From The Workbench

Not long ago I had the opportunity to join my friend Dave for a brief three-day trip to the Grand Cascapedia. This was after a few years without trekking north on account of Covid and we were more than excited to finally be back on one of the finest rivers anywhere. Best of all, after fretfully watching the week after week of hot weather and low water, we were lucky enough to bring some much needed rain north with us as we went. The river bumped up and it was "game on" with each of us getting into a number of nice fish that were just starting to really color up.

The trip ended for me on a particular highlight which involved landing a nice twenty pounder with guide Tommy MacWhirter, one of the true originals you'll find on a river anywhere. It was a great trip - I hope you enjoy!

Bogdan fly reels are among the most celebrated reels in the history of fly fishing. Made by the father-son duo Stan and Steve Bogdan in their Nashua, New Hampshire workshop, these reels developed a tremendous following among angling luminaries on salmon rivers around the world. They remain one of the most coveted reels available anywhere and hold pride of place in most anglers collections. Today we're going to take a closer look at what makes Bogdan fly reels so famous, including taking the reel apart to have a closer look at the innovative Bogdan drag design, one that remained largely unchanged for the better part of seven decades. As any Bogdan aficionado will tell you, there is a good reason for that, as they were not only capable of stopping large fish, but would do so year after year with a minimum of upkeep.

We recently sat down to talk withold friend and artist Galen Mercer to talk a little bit about his approach to painting, early influences, and how his time on the river informs his work.

One of the best parts of being a rodmaker is testing out new rod models. This past summer I put together a new 6' #4 design and was able to take the prototype on a trip to the Poconos.

We recently had the pleasure of spending a few minutes with old friend and superb fish carver Mark Bennett.

A few weeks back I was invited to give a talk on bamboo fly rods to the Thames Valley Trout Unlimited chapter nearby in Connecticut.

Some while back George Katsar stopped by the shop to say hello. We hadn’t caught up in a very long time but it was good to see him since George and I go back a few years: we were among the earliest employees at Thomas & Thomas when it first opened in Greenfield.

It was shaping up to be a fairly typical workweek in the shop when a friend called and invited me to join him for a few days of Gaspe atlantic salmon fishing. He had won the trip through the drawing process that the local Quebec salmon offices (ZEC) use to allot beats to anglers.

Two weeks ago marked the 4th Annual Hardy Cup bamboo casting competition which is part of the the Catskill Museum of Fly Fishing’s annual Summerfest event. Along with many anglers and bamboo rod enthusiasts, I made the trek to Livingston Manor that weekend to visit with friends and customers.

The Leonard beveler has been a mainstay of my rod making operation since its acquisition at the Leonard auction in the early 1980’s. Unfortunately it started acting a little balky earlier this year, and it seemed that a bad motor or a problem in the electronic control system was to blame.

Many dogs aren’t suitable for fishing, but Izzy isn’t one of them. Here she is, streamside, her favorite place.

Our friend Ben Carmichael from New England on the Fly recently got back from a quick trip to the Gaspe and shot this excellent video. More details about his trip here: http://newenglandonthefly.com/2014/06/30/gaspe-atlantic-salmon-striped-bass-june-2014/