Double review: G. Loomis NRX LP & Livingston Western Glass

Here's the promised look at the G. Loomis NRX LP 8.8ft #3. I decided to throw in the Livingston Western Glass rod as well since they are similar in length and line weight. The difference is the material: the G. Loomis is graphite while the Livingston is made of fiberglass. Are there more differences?

Let's start with the G. Loomis. It's a mystery to me why G. Loomis rods have been 'under te radar' of the general public the past 10-15 years. I've discussed about this several times with George Anderson (owner of Yellowstone Angler). The recent yearly shoot outs of 9ft #5 rods by the Yellowstone Angler the NRX LP fly rod by G. Loomis were killing the competition.

I think there are two main reasons for the low attention by the general public of G. Loomis as a premium fly rod brand: lack of the right marketing and missing the right key figure, like Jerry Siem (head rod designer at Sage).

Let's start with the last one. Jerry looks like a very knowledgeable (he explains the technical jumbo-jumbo with the right words) and has a very sympathetic appearance. Steve Rajeff, the head rod designer at G. Loomis, is arguably the most knowledgable fly rod designer. But his appearance is a bit grumpy and his presentation is too intellectual. Simply said, Steve is the brilliant VCR engineer who also wrote the manual. These manuals are basically not a nice reading.

Then the marketing. Also a similar style as the VCR manual. Too much emphasis on the technical specifications rather than creating fly fishing setting you just want to be a part of. Here's the department where Sage excels: their ads have the right ambiance. You want to be there and be the guy in the ad. One final word on the rods: G. Loomis needs to hire a 'cosmetics manager'. Their rods just don't look as appealing as a Sage or Winston.

Now let's take a look at the rod itself. The 8.8ft #3 is a rod that hasn't had much, if any, coverage by the reviewers. But just as its big brother, the 9ft #5, it's a phenomenal casting rod. The tip has that right amount of softness that allows you to cast close (15-25 ft) with good feedback. The butt section of the rod has the strength to cast 40-45 ft with great precision. The rod has no problem with casting distances, 50-60 ft, a 3 weight has 'no business being there'. The strong butt section also means the rod can handle large fish with ease.

The original NRX had this weird color scheme of a dark grey blank with bright baby blue guide wraps. I think I heard once that Steve wanted this to make sure the rod stands out from other rods. It sure does, but not the way I think a great rod should. The LP (Light Presentation) model were available in two blank colors, the same as the NRX but also in a dark translucent green color with dark green wraps. A much nicer to the eye color scheme. Recently G. Loomis dropped the grey/blue version all together.

The grip of this rod has the right shape and length for the size of the rod. To me the proportion of the grip and reel seat should match the size of the rod. The cork(?) they used does feels a bit rubbery. The size and shape is really nice. The reel seat is also I would have liked more if it had a more classic look. I'm not a fan of high tech looking seats (the Asquith, G. Loomis' new top of the line rod does have a more traditional looking reel seat). I fished the rod last september with a SA Mastery Trout (DT3). Great match!

The resurgence the past 8-10 years of fiberglass has resulted in some amazing blanks and rods. The real improvements didn't come from the traditional rod companies but from smaller niche companies. The Epic blanks are making a huge impression, while small boutique rod builders like Chris Barclay, Steffen Brothers and Kabuto are making exquisite rods using their own proprietary taper designs. More recently a fellow by the name of Dusty Smith from Livingston, Montana joined with the list of small boutique builders with his Livingston Rod Company.

I received my Livingston as a custom finish from Shane Gray. He finished the blank in a more classic look with a cork seat, simple but elegant looking ring and cap and a small but very comfortable mini half wells grip. I think it looks very appealing and minimalistic. Obviously it's also very light. The slightly faster and lighter S-glass used in Dusty's blanks and rods are made to his design by the New Zealand blank builder CTS. CTS also builds the blanks for Swift (Epic). Livingston's fresh water fiberglass blanks and rods can be ordered with the unaltered white translucent color or dark brown. His saltwater fiberglass rods come in a cool blue color.

