Sharing My Passion for Fly Fishing

Some people believe I am obsessed with fly fishing, and they are not wrong.  I have reached a point where it is no longer just about catching fish.  It is about the serenity, the love of being in the wilderness, the challenge, the next adventure.  It has now also about the people I meet, the friendships I have made, and the stories that are told.

I have decided it is time to work towards sharing my passion with people who have never had the pleasure to try it.  For the novice, getting into fly fishing can be daunting.  What gear do I need?  How to cast?  What flies should I use?  Where should I go?  And many other questions.

In order to help with this, I have worked with the State of Idaho to develop a business model to allow me to teach fly fishing, ON THE WATER.  Many fly shops and organizations teach fly casting, on the grass, but I can now teach fly fishing on private property on the beautiful St. Joe River in North Idaho.

In a one day session, I will teach people the basics of rods, reels, lines, leaders, tippets and flies.  My clients will then get a beginning casting lesson, then we will hit the water.  The creek that runs through my property is the perfect place to continue to learn to cast, while learning to properly drift the fly and manage the fly line.  While on the water we will discuss fish behavior, how to read the stream, as well as a beginner lesson on entomology.  What kind of bugs are in the water.  How do fish feed on them, and how to imitate these bugs with artificial flies.

At some point, my clients and I will enjoy a barbecued lunch at my cabin.  I won't be trying to impress them with my cooking skills, but rather, having a conversation and becoming friends.

After lunch we will venture to the St. Joe river, and continue our fishing session.  On the bigger water, the chance of catching fish goes up significantly.  While fishing I will continue to work with the clients on their casting form, their drift and line management, and if all goes well, I will have the opportunity to teach them proper and safe handling of fish during catch and release.

If you are someone you know is interested in getting a taste of fly fishing, spending a day on the river, and hopefully catching some fish on a fly rod, please visit   https://kb2flyrods.wixsite.com/onthewaterflyfishing for more information.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

A while back I was reading John Mordock's book, Capturing Rogue Trout: Strategies of a Third Generation Fly Fishermen.  In one part he states that he has heard a myth that you should throw streamers during a hatch, and stated that this does not work.  When I read this, I thought, "well sure, why would you throw streamers during a hatch."

Yesterday I was on the St. Joe River trying to catch some early spring cutthroats.  Since it was April, the water was high and moving very swiftly.  It was difficult to find a good spot to get to the river that had fishy looking water.  I finally found a small jettie of boulders that created a nice back eddy on an outside corner.  I notice a few flies in the air that appeared to be March Brown Mayflies.  By the time I put on my waders and laced up my rod, the air began to fill with a swarm of flies.  Fish in the back eddy began working the surface and my excitement level began to rise.  I had many options in my fly box to match this hatch.  I began casting into the eddy and caught a nice cuttie on about the third cast. Then the hatch really took off. There was about 2 or 3 natural flies per square foot on the water.  Unfortunately with that many bugs on the water, it became difficult to get a fish to take my imitation.  I got several false strikes but no takers.  I tried several size and color variations but the result was the same, with that big of a menu, the fish did not even give the artificial fly much of a look.

With my frustration mounting, I remembered this myth that Mordock said didn't work.  I had nothing to lose as I could not get the fish to take my dry flies.  So I put the spool with the sink tip line on my Hardy Perfect, tied on a #10 bead head olive wooly bugger, and pitched it out into the current.  I let the streamer swing through the current into the back eddy and WHAM!  First cast, a nice 17" westslope cutthroat.

This was the one that hit on the first cast with the streamer

 I caught 5 more in the next 30 minutes.  I probably would have never thought to take that approach during such an impressive hatch had I not read the author stating that this does not work.

