I'm sure that most fly anglers are familiar with the writer John Gierach. If you aren't, then please get yourself a copy of one of his books - any one will do - & I'm sure you're in for an enjoyable time. Those of you familiar with Gierach's writings know that he's a big proponent of bamboo fly rods. They come up in every one of his books & he even dedicated an entire book to the subject.

Last year he wrote a brief article about bamboo rods for Bloomberg News. In the article he address the mystique of bamboo fly rods, & touches on why some folks prefer them to rods of other materials. When addressing the question of why someone would spend so much more money on a bamboo rod then a modern graphite fly rod, his answers is, in my opinion, really good:  

He goes on to talk about the differences of bamboo rods - how each rod is unique & feels slightly different; how many anglers like the feel of casting bamboo - how "warm" they feel & the "friendliness" of a bamboo rod. 

One point he makes that I think is really worth mentioning is that a bamboo fly rod will 'break in' as it ages & is used. Bamboo rods have a tendency to 'warm up' after they are fished for a while. I've never been sure if this is the bamboo material being tempered over many casts, or if its a psychological thing where we anglers get more used to the feel & rhythm of the rod. Whatever it is, I know that the vast majority of bamboo fly rods get better with age, where graphite or fiberglass rods will (after many years) wear out. As Gierach puts it:  

I couldn't agree more with that.

You can read the entire article on the Bloomberg News site HERE. 

"The Rodmaker" is a film, about 20 minutes long, about famed Michigan rod maker Morris Kushner. Kushner made innovative & unique bamboo rods of his own design. He was a very respected & interesting character to the folks who knew him. 

Scott Mann, a multimedia producer of InSight Productions, & John Roman, made the film back in the early 1980's (Kushner was Scott's Grandpa). Unseen for many years, Scott offered the movie for sale on DVD for a while. The DVD is no longer available, but Scott has graciously put the film online for all to see & enjoy. Not only that, but he has also posted the full interviews with rod maker Bob Summers & author John Voelker (Robert Traver) that he conducted for the movie - the unedited interviews which are fascinating to listen to. I'll post those here separately later on, too. 

The film is a fantastic look back at an often overlooked, but important rod maker - & as such, a look into fishing history. It's a fascinating & well told story. Thanks to Scott Mann for allowing us all to enjoy it, as I'm certain you will. Enjoy!

If I were forced to fish with only one dry fly, I would choose the Adams. It looks like nothing in particular & kinda like everything all at the same time. There are times when you just can't be sure what the fish took it for - but that's what makes it so great, because it just works.

This pattern has been around for a long time. The video below does a very good job of explaining how this fly pattern came to be, what the original version probably looked like, & briefly discusses the many variations of the Adams that have appeared through the years. If you're into history, dry flies, &/or fly tying I think you'll enjoy this short, but informative video below.  

Jack Hargreaves was a television host in England from the middle to the late twentieth century. Some of the shows he hosted discussed 'country life', to which fishing is a part. So naturally he took his viewers fishing on many of his TV shows. 

The video below is in 2 parts. In the first, Jack shows us the development through the years of the fishing rod in England. Here we can see how different materials came into, & went of fashion of, fashion for fishing rods. We can also see how the fishing reel developed along with the rods. In the second part, Jack takes us fishing with a friend & philosophies a bit on angling in general & what goes through the mind of a dedicated angler at times.  

While none of this covers fly fishing specifically at all, I find very informative, entertaining, & charming. I hope you will, too. Enjoy! 

Ari 't Hart is an artist, reel maker, & creative individual from the Netherlands. His fly reels are of a truly unique, futuristic design. In fact one of his reels is included in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Each one of his reels is a work of art itself & they command very high prices on the fly fishing tackle collectibles market. Expect to pay high prices for his work.

In addition to fly reels, Mr. Hart has also been known to make fly tying vises. These are truly fascinating vises - as much a piece of art as they are functional. 

On top of all the interesting & unusual designs of the items he makes, the quality of each is second to none. He is a very skilled, knowledgeable man, indeed! 

Below is a short video of an interview he did recently where he tells us how he got into the work he does & his thoughts & philosophies behind it all. If you're not familiar with his work, search the internet for examples & I think you'll be impressed. 

I don't think there's any aspect or item associated with the sport of fly fishing that someone doesn't have a collection of. Leather fly reel cases, in the traditional style, are no exception. Sometimes folks have an old reel & they want a case that would have come with the reel originally, when it was new, to make a nice outfit. Having a matching case will increase the value of your vintage, collectible fly reel. 

However, some folks have modern made reels that they cherish & want to protect better than a soft-sided case can. Maybe they have a modern reel that's made with classic aesthetics & they want a vintage-style leather case to house it in? A perfect fit for those folks would be the clamshell or D-block reel cases I make & offer on the Leather Accessories page. Considering what some of the vintage leather cases can sell for, my cases can be a very affordable & appropriately styled alternative.

The video below discusses these vintage cases, what's collectible, & the prices that they can fetch. If you've got one or more gathering dust on the shelf, or if you enjoy collecting these cases, you might find this information very interesting. You'll also note that it's mentioned in the video that while Hardy, Farlow's, & other reel makers were often assumed to have also made the cases for their reels, they did not. The vast majority of the English made vintage reel cases were made by Wheatley - the same folks who were famous for making those luxurious metal fly boxes! 

A lot of time & work go into making the clamshell & D-block reel cases that I offer on the Leather Accessories page. I'd like to talk a bit about some construction details of these cases. Hopefully this info will help you to better judge the quality of fly reel cases & leather cases overall. 