This 8.6 ft #3 in 3 pieces is quite a remarkable rod. To start with, it's extremely light, in fact it's a few grams lighter than the G. Loomis rod (71 vs 76 grams, 2.5 vs 2.7 oz). Also the blank is surprisingly slim. And finally the length is somewhat of a surprise as I thought fiberglass beyond 8-8.5 ft would be too heavy and (especially with a light line weight) slow. This rod has a very strong butt section while the tip section is soft, a lot softer than the G. Loomis.

The action can be best described as 'modified progressive'. The softer tip allows for very delicate casting, you really need slowing down slightly to allow the soft tip to do the job. Thanks to the soft tip it also casts a DT 2 superbly. Dusty explains why and how he designed this rod:

"…  I guide and fish Yellowstone Park, am a dry fly addict, and fish PA and NY a couple of times a year. I have always wanted a long 3wt and could never find one that wasn't a 4, especially for Soda Butte Creek, Pebble Creek, the Upper Gibbon, the Firehole, and the Middle to Upper Willowemec (in the Catskills).

The rod casts best at 15 to 25' because those are the average casts for a lot of those streams, and I didn't want it to cast off the tip like the Epics. If I have to cast 30-50' like on the Missouri of the Delaware I grab my 5wt. I retained power in the butt because we hook 20" fish in a lot of our smaller waters out west."

The surprising thing is this rod casts very delicate up to 25 ft, as Dusty explains, but the strong butt section kicks in when casting well up to 50-60 ft! I've tried a WF3 (Orvis Hydros) as well as a DT3 (Sage Quiet Taper II) and both lines felt wonderful on this rod. The rod handled the heavier mass weight when using a DT3 on longer casts very well.

The soft tip will collapse (resulting in tailing loops) if you force the tip (typical of casting with fast graphite rods) on the longer distances. The casting stroke needs to be lengthened a bit more as well use the stronger butt section to get the rod moving. You also need to slow down on the casting, especially the back cast, to allow the loop to unroll fully. Make a smooth very straight stroke not to mess up the delivery. When done correctly the line flies to the destination like a jet!

Both rods have similar specifications, yet their characteristics are quite different. Casting both rods side by side does show that the graphite material has less feel than fiberglass. To make a blunt statement, the G. Loomis feels mechanical compared to the Livingston. The Livingston has tons of feel as you can really feel the rod load and unload when casting. In fact, I just couldn't stop casting the rod.

The G. Loomis is a very versatile rod capable of casting a hopper-dropper as well as a nymph rig without any problem. It's also an exceptional dry fly rod. I haven't fished the Livingston yet so I'm not completely sure about what flies it can handle. Dusty designed the rod primarily as a dry fly rod. I'll have to check if it can handle some light nymphing (could be a great sight nymphing rod!) as well as handle a more wind resistant attractor dry fly like a humpy or a hopper. The longer length of both rods makes mending a breeze. Anyone looking for a light rod without sacrificing length, do try when you run into one.

Update Nov 2018:
I sold the G. Loomis NRX LP. The Livingston is so sweet I don't see any reason to keep the NRX LP.

Here is a very good video from Tim Rajeff on how (or not to) to cast a fiberglass rod.

Passing of Tom Morgan

Monday June 12, 2017 Tom Morgan passed away. Former owner of R.L. Winston Rod Company and Tom Morgan Rodsmiths, was 76 years old. He sold Winston to David Ondaatje in 1991. Not long after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. He started Tom Morgan Rodsmiths in 1995. Here is a wonderful article about Tom's ideas about a good fiberglass rod, but it's basically his life story. More great articles from or about Tom are here.

It's impressive and also sad to see an old and almost paralyzed man running a rod company with the intense drive to build the best fly fishing rods possible. Here are two nice articles about his life not so long ago. His legacy will for ever be remembered.


Update October 20, 2017:
The new owners of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths changed their website, including a new URL and content. Unfortunately this also means all of Tom's thoughts and articles about fly rods and fiberglass on the old site (the links in this post) are now gone...

