Fall Dry Fly Patience

Fall Brown, caught with my 7'6" 4wt. “Shawnee Rose” 

on a #20 Black quilled suspender midge

With a consistent cool breeze the flotsam piles up during the fall on edges, seam lines, and sweepers along the river banks in the North East. This is a period of time when the fish are foraging and becoming quite picky when it comes to surface feeding. I use to fish scuds especially hard in the fall but over the years have taken to surface fishing year round. I simply enjoy dry fly fishing over any other type of fishing period, especially in the fall.

Fall dry fly fishing takes perseverance, patience, and focus. There is so much floating in the water that both Trout and angler become distracted. I have a fly box dedicated to late fall midges, typically fore and aft designs and micro parachute suspender midges in black and gray sizes #20, #24, and #26. With water levels low and typically clear I fish 6x and 7x with a 14 foot leader. I usually fish my “Johnny Logan”, or “Little Mecoche” rods, 4wts. on the lighter side of the scale. In medium sized water I take out my “Shawnee Rose” a 7'6" 4wt. I approach dry fly fishing in November and December with my expectations in check, an open mind, and tend to squint and stare a lot. Walking significant distances, and moving on the water makes it always more productive as well. The subtle fall sipping of a Brown Trout is a beautiful thing to watch. If you decide to place a fly that is not on the Trout menu you will see them make a bee-line for the nearest sweeper or undercut. I have found over the years, based on my location, that black midges are my most consistent best bet. The smaller the better. I use black quills that I strip and dye myself to create a slight segmentation and use either black or med dun hackle.

               #20 quilled parachute midge and my fore and aft quilled midge

Fall fishing really is a time for reflection, introspection, and a little space. A sense of pause after a summer that is sometimes filled with a results oriented mindset, during hatches or perfect conditions. I recently had an interesting occurrence on the Mad River down the street from my house. While waiting out some nice browns under a bush for twenty minutes, I sat very still, almost to the point that my leg started to fall asleep. Wearing my floppy green canvas hat and dark ochre colors I must have looked like a pile leaves, or interesting lichens from above.    A chipmunk pounced on my head, scurried counterclockwise, made an audible shriek, and managed to scare the crap out of me. A “chipmunk swirlly”, as a friend of mine called it. I suppose I felt a certain level of cunning satisfaction from this little occurrence because I blended in so well with the fall colors. I could only hope that a trout would jump on my head for the same reasons.

                         ~Clint Bova

Testimonial “Little Mecoche” 6'9" 4wt. 2pc.

                                         “Little Mecoche” 6'9" 4wt. 2pc.

“Walt Carpenter is not the only Rod Maker in this country. He may come close to your superior skill and craftsmanship but not that close. I've been fishing this rod with a Phoenix D.T. 4wt., and it's fast becoming my favorite rod. I keep looking at this rod, great workmanship. Will be looking forward to getting another rod from you, great job Clint”

                       ~Jerry Yancsek, Trout Run PA, 9/22/09

The Craft Spirit

Counting blessings is kind of like counting fish, quantity is never really a qualifier when it comes to meaning, expertise, and experience. I feel very lucky to have mingled and worked alongside with the few men and women that have led me down an adventurous and sometimes tumultuous path since I was very young. These were all people that exercised a keen form of restraint when it came to guiding and inspiring me. Using ones hands in a spirited way to make a living in this day and age is fairly daunting and even often forgotten when it comes to present day academia. To pass on craft knowledge it takes a light touch on a young persons heart, it takes accessibility of tools and mediums, and inevitably it takes time, patience, and courage.

Using ones hands is a kind of flattery to the Gods, by this I mean we are all gifted with opposable thumbs, a sense of reason and causality, and the ability to creatively visualize something before it actually comes to fruition. If we choose to experience these traits and put them in action, we need surround ourselves with others that inspire us on a deeper level so we can further ignite an insatiable desire to use our hands in a spirited way. The very act of doing and making is exponentially becoming an extinct ritual, ethos, and requisite in our educational institutions.

The art of doing and making be it a yo-yo, guitar, a braided leader, a landscape painting, a leather bag, a gunstock, or even a bamboo fly rod can be done with such tenacity and drive that irregardless of what it is, it delivers a powerful message. Defining characteristics between art and craft is much like comparing the intellects of dolphins to primates, it’s a slippery slope. A much debated topic among gunsmiths, painters, potters, leathersmiths, graphic designers, bow and arrow makers, blacksmiths, and yes even bamboo rod makers. The divisions between “art” and “craft” occurred after the Renaissance Period and well into the 19th century. Unfortunately they are most embraced currently in western culture.

“Art” from the Renaissance to modern day has been described as a free and unadulterated activity, and unique with no restraint which grants it with an obscure soul. “Craft” has been evaluated as a very physical realm, functional, traditional, repetitive, and a much more constrained activity.

