Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

This board is for discussing the collecting of bamboo fly rods, both classic and modern. Remember that respect and civility is the goal of this board.

Moderator: TheMontyMan

User avatar
docbluedevil
Guide
Posts: 251
Joined: 04/12/08 18:00

Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#1

Post by docbluedevil »

Recently, I have been communicating with Tom Morgan regarding his involvement in bamboo rod making while he owned Winston. In my initial email to him, I referenced one of my older posts that inquired about "Morgan-built" Winston rods. Here was his reply which he asked to share with the forum.

A really enlightening historical account behind Winston bamboo which only increases my appreciation for Mr. Morgan's past and current work!

[I had to put his response in 2 different posts due to an apparent length restriction per post that the forum software has.]
Hello forum,

Thank you for your kind comments about my involvement in Winston and complements about my rod designing ability and our present rods. I thought I would add some information about my tenure at Winston and my involvement in the bamboo rodmaking there. There is a substantial amount of confusion about my role which I would like to clear up. This is an abbreviated narrative. I have worked quite a bit on a book about my ownership of Winston and my fishing experiences I hope to finish someday.

Sid Eliason and I purchased Winston in early October 1973. I couldn’t believe I owned a company with such a great reputation among fly fishermen. I was in Heaven!

After two years I bought Sid’s share and was the sole owner. Several years later Glenn became a 10% owner.

You may doubt some of what I am going to tell you but it’s an important part of this narrative to understand what happened along the way. What I’m trying to tell is what happened to me without judgment of the people involved.

I started the long process of learning how to build bamboo rods under Doug Merrick. The first winter we sorted some 6 foot poles that were of very good quality. I don’t remember now where they came from.

When we started to cut strips the first winter I learned the taper patterns in the shop were worn out and there was no record of the tapers! I was dumbfounded! Gary Howells, who had worked at Winston from 1957 through about 1970, had started his own rod company. Doug had borrowed his tip taper pattern for us to use. Gary had designed the pattern with a notch in it so he could cut strips by himself. Doug didn’t realize this and set up the milling of strips with the roller in the notch. When we cut the strips, say at a 14 ferrule size, they immediately jumped to a 10 or 11. I don’t remember which. We then glued them up. Along with the tips we cut and glued butt strips too.

Gary would come over every Saturday morning and hang around the shop. I explained to Gary what had happened with his milling pattern. He just shook his head. He asked to see the butt sections we had glued. He pointed out the chips along the glue seams I had seen, which he said were the result of dull cutter blades. After Gary explained this I remembered when Doug was setting up the machine he had hit the anvil with the cutters while it was running. Then he asked if he could test the strength of the glue bond and I said ok. As he twisted each section it would pop and snap. The glue failed completely. I was speechless and felt my face flush with disappointment. All of the bamboo tips and butts Doug and I had cut and glued that year were junk! Gary explained that the Weldwood Plastic Resin glue Winston used at the time required temperatures above 70 degrees to cure correctly, and that the shop’s small furnace was not sufficient to warm the chill, damp air of a San Francisco winter. At Gary’s suggestion I later solved this problem by bedding the glued sections under an electric blanket until they cured.

I vowed then I would never let Doug help with the setting up of the milling machine or cutting strips. He never did.

I have always said to anyone who asked I really learned bamboo rodmaking from Gary along with what made a quality rod. I asked Gary to bring over one of his bamboo rods and compared it to one of Winston’s rods. The Winston wasn’t the winner. Gary’s varnish finish was gorgeous, whereas the Winston’s was very thin and spotty with lots of dust specks everywhere. His thread on the wraps looked alive, while the Winston wraps were the color of window putty. His ferrule fit was as smooth as butter, whereas the Winston’s was rough and catchy. Gary’s rod had a beautiful wood reel seat with highly polished aluminum fittings where the Winston had a black, Bakelite seat, and rough aluminum parts. I was shocked at the difference, and I ate a generous slice of humble pie. It was clear that I had a lot of work to do to bring the rods up to the highest standard. I determined to do whatever it took to bring Winston’s quality up to where it should be and make it a leader in the industry.