Update October 26, 2017:
The whole content of 2015 Tom Morgan Rodsmiths' website is still archived here!
Save the articles as PDF before also this archive is deleted forever.

Update June 2020:
This podcast with the new owners of Tom Morgan Rodsmiths was recorded two years ago.
Gives a very interesting insight about the decision to leave their old lives and run Tom Morgan Rodsmiths.

Argentina dream stream indeed...

Argentina is certainly on my to do list!

Review: Epic 580 Limited Edition

The Epic series of blanks and rods from the New Zealand based company Swift Fly Fishing Company has been discussed here before.

My rod was one of the five limited editions George Minculete finished for Swift in 2016. I've had George finish several rods for me before and as usual the workmanship is superb. This series has a translucent grey (Epic calls it Slate) color. A bit less vibrant than their usual bright colors, but certainly equally striking. You might call it the stealth version.

George managed to build five of these buggers and I'm sure he was wasted after finishing the last rod. Creating five perfectly identical rods is no small feat. The stunning marble like wooden spacer really pops out. The grip on these rods is one could say George's signature snub nose grip. The corks used are obviously the best one can get. It feels super comfortable in the hand and looks very sleek too. The epoxy on the wraps is another of George's specialty that I've not seen done better. The (roomy) fiberglass tube that comes with the rod is a nice touch.

So, how does this good looking rod cast? The 580 (8 ft #5 3 piece) is probably Epic's most popular blank of the series and that's no surprise. Modern glass rods are much lighter than the old fiberglass rods from the past. This rod is barely 3 oz (86 grams). The action is quite different than its smaller brother Epic 480. Much faster without feeling stiff, it just delivers the line with amazing feel, authority and accuracy.

The tip has the right amount of softness to be able to cast short distances (2-4 meters, about 6 to 12 feet) with good feed back well as well. The Epic 580 shines in the 4 to 12 meter (about 12 to 40 feet) range yet still able to cast a tight loop on longer distances. I also tried a 4 weight line on the rod and the rod had no problem what so ever. Obviously using a 4 weight line will make the rod feel a tad faster. This practically eliminates the need to get a 4 weight rod as well. Anyone used to fast graphite rods should have no problem casting this rod's medium fast action without any adjusting needed.

The feeling of the rod loading and unloading is probably the main difference between most graphite rods and fiberglass (and bamboo) rods. This feeling is very appealing and almost demands the caster to slow down the casting stroke to a bare minimum. When playing a fish, the more flexible characteristics of fiberglass rods makes it even more fun. If you haven't felt this, I urge you to try casting a fiberglass rod soon. It's quite addictive.

I've fished this rod (with an Orvis Hydros WF4) last fall with a hopper dropper rig as well as a nymph with a small yarn indicator and I can't say anything than huge thumbs up for both the blank as well as the finished rod.

Here's a short video of a trip I made in fall 2016:

Cris Carpenter

The past couple of years I have been interested in an ultra light #3 (or even a #2) bamboo rod in the 8 - 8.5 ft range. Not an easy task to make a bamboo rod longer than 7.5 ft in very light line weights and still keep a certain level of snappiness. Longer rods for 'Western fishing conditions' (8 - 8.5 ft) in the #5-6 weight have been popular since the 1950's, but last 10-15 years longer lightweight rods in the #4 have been appearing from makers like Per Brandin, James Reams, Bjarne Fries and Mario Wojnicki.

After some research I recently got in touch with Cris Carpenter, rod maker from Missouri, near Kansas City. Cris was heavily influenced by Californian bamboo rod makers like Mario Wojnicki and probably Per Brandin as these two rod makers shared a rod shop together for a period. Later he learned a lot from rod maker Curt Elder on hollowing techniques. Cris' orders are mostly light (3-4 weight) rods in the 8 to 8.5 ft lengths.

Cris generously offered to send me a demo rod of one of his best taper, an 8ft #3 in 2 piece to review. Just before shipping he refinished his demo rod with a new grip. A few days ago the rod arrived.  The rod I took out of the tube still has the grip covered with plastic. Cris made a no frills Garrison-like cigar grip with a very nice dark burled wooden reel seat.