This is only one case where this approach worked, so I am not suggesting that it will always work, but I am suggesting that fishing is not a cut and dried affair.  Just because someone says "that won't work", or "you must do this" doesn't make it a fact.  Sometimes when something that should be working isn't, try a completely different approach, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Custom Fly Rod Components - Part 3 Get a Grip

While on most factory fly rods, the grip is just a shaped piece of cork to allow you to hold the rod easier.  They do come in several different shapes, Full Wells, Reverse Half Wells, Cigar, etc..., and different grades of cork, but they still are fairly plain and all similar.

The grip is one feature on my fly rods that I really like to make unique and one of a kind.  I use many different materials such as Elk Antler, exotic woods and other materials.

Elk Antler and Walnut Inlays

Changing the layout and look as well as the shape helps me add to the character of my customers personal fly rod.  Many times I have a discussion with the client about what they like, it might be they like dark wood finished furnishings, so I may choose a nice piece of burled walnut to accent the grip.

Burled Maple on a Full Wells Grip

If a customer is an elk or deer hunter, incorporating some antler into the grip would be their choice.  I am always looking and thinking about different materials and patterns to try.  

Hand Checkered Walnut

If you have an idea of what you think would make a great addition to your next fly rod, contact me and let's see what we can come up with.

Rod Weight and Power, Making Sense

“If you cannot measure it, if you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.” Lord Kelvin

I first saw the above quote when I read an article by Dr. William Hanneman called "The Common Cents System".  The article was about a method the he had developed to determine the proper line weight for a fly rod.  This article intrigued me because as I was building rods just for my personal use, I encountered a scenario that was frustrating.  

I had built myself an 8' , 5 weight rod on a name brand blank that I just loved, it cast better than any other rod I had bought or built, and instantly became my go to rod, and is still in use a lot today.  Next, I decided I needed a 4 weight rod.  So I acquired a nice 9', 4 piece blank and built my rod.  I loaded it with 4 weight line and off I went.  Imagine my disappointment that first day when casting this new rod, it felt terrible, I couldn't make a tight looped 30 foot cast.  The rod never felt like it loaded properly unless I was slinging 50 feet or more of line.  Which in the small stream I was fishing was not possible.  I decided that I just didn't like that rod and on the shelf it went, never to be used again.  

A while later, I built myself another 5 weight rod on another name brand blank, this one was 9 foot long.  I loaded it with 5 weight line and took it fishing.  I had the same experience with this rod, it never felt right, it didn't seem to load up and casting was difficult and frustrating.  So it too got resigned to being just a decoration. 

It was about this time that I first read Dr. Hanneman's article, and it really made sense to me.  His method uses bags of pennies, (thus the play on words, Common Cents), to deflect a rod to determine the amount of force required to fully load that rod.  So I followed his method and low and behold it explained a lot.  My favorite rod, the 8' 5 weight was according to his system truly a 5 weight, which explained why it cast well with 5 weight line.  However, the 4 weight not only measured as a 5 weight according to this method, it was a heavier 5 weight than my favorite rod.  This explained why it would not load up with 4 weight line.  Next on the rack was the 9' , 5 weight.   According to "The Common Cents System" it is actually a 6 weight rod, and explained why it would not load properly with 5 weight line.  

You see, according to Dr. Hanneman, "The current practice is for each manufacturer to label each rod with a recommended line weight. However, that recommendation is simply the subjective opinion of each rod’s designer."    

Although "The Common Cents System" does work well, the Engineer in me could not stop at stacking books on the handle of the rod, counting out pennies and using a tape measure to determine the correct line to put on a rod.  I had to have something better.  After a couple of prototypes and experiments, I now have developed a tool that uses Dr. Hanneman's basic premise and mathematical calculations to not only determine the best weight line, but to take it down to the recommended line weight in grains for a particular rod.

It consists of two stands, the one on the left holds the rod and has an adjustment system to get the rod level, and lined up with the stand on the right.  By definition a fully loaded rod has had its tip deflect by a distance equal to 1/3 of its length.  So, using a series of pulleys attached on one end to the tip top of the rod, and the other to a precision scale, the rod is deflected by 1/3 of its length.