Fortunately for me, and then Glenn Brackett after he came to work in late 1974, Gary was a good friend and mentor to us learning to make quality bamboo rods. He was always helpful and really wanted to see us succeed. As you will see we were also helpful to him.

Gary introduced us to Al Talbot, a master machinist, who worked for Crown Zellerback, the large paper company. A number of years before Al had visited Winston and looked over the milling machine. Some time later Al invited Gary to his home shop and showed him the bamboo milling machine he had made. Gary was amazed. They became close friends and Al ended up building Gary a milling machine so he could start his own rod business.

Al was very friendly and helpful and wanted to help me bring Winston into the modern age with the proper equipment and techniques. The metal lathe and wood lathe were from the ‘30s, very much outdated, and worn out. Al suggested I purchase a small turret lathe for making ferrules and other parts. Fortunately I found a virtually new South Bend tool room turret lathe that used 5C collects listed in the paper. Al and I went to inspect it and I bought it on the spot. I didn’t know anything about machining but with Al’s and other’s help and my own intuition I learned how to use it.
The other suggestion Al made was that I should purchase a Sunnen honing machine to true the inside of the female ferrules. Al said just reaming ferrules, even running lubricant on them, didn’t provide a good, smooth interior finish. I contact the local Sunnen rep and he located a used one which I purchased. The tooling wasn’t complicated for the few sizes of ferrules we made so my learning how to use it didn’t take long. In addition to making the ferrules from Duronz bar stock I honed all of our ferrules until the middle ‘80s when Jeff Walker took over. After we moved to Montana I started using an outside hone to fit the males into sets of two males and one female. These ferrules were very light and the fit was extraordinarily good. Gary was making his ferrules too and I taught him how to use the hone which he did both in California and Montana.

The glue machine Lew Stoner invented was what Winston was using when I bought the company. It consisted of two counter-rotating wheels holding the thread which rotated around the rod blanks and had two thread bobbins to bind the blanks. Intuitively this machine wasn’t good for light sections like fly rod tips because at one point in the revolution both spools were pulling in the same direction. The tips came out looking like a corkscrew. Doug would slap them on a marble table and would get them very straight. I could never learn the technique.

Gary suggested that instead of using that machine I should build a modified Crompton machine illustrated in A.J. McLane’s Standard Fishing Encyclopedia. I drew up the plans for this machine and had a local machine shop make it. Overall the glue machine was standard except for the hardened steel fingers you could slide from side to side to change the angle the string wound on the blank. We would run the tips with the string wound closer than on the butts. In the beginning we had a simple bar and pulley using an endless string belt Al had woven for us with weight hanging below the bar. The amount of weight varied between the tips and butts. The woven belts were troublesome because after some use the belt would start to fray and catch under the wrapping string. The section would then have to be unwound, a new belt put on, and the section started over. I found some manufactured belts which were coated with rubber that lasted longer but were still a problem. I solved the problem by installing two twelve inch pulley wheels on a bottom arm where the string wound on one and off the other making it an endless belt. This completely solved the string breaking problem. The absolute worst section we ever got out of this binder was way better than the best I ever saw from the original machine.

The next big challenge for me was to improve the quality of the rod finish.
The balcony served as a crude spray shop, ineffectively ventilated by a varnish-encrusted exhaust fan I determined was an unbelievable fire hazard. An explosive mist clouded the entire workshop during spray operations. I had wondered why the surfaces in the shop were coated with a light frosting of varnish and this explained it. The wet rod sections were stood to dry in a small, heated room. Each section was held upright by tucking its tip into a ridge of corrugated cardboard attached to the wall. Rod sections, tacky with uncured varnish, would sometimes fall to the dusty floor, but would continue on through the production process. Doug never properly cleaned the spray gun between batches. Instead, he would simply dunk it in a can of lacquer thinner. The thinner caused the residual varnish to coagulate into globules that would coat the subsequent batch of sections in a skin akin to sandpaper. In addition to the globules, the blast from the obsolete, high-pressure spray gun dimpled the wet varnish, giving it the texture of orange peel.