The initial feeling of the rod after I put the two sections together was a very light (due to hollow building) and lively rod weighing a mere 3.4 oz (96 grams). The ultra thin guides is probably one of the many choices Cris made to keep rod as light as possible. The blank has a stealthy matte finish thanks to the hand rubbed oil of some sort rather than the usual dipped varnish. I also like the short ferrules.

Making bamboo work for long and light line weight rods is not as simple as one might think. To make a rod cast such light line weights means less material is needed. A (for bamboo measures) long rod also means keeping the rod structurally strong enough, so there is a slight paradox going on here.

The rod has a very nice medium progressive action. Tried some different line weights, ranging from a 2 weight to a 4 weight. I liked it best with a 3 weight. The rod casts an amazing line, especially in the 25 - 40 ft, typical fishing distances. But the rod will cast tight loops to 50ft without much of a problem (despite it was too windy for my taste), although this is a distance a 3 weight rod has 'no business being there'! We're talking about a 3 weight rod and yet it's quite amazing with this rod feels like I'm casting a heavier line weight. The authority of the smooth medium action really is remarkable.

Since this is a demo rod, there are certain aspects I'd like different if I'd order one right away. On rods longer than 7.5ft I prefer a 3 piece rod. I am curious how Cris would keep the same taper in a 3 piece version. I'd also prefer a slightly stronger butt. A slightly stronger butt would allow to cast off the nice soft tip with a short casting stroke even better at shorter distances. This will increase accuracy. And yes, it would give the rod a bit more oomph for casting 30+ ft. I'd also prefer a cork seat rather than wood to keep the weight even lower. At last, I'd like a slightly shorter and thinner grip. And maybe a different shape, although I was surprised how nice this cigar shape feels in hand.

Cris Carpenter is definitely a rod maker that should be noticed. Long and light rods is certainly not for everyone but if that's what you're looking for, do get in touch with Cris. He really knows what it is needed to make a lively yet authoritative ultra light rod. Cris' next step in his rod offerings are quadrate rods. He just started experimenting with spliced joint rods. Although I've never tried a spiced joint rod, eliminating a metal ferrule would probably make the rod feel like a one piece rod.

Thank you Cris for letting me try this rod!

Fiberglass vs graphite

Always enjoy how Tim Rajeff explains fly rod technicalities. This one is especially good for who still have prehistoric ideas about fiberglass.

Movement

Nice video of fishing in New Zealand with bamboo rods

The lost world of Mr. Hardy

Watch this documentary about the reel and rod manufacturer Hardy here.

Why are fly lines still sold with integrated running lines?

Why are fly lines still sold with an integrated running line?

I have tons of fly lines (now used as lawn casting lines) with 'worn out' heads, usually just the first 4-6 meters, and all with running lines that are still able to be of service for many years.

Why don't fly line manufacturers sell fly lines as a 'shooting head plus' with, say 2 meters, running line to prevent hinging effect at the head/running line connection?  Fly lines for double handed rods are sold this way and changing heads (e.g. floating line to a sink tip to fish with streamers) is a breeze.

Maybe this way the price of fly lines can be kept at around $60 maximum? ;)
This also helps keeping the carbon footprint of the fly fishing community lower.

Less tiring streamer rod

I've had a few typical streamer rods (9ft #6) in the past. All these rods cast amazing but the leverage of the 9ft length and the force generated by the rod on the wrist was really tiring. When fishing streamers you are making a lot of casts. The wrist gets quite a beating during a day. The typical streamer rod is not for me. I'll look for a shorter 6 weight rod one day.

Many years have passed and after much looking around I think I found a solution in a Steffen Brothers fiberglass blank: 8.3ft #5/6 in easy to travel 4 piece. Of course my friend George was the one to build it.

The Steffen blank, the last one they rolled in the 4 piece configuration as they now only make 2 or 3 piece, is supposed to be a smooth medium action with a not too soft tip. A too soft tip makes casting large wind resistant flies like streamers difficult. Although I intend to use it as a heavy trout rod, I also would like to be saltwater ready for ultra light saltwater application when needed.

