Over on the Available Reels & Accessories page you'll find a couple of accessory items on sale - the fishing bags & mini packs. Here's a chance to get these items at a discount & just in time for the upcoming fishing season. 

These items are available in limited quantities. This is because of a couple of reasons. First, the Mini Pack gets made in batches as it's easier to make multiples rather than just one or two at a time. Second, the fishing bags will eventually be going through a slight re-design this year & so when these ones are gone, they're gone. In fact, the accessories I make & offer are changing. You will notice these new changes as I roll them out this year, which will include some new items & some improvements on others. I'm excited to bring these new & improved items to you. 

For those of you familiar with my accessories such as my rod bags, canvas covered PVC rod tubes, etc these items are still available on a special order basis right now. Just contact me & let me know what you need. 

To see more photos & to read more about these sale items, please head over to the Available Accessories page & check them out. If you have any questions about them please feel free to contact me.  

I was finally able to make the time to get some more leader wallets made up for you all. These are very popular accessory items, & they've been going out the door pretty quickly. My supply of these wallets was running low, so I dug through some of my leather hides to see what I could come up with. 

Now there are a few more leader wallets & a little more variety there for you to choose from. For those of you who like their leather fishing items to have that aged, distressed look I think you'll enjoy this one:

It's a thicker, heavier leather so you'll notice that it weighs more but it will hold up to some really heavy use. Plus, the grain & coloration of the leather is just gorgeous. It has a nice waxy feel to it & when you hold it in your hand you just know it's a leather for outdoor gear. 

There's also a lighter weight wallet, too. This one is made from a burgundy colored leather that is uniform throughout in its coloration, but does have some minor grain in it. 

Also listed there are a couple more different brown leather wallets & the standard black leather as well. 

You can check out all the wallets currently available on the Leader Wallets page. 
Plus, you can check out all the different items I make & offer on the Leather Accessories page. 

Do you have an idea for a custom leather item you'd like to have that you can't seem to find anywhere? I am able to work with you to make just about any leather fishing accessory you might imagine. On the Leather Accessories page you can see some examples of past custom leather projects I've done (just scroll down to the bottom of the page). If you're looking for idea or inspiration you might find them interesting. 

If you want or need a particular leather item made up, please feel free to contact me & I'll be happy to work with you to make your idea & vision a reality. 

Take a trip over to the Available Rods page of this site & there you'll see a new fly rod I just listed. This one is a  5'-0", 2 pc / 2 tip bamboo fly rod made for a 3wt fly line in new condition - it's only been cast on the lawn. 

​This is a fast action rod with a very crisp tip section, making it great for several different fishing situations. For example, this rod would shine when fishing fast water in tight quarters along a small stream, or in any situation where you need to quickly pick up the line off the water & re-cast without delay (think: short drifts in fast moving water).

​This rod features:
-Double Nickle Silver slide band reel seat (for reduced weight) with a gorgeous box elder wood spacer
-Cigar shaped cork grip, made shorter to fit the rod
-Nickle-Silver winding check
-Chromed wire line guides & tip tops
-Chromed, traditional "Mildrum" style stripping guide
-Nickle-Silver ferrules
-Rich red/brown silk thread wraps tipped in black silk
-Brown soft cotton flannel rod bag with black embellishment stitches between the pockets, made to a custom fit for the rod
-Brown canvas covered PVC rod tube with padded ends, zippered closure, & leather tag describing the rod inside - made to a custom fit for the rod

For those of you looking for a short, fast action, light in the hand bamboo fly rod with classic good looks, this is a rod I hope you'll consider. 

To see more photos of this fly rod & to read more about it, please visit the Available Rods page. Should you have any questions about this rod, or anything else, please feel free to contact me any time. 

Over on the Available Rods page of this site, you will find a new rod I just listed for sale. This one is a 7'-0", 3 piece, 3 weight fly rod. 

​This rod has a slightly faster, progressive action typical fiberglass fly rods. This makes it absolutely fantastic for casting dry flies, fishing in faster water, or casting on windy days where other glass rods might be at a disadvantage. However, when you wiggle this rod, there'll be no doubt in your mind that it's a fiberglass rod. Even with the slightly faster action it still retains that sweet relaxed feel that anglers love about glass rods.

​This rod features:
-Progressive action fiberglass blank in a rich orange / tangerine color
-Traditional cap & ring style reel seat w/ a gorgeous maple burl wood spacer
-Reverse half-Welles shaped cork grip
-Nickle-Silver winding check (above grip)
-Chromed, stainless steel hook keeper, line guides, & tip tops
-Chromed, stainless steel Mildrum style traditional stripping guide
-Red silk wraps, tipped in yellow throughout.
-Comes in a custom made red cotton flannel rod bag with yellow embellishment stitches
-All housed in a custom fit red canvas covered PVC rod tube with padded ends, zippered closure, & leather name tag describing the rod inside

To read more about this fly rod & to see more detailed photos of it, please visit the Available Rods page. 
If you have any questions about this rod - or anything else - please feel free to contact me & I'll be happy to help you. 

