SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

Recently I was asked by a customer out of Upstate New York what inspires me to lean towards my more “antique-esque” hardware patterns. I definitely have an affinity for some past rod makers one being the late Fred D. Divine who began making rods in 1875 out of Utica N.Y. I always felt that his hardware was somewhat medieval in personality. After going through the armory exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art for the fourth time I started seeing some basic geometries that were very reminiscent of some of Divines tooling and stamping. Meandering about in arms and armor exhibits is a good way to develop a taste for forging and tooling. I soon started making drawings of my own and surrounding myself with little artifacts of “Divine” inspiration. I have a small collection of Divine paraphernalia that keeps my creative juices flowing. Most of my cap and ring sets are slightly reminiscent of Divines “Classic Reel Seat”. The cap is slightly elongated, a pronounced taper, with an even ...

I think I’ve learned more from Canadian ghillies about successful trout fly patterns over the years than anyone else. They seem to excercize the mantra, “the simpler the better”, and I’m a firm believer in this affirmation. For the most part trout food is fairly understated, modest in profile, and buggy. My most consistent and successful fly patterns are fairly dull, not a lot of flash if any, and only carry subtle hints of color variation. I suppose when you really think about it mayflys are two-toned, there are only two colors contrasting against one another on any mayfly with the exception of any varigations. Hues of green, yellow, umber, and rust are the basic color ways. These colors are accompanied by a range of cool and warm grays that range from 1-10 on a gray scale. These are the colors I mix and dye my feathers to emulate both mayflys and caddis flys. Terrestrials are a whole nother ball of wax but even these patterns need not be overly complex and garrish. I’m not a big fa...

I often find myself looking up, not really knowing why. Sometimes it’s as though I am looking for the wind and always trying to see it.The trees offer me a suggestive response with a flapping leaf or a bending branch. The wind acts as a obscure time piece, and like temperature, the wind is affected by the sun directly and indirectly. The wind does respond to time in a sort of celestial manner. My dog Manny often looks up when I do when the wind blows, he joins in and looks somewhat introspective while doing so. I then try to draw a mental picture in my mind of what the nearest piece of trout laden water is doing. If my dog could fish we would do so often since both of us have a certain zest for solitude and running water. Unfortunately Manny will never bare an opposable thumb so the idea of meandering about with him in streams grasping fly rods is somewhat wishful thinking. Although there is an orthopedic surgeon that I know of nearby that could pull this surgery off, maybe I could t...

Ingredients: 4 six-ounce fillets of rainbow trout. 1/4 cup of canola oil. 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice. 1 tablespoon of ginger root, minced. 1 teaspoon of grated lime peel. 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper . Preparation: In a suitably sized saucepan over medium heat, sauté the minced ginger and grated lime peel in the canola oil, until just lightly browned and aromatic. Remove the saucepan from the heat, then stir in the crushed red pepper. Once the oil has completely cooled, gently whisk in the lime juice and reserve. Heat the grill to a moderate temperature. Brush the grill pan with some oil to reduce sticking, and grill the trout fillets with the flesh side down for about 2 minutes. Gently turn the fillets and grill for 2 minutes more, or until the trout turns opaque. Serve the trout immediately with a splash of the ginger/lime mixture.

I definitely love wrapping with silk. I have always been a big fan of Pearsall’s silk threads. I honestly believe that the dye batches are the most consistent, color fast, and easily matched. I have been wrapping with Pearsall’s consistently for the last fifteen or so years and have had no guide failures at all. I suppose this sounds a bit like a sales pitch but I’m typically a very reserved optimist and a bit superstitious on top of it all. So I usually keep my happy thoughts to myself. I wrap a lot of rods with white silk which eventually ends up as clear wraps. I have managed over the years to consistently create crystal clear wraps, no glassing at all, no thread tunnel pockets or bubbles by paying close attention to time, temperature, and viscosity using spar. Pearsall’s silk is all I will use to achieve clear wraps to my level of “perfectness” or maybe I just have a high level of comfort and trust with our friends in the UK. My wife has watched me over the years reach scarey level...