Joe Bradley rods

[Showme]

Thanks for the info. I love instant gradification

[Showme]

Well after having a very nice conversation with Joe today I have a Perfectionist coming.

[tcorfey]

Good choice!

[norcal_1]

Well after having a very nice conversation with Joe today I have a Perfectionist coming.

Joe did a wonderful job tweaking that taper, making it work perfectly with a Long Belly 5 wt line. It's a stronger version than the original Young taper. It's more of a do everything rod than the lighter 4-ish wt dry fly only feel of the PHY rod. You should love it on first cast, but we won't put words in your mouth, so report back when you receive it. Make sure to use the LB5 line Joe ships with it

[Showme]

I'll definitely try it with his choice of line. Looking forward to this rod and Joe is such a nice guy to discuss a rod with.

[kconway]

Showme,
I'll go out on a limb and predict you're going to love that new rod. My wife and I each have a Perfectionist made by Joe 'cuz we don't share well, we love them. Like Norcal1 said, it's an all 'round rod.

Congrats! Ken

[Showme]

Thanks for the confirmation of my choice. Really looking forward to receiving it.

[Oxbow]

Finally got the chance to cast this rod and very pleased. The Hendricksons were not cooperating but the chance to be out on a blue-bird day and practice with a new rod was a great day. Not that you need it much but this rod throws a lot of line when called for.

[norcal_1]

^ beautiful combination...all of it, reel, P14 rod and canoe

[Showme]

I fished the new Perfectionist today and it was one of the best casting rods I've ever had the pleasure to fish. Made me look like I'm a far better caster than I am.

[norcal_1]

Spoke w/ Joe Bradley yesterday to check in and see what he's been up to in the shop this winter regard any new models or prototypes. For those of you who are looking for a steelhead rod, Joe just finished building a new 8'3 parabolic rod that's a 7/8 wt with a fighting butt.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I bought one of Joe's personal rods, a prototype stretched Para 17's (9 ft 7/8 wt) after showing him my original Paul Young Doerr and casting them both side by side and being blown away by Joe's rod (yes, it's better than the PHY in different ways - both are great - but Joe's is even more parabolic and smoother casting and I'm a sucker for ultra smooth parabolic rods). Anybody looking for a new steelhead rod ought to seriously consider this one-off Joe is working on, or if it sells, try to convince him to make another this winter if he's got space on his build list to do another. Despite being solid built, even the 9 ft P17 of Joe's doesn't feel heavy in hand and it's ultra smooth, extremely parabolic and just a joy to cast. A slingshot of a rod that's silky smooth.

Word to the wise: Joe only makes 12 rods a year, and one or two of each model, so anybody interested in a Bradley rod for 2018 should call him soon and ask if he's already building a model you are considering before he builds out blanks to finish later in the winter and doesn't have the space or bandwidth make that particular model. He's building blanks now, so now is the time to ask if there is something you are interested in. As with all these older builders, every year they build is a gift.

I'll post a casting report once I get my hands on the new model in a few weeks, but Joe told me it's even better than my Para 17 and lighter in weight and feel but just as capable, so can't wait to try it.

p.s.

I had the older bamboo group of guys at the Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club in SF test cast the PHY Doerr side by side with Joe's stretched P17. These are all hard core steelhead guys. Most preferred Joe's rod to the PHY. In one PHY catalog I own, it mentions that Paul Young made over a dozen prototypes to arrive at the PHY Doerr rod, so Joe Bradley making a better rod than the master is quite an achievement and this new one is supposed to be even better than mine. Anybody in the Bay area that ever wants to test cast one of my Bradley's can do so on the weekend at the Golden Gate angling club pools. Always happy to meet up with folks there.

[norcal_1]

I received many positive feedback PM's from folks that bought Bradley rods in the last year to thank me for alerting them to this builder

I'm not going to post their personal messages but maybe they can provide an update now that this thread has been bumped

[fefferje]

Thanks NorCal for sharing info about Joe Bradley. Jed

[Oxbow]

Mike,
I plan to post my observations regarding Joe's two rods I have - sometime next summer after I have had more time to fish them. So far I have only fished the Para 14 once and it was an instant hit with me. Without getting into the details of how the rod works - it was extremely accurate and super easy to cast. I did notice the slightly oversized guides Joe uses. They do not look too big and they help when first starting to cast line out.
Joe was fun to work with and there is no funny business as far as when he tells you the rod will be completed, and then delivers on time.

[NedZeppelin]

My early 2017 acquisition, a Para 13 - Joe is fantastic to deal with.

