Sage and Winston blank arrival!

Sage blanks, Winston and Landmark tubes came in today. TXL's, TCR's, Z-Axis and Winston BIIX. Some of them are custom rod orders and some of them will be available for sale as finished rods.
Currently in stock and ready to build:
Winston BIIX 908-4 (custom order)
Sage TXL 3710-3 (two, both for sale)
Sage Z-Axis 586-4 (custom order)
Sage Z-Axis 490-4 (two in stock, one is custom order, one is for sale)
Sage TCR 490-4 (one of the last remaining famous ultrafast series from Sage, not yet for sale, might be)
Sage TCR 696-4 (for sale)

Email if interested in a custom build.
Thanks,
George

#5ive weight. Vintage grade.

The latest addition in the Dan Craft line of rods is the GXT Northwest Guide Extreme series. Just as the name sounds, this rod can take some amazingly extreme casts yet has awesome fishability. It's extremely smooth and easy to cast for a fast action rod and generates blazing line speed when you need to reach far 80-100 feet. Compared to the TCR or the Z-Axis the GXT can hold up to its own. I find it to have a very well balanced action from tip to butt and a very thin blank diameter. It has recently becomed my favorite go-to trout rod capable of throwing all kinds of flies, from dry flies to streamers. This five weight can handle many types of lines with ease. From the extreme distance SA XXD to a full sinking line I couldn't be more impressed. As long as this rod is around I would have to wipe the dust from my TCR from time to time. The only thing that stops me from selling some hi-end rods that I have is mainly for comparisons purpose and to show people that great rods don't always come at 700$.

Notice the well deserved beautiful components on it. Titanium plated hard chrome guides (most durable), my last black nickel Agate stripping guide (before Struble bought them) and Struble U20 reel seat with a special wood insert. The hand shaped full wells handle (slim) feels great with tumb on top during casting. Sage got it right on their new One series with this handle. The orange wraps coordinate with the amber stripping guide and reel seat.

I intend on keeping rods built on these blanks at around 450$ in 2012. For those who can't pay 700$ or more on a premium fast action rod these are serious performers for much less money. Available on special order only. From 3 to 10 weight (8'0" and 9'0"). If you love casting big distances or want a fishing rod that can do it all just get your hands on a Dan Craft GXT. No marketing bullshit involved. Thanks for looking!

Mail arrival!!

Just got in some sweet stuff from Cameron Mortenson of www.thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com..check it out!
I considered this to be a good moment to show my latest Steffen build..cheers!

George

FlyFishing Austria

The long waited six day trip of the year finally happened. Two extra days spent on the road driving through Romania, Hungary and Austria to get to the western Alps. But who cared about being tired. This year wasn't to be Slovenia but another jewel of a country called..Österreich.

This is my first time fishing in the austrian Alps. Simply a breathtaking experience. Just like in the books. We had six days of hardcore flyfishing, tying and exploring. No guides, just a map from a fly shop and trunk full of fly rods. We wished we could have afforded six more days. This trip was simply unbelievable. We realized we need to come here at least once a year.

Everyone wants big rivers. Austria is renowned for very large trouts that can be caught. Maybe on our second trip. Me and my buddy are small water enthuziasts. This was pure wild trout heaven. On every river valley flowed drinkable water. It was the time to for those TXL's and especially the newly built Steffen Bros. fiberglass rods.

Did you say brook trout? Hell yeah..this is what we came for. And off course..we cheated. We saw a mid sized river and we couldn't help ourselves not to go after some big graylings. And yeap, there they were. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves..cheers!