This description has granted “craft” a lower status not only from the 1400’s to the 1600’s but to present day in western culture. Yet in Asian culture exists the notion that the “crafts” actually keep the culture, spiritual and otherwise, in tact thus making craft a constant priority and of utmost importance. Crafts are treated more as ritual that exercise our sense of meaning, existence, and spirituality. I repeatedly understood this craft spirit growing up in Hawaii in a primarily Asian world. I was exposed to the meaning of the Shoji screen, the landscape paintings licked with the sumi-e brush, and even the often violent but lesson filled Japanese story telling. Distinctions between “art” and “craft” and even the chosen mediums were much more abstract in my upbringing.

Using our hands in a spirited way ultimately should be a non judgmental or highly categorized activity. Today we are surrounded by outstanding craftsmen and women thoughtfully and tenaciously moving forward with great momentum in pursuit of their given calling. Tomorrow we can only hope they inspire others to grow the craft forward. I have earned a wage for most of my life using my hands and will continue to do so. The most meaningful way I can live my life is to be a “spirited craftsman”, call it what you will, I am driven by the insatiable need to make something from nothing and then do it again and again. A simple mantra, for a passionate existence. It is meant to be a giving existence. I can only hope to help pass it on to the next generation and then some.

~Clint Bova

The Mad River Rod Co. Signature

If you were to strike up a conversation with Gayle without knowing her you would immediately think that she is a prolific comedic writer. She is one of the few people I know that functions nearly 100% of the time in the “creative 5th gear”.  Beyond the ability to drum up jaw dropping dialog, she is also a very skilled artisan. 

Gayles turn of the century style handwriting shows up on nearly every bamboo fly rod that goes out the door of my studio. Pairing an illustration style that is both whimsical and delicate with her surreal stories makes for a great book. It is now in the works. I have known Gayle for nearly 18 years and along with her beautiful signatures her creative mind and remarkable hands have blessed many of us in the creative community.

           ~Clint Bova

The Fall Prayer

Path Walker

An American Indian Prayer

To bring back the natural harmony that humans once enjoyed.
To save the planet from present practices of destruction.
To find and re-employ real truth.
To promote true balance between both genders.
To share and be less materialistic.
To become rid of prejudice.
To learn to be related.

To be kind to animals and take no more than we need.
To play with one's children and love each equally and fairly.
To be brave and courageous, enough so,
To take a stand and make a commitment.
To understand what Generations Unborn really means.
To accept the Great Mystery
in order to end foolish argument over religion.

May your fall fishing be memorable and peaceful ~Clint Joseph Bova

The Flared Wood Spacer

                 Mad River Rod Co. Spacer for the “Trails End” a 7' 4wt.

I consistently get questions in regards to my flared wood spacers and matching hardware and repeatedly get asked if I will make custom spacers and hardware for rod makers and hobbyists. Last year I stopped selling hardware and only sell rods, with my own hardware on them. Reason being my hardware is balanced and scaled proportionally for different sized rods, the bores are all custom, along with matching ringsets, etc. The nickel buts have a pronounced domed profile and fit like a fine machined part into the eliptical recess. All of these parts are made one at a time and are not popped out of a CNC machine like many manufacturers do. The double slide bands interiors are bored using a chamfering jig that allows them to seat themselves securely to the reel foot. So to make a long story short there is much more to these pieces of hardware than meets the eye. The wood spacer is not turned from a standard pen blank or from a supplier, these spacers are from very expensive select pieces of hardwood and spalted maple and sent to a stabilizer. They are turned from 2.0” x 6.0” blocks that are cut down to get the best figuring lined up with the geometry of the spacer. If I was to sell these pieces individually, the customer would then need to make the diameters, bores, chamfering, mortises, ect. of of all matching hardware and components correctly or the reel would not seat itself correctly along with a multitude of other obvious fitting problems. So it’s a bit of a headache to sell these pieces individually and spend half of the day on the phone explaining to a customer how to use a boring bar on a lathe correctly. It’s simply not economical or practical for me as a craftsman. 

Mad River Rod Co. hardware detail for the “Trapper”

Recently a component manufacturer tried to emulate some of my hardware patterns. They have an uplocking slide band (not a double slide band set) with a flared spacer. It falls short in proportion, depth, and contouring, and of course with an up-locking seat you run into the age old problem of having to much spacer protruding behind your reel so you are constantly untangling line hanging up on your butt section. Further the manufacturer uses a flat nickel butt insert that does not contour as a dome shape to compliment the spacer profile. The stereotypical stabilized pen blank looking spacer is something I've always steered away from as well (see below some very unique figuring). The other down fall of the purchased component is the defaulted proportion, there are dozens of rod lengths and weights and to expect one or two sized seats within a series to cover such a range is unrealistic. I feel pretty strong about everything singing on the same song sheet when it comes to rod componentry. The proportion of the components should match it's given rod down to .125" in length. The variables are simply too limited I feel with the selections from manufacturers. I suppose this is why I make all my reel seat components, I'm just picky that way.

