Building a Fishing Rod

A hand built rod by Steve Dobson

There is something about building a fishing rod. There is a sense of rightness about it as if I've grown into it.

As if this is a logical progression from tying a string to a stick as a child and trying to catch perch.

 I think about that progression as I prepare my work area and start to unpack the parcel containing all of  the bits and pieces that will become a five weight, graphite fly rod.

Handling the blanks I remember my first trout from the Meadow Pond and recall a trip with Dad and my brothers in the old green boat, all of us armed with worm and bobber.

 I remember vividly, a porpoising rise to my first crudely tied fly by a Rainbow Trout. He leaped clear of the crystalline headwaters of Mission Creek up on Big White Mountain.

That brings to mind my first somersaulting grilse careening down a pool on Grandy's Brook and the sullen sulk of a twenty pound Atlantic Salmon not so long ago here in Nova Scotia.

All of those memories and the new adventures waiting imbue these bits of wood and steel and graphite with all of the potential to realize a fisherman's fondest dreams.

Over the next few weeks I'll show you the steps in building a fishing rod and let you know how I am progressing.