May updates!
Hello everyone! Sorry it’s been a while - lots of life happening here. I recently moved to a new shop and got the clean room set up and now I’m working to move my dirty shop to a barn on the same property. Speaking of, I’m sitting on the porch of my shop and enjoying the gentle breeze. It’s pretty nice here, a little out of the way but if you’re in the Winston area feel free to stop by sometime. Lots of room to cast rods. I’m still working at Great Outdoor Provision Co. 3ish days a week and working on rods the other 7 days. I have a handful of orders from last year that I’m currently working to finish up, otherwise, I’m taking orders in full force so if you’ve got a rod you’d like to order, let me know!
In 2022 I fished the Bighorn with guide John Sindland and my good friend Brad. Ever since then I’ve been in communication with John, Brad and Pete at the Bighorn Angler in Ft. Smith, MT and we’ve been talking about rod designs for fishing the Bighorn and other western spring creeks out there. I’m happy to say that I’m finishing up the first run of rods that we came up with! The Bighorn Special is an 8’ 5wt 4 piece rod designed for fishing tandem and single dries while stalking rising fish. Quick and accurate casts and backbone enough for strong, big river brown trout. The second rod we came up with is the Western Spring Creek 8’3” 4wt 3 piece. This rod is more delicate with longer casts and leaders. Both rods are meant for stalking rising trout but this one is more gentle with a lighter, more delicate tip. Both rods can handle a Montana ‘breeze’ and being tossed around in a drift boat and are light enough for fishing all day.
These rods are an addition to my Synthesis series and are the same deep brown color. I’m building these rods with my brass cap and ring reel seats with a variety of wood reel seats. Mildrum stripping guides and hand made snake guides or Snake Brand guides. There are trim wraps indicating the line weight at the grip showing 4 trim wraps for the 4wt or 5 trim wraps for the 5wt so when you reach down for a rod it’s easy to see which one you are grabbing. Believe it or not, these rods come with hook keepers. It took some convincing, but once I fished with John I found relevance for the hook keeper. It still feels strange to make a rod with one but I’ll get used to it.
A little while back I posted some rods I made in a new yellow color. I called it Sunrise Yellow. The old mango yellow color isn’t available anymore so this is what we have to work with. I like it, too - it’s a brilliant color that is easy on the eyes and is fun to work with. I’ve made these in a 3 piece 6’8” 3wt Blue Ridge Special, 3 piece 7’2” 4wt Driftless Special, and a 3 piece 7’9” 5wt General Practitioner. These rods are part of a group of rods I’m making for Alternative Tackle. Alternative Tackle is based in the UK and a fun collective of anglers and makers who sell unique rods and gear worldwide.
At the end of March, I met up with my buddy Gordon to fish a few streams in Shenandoah National Park and test out some rods. I love fishing and spending time up there. It’s beautiful, various and the mountains feel old and wise. It was fitting that this was the first time I’d fished in a long while. I hadn’t seen Gordon in a couple of years and it was great to catch up and enjoy some good laughs, food and fishing. It was an incredible time away and perfect conditions to test the rods I had been working on with a friend who knows the originals well. When fishing these rods, memories of when I designed and fished them originally came flooding back to me. I felt the thrill of the first cast and the first fish all over again.
I remembered how much fun it is to fish a parabolic fly rod. You take your time. You finesse the cast and feel a unique connection to the whole process of fly fishing. It’s grounding and rejuvenating. And, catching fish on a parabolic fly rod is FUN. You don’t rush the important stuff. You slow down. It’s good medicine.
I’m reissuing my original 64p, 70p, and 75p in the Stout color. These are identical to the earlier rods in every way. Spigot ferrules, black glass painted with my original transparent ‘brown ale’ color, feel, everything is the same. It’s impossible to name a favorite rod that I’ve come up with but these are way up there for me. As a refresher, the 64p is a 6’4” 4wt 4 piece. It feels and fishes like a 2wt, but I designed it as a 4wt and it handles a 4wt line perfectly. Many have called it a laser pointer, perfect for fishing pocket water in high-gradient streams. The 70p is a 7’ 4wt 4 piece roll casters delight. Smooth and gentle accuracy. I go out in the yard and cast this rod the most. Like I said, I won’t name any favorites but if I did… The 75p is a 7’5” 5wt 4 piece rod that is the best of the smaller two rods in 5wt form. Great for mid sized streams and the rod I fish when I don’t quite know what kind of fishing I’ll encounter. Also farm ponds and and warmwater streams. I use this rod to teach fly casting since it gives such good feedback to the caster.
I’ve got 10 of each of these blanks available and will start taking orders for them immediately. These rods will start at $975. I’m asking for a $400 deposit to order and the balance is due when completed and ready to ship. More details are on my Store page.
As always, feel free to Contact Me with any questions. It’ll take me a little bit to rework the information in other sections of my website to reflect all the news here so please reach out to clarify.