                  Mad River Rod Co. various spalted maple spacers

I guess what I’m really trying to say here is that there is no easy way to make a really beautiful component that works pefectly for everyone’s bamboo blank. Every piece of hardware has to sing in tandem with it’s given rod. It’s kind of like putting a pair of dragon fly wings on a mayfly, some things have to be created as a single thought in order to fly right.

                         ~Clint Joseph Bova

Stabilizing The Bamboo Fly Rod

A major topic of discussion among rod builders for a very long time has been the tempering of bamboo. Simply stated tempering drives moisture out of the bamboo and changes the resonance and flexural properties of the medium to varying degrees. There has been many tests based on time and temperature, type of heat, and oven geometries that all change how the rod not only casts but stands the test of time. Beyond tempering what has been innovated to improve the media remains incremental to say the least. Traditional stabilizing improves the properties of wood when it comes to strength and moisture control. Unfortunately it makes the media significantly heavier and arguably changes its personality and feel, by many then considered more of a polymer than wood or cane.

There now remains a bit of a void in evolving such procedures to get all of the best variables lined up. Some of the favorable prerequisites are as follows for bamboo rods: no penetration of moisture into the cane, control tempering as a separate and unaffected process, eliminate or reduce sets significantly, and greatly increase the life of the rod indefinitely. 

I have put off this entry for a long time because of the confusion and distinctions between tempering and stabilizing. Many rod makers all have common practices for tempering cane, so I will eliminate this in my commentary and current practices in stabilizing. So for purposes of this discussion tempering becomes a separate step when it comes to stabilizing. Honestly moisture is in everything and eventually works its way back into everything when it comes to most kiln dried substrates. You can temper the crap out of cane but Old Mr. Moisture will come creeping back in to varying degrees. So the goal is to introduce a procedure that puts moisture at bay indefinitely. Again the whole oven treatment process is not a topic of discussion here, but the act of increasing temperature does play an important role in the delivery and imbibing of a stabilizing agent in liquid or gas form.

I have managed to reduce moisture significantly in all of my bamboo fly rods and have tested the moisture content for up to four years using a digital moisture meter on rods that are currently in use. It is important to consider the rod being used, submerging, and introduced to different levels of humidity throughout the year. 

Moisture damages textiles, wood, steel, iron, aluminum, and yes even some plastics. Moisture can rot shingles, decks, delaminate our boats, bows, tarnish and crack our gunstocks, and even make arrows bend to the point where they don’t shoot straight. Moisture can kill your Plasma TV as easily as it can cause a deck board to bend like rubber and eventually allow you to put your finger through it. The effects of moisture can be devastating to a bamboo rod on many different fronts over years and decades of use. If you go into any museum, what is the first thing you see? Moisture controls everywhere! There are a lot of natural objects in museums, meaning things made of canvas, wood, stone, and steel. I just recently came back from the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art in New York and anyone who knows me knows I am a bit of a frequent loiterer in the Arms and Armor exhibit. Here is a vast collection of artifacts most susceptible to moisture.

If we use a duck as metaphor or benchmark for an enduring life of moisture repellence but also great susceptibility to moisture from a purely functional perspective, we can relate it back to the same environmental effects on bamboo. A ducks feathers repel water for the lifetime of the duck, if the preen glands stopped secreting oils the duck would sink and no longer function properly. We now ask ourselves how can we make our bamboo rods more like ducks? Light weight, water repellant, and function without a hitch on the water for a lifetime and then some.

The finish on a bamboo rod protects it like an outer shell or raincoat, but if you were to look at the finish under a stereoscope you would see gaps and pockets where eventually moisture even water can make it’s way into the cane. In late 1997 I looked at a rod under a stereoscope and I suddenly realized there was a fundamental problem with the general protection of bamboo and it’s susceptibility to moisture.

At the time I worked alongside engineers that specialized in polymer solutions at Fitch Inc. in Columbus Ohio. This allowed me to have a sounding board with some cold hard facts about moisture control. I soon discovered that wood including bamboo can absorb certain gases and liquids like a straw and repel moisture very very well. The nature of these gases and liquids allow themselves to imbibe and evaporate into the substrate either under heat or pressure. It does not effect the weight or natural state of the power fibers in any way other than repel moisture. Micronized copper technology, silicate based preservatives, CCA or Chromated Copper Arsenate mixed with tints, and Borate preservatives all work. They are not all safe to work with so special care needs to be taken when working with these chemicals. The process of wood acetylation works the best overall I have found. This process is also environmentally friendly and does not discolor the cane. Due to cost effectiveness this process has never been implemented at a commercial level until very recently in Europe for certain consumer products. 

Over the years I have managed to learn much about the wood acetylation process and have managed to harness it to make a better more long  lasting bamboo fly rod. I have found these rods take sets very infrequently if at all. The process does not affect the intended casting performance of the rod. Most importantly the rod can be used with a certain peace of mind knowing that fishing them hard in any conditions will not affect their long term performance. I now think of bamboo rods more like duck feathers, if only Mother Nature provided bamboo with a preen gland us rodmakers would be able to sleep better at night.

           ~Clint Joseph Bova