SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

  “Seek not that the things which happen should happen as you wish; but wish the things which happen to be as they are, and you will have a tranquil flow of life” ~Epictetus  let it flow Clint Joseph Bova 2013

 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

Wings on caddisflies are always a hot topic when it comes to tyers around the world. There are the tried and true deer hair wing designs, gossamer cut wings made from synthetics, down wing feather geometries, and even stacked hair wings. They all have their merits and of course pitfalls when it comes to actually fishing them. For several years now I have been fishing with a caddis pattern that works for me. A few years back I posted a piece on my biot wing caddis patterns. So I thought I would resurrect it with some new insights. Biots are probably one of my favorite natural materials to work with. Biots are translucent, waxy like the natural insect, easy to dye, extremely durable, and are cheaper than dirt! If you use turkey biots they are larger than most goose biots and you can make wings to cover the full spectrum of appropriate hook sizes. When you purchase biot wings you get two opposing feathers. The leading edge of the biot has a stiff rib section, this is your top lead

    Every man casts a shadow; not his body only, but his imperfectly mingled spirit. This is his grief. Let him turn which way he will, it falls opposite to the sun; short at noon, long at eve. Did you never see it?   ~Henry David Thoreau    The Fall came like a bolt of lightning this year. The 2012 fishing season was stellar on many fronts for both myself, friends, and customers of mine. The weather for the most part cooperated in the North East. The fish, water born insects, and terrestrials were seemingly unaffected by the mid summer heat. Many rivers and streams that I fished were very healthy indeed. I am grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time on the water this year. Hopefully 2013 season will be equally a memorable one. Stay creative over the winter and think good things that will keep you and others smiling. “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path

The sounds on many rivers allow us to fall into a somewhat hypnotic state and transports our senses to a more serene and most often inquisitive place. If we step away from all of the digital madness in the world today and find ourselves completely alone on a river there is a very noticeable difference in heart rate, thought patterns, and levels of concentration. Most noticeable of all is that time has little or no measurable bearing. The position of our shadow or the waters angle of reflection is really the only que when it comes to relative time. The sounds that a fisherman makes is somewhat limited, I suppose that's why I come across so much shy wild life from one season to the next. Fox, Heron, deer, the elusive badger, and turkey are all the usual suspects. This past season two coyotes came sloshing across the river twenty or so feet in front of me with absolutely no inhibition. Recently an unlikely visitation of a hummingbird has kept me thinking about the qualities of silk

  One of the more interesting of the fall terrestrials is the tree cricket. This amazing insect will appear in the bushes or trees bordering fields or meadows during the last weeks of summer or early weeks of fall. Along trout streams this insect is on the main menu for most trout especially big ones. The tree cricket is usually no larger than one inch in length and has a pale green or whitish colored body depending on the species. Found in the Gryllidae family in the Orthoptera order of crickets, roaches, mantids and grasshoppers, the tree cricket is part of the Oecanthinae subfamily. They are nocturnal insects and often hard to spot since they easily camouflage their presence among the leaves of their chosen habitat. I run across them all the time in August and through the fall in my yard. Because I live on a road that quickly dead ends into my home trout stream the insects I find in my yard are generally accessible to the trout down the street. The last several years I ha

The black field cricket is fairly common in many parts of the United States. If you fish near meadows or farm fields you know that they are an important part of a trouts menu during the months of July, August, and even through September. As an avid terrestrial fisher and fly tyer I stock my fly boxes with many beetle patterns, Crane flies, Hoppers, and black Crickets in sizes #8-#14. Many of the patterns I tie specifically terrestrials combine natural materials with synthetics.   above: I caught this nice Brown on a black Cricket.  A hot August morning on The Mad River. The very top photo is a version of Davie McPhail's Black Cricket pattern. I tie this pattern using knotted pheasant tail legs, black wire ribbing over the foam body, and 1mm Razor Foam. The reason I use knotted pheasant tail for legs is I've fished biot legs and they get crimped after they get hit by trout. I use Razor Foam in the 1mm thickness because I fish 2-3wt lines often during the months o

The Crane fly (order Diptera) is often an overlooked pattern that proves to be an important part of a trouts diet from mid-summer through the fall. Unlike many terrestrial patterns the Crane fly really begs to be tied with a very gossamer and sparse geometry. It is not a “beasty” like a hopper or cricket pattern. Instead upon close inspection you will see that is is very wispy, gossamer, and quite delicate. It is a common misconception that the bulbous end on the abdomen is an egg sack found on the female Crane fly. In fact this is the males genitalia. The female has a more pointed geometry at the end of the abdomen. Proof of the pudding above: This shot of a nice 16" Brown shows two Crane fly's in his mouth, the lighter ochre colored one shown in the rear portion of the jaw was hooked and 18" of tippet snapped and trailed behind the fly, the fish got away. Three hours later I caught the same fish on a mahogany Crane fly! Both fly's retrieved. Shows that even w

Original Post~2009 Recently I had somebody ask me about how I go about selecting culms of bamboo for different rods. I suppose that it is not necessarily something elaborated on frequently unless you were to read up on it in the few good books written on the construction of cane rods. So I will try to put in some very simple digestible terms. That said I get all of my Tonkin cane from Charles H. Demarest Inc. whom I have had the honor of meeting in upstate NY years ago. Probably the nicest people on the planet. I occasionally get a few culms here and there from various other dealers mostly because I like to see how they are graded. I have found over the years that the Tonkin cane I get from Demarest Inc. is most consistent in quality. I have a back-stock of Demarest cane which unfortunately is dwindling and because they are no longer in business the cane is that much more valuable to me. I typically go through a bale and pull out cane that is most suitable to make rods for my client