7' 6" rod on the rack

The precision scale measures the exact amount of force needed to deflect the rod.  I have developed the correct formulas to convert that number to the correct line weight in grains to properly load the rod when casting.  Line manufactures list the weight of the first 30 feet in grains. 

So, lets go back to the three rods I discussed earlier.   According to my system, my favorite rod will load properly with a line weighing 140 grains, which is very typical for 5 weight line.  The second rod (originally labeled as a 4 weight), needs a line weighing about 150 grains to properly load.  A little research and I found Rio Trout LT WF 5 Weight Line having a head weight of exactly 150 grains.  The 3rd rod, (originally marked as a 5 weight) needs a line with a head weight of 170 grains to load properly, which is a typical weight for 6 weight line.  The two rods that I had previously written off as failures, now cast significantly better because they are matched with the appropriate weighted line, and see action in appropriate situations.

As of now, all rods leaving my shop will have a recommended line weight in grains, to allow the customer to select the best possible line to match up with their new rod. 

Custom Fly Rod Components - Part 2 A Guide to Rod Guides

After a customer has selected the blank for their custom fly rod, before the build can begin, the choice of rod guides must be made.  There are three different types of guides on a fly rod, the stripper guide(s), the running guides and the tip top.

Stripper Guides with Agate Inserts

The guide closest to the grip is called the stripper guide, it is the largest guide on the rod and its primary function is to funnel the slack line straight to allow it to smoothly run through the rest of the guides.  On some fly rods, usually over 9 feet long, a customer will request 2 stripper guides.  The stripper guide gets the most contact with the line while casting and therefor can receive the most wear.  Typical stripper guides will have a ceramic or agate insert to prevent wear and allow the line to run across it smoothly.  Stripper guides with agate inserts can add aesthetics to the rod as the agates come in a variety of colors, however agate guides are more expensive.  Ceramic or agate inserts will typically last forever under normal fishing conditions.

The remainder of the guides, with the exception of the tip top are called running guides.  Running guides will get progressively smaller the closer they get to the tip of the rod.  There are two primary types, double foot 'snake' guides and single foot guides.  I have fished with rods that use snake guides and others with single foot guides.  While some will argue that one is better than the other, I personally cannot detect a difference in the guides.  With the right size and spacing, in my opinion, either type works great and is up to the customers discretion.

Last but not least is the Tip Top.  There are many different styles and types but unlike the running guides I do have a personal preference on the fly rods that I fish with.  I tend to fish areas that have a lot of trees and brush that prevent me from making a full back cast, therefor I am forced to shoot the line in order to get distance.  Several years ago I replaced the tip top on one of my rods with an over sized loop tip top and noticed a significant difference in my cast. I recommend that if you tend to shoot the line a lot, to consider an over sized loop, some customers don't care for the appearance of an over sized loop, and I will use whatever they choose.

The most important factor with all guides is that they are good quality, sized and spaced correctly.  When building a rod, unless the customer gives me specific direction otherwise, I will follow the size and spacing recommended by the blank manufacturer.

Custom Fly Rod Components - Part 1 Drawing a Blank

Probably the two most commonly asked questions by potential customers are 1) "How much do your rods cost?" and 2) "Whose blanks do you use?"   The short answers to these questions is 1) "It depends on what blank I use." and 2) "I can use any blank you wish."

You see, as a custom fly rod builder, I can build a fly rod on any blank available, and the cost of the blank is the primary price driver on a rod.  Selecting the rod blank must be done before I can quote a price on the rod because in some cases the cost of the blank can represent more than 50% of the total price of the rod.  There are many factors that go into selecting the correct rod blank for a build, quality, action, warranty, color, and other personal preferences.  Without going into the details of the technical aspects of the graphite (modulus, scrim, resins, etc...) I will give you the rundown on my most commonly used blanks.

