Skip to main content

The Mark of Detail


Turning a tiered winding check for 
a new “Trails End” 7' 4wt.
If you've ever seen a model 1873 Colt .45 Peacemaker from the barrel to the grip all of the elements of the hardware have a definitive cadence. The craftsmanship when it comes to the original intent of the firearm from function to form is unwavering. I often use the term “Mr. Potato Head” when I look at a fly rod, firearm, automobile, etc... that have both features and functions that are unintentional adaptations and lack harmony. Unlike the Colt .45 Peacemaker, the result is a product that has no sense of place or point of view. 

When I was 26 years old I was called out of class at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena CA and driven out to San Bernardino to meet the engineers and designers at Saturn (prior to the brand launch in the marketplace) they were unveiling their vehicles for the first time in a large auditorium. I was 1 out of 8 other designers pulled from ACCD to critique the new Saturn vehicles. After a highly descriptive crit from a transportation designer sitting next to me it was now my turn and around 300 people including video cameras were focused on me. The car designers were sitting behind me, which made me a bit apprehensive. I simply stated that the 7 shiny prototypes that sat in front of me “had no sense of place, they were an amalgam of many vehicles which reminded me of a series of Mr. Potato Heads, they could be from anywhere, and from several different manufacturers”. At this point I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was one of the car designers leaning forward and he whispered that I was “very perceptive in my point of view”. I was then asked to leave. On my way out of the auditorium one of the Saturn designers came running out from behind me and shook my hand and told me that they had in fact had created a series of vehicles that were very much like a family of Mr. Potato heads.

Finished tiered winding check to complement the 
“Trails End ” butt cap as well as cork check
Often I see bamboo fly rods that are an amalgam of factory made grips, spacers, nickel hardware, etc...I feel that if somebody is going to pay a lot of money for a fly rod they should not be getting a Saturn. Instead they should be getting the recognizable and intentional marks of its given craftsman. A definitive geometry should give the artifact a sense of place and reason to be.


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

Popular posts from this blog

Slow Water Caddis Emerger

 The Caddis emerger is a very important part of the trouts diet. During this life stage the Caddis is especially vulnerable to the elements and is easy prey thus making it very attractive to these very energy conscious fish. The insect is just about ready to break free of its nymphal shuck and the count down for its launch sequence begins with a few wiggles. I have always been looking for a great surface fly that mimics these little beauties. For a few years now I have gotten a lot of use of this little emerger pattern that tends to out fish most of my other emerger patterns even when there is no discernible hatch. This is a great pattern for super finicky Brown trout. I have fooled many fish with this pattern and with the right combination of materials it is a pattern that stays floating even in fast water for a long time. With the use of TMC's Aero Wing material (extended shuck) the fly is a great floater. The fibers are not only fine but hollow keeping the fly float

CB's Japanese Beetles

 above photo: Provided by Debbi T. Walker an Ohio Photographer.  Debbi is a talented outdoor photographer who loves to take pictures of insects, animals, and landscapes and often shoots photography around the Mad River and Cedar Bog. In the heat of the summer many fish hunker down during the day and will pass up the occasional Caddis, midge, or ant floating overhead. Often fish conserve energy for a larger more nourishing food item. During the summer months fish want to conserve energy and exert themselves only for the most significant meal.    This is called the “Pounds Per Meat Law” again the least amount of energy is expelled for the most nourishment possible. This should be the mid-summer mantra for both fishers and fish!  Large ants are another food item that fish will come off of the bottom for during the midday sun and heat. Japanese Beetles are one of those items on the surface menu that will spark a fishes interest when nothing else seems to work. Rise

Spidey Senses~The Irresistible Arachnid

Fishing spider patterns is a favorite activity of mine in the late spring, summer and fall. Many of the spring creeks that I frequent have adjacent fields of corn, soy, feed grass, as well as tall overhead trees and brambles. Spiders are prolific here and as much as I hate them I do love fishing with them. I have tried many patterns over the years most of which were not my own. Most of them were either too clunky, too overdressed, or just downright stupid looking. If I were to cast a wad of sheet foam and rubber bands to a big Brown on most of my usual digs I would be typecasted by most of the coherent fish instantly. After years of hit and miss I settled on my own pattern that just seemed to meet my criteria as well as the Trouts. When your standing in a “hot river” in the middle of the day and you spot a massive brown that just will not budge for the most ingenious morsel you have in your box whip out a spider. Spiders are protein intensive, they are like baklava on a silver