SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

Every so often I find a product that just does exactly what it says it does and does it in a very ingenious way.  I have used Loon products since the inception of the company. Chemistry when done right is alchemy, yea pure magic! I had the pleasure of introducing myself to one of the founders of the company many years ago and I immediately fell in love with Loon and its point of view as well as its line of products. Hydrostop was my first Loon product that I purchased and it not only floated my fly's BUT it also revived my fly's after many days of use. Now Loon Outdoors UV Clear Flow Fly Finish is on my favorites list. It is by far the thinnest UV finish that I have found. Anyone who knows me knows that I use smallish flies with knotted pheasant tail parts, hen tip wings, detached bodies, quills, biots, etc. Many of these materials are quite gossamer and need a more precise low viscosity finish as well as a very controllable adhesive property. Loon's UV Clear flow has b...

Now coming on my 16th year of making bamboo fly rods I have developed my own way of working with cane and it has become a lifestyle as well as a honed craft. I still make them one by one in limited quantities and each spline is carefully straightened, nodes filed and pressed and dressed. Every step in the process my hands do not leave the cane. I have evolved my tapers over time through simple trial and error and have a quiver of tapers that best suit not only my own style of fishing but other styles as well. In a world of mega brands and imported parts and pieces I am still holding fast to turnkeying all aspects of the bamboo rod making process. Reel seats, nickel hardware, grips, etc. Finding an easier way of making a bamboo rod is not at all in my vocabulary, quite simply because I enjoy the process so much. Without sounding too spiritual or metaphysical, making a cane rod is much like a dance. I find it consuming, serine, spiritual, and very satisfying. Nurturing a rod from sta...