Cecil Pierce Rod Maker Southport, Maine

[hatch]

A few days ago at Blanchards Tackle auction in Potsdam N.Y. there was a 6' one piece Cecil Pierce bamboo fly rod that sold. Cecil is not exactly a household name so I thought I'd give those that are curious a little tutorial.

Cecil passed many years ago. He lived on Southport Island off the coast of Maine. He had many jobs in his lifetime. He was a fireman, lobsterman, furniture maker and cane rod maker (and no doubt several other things). Somewhere along the way Cecil lost several fingers off his left hand which makes the level of craftmanship he achieved that much more remarkable. Cecil always complained that his workshop was cold. When his wife passed he moved much of his workshop into his house. He laid plywood over the living room carpet and set up shop during the winter months. He didn't start making cane rods until later in life. To say he made 100 total is, I'm sure, an overstatement. His rods tend to be 2/1 configurations.

He was a genuinely nice guy. When I see his rods turn up from time to time it brings a smile to my face.
Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures. But they are actually pictures of pictures.

[3creeks]

I knew Cecil Pierce as a woodworker long before I became interested in building cane rods on the strength of these two books that he wrote. He was such an inspiration to me and I want to be as productive as he was in my later years. His chapter on cast steel surely sent woodworkers scouring antique stores for old wooden planes for their irons as much as the bodies. I've had these two books for around 25 years and they remain two of my favorites. I wish there was more written about him as he was an interesting guy.

Jeff

[Short Tip]

It was a nice looking rod. I had never seen one in person before.

[jeffkn1]

It was a nice looking rod. I had never seen one in person before.

Get Jim Higgins to show you his.He bought it either from me (duh) or from the auction of AJ's estate. I also had a tip section in the string that came with a bundle of odds & ends AJ gave me, so I just passed it on to Jim. My recollection is that it was one of the graphite-cored series of rods.
AJ knew Cecil for many years as Cecil was fond of stopping in at AJ's shop, and I also learned a year or so ago that Cecil liked fishing up in the Dead River Region, a stone's throw from Tim Pond.

[hatch]

Here are a few more pictures of Cecil and his rods:
Many of his butt sections had intermediate wraps but not the tips. This is an 8' 2/1 He made the bags and ferrules also.











Cecil doing a little test casting in his driveway at Southport

[thomasrodco]

Late to the discussion, but thought I'd mention a few things that Cecil told me.
He said he lost his fingers while lobstering.
Also, the rods that have intermediates on the butt and not the tip were hollow butts, which is why he reinforced them.
He was a great guy. Arthur Taylor and I made quite a few trips to Southport to visit Cecil.
I remember as a fledgling rodmaker, walking into his house and seeing all the rods everywhere since he was a bachelor again by that point.
Payne's, Thomas, etc in every corner, and hung over doorways. Also, his mill he made from a router setup was like getting to see Hiram's original beveler at that point to me.
My eyes probably looked like saucers..
I've had several of his rods over the years, including his personal salmon rod, marked "His Rod". He was a character for sure...

[thomasrodco]

I've also had people mention his use of plastic for slide bands, etc and he told me he was trying to make his rods as absolutely light as possible, and would get rid of the nickel ferrules in a second if he could figure out another way that was lighter..

[munsey w]

Wonderful stuff! Thanks

[thomasrodco]

Here is my very first binder. Cecil made this and I got it from my friend Arthur Taylor in the late 80s.
Haven’t used it in 30 years now, but it always worked just fine!

[3creeks]

I suddenly have the urge to read both of those books that Cecil wrote again. What a treat to have actually known the man! And like I said above, he was a woodworker to me as I heard about him before I got into bamboo. His writing was very enjoyable in style and substance.

[thomasrodco]

Yes, they are very interesting. I have an exotic wood draw knife he made too. I’ll dig it out and post a pic of it.

[George Carson]

Does anyone know anything about how he incorporated graphite into his bamboo blanks? Did he used it in the tips as well as the butts? Did he use epoxy glue for these hybrid rods?

[thomasrodco]

Yes, if memory serves correctly there is graphite throughout, and he often hollowed out the butts and used intermediates where it was hollow.
The sections have three layers. Bamboo, graphite, and bamboo again.
I don’t remember what he used for glue.
I have a little cross section of a rod joint he gave me. I’ll post a pic of that too.

[Seabowisha Salmo T]

that is fascinating. thanks and i am glad you are relating your expertise and knowledge.

highest regards, jim w

[thomasrodco]

Here’s the signed/engraved draw knife that Cecil made.

[Seabowisha Salmo T]

Here’s the signed/engraved draw knife that Cecil made.

hello; i like that type of draw knife. the wood is kind to my hands than the metal ones.in addition to general whittling, i have cut several hundred spokes for caissons, limbers, and howitzer carriages with them.
regards, jim w