It was obvious something had to be done with the varnishing process. In talking with Gary and others I knew I needed a regular spray booth with a good exhaust fan. I contacted the local Binks distributor to learn about spray equipment. They, too, told me I needed a regular closed spray booth with a good exhaust fan and a door and filters to trap dust from the incoming air. I knew I would never get a permit to install it on a wood floor so I just went ahead anyway. I cut a hole in the roof and installed the fan and exhaust vent above the roof. It occurred to me the tenants in the apartment nearby might complain about the varnish fumes but they never did. It was a much safer setup than the old arrangement and resulted in a tremendous improvement in quality. I bought a modern spray gun that used 18 pounds of air pressure, compared to 70 pounds for the old gun. In addition, the varnish was in a canister above the gun so it worked well with the lower pressure. Lower pressure and proper cleaning of the new gun eliminated the sandpaper and orange-peel effects, but dust was still a challenge. It took me a while to figure out how to get the dust off the rod sections before we sprayed them. Wiping was out because I couldn’t find a material that did not leave some lint. On Gary’s advice, I vacuumed the sections before taking them into the spray booth, and then blew them down with filtered air. That got rid of almost all of the dust.

When we moved to Montana and built an addition onto the shop I designed a special dust free room with a custom made spray booth made by a friend of mine in Illinois. I also wore an industrial clean suit with booties and a cap. In addition, I built in the room a round drum that rotated once a minute to attach the rods to so they wouldn’t develop sags in the varnish after spraying. I sprayed all the rods including repairs until the middle ‘80s when Jeff Walker took over.

Another critical factor in creating the best rods is the initial tempering of the raw bamboo. If you don’t heat-treat it the bamboo remains soft and will take a set just from normal use. Heat treatment stiffens the bamboo by gently cooking its lignin, the natural substance that provides structural strength to grasses and trees. High heat also colors the bamboo from pale yellow to dark honey. Lew Stoner believed in heating the bamboo only sparingly, and consequently Winston rods were lighter in color than those from other makers. Winston rods also had a reputation for permanently setting under the strain of a big fish or in just general fishing. I believe this was from inadequate heat treating.

Winston’s old bamboo oven was fired by six gas burners arrayed beneath its metal shell. Because each burner was adjusted separately, it was difficult to achieve even heat. Doug kept the temperature low to avoid hot spots that could scorch the bamboo. Gary Howells also used Winston’s oven for his bamboo heat treating. Gary and I thought about how we could improve its function. We decided if there was a baffle up about half way with a space on each end where the air could circulate in a loop with the help of a fan would provide much more even temperature. Fortunately the oven was big enough for me to climb in to mount the baffle. I then installed a fan fastened on the outside of the door for air circulation. The door would stay slightly open until moisture no longer would collect on a glass surface then the door would be shut. This didn’t completely cure the uneven heat but substantially improved it. We still had to reverse the batches end to end half way through heat treating. However, without the hot spots, we were able to increase the intensity of heat treatment, and the problem of permanent sets was significantly reduced or eliminated.
Click here for Part 2/2. And to prevent splintering comments between the 2 posts, let's place comments here under Part 1.

User avatar
bigskybum
Master Guide
Posts: 380
Joined: 09/08/08 18:00
Location: Big Sky, Montana

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#2

Post by bigskybum »

Wonderful story, and impressively honest. Tom's commitment to quality craftsmanship has been consistent throughout his career, and set a high standard for the industry. Nothing less than pure gold.

