How did you get in to fly fishing?
I got into fly fishing on a whim some years back. Andrea was looking to transition from spin fishing to fly fishing. I helped her get her first set up and I was fascinated immediately by all thing fly fishing. That was the beginning of the end. Around about the same time I lost two discs in my neck and had to be fused, that really slowed down the skiing and working in the snowsports industry to the point that I quit. That is when the rod building came into play. Now I am extremely fascinated by high end reels and tuning rod builds.
What’s your favorite type of fishing (dry fly, nymph, streamer, worm and bobber)? Favorite fish to target?
I personally love the diversity of all aspects from the extremely small dries up to the 5’ streamer. I guess it ultimately comes down to what the water and time of year permit as to what I enjoy the most. But, there is something special about watching a dry fly being sipped by a rising trout. I prefer trout because it is easy access for us, specifically brown trout. We have great water in PA and some great unknown wild trout waters that we keep secret. I will admit that I do need to step up my nymph game this year though.
When did you make your first rod? Why not go buy one from the local fly shop?
When was my first fly rod made? Honestly not as long ago as most would believe. I think I built my first rod about 6 years ago. A large book as a thread tensioner, and empty coffee cup as a spool retainer, and my knees was used as my rod bed. I think I practiced wrapping rods for months before I ever wrapped a rod with intent. By that time I had built my first rod wrapper that I used up until about 8 months ago.
Why build my own? I don’t want this to come off as being conceited but we travel for salmon and steelhead in New York and met a lot of builders and became fascinated with rod building. I thought it would be fun to give it a try and thought I could do better. Plus factory rods are just plain and boring. I think a lot of people progress this way - learn to fly fish, learn to tie flies, want more of fly fishing, start casually building rods, want more out of it, assemble a rod building cave, want more, get a wood shop, want a little more, add some metal working equipment, then you look back and wonder how the hell all of this happened.