Whenever you make a case, box, briefcase, piece of luggage, etc that's made from leather & requires stitching, we use a particular type of stitch called (you guessed it) a "box" stitch. Whenever two pieces of leather meet to form a corner in a case, there are a couple of ways to do this. 

The first way to join two pieces of leather in a case together is called a butted joint. This is where the leather of one piece simply butts up against another. Almost every reel case you'll ever see uses this method:

This butted joint will leave one of the two pieces with it's end grain showing, as you can see from the photo above. The advantage of this type of construction is that it's much faster to make cases this way. In fact, they can be sewn & mass-produced on a machine when the leather is joined butt to butt.

The way I join the leather pieces together in my reel cases is to use a miter joint. The leather is cut down on the edges to a 45 degree bevel by hand with a specially shaped knife that is kept very sharp. When the two pieces of leather are stitched together there is no raw edge, end grain, or seam showing.

It takes a lot more time & skill to make cases this way & once mitered, they can only be hand-stitched. Just one glance will show you how much neater & cleaner the edges & corners are in a case made with mitered edges. Compare: the photo below shows a mass-produced reel case that was machine sewn & made with butted joints or seams.

Take a closer look at those seams to examine the butted joint:

Now compare that to the seams & edges on my cases, which are made with mitered joints & stitched by hand:

Maybe in the grand scheme of things these are just details - one seam versus another - but when you're looking for the best made case you can get for your fly reels, those details add up. I want these cases I make to be among the best you can get. A quality case will protect your fly reel, in style, for a lifetime.

I sometimes get questions from folks about older bamboo rods that they've acquired, wondering what they have & what it might be worth. While I'm no expert on vintage tackle, I am more than willing to help folks identify old fly rods (if I can) & tell them what I know. 

Often, I'll advise these folks on the best ways to sell their vintage rods, if that's their aim. When it comes to selling older rods I point them to some trusted dealers I know who have honorable reputations.

Before you contact anyone about your old rods, there are some things to look for which will help both you & the expert identify & estimate a value. These things are fairly easy to ascertain, so spend a bit of time studying the rod before you reach out to any dealers or experts.

Here are just a few key things to look for when evaluating an old bamboo fly rod:
1.) Identify any writing on the rod &/or logos, stickers, or labels. This is very valuable info to give the expert. 

2.) If the rod has 2 tip sections, note if they are exactly the same length. If they're different by even a half inch this could indicate that the rod has been worked on at some point & a tip top replaced.

3.) Look to see that all the thread wraps are the same color. They should all be look almost identical. If one or two are a little brighter, or darker - or if the varnish over them seems a bit different, there's a good chance a guide has been replaced.

4.) Examine the ferrules for cracks.

5.) Study the varnish over the rod shafts to see what condition it is in. Is it flat & smooth all over, or is dry & cracked like alligator skin?

6.) If the rod has a bag or a rod tube, be sure to look for any labels that match any information on the rod. 

These are just some of the points to look for when evaluating a vintage bamboo fly rod. It's a great start for you when contacting an expert for help. Armed with this information, the expert can save a lot of time in research & will have a better idea of just what you might have.

Also, be sure to take photos of the rod. These are a great help to any tackle expert. Be especially sure that your photos include these parts of the rod, as they help the most to identifying it:

-Any writing or labels on the rod, usually fond above the grip
-The grip
-The reel seat
-The ferrules

As far as values go, only a very rough estimate could possibly be made without the expert physically handling the rod. That means if you're looking to sell your rods you should choose a dealer that you trust, so be sure to research anyone before you send them what might be very valuable tackle. 

Armed with this info & these photos to show, you'll be that much farther ahead when you contact a vintage tackle expert for their advise & help in identifying your old rod.

Are you a collector of old fly boxes, particularly those made by the Richard Wheatley Company? These fine fly boxes have been in production for well over one hundred years. In that time, they've gone through a few minor changes which can help you to figure out just how old a Wheatley box might be.

In the video below, filmed at the Richard Wheatley Museum in England, we're taken through a very informative lecture showing how to date any Wheatley fly box. Most often you can tell the age of a box by the markings & stamping on it. This can be tricky, as these are subtle differences, but after watching this video you'll know if you have a rare vintage fly box & what to look for when collecting. 

For generations Wheatley boxes have been the best made, best designed fly boxes you can attain. They are a luxury for any fly angler to carry. They are a fun item for anglers to collect as well. Don't be fooled by cheaply made modern imitations - Wheatley boxes are the best you can get, in my opinion. Watch this video & you'll know the era in which any of their boxes were made.

In researching some older bamboo fly rods, I recently stumbled upon an article written by Michael Baughman which appeared in the May 5th, 1980 issue of Sports Illustrated Magazine. The article is titled "Old and Unimproved As They Might Be, Split-Cane Rods Can't Be Beat"

In the article the author proclaims that out of all the fishing & outdoor gear he owns, if he had to pick just one piece of equipment to keep, it would be his bamboo fly rod. He gives a brief history of the development of the bamboo fly rod & then goes on to extol the delights of fishing with bamboo compared to graphite & fiberglass rods. 

In his comparisons of bamboo rods vs modern rods made of synthetics, he hits upon a point that I believe is so very true about cane rods - a point that those new to bamboo realize & leads to them loving the feel of a bamboo fly rod:

I've seen this myself so many times: an angler, new to bamboo, begins to cast a bamboo rod. Then they lock into the rhythm of the rod & their eyes light up - it's like nothing they've ever felt before!

​The article, short in length, is a delight to read. You can read the entire piece on the SI archives website HERE. For those of you who already know & love bamboo fly rods, this article is just preaching to the choir, but for those of you who have yet to toss a line with a cane rod, it's yet another testimony to why you should give bamboo a try.