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ALL FOR THE LOVE OF FISHING. . .Starting in 1974 and continuing until 1984, the construction of fiberglass fly rods, spinning rods and casting rods for a few customers began to go from a spare time hobby into a business. Only a few major blank and component suppliers were available which made for a limited supply of choices from which to design fishing rods. Fenwick and Lamiglas were the only two that I used at the time. They were excellent blanks and I still have a few of the fly and spinning blanks today. Graphite by Fenwick (HMG) was in its infancy and was very expensive but, a few customers were still daring enough to take the plunge with this new space-age material. Back then, I built a few HMG's for a saltwater fly fisherman in particular that would go to the Florida Keys in search of bonefish and other salty prey!!

The two materials, graphite and fiberglass, were worlds apart in feel, appearance and definitely weight. Little did I know that graphite was to be the wave of the future!! Looking back, I see where many years of innovations have passed in the rod making world of which I was never aware. Oh, if I could just go back and know what I know now.

Then in May of 2003, my step-son stated he would like to learn to fly fish. His words re-kindled the old flames of fly fishing and building rods again and, after about four hours on the internet one Sunday afternoon, I finally gave up looking at all the wonderful things and places in the new world of fly fishing with graphite and began making plans to start building fly rods again with this new, wonderful material.

After building and using several fly rods with this new graphite material, I realized what wonderful fishing tools these new blanks were. I had only used fiberglass up to this point and I was pleasantly surprised with the feel and sense of power in even the short length models of these new fly rods. They can be lightweight, delicate, strong and powerful – all in one package.

The variety of blank designs today is overwhelming, especially if you are looking for something special. But this great selection also allows customers to have exactly what they want in the fly rod that will become their best fishing companion. Unlike 1974, today there are quite a number of manufacturers producing blanks and components, as well as finished rods, that can fit just about everybody’s needs and pocketbook when it comes to fly fishing.

American made blanks are the ones that I use as the foundation for my creations. I built rods on a few of the imported blanks early on, and they have been fine, but I like to think the best blanks are still made in the good old USA. Of course, if one of these imported blanks is just what the customer desires, then that’s what we do!

One of the local resorts in the area, The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, has specifically requested that I build their fly rods with blanks and components made only in the USA.

Well, It's now 2010, and almost another 7 years have past, and here I am in my own little piece of the World Wide Web. Thanks for stopping in and I hope you enjoyed the scenery and I assure you it will be ever changing as the designs improve and more options come to be in the "Quiet Sport of Fly Fishing"

“There is no excuse for second best” That was my mission statement in 1974 and even more so today. So let me build your next best fishing companion.

Enjoy life and fishing to the fullest and Tight Lines always . . . Charlie

Also, a special thanks goes to Dale Clemens who, when I first started in rodbuilding, operated a custom tackle supply house in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In talking to him, I became fascinated with the idea of catching fish on a rod that I had built myself. I had been tying trout flies for some time, but never ventured into the rod building side of fishing. His tackle business supplied me with blanks and components along with personal guidance and instruction for many years and that allowed me to construct the finest fishing tools I could at the time.

This long distance relationship between Dale and I developed to the point that in 1977 when he made me aware of his second book on rod building, he asked me to supply him with most of the drawings for his book, "Advanced Custom Rod Building" (Winchester Press-1978). I worked from his sketches to make the final drawings for his publication. A signed copy I still have today along with his two other publications on custom rod building.