The Elk River

Sam and I have had some good days on the Elk this fall already. The days have been relatively cool and the fish have been hitting #16 ants and smallish Caddis patterns. I think the fall has somewhat redeemed the horrible spring of 2011! Been putting some hours in.   -Dave

Clint Bova's “#9353” 7'9" 3pc. 5wt.

After a long winter I was able to finally cast my new rod from Mad River rod Co. A  ”#9353” 7'9" 3pc. 5wt. that Clint made for me over the winter. Its a beautiful rod and its a dream to cast. I took it out on a somewhat windy day on the Cranberry but I managed to take it for a test drive and it exceeded my expectations. I have been staring at it all winter on my rod rack in my fly tying room wondering where I'm going to fish it this spring. So I decided to take my new girl out on a special date. The river was a bit high but managed to have a great test flight using a Cortland Sylk DT 5wt line. Sam was with me and he was equally impressed as well. It is a great intermediate size that I'm looking forward to fish with in Montana this summer. It's my third rod from Clint and once again happy with my purchase. Clints site is: www.cjbovarods.com

Now if the winds would subside after this horrible run of storms we can get this season started!

-Dave

My Home Water – The Seneca

 Photo: Seth Adkins

The Seneca is a completely wild trout stream off the beaten path. But when you pull off Whites Run Road into the parking area for the Allegheny Mountain trailhead, you get an inkling of why Seneca is such a special stream. Parking is limited. A few well-placed rocks allow you to hop-scotch across Whites Run and a path leads to Seneca Creek. The water is generally skinny and very clear, except after storms of more than a day’s duration. When it floods, Seneca browns a bit with humus flushed from the slopes of 3,800-foot Little Mountain and other peaks along its 10-mile course. Species: Brook, rainbow. Angling methods: fly-fishing only.

Read more at Trails.com

Rod Maker One on One/ Maker: Clint Bova

Last year I was able to bend a few rod makers ears for a few minutes and run a quick chat forum with them. A kind of “get to know you” with a few new hot up-coming makers and a few local favorites. I am hoping to do a few for 2011 as well. Marty Geller, Lee Faulk, Bob Orr, Clint Bova, and Ben McGuire.

Clint Bova owner and rodmaker from Mad River Rod Co. in Urbana Ohio gave me a few minutes of his time and had a great discussion in regards to rod making influences, his business values, and taper insights. Here are a few of his comments...

Dave: “So Clint I own a few of your rods and really like them. I was wondering what influences and inspires you to move down the path of rod making.”

Clint: “I suppose I have been around a lot of older rods and men that have a certain lore and energy about them, many of which unfortunately are no longer in production or living today. It’s kind of sad really. The caring souls of these men left great artifacts that represent their characters. They were passionate about the craft and driven not by money but a modest level of perfection. They left a finger print in time. The artifacts today, or lack there of, is disturbing to me because they lack a discernable finger print or point of view. I am inspired by my hands because I’ve always liked to use them, however trite and sentimental that sounds, I suppose it’s a kind of flattery to the Gods”

Dave: “What aspect of rod making do you enjoy the most?”

Clint: “I enjoy the entire process, but I would have to say handling the cane is most satisfying to me. From heating and straightening, to node pressing, planing, and binding. It’s the steps in the process where you are really bringing the rod to fruition”

Dave: “Is the rod making industry going in a good direction currently?”

Clint: “Industry is a word that brings factories to mind. I would hope that it does not come to that! I think that theinternet is doing more harm than good currently. There is a lot of bad rumors floating about, bad information and most of all it is devaluing the hand made artifact, whatever that may be, by making it more of a commodity. It’s pretty tragic really. What’s deeply disturbing is just recently a few great rod makers have passed away and these rod making forums immediately have people jump on the band wagon, collectors, and alike looking to scoop up these rods with no intention to fish them. Then these internet bidding wars kick in. Jackals is the word that comes to mind. The internet really is the seedy underbelly of the rodmaking world, unfortunately it has come to this. Every year that pases I spend less time bothering with this alternate circle of reality, it has no bearing on me personally my state of mind or passion. On a lighter note there are a lot of great makers all over the world! I love to communicate with them on many different levels, they are a really nice group of people in general. The internet seems to draw in greed, illicit information, rumors, collector mentalities, and again slowly niches the craft into more of a commodity. If I was to give one bit of advice to young makers it would be to find one good mentor and nurture the relationship. Read actual books on the subject and stay off the internet for consistent reliable well intentioned information.

If we could act like gentleman and have our personal differences in check the planet would be filled with more peaceful loving sorts of fisher-peoples”

Dave: “How do you best describe your tapers?”

Clint: “I suppose I can answer this question by first saying I fish primarily with dry fly’s...or in the surface film. So my favorite tapers best exemplify a dry fly crispness and action. But I make overall a more progressive action rod, crisp, quick, good in close, and good out far. I lean in this direction generally. I’ve made everything from spinning rods, smallmouth rods, and of course trout rods so I’m pretty familiar with different actions. Honestly I try to get a good idea of a customers rituals when it comes to lines, flys, etc...Its usually a good identifier for the best suited taper for the individual. In the end I want a happy customer and I make no excuses, period.

Dave: “Where do you want to take rod making personallyand professionally?” 

Clint: “Well I hope to be influential to younger people as well as my son in whatever craft he decides to pick up. I will continue to make rods the way I always have, one at a time, up close and personal. I have no desire to knock out large batches of rods. I don’t think the quality of the process or the joy factor would stay in tact for me personally. I’d like to instill a discernable fingerprint on my tapers and my rod patterns so they fish and feel like the rod singularly came to life from my hands.”