And grips! George and I had many chats about grips. And I'm really picky on grips. At first I thought about a snub nose grip, but it would probably feel too flimsy when chucking large streamers all day. How about a full wells grip? After a while I said I'm looking for a heavy trout rod rod with the looks of a mini bonefish rod. The result is a mix of a snub nose and a full wells grip.

George did a great job on this. The rod is in transit right now, but I'll post an update after it arrives and give it a few casts.

Watch this classic!

Watch this classic, Doug Swisher - Strategies for selective trout, now for free on Youtube!
I watched this video back then (late 1980's?) many times and learned a lot.

More classic videos, these two are about casting, by Doug Swisher

Graylings and bows

It has been a while I have caught some serious numbers of graylings. When planning the trip for september I looked for a stream with abundant amount of graylings. Not an easy task since the grayling population has diminished in many rivers and streams in central Europe. And the very unstable summer to boot, some serious weather luck was needed. But boy did I luck out...

This trip I was supposed to be accompanied by two friends but they both had to cancel due to various reasons. The 4 day trip turned out to be pretty epic! Also thanks to the great, albeit a bit hot, weather.

The first two days were spent on a tributary of the river Inn in Austria, about an hours drive from the historic city of Passau in southern Germany. Too bad I didn't had the chance to visit the city of three rivers. This stream is divided into several sections, belonging to several leaseholders. The two stretches I fished were held by the local hotel where I stayed. All together almost 8 km long. What a great stream it turned out to be.

From the moment I stepped into the water, I saw several pods of fish cruising along the banks. In fact I was surprised the number of fish count this stream holds. Within minutes I was into a small grayling. The typical erratic shakes of a grayling trying to get loose of the hook felt very familiar.

With the anticipating heat I should have started earlier, but from about 8 AM up to around 1 PM turned out to be the most productive part of the day. After around 2 PM, the temperatures hit the high mark of 30 degrees celsius making the fish slow down their activities as well as the fisherman. No need to say that you have to keep yourself hydrated all day long. Also keep yourself protected from the harsh sun rays.

During the heat the best spots were found around deeper areas as well as faster currents with ample oxygen. What a joy to fish a stream full of graylings! I can't remember catching this amount graylings the past 15 years or so. Among several graylings barely not reaching the magic 50 cm mark (most were around 35 to 40 cm) I also caught a couple of chubs as well as rainbows. I even caught a bunch of roaches in the slower parts!

The next day was even better. I fished the other (longer) stretch and while again a very hot day the fishing was amazing. Besides the obvious looking spots, I also enjoyed looking for that only fish in a small seam under the bank or just next to a fallen tree. With just a flick of the wrist, casting a couple of feet of line is all that is needed. This stretch turned out to be very diverse. Just be ready for some serious physical exercise with long walks, rock climbing and bush whacking.

For the second part of the trip I visited my favorite river in southern Germany. Boy what a treat I was given. The fishing was spectacular to say the least. Rainbows as well as brown trouts were in great numbers and in very good condition in spite of the very low water conditions.

It's always amazing in how shallow spots fish manage to hold. I encountered fish in spots that most would never consider even have a look at it. This fellow was spotted in a shallow moss covered gravel area that barely covered its back. Although the fish manage to hide between, under or maybe in the rocks it's still a good idea to look for that familiar shape of a trout. I've seen and caught many fish by wading slowly spotting the gin clear water and sight casting it with a nymph.

The past four days really made me realize how much I enjoy fly fishing. The stress relief and relaxation it gives as the result of pure focusing on the fishing as well as the physical work out of wading all day, climbing rocks and miles of walking. The days were over before I knew.

After a long day 'at the office' the food at the local Italian restaurant was nothing short of spectacular. Great to know that all the guys working at the restaurant are football maniacs like me, so between the servings we watched matches of the Champions League on a huge screen next to the counter.

To show how lucky I was with the weather, the evening of the last day the dark clouds gathered above the hills and started raining. The next morning I left with some very welcome rain for the river to recover from the heat of the past days.

