steel, even. Please don't equate the flexibility of a bamboo rod with a slow rod action. Many "parabolic" & other bamboo rod tapers flex considerably, but can be quite fast in action.

The truth is that there is no fly rod that will make you a great caster. Graphite fly rods can be awesome fishing tools & are very practical for fishing. A great fly caster will get the most out of any rod & will do amazing things with even a mediocre one. For the rest of us (myself included), we need to give ourselves every advantage we can.

Don't let what the rod is made of dissuade you from using it. If you haven't cast a bamboo rod, give it a try. If you are strictly a bamboo angler & don't understand what all the fuss is about graphite, pick up a good one & cast it. The bottom line is: a good rod is a good rod, period - no matter what material it's made of. What makes a rod a good one? You do. Get a rod that's designed for how you fish & cast & you'll have the best rod possible.

Bluing, or Darkening, Metal On A Fly Rod:

12/14/2012

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions about bluing the metal parts of a fly rod, so I thought I'd take some time to discuss it here.

Bluing is a chemical process that darkens certain metals, turning them from their natural shinny appearances to a darker color. It's a common treatment to many firearms & some fishing rods. The idea behind this is that by darkening the metal, it won't reflect the light as much & won't give away your location &/or scare your prey while you're afield hunting or fishing. Bluing is a surface treatment only. Any surfaces that are blued must be coated with a protecting layer of either varnish or clear coat, or the bluing will quickly wear off. The darkness of the metal can be somewhat controlled by the person bluing it, making it lighter or darker. It's important to know that bluing doesn't make the metal exactly black, but a dark shade of gray. Perhaps the best way to describe its color would be "gun metal gray".

On fly rods, bluing is typically considered only with bamboo rods, but it can be done on some synthetic rods as well. Traditionally, rods with darkened metal are made from bamboo that's been flame treated more, giving the cane a darker look. That is to say, it would look a little odd to see a blonde rod with blued metal. However there are exceptions to every rule & I have seen blonde rods with only their ferrules blued.

So what all gets blued on a fly rod? Typically the darkened parts are:
-ferrules
-winding check (metal ring just above the grip)
-hook keeper
-metal frame of an agate stripping guide
-cap & ring of the reel seat
Remember that the idea is to reduce your visibility to the fish by not having any shiny metal flash in the sun & scare away the fish; & also remember that, based on the traditions of bamboo fly rods, there are always exceptions to the rules (more on that later).

What about the line guides? Well bluing is a surface treatment & any bluing will quickly wear away that isn't protected by a clear coat. If the line guides were to be blued in the normal way, the bluing in the guides where the line comes in contact with them would be gone in no time flat, even with a protective coating. So today rod makers use either black line guides that have been blackened by a commercial process (much tougher & harder than normal bluing), or guides made of titanium.

Okay, but I haven't mentioned the screw-locking style reel seats. Here is the big exception to the rules. When the screw-locking reel seat was invented there was no process available that would allow the threads to be blued without the bluing quickly wearing off. So the fly rods with the early screw-locking reel seats that had their other metal parts darkened left the metal of the reel seat "natural" & not blued. This became the tradition & standard of bamboo fly rods....but only when the rod had a screw-locking style reel seat.

Today it's perfectly normal & acceptable to see a rod with blued ferrules, etc but a natural, non-blued screw-locking reel seat. However, if you let tradition set your rules, whenever you see a rod with a cap & ring style seat, the cap & ring are blued to match the other metal on the rod. In fact, it would be odd to see a bamboo fly rod with a darkened screw-locking reel seat.

But you might have seen them. It is possible to darken the threads on a screw-locking reel seat. However, it can only be done by an expensive commercial process. In fact, I don't believe these seats are available anymore as the only company I know of that offered them went out of business. So basically, forget about them. The practical justification for not bluing the screw-locking reel seat metal was that the reel seat is under your wrist or forearm when fishing anyway, so it really can't be seen. Well.....okay?

I think the reason most anglers choose to have rod with blued metal is because of how it looks. That's fine. Many rods with blued metal have a classy, distinguished look about them. I've fished with both blued & non-blued rods & I can't honestly say that it helped me or hurt the number of fish I fooled (or lack there of). No, I suspect better casting & fly presentations would have probably helped me more.