Dave: “Any parting words?”

Clint: “let everything you say be your prayer, and everything you do be your religion...and spend more time on the water and less time fussing about.

Dave: “Thanks for your time Clint”

Clint Bova’s website is:

www.cjbovarods.com and he is always available for a good chat, well most of the time if he’s not gluing up a rod”

-Dave

WV Local Bamboo Rod Maker Talent: Bob Henderson

I met Bob last year at the Somerset Show and loved some of his warm water bamboo tapers. So this year I asked him if I could do a quick review on my blog about his rodmaking venture. His unique and niched skillset makes him a standout local talent in West Virginia.

 D-Bob what inspired you to build your first fly rod?
B-I suppose I had the bug from my father at a young age. He taught me some very basic skills about hand planing but I did not start using them till I was in my late 40’s for turnkeying a bamboo fly rod. Honestly I could not afford the rods that I took a liking to so out of sheer necessity I started delving into crafting my own. After making around a half dozen rods I decided that I should give some to my fishing buddies and it took off from there.
D-Have you sold many rods lately?
B- I probably have sold about a dozen or so in the last year. The economy has really put the skids on a lot of things around here in WV. Flyfishing in general has experienced some real hardships in the last few years from a retailers standpoint. I have friends in Charleston that had to lay a bunch of people off in their fly shop. Its sad but I suppose it allows everyone to sit back and realize that it cannot always be peachy and profitable like in the 90’s. I like to think of my rod making venture as a slow and blossoming personal quest. I have a small group of guys down south that keep me busy making not only trout rods but bamboo panfish rods both for baitcasting and flyfishing. I’d say 60 percent of the rods I’m currently making are for smallmouth and panfish. They really go for rods such as these in the state of Texas too. Whereas a trout rod may not float their boat as much.
D-What kind of tapers have inspired you in regards to warm water bamboo rods?
B- Some of the more renown parabolic makers such as Paul Young have great tapers for heavier bushy fly’s. Some of his Para series can be really tweaked and beefed up to make great Smallie or Largemouth rods. Paul Young tapers have a lot of reserve power so if you start out with his taper dimensions and push the numbers around a bit what you end up with is a really great warm water rod suitable for many kinds of fish especially carp when you get it up to 8 and 9 weights. I just made a carp bamboo fly rod for a gentleman down south, its a 9wt. and he really is a carp specialist at heart but also loves the bamboo feel.
D- Do you have any recommendations for a guy like myself that wants to build his first warm water rod?
B- Most definitely break out of the trout mindset when it comes to taper design. Think about how and where you want to use the rod and most of all the fly’s you wish to use.Expore tried and true heavier tapers and don’t be afraid to beef them up a bit for Largemouth or Carp on the fly. Take risks and enjoy the journey.
D- Thanks Bob.

Bob Henderson has now been making rods coming on fifteen or so years for both warm water and cold water fishers. He made his first set of forms out of kiln dried hickory and still uses them to this day. He’s a sworn “West Virginia Boy” who “would rather spend time on the water than in church”.

WV Fish & Game Alert

Anglers are reminded that West Virginia law prohibits the release of fish or other aquatic organisms into public waters, unless a stocking permit is issued by the Director of the Division of Natural Resources. Stocking permits are not required for trout and black bass stocking provided that disease-free certifications are obtained prior to stocking, or if trout originate from a source within the state. A permit is not required for stocking native or established fish into privately owned ponds.
 
Moving live fish or other aquatic animals and plants from one body of water to another can cause long-term damage to the ecological stability of lakes and streams and can threaten recreational fishing.

My Likings of Bamboo Rod Tapers

Casting my first cane rod as a 17 year old boy was quite a thrill. It was my fathers 9' Paul Young. I loved casting bamboo because of its intuitive nature and natural beauty. Today I still get goose bumps when I pick up a new rod for the first time and give it a spin. I have a collection of older rods ranging from Paul Young, Heddons, Grangers, T&T's, and Dickersons, and love them dearly. Tapers really have not come all that far from the good olde' days other than the fact that glues we use now and finishes are much more durable and heat treating has made a few hurdles in action as well. Tapers all have their own uniqueness and work well with different fishing styles and flys. My newer bamboo rods range from a few Orvis rods, G. Maurer, Chris Bogart, Per Brandin, Pezon et Michel, Clint Bova, Walt Carpenter, and Mike Clark. This quiver of rods pretty much covers my needs for fishing altogether including satiating my taste buds for flat out beautiful rods in every detail.

My tastes for rods is a bit “old school” cosmetically speaking, but I enjoys a crisp dry fly taper overall and the above mentioned rods makers fulfill that requirement very well. The younger rod makers are really doing some excellent work today and the level of detail and craftsmanship is outstanding as well as bringing back some older hardware details to present day like Clint Bova's rods (Baby Leonard style seat interpretation) as an example. I suppose in order to be successful at rod making today and stand out in the crowd you need a point of view and stick with it so that when people see your rods and cast them right away they know who's rod is who's. It was most evident back turn of the century, the styles and casting styles were quite distinctive, i.e. Leonard's, F.E. Thomas, Fred Divine, etc...

My buddy Sam and I once a year pull out some of our favorite oldies and do some “baby swapping” as we call it. Then hit our favorite WV stream with some silk line. I think Sam still has one of my old Leonards in his stash from years before, I have threatened him repeatedly that I will call out for an Amber Alert if he does not return it soon. Sam if you see me driving around in your vintage Cherokee in the next few weeks you'll know why!

Dave