Components

If you have spent some time looking at various custom bamboo fly rod maker’s websites you will find that some make their own components – i.e., ferrules, guides, & reel seats. And there are those who claim that the makers who make all of their own components make better fly rods than those of us who don’t. Here is my position on this:

1. Even the makers who “make everything” themselves actually do not. They do not, for instance, make their own glue, nor do they make their own silk thread. They might make ferrules but they start with premade tubes of nickel silver. No one maker, to my knowledge, makes everything that goes into a bamboo fly rod.

2. I believe that my time is better spent designing, making, and testing fly rods than spending time punching out ferrules or turning reel seats. Besides there are people who spend 100% of their time, energy and talent making very high quality ferrules and reel seats. They make these components so good that there is nothing to be gained by making them myself.

3. Knowing who makes the best components and how their styles vary from one to another gives me the maker and you the customer a lot of very interesting choices.

4. The one thing that I can not buy is the very heart of the fly rod, the bamboo blank with the taper I personally designed and tested. Yes, I can buy blanks but they have a predetermined taper – and some from far away lands are of questionable quality. They may look pretty but who knows what they used for glue or how much of the power fibers they sanded away. The blank is the one thing that I must make – and I want to spend my time and energy making it the best it can be. I can not buy a better blank anywhere. I have to make it – and I put a lot of work into every one.

5. On a full custom rod you will determine what components you want on your rod. I will work with you so that you get the very best there is. This will be one of the topics we will discuss during our many conversations as we work together on your rod.