Acknowledgments

There are many people who have been very influential and have given me a lot of help through the years, but these people, who I am about to list have provided me with the highly specialized knowledge and skills that is required to make top quality bespoke bamboo fly rods: My grandfather Carl H.M. Scott, my father Carl E. Scott, and salmon fisher extraordinaire Doc Payson, rod makers Harry Boyd, Don Andersen, Tim Abbott, Tom Whittle, and Bob Hallowell.As I mentioned elsewhere, I learned carpentry from my grandfather who came to the United States as a child from Sweden. He was an amazing old school carpenter and mason who learned carpentry and construction from his father who was also a master carpenter. When I worked with him I was still in college and he was nearing retirement. In addition to general carpentry skills, he taught me woodworking and how to use block planes and hand saws which has been invaluable when it comes to hand planing bamboo. My father was also a carpenter and I learned a lot from him as well but he is the one who introduced me to fly fishing and taught me how to cast. Even before that though, he introduced me to the outdoors. In addition to doing carpentry he made wildlife movies and spent nearly every weekend filming deer, beaver, ruffed grouse, and bald eagles in the Mass Dept of Conservation and Recreation’s Quabbin Reservoir watershed. He took me with him often and taught me from a very early age how to find my way in the wilderness. He also took me along on his annual salmon fishing trip to the Dennys River in Maine. So I owe him a debt of gratitude for instilling in me a love of the outdoors.

When I was old enough to cast a fly rod I began fishing for Atlantic salmon – I landed a large adult salmon before I ever even fished for trout! We fished the Dennys River for two weeks every year until the Atlantic Salmon was put on the endangered species list and all fishing for them stopped in the US. During those years I met and got to know Doc Payson and he was very instrumental in helping me understand various methods and techniques that could be employed to entice a salmon to take a fly. He was very passionate about salmon fishing - he tied all of his flies, he built his own log cabin on a salmon river, and he enjoyed smoking salmon, which was the very best!

It was Doc who inspired me to tie my own flies and build my own fly rods. During those years I was searching for the ultimate Atlantic fly rod. I started out with 8 and 9 weight rods and progressed through the years down to 5 and 6 weight rods. The first ultralight bamboo rod that I built was a 5’ 8” for a 4 weight line and in the early eighties I managed to catch a number of Atlantic salmon and grilse on it in New Brunswick.

Fly rod making has been a gradual evolution for me and after having built many fly rods over a 20 year period I wanted to move on to actually splitting the cane, planing it down by hand, and gluing up my own rod blanks. Then finish the rod by adding ferrules, reel seats and cork handles. Even though bamboo is actually a grass, the skill set to work with it is basically the same as if it were wood--so my many years woodworking helped me tremendously. I started making my first split bamboo rod with just a book as my guide. Then decided that it made sense to learn from a master so I turned to Harry Boyd. Harry took me step by step, inch by inch and day by day through the arduous and insanely detailed process of completing that first split cane bamboo fly rod. His communication skills and teaching ability are truly amazing. Even to this day. If I had a question while learning a new procedure he has always been my primary source of information. If you are ever going to take a bamboo rod making class, I highly recommend that you contact Harry.

Don Andersen, another master, has also been very helpful and has unselfishly provided tons of information about bamboo fly rod making. In addition to Harry and Don, I have exchanged emails and phone calls with Tim Abbot, Tom Whittle, and Bob Hallowell about rod tapers and other advanced rod making topics. So many rod makers at gatherings have provided information that they are too numerous to mention by name, but they are out there helping anyone who asks them a question. It’s a great community of like minded craftsmen! A special thanks to one of the rod builders who I met at the Catskill Gathering -- Dennis Menscer. Dennis invited me to his shop in nearby Hancock, NY and extended his hospitality to include a very detailed tour of his shop, equipment, and specialized tools that he uses to make some of the best bamboo fly rods that are being made anywhere in the world today. He also introduced me to the very talented machinist and rod maker Tony DiCicco whose ferrules and reel seat hardware are second to none. If you want his hardware on your custom fly rod just let me know -- together we can provide you with a truly one of a kind work of art -- all made in America one at a time and all by hand.