What Reels Do I Use

I get that question a lot. What reels do I use to fish with? My standard answer is light weight reels. I generally look for the lightest reels I can find. Right now I use Hardy Bougle Lightweights. They were made for the Japanese market and are thought of as some of the nicest reels that Hardy has ever made. They also have an Agate version.

These reels weigh in at the low 3 oz. range. It has taken me several years to collect the few that I have, mostly from Japan. Since so few of these reels where made you will only see one or two come for sale each year.

The main reason I use light weight reels is the performance of the rod. I personally like the feel of the bamboo rod when it has a light weight reel on it. I think you can feel the action much better when the lever and spring are allowed to work properly.

Customer Pic

This weeks post has another customer photo. This one is of a pretty 20" brown trout caught on one of my 8'4" 3 weights. You will also notice that this rod has one of my lightweight reel seats. This rod generally weighs around 3.1 oz. This taper is a faster taper and can easily cast a 3 weight line 50-60 feet if you want.

Please check back every week as I will be posting something new each Sunday/Monday.

Weekly Posts

I have been pretty busy with rod making and my kids baseball. There hasn't been a lot of time for posts on this page. However, I am going to start putting a new post every Monday. So come back every week for an update on fishing and bamboo fly rods. As you can see I am one day late already.

One thing I will be talking about and showing is an upgrade to some of the components I am using. For instance, I have upgraded my rod tubes. I have went with a mineral bronze tube and gold caps. They are about $25 more than the standard tubes I was using, but I think they look really nice.

This weeks post is a customer pic from back east. The rod in the pic is a 7'3" 4 weight. Its a great little rod. I can count on three fingers how many rods I have made under 8'. For some reason 8' seems to be the magic number for me. I just really don't want to go below that. However, sometimes I get a wild hair and build one.

Customer Pic

Here is a pic from a customer. The rod is a 8' 3 weight and the fish is a Wyoming Cutthroat. I have said this before, but my 3 weights are still my best sellers.

Monster Landed

I just returned from a great fishing trip. I used my new composite ferruled rods extensively and I am happy with where they are going.
I had lunch one day with Tom Morgan and as always learned a lot about the art of making rods. Below is a picture of one of my kids with a trout he caught. It measured 30". It was so big I had to take my shoes and socks off and jump in the lake to land it. I felt like if he had to bring it on land it would have broken the rod. I tried to explain to him that most people don't ever catch a fish like that their whole lives!

3 Piece Rod

Here is a new 3 piece rod that is about to go out. It's a 8'5" 4 weight. I really like this taper. Sometimes you hope that the buyer disappears so that you can keep a nice rod for yourself. That's not going to happen this time so I am going to start building one for myself as soon as I get back from my trip.

New Lightweight Reel Seats

I am introducing a new lightweight reel seat. They are made of a traditional blued aluminum hardware and have a Spanish Cedar insert. They weigh over 60% less than a traditional nickel silver cap/ring reel seat. I plan on using them mainly on my composite ferruled rods. The rods in the picture are demo's that I will have this year with me for people to cast. Weights on these rods with the fore mentioned items weigh the following: 8'3" 3 weight 3.05 oz, 8'3" 4 weight 3.30 oz. and 8'6" 5 weight weighs 3.6 oz.
I hope to see you out on the stream!