Update 30 Sep 2016:
Rods I used are the G. Loomis NRX LP (8.8ft #3), custom built G. Loomis IMX (9ft #4) and the Epic 580 Limited Edition. I'll do a short review on the NRX LP and the Epic 580 soon.


A short video I made from a couple scrapes of tape:



Watch the video in high quality (at least 720p) by selecting the HD button.

Douglas Upstream

Oops, I forgot to mention the rod called Upstream from Douglas Outdoors in my previous posting about my 4 weight rods. Well, only because the ones I mentioned were all 9ft rods while the Douglas Upstream 4 weight is just a few inches short at 8.8ft.

I fished the Upstream a couple of hours during a short trip to southern Germany this past weekend. The weather was glorious after several rainy days. The river was slightly higher than I wished, but hey I finally got to fish the Upstream!

I really loved the smooth medium action of the rod on the lawn. Loads of feel on even the shortest casts. So much the opposite of all the fast rods that has been flooding the market the past years.

On the water it proved to be a smooth casting and fishing rod too. Fishing a hopper dropper rig as well as a double nymph rig was no problem for this ultra light (weighing a mere 1.7 Oz!) rod. Hope to fish it more extensively during my coming fishing trip in september.

The three musketeers

The nice weather inspired me to have a look at my 9ft 4 weight rods (yes, I love 4 weight rods!). The three musketeers are the G. Loomis 490-4 IMX, Sage 490-4 RPL and the Sage 490-4 LL. All three from the same era of fly fishing history.

The fast graphite rods as we know today began in the end 1980's with the introduction of high modulus graphites developed by the aircraft companies like Boeing.

G. Loomis introduced in 1987 the IMX graphite and the rods with the same name. Sage (originally started as the Winslow Manufacturing Co.) introduced in 1989 Graphite III with the legendary Sage RPL series. These days we might even call these rods medium-fast action rods as rods have become faster and stiffer.

The RPL (Reserve Power Light) series were manufactured for quite a long time. Starting from 1989 and discontinued in 1997. The blank reincarnated in 1997 as a budget rod series called the VPS. In 1987 the LL (Light Line) series started as rods using a slightly lower modulus graphite called Graphite II. In 1989 the LL rod series (discontinued 1999) were also built with the new Graphite III.


Update March 2019:
I sold the Sage 490-4 RPL

Walt Mossberg on the influence Apple has had the past 20 years

Walt Mossberg tells about the influence Apple had, especially the past 20 years.

Jeez, I was there when it happened!

Drones

Every once in a while I wished I had some Steven Spielberg DNA. Not because I want to produce a Hollywood block buster, but because I really like to make a fishing trip memory to be captured worthy to be watched and enjoyed.

How to capture the sometimes amazing scenery I run into when traveling to my fishing destinations? Filming with even an iPhone can be done in 4K these days, so affordable quality isn't much an issue anymore. Nice destinations? Check! For more advanced shots with nice depth of field (blurry background while the subject is in focus) effects you'll need a camera with interchangeable lenses. Check!

How about shots from the air? Adding some aerial shots dramatically enhances the video. Hiring a helicopter was the way to go, but these days drones are getting more advanced every day, both in aerial capabilities (however still limited to about 30 minutes of battery life) as well with on-board cameras (4K!). So being a real fly-fishing-Steven-Spielberg is pretty close to reality. Check out this capture made with one of the most advanced drones at the moment (costing about $3500, ouch…).

Goiserer Traun 2006 - 2016

Didn't noticed it right away, but it has been 10 years ago I fished the Goiserer Traun for the first time.
Although I missed the opportunity to fish this spring, maybe later this year?

2016

2007

2006

EWF 2016

Attended the EWF Show in Fürstenfeldbruck in southern Germany near Munich for the first time as a fly tier after winning the Open German Fly tying Championship in 2014, the award ceremony is held at the EWF. What a great show! The people are great, the organization is superb and the venue of the show stunning. Thank you Michaela, Robert and Armin.