[sagegrouse715]

I talked to Joe yesterday. I really enjoy buying a rod from him. The experience is great. My 8' Para 14 5 wt is finished and I will be taking delivery from him soon. This will be my 3rd Bradley rod. His rods have a beautiful finish and cast/fish incredibly. The price is good too. I am excited about Santa coming this year.

[baughb]

Being the happy owner of Joe's 4wt 7'6" Progressive and a 5wt. 7'9" Pro 13, I highly recommend his rods. These two rods are all I fish now although if I'm gonna go deep with weight, I use a plastic rod.
Beautiful workmanship and a very good man to spend time with.

[bhuz]

The listing of a PHY Doerr Special on the classifieds last year got me thinking of the possibilities of using a parabolic rod for steelhead here in the PNW. One thing led to another and soon I met Joe Bradley and cast a number of his rods. I decided on his 8' Para 15 (7 weight). He began work on the rod this spring and completed it on his return from Idaho this fall. After completing the rod Joe called with surprising news, the rod turned out more of an 8 weight than a 7 (fine with me, 8 weight was my original preference). I've lawn cast the rod with a number of 7 and 8 weight lines and agree that it is definitely not a 7 weight. It is a dream to cast. Can't wait to get it on the water and test it with a fish. The workmanship on the rod is first-class, the price quite reasonable, and Joe is an absolute gentleman.
Tom

[HeddonSilk]

This does bring up a problem.... or at least a problem for me. The term Para-this and Para-that are to be associated with the Paul Young Company. I have no problem with something like "Inspired by..." or "My version of....", but to use the term without explanation does seem to be a bit "wrong". This would apply to copies of other makers rods as well and not just PHY.

Ralph

So, does this mean the word “featherweight” can only be associated with featherweight rods built by Heddon?

Fred Divine marketed a “fairy” model. Maybe Mr Divines’ heirs should look into legal action against House of Hardy and others who have used the word.

[norcal_1]

I've lawn cast the rod with a number of 7 and 8 weight lines and agree that it is definitely not a 7 weight. It is a dream to cast.
Tom

Bhuz/Tom,

That particular model of Joe's (as I've explained earlier on this thread) can vary in power depending on the density of the power fibers of the pre-embargo cane Joe uses (vintage old stock from EC Powell). It's decidedly not like a PHY Para 15, and more of a Para 16 or a very parabolic / much smoother version of the PHY Boat Rod. It's his own taper, not a copy of a PHY. Actually all of his models are his own taper if you mic them compared to originals. The only one closest to a real PHY is his version of a Perfectionist, but if you cast his rod next to a real Perfectionist, Joe's is very much more parabolic and has ~10% more power and more of a perfect all-around trout rod rather than a dry fly only rod.

I'll bet if you can get your hands on a SA GPX 7 wt line (really a 7.5 wt), it would light your rod up better than any line you have on it now. I use that line on both my original PHY Doerr as well as my Joe Bradley Para 17, even though both can easily handle an 8 wt line. It just works better and you always feel there is an extra power gear in the rod for ultra long casts when you need to tap into it. Give one a try if you can borrow one an let me know what you think. Btw, Joe hand rubs several layers of TruOil on his rods instead of using spar varnish and you might want to buy a small bottle to use yourself to preserve the finish and touch up spots that get nicked while fishing.

Heddonsilk:

CZkid is a Moderator on this forum and he has a long standing gripe w/ any rod maker utilizing the model names that Paul Young used. I respectfully disagree with his thinking, but to each their own. I think he may have softened his stance on the issue in recent months.

When it comes to Joe B, he is one of the few still existing rod makers actually experimenting with parabolic tapers and pushing the evolution forward. He takes a more scientific approach than Paul Young ever could given the technological limitations of the 1950's. If Paul Young were alive today, he would probably be using more accurate planing tools and software like RodDNA (as Joe does) to create prototypes. Bob Summers doesn't really experiment (one-off stretched Perfectionists aside), Bob Lancaster doesn't other than his 4 piece versions developed in the 1980's, John Pickard stopped making rods years ago. Per Brandin has done one-offs with huge price tags. Joe Balestrieri at RedWing experiments and is also a good builder.

What happens when these guys are no longer active? A huge font of knowledge will be lost. That should be the real concern for all of us, not some silly rod taper numerical names. What happens to the original PHY rod building records Bob Summers has? In the mean time, kudo's to the experimenters who are carrying the torch forward and developing really great parabolic rods in the process. Why shouldn't modern builders be able to make a smoother, more parabolic rod taper today than in the 1950's? There's room to appreciate both - old and new. The world would be a much worse place if this corner of the bamboo rod making brotherhood goes silent. The core principle of engineering is to improve upon the past and it's nice that some people are still trying in ways we all benefit from.