Helping Out The Bamboo Project....

12/12/2012

I've mentioned The Bamboo Project before, but I want to talk some more about it. The Project was started by John Miska & Joe Pacacha with the mission to get bamboo fly rods into the hands of our veterans, mainly through Project Healing Waters. They collect as many bamboo rods as they can - usually used production rods found in attics & garages that haven't seen the water in years - & Joe restores them, giving them new life for a veteran to use & enjoy. They both work tirelessly to accomplish this.

They like the idea of bamboo rods because of it's characteristics & flexibility Especially when some of the folks who will be using these rods have particular injuries or conditions where this will benefit them, like a bad back for example.

They both work tirelessly to get these bamboo rods to our veterans. Over 35 bamboo fly rods are handed out each year. That's incredible!!! Still, these guys would like to do even more. So, If you have an old bamboo rod laying around that you haven't used in ages - & probably never will - why not send it off to The Bamboo Project, so a deserving veteran can enjoy it?

Every year The Bamboo Project hosts an all-bamboo event at the Rose River Farm in Virginia. This year's was held recently on Dec 7-9. Many bamboo fly rods were handed out to veterans there, greeting them all into the world of bamboo fly rods. I was honored to have donated a new bamboo fly rod to this event, made just for The Bamboo Project. It's a 6 ft, 3 wt rod & I hope that it serves its new owner well for many years to come!!

For more information about the Bamboo Project, how to contact them, & about the all bamboo event please click HERE. It's a great cause we can all get behind to help our heroes experience the joys of bamboo fly rods & own one of their very own.

Pearl Harbor Day

12/7/2012

Let us all pause for a moment today & remember the terrible act of war our nation suffered 71 years ago today. Let us remember how that day changed not only our country, but the course of the entire world when a free & peaceful nation was bitterly attacked without warning by a then evil empire. Also, let us all take a moment to remember those who lost their lives 71 years ago today.

In the aftermath of the attack 2,402 Americans were killed & 1,282 wounded.....

How To Wrap (or re-wrap) A Line Guide

12/6/2012

Replacing a bent or broken line guide is something every angler will have to deal with sooner or later. It's a simple job, if you know how to do it.

First, remove the old wrap & guide. Using a razor blade, cut from the end of the guide foot towards the center of the guide. Go slowly & make many passes if you don't cut all the way through the thread the first time. Take great care not to cut the rod shaft. Now peel away the old wrap & the guide will be free from the rod once you've cut the thread from both guide feet.

Next, clean up the rod shaft where the old wrap & guide were with wet 1,000 grit sandpaper. Gently sand away any ridges of old varnish, making the rod at this spot smooth. Be careful not to sand too much. Don't remove any of the rod's varnish on the shaft or the color coating of a synthetic rod - just the old wrap varnish.

Now take the new replacement guide & grind down the feet of it so that there is a gentle, curved shape to each guide foot. This is easily done with either a fine cut metal file or quickly by just kissing the guide foot on a belt sander. This will make it easier to wrap the thread over the guide foot where it meets the rod.

If you're replacing every guide on the rod you'll need to mark out where each guide should be along it's length. You can mark their locations with a pencil or with a small piece of tape. Place the guide at the location & tape one foot of the guide down to the rod. You'll begin by wrapping the un-taped foot first.

Now take the thread for the wraps & put it under slight tension. There's many ways to do this. You can make your own tension device (like the one pictured below), buy a commercial rod wrapper, or simply put the thread spool in a bowl & run the thread through the pages of a closed book. Either way you'll need some kind of slight tension on the thread.

Begin the wrap just in front of the guide foot - about 1/8 inch before the guide. You'll be wrapping toward the center of the guide. Take the end of the thread & wrap it around the rod shaft. Hold it in place. Now turn the rod & as the thread comes off the spool lay it over the tag end.

Going in this direction the tag end of thread will be pointed towards the center of the guide. Give it a gentle pull to tighten the thread on the rod shaft & continue turning the rod & wrapping the thread from the spool onto the rod. After the tag end is secure (about 1/4" of it is under the wrap) cut it off with your fly tying scissors or a sharp razor blade.