It has been about 20 years I tied at a fly show. It was odd to experience that all the fly tiers I used to tie together were all gone. There's now a whole new generation of fly anglers. Unfortunately the weather was pretty bad on Saturday. Because of the rain, the people all gathered inside. It was really crowded!

As usual I had lots of people smiling when they see the colorful deer hair bugs. Especially the frogs and mice were real magnets. I think I tied 95% of the time my mouse because people were desiring a mouse. Many times they asked me what do I catch with these mice. I told them it doesn't catch fish but families! The following smile is priceless.

After the show I headed with two of my friends to the town of Bad Goisern in Austria. The goal was to fish the Goiserer Traun river. Unfortunately the water was, after many wet days, too high for my taste. We looked at several spots to fish but the high water made wading down or up the river pretty difficult. Since there are several rivers and streams in the proximity of the Goiserer traun, we headed for the Ischler Ache on saturday and the Rettenbach on sunday.

The weather was amazing on saturday. The Ischler Ache is one of the many tributaries of the Traun and looked like a dream in the sun. The lower part near the town of Bad Ischl the river meanders a bit before joining the Traun. At a slow and deep bend we saw several big fish, probably barbels, cruising along the deep edges. The fish we caught were sparse and rather small.

The upper part of the Ischler Ache looks quite different as it more resembles a canal with very few diversity in structure or vegetation for the fish to hold. It was a pretty barren stretch with a couple of fish holding against the few boulders. My buddy Marcel caught a nice little grayling on a dry fly. I caught a few graylings amongst most rainbows. I really couldn't find any fish above 12-15 inch. Maybe we're just too early.

The Rettenbach, another tributary of the Traun, is a very different beast so the speak. A small freestone type water with many boulders, corners and vegetation for the fish to hold. Not a stream to fish for the faint hearted or with bad physical shape. We had a 3 hour period of drizzly rain, so fishing was a bit challenging at times. One nice fish managed to open up the bend of my nymph and get away...

I really love this type of streams as it challenges one to sneak up to a fishy spot and move to a strategic spot to cast that one and only chance to stir up the big guy waiting for a nice meal. This is a great stream for a 3 or 4 weight rod, be a graphite, glass or bamboo rod. I'm for sure returning to it when the conditions are better.

I later heard that our friend Rudy did manage to fish the Goiserer traun a few days later. He caught a couple of very nice graylings.

Bjarne Fries, an extraordinary rod maker

Bjarne Fries is a Danish rod maker who has been building bamboo rods for more than 30 years. His rods are very distinguishable, unlike any other rod available today. I rarely, if ever, see a Fries rod on the secondary market. His rods have achieved a true following by Japanese fly fishermen.

Recently Bjarne and I were back in contact again after many years and he offered me to cast a newly built rod. Bjarne generously sent me two rods last week to review: one from the Katana series (8 ft #4) and one from the Pendular series (8.6ft #4, his favorite rod for dry fly fishing).

One can distinguish a Fries rod from miles away. The grip has this gorgeous torpedo-style shape. I just love the proportions of the grip and they feel very comfortable in my hand. The reel seat is all cork (including the reel ring!) and the butt cap is also finished with cork. The underside of the butt cap shows what he calls 'the window to the soul of bamboo'. I really like the looks of these rods.

Fries is the inventor of the bamboo ferrule which he calls F.I.B.H. (Fries Integrated Bamboo Hexaferrule). Seeing a bamboo rod without a nickel silver ferrule is quite a different sight. These FIBH ferrules makes his rods very light, the action of the rod remains continuous and no more need to align when putting the parts together.

The two rods are very different characters indeed. The Katana has what Bjarne calls a 'New semi parabolic' action. The Katana series is probably one of his most sought after rods. The rod feels extremely lively and light in the hand. The rod follows the lengthening of the line very smoothly without ever being sloppy. The Katana just becomes an extension of your arm. At a mere 3 oz (86 grams) this is one extraordinary rod.

The Pendular rod series could be called one of Bjarne's signature series. If one has never cast a parabolic actioned rod, he might be very confused at the very first casting stroke as it feels very tip heavy and sloppy. It takes a while to understand this action and needs some adjusting of the casting stroke.