Knotted Pheasant tail legs add a certain realism and movement to your fly's. Because I only tie one or two strands (not broomstick clumps) with both 2 and 3 jointed segments I get a lot of inquiries for availability. I sell them in four packs which basically means 4 sets of legs, for a total of eight legs in each pack. These legs are tied in the most durable part of the pheasant tail, and are dyed with Veniards by myself for all types of flies which include: Damselflies, Drakes, Dragonflies, Hoppers, Craneflies, and Crickets.  Each pack $6.00 Shipping not included . Please specify colors and number of knotted joints. Please e mail or call for availability~ cbova@columbus.rr.com Clint Bova 614 204 9608 Colors Include: Natural Blue Black  Dun Russet Red Green Yellow Sienna Brown

above: An all season quiver of cane by Clint J. Bova  MRRC  rods ranging from 3-6wts. "Fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air.  It brings meekness and inspiration, reduces our egoism,  soothes our troubles and shames our wickedness.  It is discipline in the equality of men,  for all men are equal before fish." ~ Herbert Hoover

Finding the best raw materials is always a major concern for me. I gave up on most “manufactured” hardware years ago just because it was not appealing to me on many different levels. So to make my process and craft more meaningful and exact I decided to take matters in my own hands and customize all hardware based on the particular rods specifications. When you are ready to cut a beautiful piece of wood you always have to visualize where all the figuring is positioned prior to the cuts. Taking the time to do this is well worth it and the end result is a gorgeous spacer not just a run of the mill spacer. One aspect of making fine split bamboo rods involves the selection of raw materials that transform themselves into not just a great rod but a stunning rod.  When everything comes together there is a special cadence, from proportion, weight, fulcrum, taper, and all the details that follow. I make no excuses for anything that does not look right, ever. When it comes to yet another de

 Its always interesting cutting into spalted Maple or Koa. Its like unearthing hundreds of unique patterns each with its own fingerprint. The above wood is my newest acquisition ready to be sent off to the stabilizer. Half of all of these blanks are already spoken for which speaks volumes about the scarcity of prime spalted curly Koa and Maple. The combination is hard to come by but makes for drop dead gorgeous spacers. Blanks are cut large to accommodate both conventional and flared spacers.   “The things I make may be for others,  but how I make them is for me”     ~Tony Konovaloff

One of the most common questions for people new to bamboo is “why are cane rods so expensive?” The answer is actually very simple. Anytime something is built from scratch whether it is a custom firearm, knife, or a bow it starts from nothing but raw materials and evolves into a very usable artifact of some kind. It is not made overseas, it is made in the USA, it is completely made by one persons hands, and the process has not been robotically mechanized . This typically means that many hours are spent preparing the materials, compiling the materials, and finally finishing the end product. Sounds so elemental but there are more steps in building a bamboo fly rod than constructing an automobile on a factory floor and it takes much much longer. Again there are only one set of hands touching these to be artifacts from start to finish. That being said the following should be considered: The cost of electricity, mineral spirits, varnish, cane, stabilized wood, insurance, mixing cups, stir

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”                                                                            ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

                                                                                                                   photo: Clint Joseph Bova “Nothing great was ever achieved  without enthusiasm.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I guess the notion of your 5th grader standing in front of a large running metal lathe is a bit horrific. It's especially spookey to visualize them actually using it on their own. Growing up in Hawaii and going to a school that was at the time somewhat experimental was a blessing. Punahou provided me the opportunity to use my hands in spirited ways at a very young age. We had a wood shop at our school that was a bit like a full blown machine shop, and at the time pretty high tech. Ironically the name of my shop teacher was Mr. Woodward, which is kind of like a home economics instructor named Mrs. Cook. Mr. Woodward was one of those quiet instructors that would scratch his beard a couple times, grimace at what you were working on, and walk away if he thought you were just “screwing around”. The incentive was simple, if you show him you are responsible you could upgrade in machinery. If he saw you do something absent-mindedly you lost the privilege of using a tool. So if you were res

I had a compelling conversation the other day with a friend of mine in regards to the current interest in fly fishing. Over the past three or four years many of the outdoor retailers have been hit pretty hard based on the economy, peoples time, and even technology. Understanding how technology has contributed to the lack of interest in the outdoors is easy to see. We have all of the techy tools to supposedly help heighten our overall experience outdoors. There are GPS systems to help us find our genitals at any given time of the day, high tech clothing to keep us from our own repulsive God given smells, super nano hologram enhanced floating lines, and apps for tracking mayfly hatches along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. There are those video games that allow us to fish in a reclined position, waders or underwear optional. There are fly patterns that are so overdressed and covered in synthetic co-polymers that its hard to believe that there is a hazmat disposal unit that will clean it up if

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost;  that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ~Henry David Thoreau, Life In the Woods

Above: Some of my reels that I frequently use and have refurbished I recently fixed one of my old Meisselbach reels and am currently using it on one of my light trout rods and have come to love fighting fish on it. I fish an old Winchester raised pillar reel pretty hard as well and actually prefer it over an old Hardy Featherweight I use to use quite often. I suppose people in general are afraid to use these older reels for a few reasons. Frequently the pawl mechanisms simply corrode and fall apart. Or the pawl spring is either bent or broken and the reel spins freely. Another common reason is the spindle shafts are bent. The reel foot on most older reels such as Pfleuger’s, Meisselbach’s, Winchester’s, etc. were stamped brass or nickel plated steel. If you happen to have an old ring mandrel you can easily tap the foot straight as an arrow with a ferruling or jewelers hammer. Pawl springs are easy to make with the proper diameter spring steel wire, a pair of jewelers pliars,