Continue wrapping the the thread from the spool onto the rod, making sure each pass of thread lies next to the previous one with no gaps in between the thread. Every now & then you'll have to push the turns of thread together to avoid gaps. You can use either your fingernail, a smooth bone-folder, or a similar tool like the round body of a writing pen. Push the thread together gently - you don't want them to roll over each other - you want them to lay together with no gaps in between.

As you continue to wrap up & over the guide foot try to keep an eye on the tension of the thread. When you get to a point where you're about six rod revolutions or so from the center end of the guide foot, stop. Take a loop of thread made from another spool of thread & lay it under your last wrap. Make sure the loop is pointed in the direction you're wrapping (towards the center of the guide). Now continue to wrap over this loop for the last few wraps.

When your wraps get to the center of the guide & the loop is under the last few wraps, place your thumb on the end of the wrap so it doesn't unravel as you cut the thread from the spool. With the thread cut away from the spool, take the tag end (the end you just cut) & put it through the loop. Now pull the loop out from under the wrap, taking the tag end of the thread with it. Remember to keep your thumb on the end of the wrap the entire time you're doing this.

Next take a the same tool you used to push the threads together while you were wrapping & smooth out the threads of the wrap. Sometimes small twists will occur in the thread as you wrap. You need to smooth them out so there are no gaps & the thread lays flat.

Congratulations, you just wrapped a guide foot. Now remove the tape from the other foot & wrap it. Repeat all of this for every guide. Once you're done wrapping you'll need to coat the wraps with some kind of finish: typically epoxy for synthetic rods & varnish for cane rods. The more you do this, the easier it will get. If you can tie a fly, then you can wrap a line guide with practice & patience.

NOTES:
-Practice on a wooden dowel rod before you try this on a rod.
-Matching the color of the old wraps: thread color will change when coated with epoxy or varnish. Try a few different spools of thread that are close in color on a dowel rod. Coat them with your finish to see which one matches your old wraps.
-Especially in the beginning it's much easier if you have something to hold or cradle the rod for you. You can use a sturdy cardboard box with one side cut away & V grooves cut into the sides. Be creative.
-There are many different ways to wrap a guide. No one way is better than another. Eventually you won't need any tape to hold the guides down or anything to cradle the rod for you. All the techniques I described are for someone trying this for their first time. Good luck!!!

The History of The Fishing Vest &/or Vest vs. Fishing Bag

12/3/2012

It's believed that the first modern fishing vest was sewn together in the winter of 1930-31 by Lee Wulff. Wulff was a very creative angler, fly tier, & outdoor writer having (among other things) developed the line of dry flies that are named for him.

Wulff wanted a vest that an angler could wear over their clothing that would give them ease of access to their fly boxes & other tackle. Well the idea was a good one &, as we all now know, many anglers loved the idea.

So the vest was improved upon in its design & was first released onto the market just after World War II. It was called the "Lee Wulff Tak-L-Pac" & was made by Masland of Carlisle, PA. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today of course, anglers have tons of choices when it comes to choosing a vest. There are more designs of vests made from different materials than ever before. When choosing a vest, comfort should be your main priority. You'll be wearing it all day long in all kinds of weather, so make sure you get one that's comfortable. A well designed vest puts the weight on your shoulders - NOT your neck. A poorly designed vest can give you both back & neck problems if worn for too long.

With all the different designs available, it can be hard to choose the right vest for you. It's a good idea before you buy a vest to take all the things you're going to put in it & lay them out on a table. This way you can see exactly how much stuff you really have to pack in it. Keep in mind the things you'll use the most: fly boxes, tippet spools, shot, fly dressing, etc. This will help give you an idea of what you need in a vest.

Of course you can always opt, as I do, to forego the vest & carry a fishing bag (or possibles bag as they used to be called). I prefer bags to vests because all my tackle is easily accessible with one hand & because a bag can be moved out of the way on your body, giving you full range of motion. Plus a bag can easily be taken off & hung on a tree when it gets too hot or when you're taking a break. I also must admit that I like the tradition of using a fishing bag, just like anglers did for centuries before the vest came along. The fishing vest is a 20th century invention; fishing bags are timeless. Then again, I am a sucker for the traditions of fly fishing.

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The Pliant Rod

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