Although the parabolic action feels quite slow due to the lower section being more flexible than the mid and tip section giving the feeling that its action is 'upside down', this rod was also able to keep up with a more aggressive casting stroke. But the real strength of this action is the way it is capable of 'catapulting' the fly line from the lower (and strongest) part of the rod. Probably hence the name Pendular.

Even though the Pendular feels quite tip heavy due to the taper this rod just weighs only 3.1 oz (89 grams)! That's astounding. In fact Fries' rods are probably the lightest bamboo rods in the world. Quite an achievement since his rods are not hollow built. The diameter of his rods are very small compared to other rods I've seen in the 8-8.5ft length.

His catalog shows an amazing array of rods in several rod series with mostly his own proprietary tapers. One of his most extraordinary rod is called the Noodle, an 8ft #2-3 (!).  Bjarne recently told me that he stopped offering rods with nickel silver ferrules. All his rods are now built with his FIBH ferrules.

Rods built by Bjarne Fries aren't cheap starting at around 2000 Euro's (about $2300) and comes with one tip. An additional tip adds 1000 Euro's ($1100). His rods are immaculately finished (his rods aren't varnished but hand rubbed with polyurethane giving the rod a very stealthy look) and details (like the heavy brass tube cap with an inlay of a piece of the hexagonal bamboo) really show his aim for perfection.

Thank you Bjarne for letting me have a look at your amazing rods!

Update Feb 2018:
Bjarne retired from rod making in 2017. This is too bad for me as I was about to order a rod...

The best of Field & Stream magazine

Here are a bunch of nice articles I found in old issues of Field & Stream magazine thanks to Google Book's search option.

Best way to read these articles is to place the mouse pointer on the article and press right button to 'Open frame in new window' to get a full screen view.


Yellowstone river:




America's fish:




Making sense of trout (or why the nice fish are gone when you arrive):




Of course we already knew these, but always nice to read them again:




Best of the West, a nice list of rivers to fish in the American Rockies:




Fly fishing gets ugly, some nice tips on fly fishing for carp (yes, carp!…):




Going deep in the name of the trout research. A rather long title but some really interesting (nymphing) tips.
I really like tip number 1:

Joe Messinger Jr.

Update Dec 2023:

Read the Q&A I did with Joe.

I've been fortunate to call the legendary deer hair tier Joe Messinger Jr. a friend. I have been corresponding (no internet back then!) with Joe since 1994. Along the end of the 1990's we lost touch due to finishing college and being busy with work.

Almost 20 years later we got in touch again and our friendship is continued like it was never lost. Meeting Joe one day would be a huge honor. Maybe I'll convince Joe one day to visit Europe.

Yesterday the postman delivered a Bucktail Frog and a DVD from Joe. Joe is now in his 70's yet his tying is still immaculate! Thank you Joe! In the DVD Joe shows the unique tying technique Messinger Sr. developed in the 1920's. I think I need Joe's guidance to really understand the technique. Messinger Sr. is also the inventor of the Irresistible.

Anyone interested in the history of the Bucktail Frog I definitely recommend Mike Valla's book 'The Founding Flies'. This book also covers other fly tying legends like Lee Wulff, Rube Cross and the Dettes.

Inspired by Joe's Bucktail Frog, I tied this 'leaping frog' somewhere in the mid 1990's. The picture was taken by Hans Weilenmann during a DAAFT (until some 15 years ago a club of tiers from both the USA and The Netherlands called the 'Dutch American Association of Fly Tiers') get together. I have no idea where the frog leaped to, but Hans later generously gave me a big print out of this picture as a memory.

Here's the only article (American Angler - July/Aug 1991) ever published on how to tie the Messinger Frog. Here's another article (Jan 2020) about Joe and how he is trying to keep the legacy his father started with the deer hair frog alive.

Here's a nice article from Field and Stream, 1991 august issue about the history of Joe Messinger Sr. and his Bucktail Frog. The best way to read this article is to place the mouse pointer on the article and press right button to 'Open frame in new window' to get a full screen view.