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On November 20, I had the honor and opportunity to speak to the Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association. I’m a proud member. It’s a fabulous organization, and this is the direct result of both its wonderful leadership and membership. My talk was titled: Bamboo Fly Rods: Connecticut History & Current Construction. The talk was divided into two parts. First, I covered local history. Among other things, I discussed the Hiram Leonard descendants who eventually set up shop in Connecticut and tracked the lineage through to modern day builders. Second, I discussed the way in which I build bamboo fly rods completely from raw stock. I believe it was well received. Here are some photos… God’s beautiful creations brought to hand with a finely crafted organic product, admired and gently released back to clear, cold water… Date: 11/2/23
Time: 11:30am-3:00pm Weather: sunny, some clouds Air: 37° Water: 47° pH: 7.32 Making up for a lack of fishing over the summer, I headed out again in early November. This particular location is comprised of one main stream, along with a number of named tributaries that branch off of it. The last time I was here, it was on a very similar day with air and water temperatures within degrees of my recordi ngs this day. With a downstream presentation, I caught this beautiful wild native brook trout. Interestingly, after gently releasing him, we hung out together for a bit. Date: 10/24/23
Time: 9:00am-5:00pm Weather: sunny, cloudy Air: 48° Water: 56° A good day, filled with hatches, variable water types, and delicate presentations to selective feeders. Channeling the spirit of the great E.H. “Polly” Rosborough, I used one of his famous flies, a Casual Dress variant. I, too, was casually dressed beneath my waders, which was good because I took an unexpected plunge up to my neck after catching the above pictured salmon.  Here is a recently completed rod. It was shipped to Colorado in October 2023. It has a medium, smooth progressive action, well suited for delicate presentations. It’s an all-round great trout rod, especially for delicate, tactical work. The ENTIRE rod was handmade in my shop, including ALL components, from raw materials. - Tip top, snake guides, agate stripping guide, winding check, cork check, sliding band, butt cap, cork handle, wood reel seat insert, ferrules and cane strips. This rod took over 150 hours to complete.  This 8’ 4wt rod (Serial #: 230943H-2) comes with two matching tips. It is accompanied by an aluminum rod tube with brass hardware, a protective rod sock, complimentary ferrule wax, and a ferrule plug. The butt and tips are hollow fluted. There is a slight swell under the grip. The wood insert on the reel seat is Bolivian Ironwood, and the stripping guide is green agate with a silver bezel and nickel silver wire. The remainder of metal on the rod is nickel silver. The grip is Flor grade cork and the ferrule plug is Pyinma and Flor grade cork. Wraps are Kimono silk in Garden Green and Tuscan Sun. |
