EclecticGuy

Each year, I build a few special fly rods to donate to charities and conservation groups. An old friend from graduate school (CU Boulder) still lives in Colorado with his wife and they are active Trout Unlimited members. Long story short, they asked if I would build a rod for their annual raffle to raise money for a river restoration project in Trinidad, CO. Here is the result:

I call this rod the “Aspen” since it is finished to look like aspen bark. The rod itself is … Continue Reading

Over the summer, my publisher, Todd, called me to tell me the great news that he had been asked to create a fishing exhibit for the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. He immediately assembled his team of craftsmen to create this display of mid 19th century fishing equipment, I am one of them. Todd calls us the Van Buren Boys and there are 5 of us all together. The National Park Service has asked us to document our efforts so I have set up a blog for the group to use. The Van Buren Boys Blog will … Continue Reading

I have been studying the history of fishing for several years to learn more about the rods, flies and techniques used by early anglers. There are many early books that have survived , including “A Treatyse of  Fysshyng with an Angle” attributed to Dame Juliana Berners and originally published in 1496! The contemporary ”The Compleat Angler” by Izaac Walton, originally published in 1653 and a second part added by his friend Charles Cotton (gotta love that hair!). These works … Continue Reading

Click to see larger diagram.

I finally decided that I build enough rods to justify making a small investment in building a jig to hold the rod at a 45 degree angle while the guides are adjusted for optimum placement. A great reference on the process can be found here. The process is simple enough but firmly holding the rod without marring its finish can be a challenge! This jig solves that problem, holds the rod securely, and is attached to … Continue Reading

Since I blogged about my faux birch bark rod grip and reel seat I’ve had a lot of visitors who arrive here after googling “birch bark fly rod grip”. I’m sure many of these were looking for natural birch bark grips. Well, it just so happens that I make those too!

I made this grip for a personal rod several years ago. The reel seat and tips of the grip are olive wood. The decorative bands are 3/16″ burnt cork surrounding burl … Continue Reading

The other day I posted about how to create the faux birch effect. Here is the completed fly rod ready for the auction. Hopefully the new owner will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed building it!

If you browse around on my blog you’ll discover that I love fly fishing. I enjoy being out on the stream chasing trout. I tie my own flies – frequently to match real flies I find out on the stream.

I also love building fly rods. I’ve made quite a few for myself but there are only so many rods one fisherman needs! So, I donate some of my rods to charity auctions and events. One of my more popular donation rods is a design I call “The Birch”. I got … Continue Reading

This is my entry in to the RodBuildingForum.com‘s 50-80 rod swap. I turned the handle from basswood and painted it to look like birch bark. The wraps were done in white Gudebrod, painted off white and also painted like birch bark. 

The blank is a 7’ 9” 3 wt. 2 piece from Janns Netcraft. Black double foot snakes and stripping guide, black PacBay uplocking reel seat. Overall, it is a really interesting rod! I am going to build another for myself.

… Continue Reading

Here it is, ready to ship to its new owner Tom. This is a Batson RX8 blank – rated as  “Extra Fast”. Here are the build details:

Strubel U-20 reel seat with a custom turned Amboyna burl seat insert. Custom fitted Half Wells cork grip with Amboyna burl tip and butt sections. A TiC plated winding check finishes off the business end. All of the guides are TiCH with single foot snakes. Striper (12), tamer (10) 2 size 4, 3 size 3 and 3 size 2 wit … Continue Reading

I’ve been working on a 7wt 9’ 4 piece Forecast rod for my upcoming trip to the Green River in Utah.

After doing the original wraps and feather inlay, I accidently turned off the motor on my dryer and all of the epoxy ran in to a big blob! I had to carefully cut it all off. I ended up having to sand the blank, which removed some of the blue finish on the first 6” of the rod. After thinking about alternative fixes, I … Continue Reading