I think anglers are going to love this rod & this one is available just in time for trout season!!

It's that time of year again - when the PA Fish & Boat Commission releases their adult trout stocking schedule for the year. This always makes me smile, as it means Spring is just around the corner!

If you're a PA angler, or figuring a trip here to do some trout fishing this year, you can tell when your favorite stream will be stocked. The list is searchable by county. If you're not certain the county of your favorite streams, the Commission has maps of the state that can show you everything you want to know. 

​You can see the stocking list HERE. 

​You can read all about getting a fishing license & all the regulations on their website HERE.  

I would recommend that you read the section on the fishing regulations, as there have been changes made to the trout season this year, in response to the pandemic. For example, the season is starting earlier this year, so the open waters will be closed a little earlier, too. This, & other changes, you need to be aware of before you attempt to wet a line in PA this season. 

Spring is coming!!!.......& it won't be long before we can all enjoy the hatches, the fish, & the beauty of a trout stream in spring!!

Are you looking for a great functioning fly reel with classic good looks? I would point you in the direction of reel maker John Paullus of Holireels. John crafts some truly gorgeous reels that harken back to the golden era of fly fishing with such an eye to detail you'll be amazed. 

Recently, John reached out to me to see if I would be interested in making some leather clamshell cases for his awesome reels. Would I?!!?? When I saw the level of his work & skills I was honored to make cases to house his reels. 

So if you're looking for a gorgeous fly reel to pair with your special fly rod - made by a skilled craftsman who's a really nice guy, too - then do yourself a favor & check out Holireels. To me, these reels are something to aspire to. 

Do you need a nice leather case for your special fly reel? I'll be happy to accommodate you! Just click over to the Leather Accessories page & scroll down to see the cases there, see more photos, & read all about them. 

Just the other day I realized that this month marks ten years that this 'blog', The Pliant Rod, has been in existence. My, how the time has flown by!! I've been making fly rods for a lot longer than ten years now, but I'm always late to the party when it comes to technology. But hey, eventually I catch on. 

When it occurred to me that I had been at this little blog for ten years I was surprised, as I really never thought it had been that long ago that I started it. I took a few moments to look back through the archives to see some of the different topics that were covered & read some past articles. They haven't all been great, but most have been interesting &/or informative from some perspective, I think. I hope you have all been enjoying them. 

Throughout the tens years here. I've tried to make this blog a place where I could share with you some fly fishing related stuff that I found interesting & I thought you might, too. I hope I've done that. Here was the initial statement I made on the very first post, declaring the point of this little exercise:

Well, I think I've done just that - little bits of useful or entertaining knowledge posted by and by. I want to thank all of you have been reading along through these years, checking back here every now & then to see what's going on. Hopefully you've found some of it useful & helpful to you.

And now, back to work, & on to the next decade of The Pliant Rod!!! 

I'm always looking for good sources of angling information, so I was very pleased when I was shown this great reference about knots, hooks, lures, & more. 

Different knots have different functions, so it's always good for any angler to know how to tie a few different knots for the different situations we find ourselves in along the water. For example, there would be times when you want your fly to be able to twist & move freely from the tippet without causing tangles in your leader. Other times you might want your fly to remain tight to the tippet. It all comes down to the type of fly you're using & how you want that fly to move in the water. 

Most of us know a few knots & we use them all the time. If that works for you, fine but look this list over anyway. You might find a knot you like better - one that might be easier to tie, holds better, & is faster to tie. This is the case with me: typically when I need to tie a knot somewhere in my setup, the trout are rising, my hands are shaking a little from excitement, & I'm in a hurry. So if I can tie a knot that's easy for me to tie, holds very well, & gets me back in the game faster I want to know that knot! This reference is a good place to look for new knots that just might become your favorites to use. 

You can see & read this great material HERE. 
I found it so valuable, that I've also added it to the Links page on this site. 

Special thanks to Boy Scout Sean & his assistant troop leader Matt for sharing this resource with me. Thanks, guys!! 

Just like a fly rod, the choice of a fly reel is a pretty personal thing. We all have different opinions & ideas of what we like in our tackle. Take the fly reel - some like a more modern style reel & the features that come with it, while others prefer the simplicity & traditional looks of a classic 'click & pawl' type of fly reel. 

When you're fly fishing for trout & other similar fresh water fish (like bass, bluegill, etc) the reel typically functions mainly as a holder for your fly line. Drag systems need not be intricate or complicated (naturally this is a different case when deep sea fishing or other large game fish pursuits). 

Now, there's noting wrong with using a more modern fly reel with a more complex drag system if that's what you like, but for trout fishing you don't really need it. To that end, you might want to look at used, classic 'click & pawl' style reels. 

The video below sums all this up very well. I like the presenters concise thoughts on the matter & I agree with him on this issue. If you're looking for a good fly reel for your trout fly fishing, than by all means take a look at some classic reels.