Without a doubt, Sage is the best known fly rod and blank manufacturer.  The quality of the Sage blanks coupled with their unlimited lifetime warranty make them hard to beat.  Sage blanks are produced at their Bainbridge Island, Washington facility. I have actually visited their facility several times and have done some lean manufacturing consulting work for Sage.  Their operation is top notch, and if money is no object they are my number one recommendation assuming that one of their models fits the action, length, number of pieces and color criteria the customer is looking for.  There are only two drawbacks with Sage blanks.  First, they are limited to only the length, weight, number of pieces and colors that their factory rods are produced on, If a customer specifically wants an 8 foot, 3 piece 5 weight, green rod,  he is out of luck with Sage.  The Accel blank is green, but only comes in 4 piece blanks, and 5 weights are only available in 8 foot 6 and 9 foot models.  The second drawback is price. Sage is the most expensive blanks on the marker and drive the starting price of a custom fly rod to $600 plus, depending on the model.

In my humble opinion, St. Croix blanks are the best option for the money.  The quality difference between them and Sage is undetectable as an end user.  Although they have a limited lifetime warranty (limited to manufacturing defects) if you take good care of your equipment, the price difference is significant.  The starting price for a custom fly rod built on a St. Croix blank is around $400.  They do have the same drawback regarding weight, length, number of pieces, and colors, but if a customer can be a little flexible in their selections, St. Croix blanks are a great option to build a superior fly rod.

CTS blanks are produced in New Zealand and the quality of their blanks is on par with Sage and St. Croix and backed by a limited lifetime warranty similar to St. Croix.  The major benefit of CTS is the variety of weight, length, number of pieces, and color combinations.  For example you can get a 5 weight blank in either 3 or 4 piece combinations, in 5 different lengths and 38 different colors.  If a customer is very specific in their requirements, I can usually find the exact combination in a CTS blank.  However, being in New Zealand the cost to acquire a blank puts the rod price in the $500 plus range.

Discount/Import Blanks
There are a wide variety of lower priced blanks available. Batson Forecast, MHX, H&H and others. These are good quality blanks, the technology and design is similar to that of the premier manufactures blanks of 5 or 10 years ago, but the price is significantly lower.  I personally have a 5 weight that I love and use a lot that is built on an MHX blank.  I have built many rods for customers on these blanks and they are very satisfied.  If a customers budget for a custom fly rod is in the $300 range, and are willing to forego the name brand blank, they can acquire a very functional and beautiful rod built on one of these blanks.

There are many other blank manufacturers available, and I am not limited to the ones I have outlined above.  I will work with a customer and provide as many options and information that they need in order to make the best blank selection for their preferences and budget.

Hopefully this answers at least some of your questions, but if you have specific questions regarding fly rod blanks you can comment below or email me directly at kb2flyrods@outlook.com.

Custom Fly Rod Components - A Series

As a Custom Fly Rod builder, I am committed to helping my customers select the best components for the rod that I am going to build for them.  Since most customers have not had a custom rod built before, they have a lot of questions and rely on the builder to help them.  I am going to write a series of blog posts that breakdown what selections need to be made, and provide some information that will help you when the time comes to make your selections.

There are essentially five major selections that need to be made.  The blank, the guides, the grip, the reel seat, and the decorations.  I will write a separate post that breaks down each individual selection.  

The first in the series will address the blank.  Selecting the correct blank is the most important decision, it will determine the performance of the rod and is the largest price driver of a custom rod.  Matching high quality guides, either single foot or snake guides with the blank is the next selection to be made, and I will address them in part two of the series.  In part three, I will discuss the types, and designs of the grips.  The reel seat including a discussion of the hardware and the insert will be the topic of part four.  The final part in the series will be a discussion of the different decorations and inscriptions that are available on custom fly rods.

My hope in writing this series is that you, as the customer will be better informed when it comes to making these selections when you have your custom fly rod built by me or by another competent fly rod builder.

So stay tuned, Part One - Drawing a Blank will be posted in a few days.