Sage ESN HD

Ending up the year with this sleek Sage ESN HD I recently finished for a good friend. Another year's gone by and life has gotten tougher than ever.

Building these Sage rods to "perfection" over the years has been a real challenge especially because of the long script area that they employ. Painstaking effort and lots of layers for that rod of a lifetime. This Sage rod is no different and an exquisite euro-nymph or dry fly rod. 

Two weeks in the making, this is one beautiful looking rod and an amazing fishing tool. Deep, dark red wraps with titanium signature wraps, light wire snake guides and ultralight Bellinger downlocking reel seat. Nice and comfortable snub-nose half wells flor grade grip and all new custom aluminum rod tube in black and clear anodized .

The quest for perfection, handcrafted fly rods continues. Thank you for your continued support in these hard times and wishing you a Happy New Year!

Hanak Superb 299

Another Hanak Superb 299 finished and a bit more color in this one. Burnt orange wraps with sunburn yellow accent wraps over light wire snake guides and light Fugi ceramic stripping guide. These H&H guides have proven to be the most durable over time and I use them alot on light weight blanks and not only. Shop turned zebra wood and epoxy coated, Struble U20 dark bronze hardware. Slick, comfortable snub-nose flor handle turned to perfection. Overall, great minimalist ultralight rod for euro-nymphing or dry fly fishing, with a bit more power for a 2wt. but very light, smooth and sensitive. Will do a few more for late spring deliveries so feel free to reserve one now. Thanks for looking!

Hanak Superb 9'6" #1

This is a very unique rod configuration.

With the long and light euro-nymphing trend these days, the rods seem to get lighter and lighter. The folks at Hanak imagined what was an already almost impossible rod to make. A longer ultralight rod that's stable, light yet powerful. 

This super light rod is amazing for fishing low waters in the fall with skinny tippets and small flies especially for grayling. The rod is the perfect ultralight, long leader euro-nymphing or longer dry fly rod. At only 63grams this rod is a tad heavier than my already impossibly light Sage TXL-F #00 and probably the lightest rod of its size.

Classic meets modern. Appointed both aesthetically beautiful (modern classic style) and functionally correct. I feel these two aspects define the "state-of-the-art" rod building. You can't put too much emphasis on looks if the functional aspect is left behind. People concentrate too much on thread color and forget the rod's purpose...grip proportions to rod blank lenght-weight, size-weight of the guides and how they are distributed on the rod's shaft etc. They all matter. The finished rod has to feel, cast and fish right.

I long admired Jerry Siem's philosophy at Sage and he talked about doing things by feel and not only by some computer generated process. Thanks for looking! #perfectionflyrod

Sage Mod

Finished another Mod three ninety. This was a popular model from Sage over the years ever since it came out and one of their best and distinctive nine foot three weights. 

With deeper loading and snappy tip action it gives powerful yet smooth deliveries with a long leader and has the ability to load for close in shots. This slim, lime green beauty is addictive.

Appointed in my classic, minimalist clean style with Sage black signature wraps and clear main silk wraps. A gorgeous Struble zebra wood insert with Lemke black anodized hardware are a perfect match.

The swoop style, black anodized winding check is a nice touch as well for a smooth transition from cork to blank. The classic "Winston style" hook keeper is made by hand.

Flor grade, natural "spotted" snub-nose cork handle.

This was a commisioned build and possibly one of the last blanks remaining.