-Steve

User avatar
Brian K. Shaffer
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 3624
Joined: 03/03/06 19:00
Location: EARTH
Contact:

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#3

Post by Brian K. Shaffer »

Every time I read this I learn how innovative this man truly was.
Part 2 link is just at the end there - do not miss it.

I cut and pasted both parts into an email and enlarged the text for easier readin'.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer

Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.

AlexP
Master Guide
Posts: 380
Joined: 08/29/19 14:18
Location: South Minneapolis

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#4

Post by AlexP »

Thanks Brian, great read. You "resurrect" some great threads from many years ago. Awesome for newbies like me. Thanks again

afried
Sport
Posts: 46
Joined: 12/20/11 17:02
Location: PNW

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#5

Post by afried »

Yes, that was a great read. Don't know how I missed seeing it until now. I've also read Tom Morgan's history article on the Winston fiberglass rods which appeared on another forum. Has he prepared any similar article on his development and production of the Winston graphites? If anyone knows of one I'd appreciate knowing where to find it?

Andy

sanderson
Guide
Posts: 342
Joined: 06/29/20 19:55

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#6

Post by sanderson »

Thanks. So much on this sites archives to see, thanks for sharing!

User avatar
BigTJ
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 4941
Joined: 06/04/06 18:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#7

Post by BigTJ »

Some of the info stated above doesn’t seem to square with what others in the know say that happened. Particularly the stuff about mistakes Merrick made and the loss of Winston’s tapers. We will never know it’s water under the bridge. And I’m purposely being vague and will not be more specific. Let’s just end by saying I am a huge fan on Tom Morgan and my interactions with him were always great - so much admiration - and there are always multiple sides to any story. Tom was sharp as hell and had a good memory but Doug Merrick was also a hell of a rod maker too.

I can say that I have owned three post-Howells, pre Morgan-made bamboo rods from the early 70’s that showed excellent craftsmanship and attention to details, as good as anything from the SF years. The quality control to my mind made its real leap under Brackett and Morgan in the late 70’s.

I am also wondering if Brackett started in 1975 not 1974. He told me his did not make my 8.5’ 4.25 oz rod from May 1975. I believe he may have joined mid year after that rod was made by Tom and Doug and then the shop moved over the following year, 76 into 77. This is based on a thread related to a letter from Chris Warner that was posted in the forum by Joe Beelart and the info I got from Glenn. Here is the copy of the letter and the info I cobbled together, some of which was wrong (Warner’s letter was probably from 78/79 as Joe B surmised):

http://classicflyrodforum.com/forum/vi ... b2#p696012

Maybe be somebody who knows Glenn well (I’m not going to bug him with trivial questions) or otherwise has the info can confirm. Also I understand there is info on the subject of Brackett’s tenure in the Howells book, which I was unable to obtain from Joe.

John

User avatar
SpringCreek
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 3199
Joined: 02/24/07 19:00
Location: Wildwood, MO
Contact:

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#8

Post by SpringCreek »

BigTJ wrote:
01/07/22 15:11
S
I am also wondering if Brackett started in 1975 not 1974. He told me his did not make my 8.5’ 4.25 oz rod from May 1975. I believe he may have joined mid year after that rod was made by Tom and Doug and then the shop moved over the following year, 76 into 77. This is based on a thread related to a letter from Chris Warner that was posted in the forum by Joe Beelart and the info I got from Glenn. Here is the copy of the letter and the info I cobbled together, some of which was wrong (Warner’s letter was probably from 78/79 as Joe B surmised):

http://classicflyrodforum.com/forum/vi ... b2#p696012

Maybe be somebody who knows Glenn well (I’m not going to bug him with trivial questions) or otherwise has the info can confirm. Also I understand there is info on the subject of Brackett’s tenure in the Howells book, which I was unable to obtain from Joe.

John
There was an article in The Drake in 1999 that came from an interview with Glenn that stated he became a partner in 1974 and co-owner in 1975. I believe Doug Merrick retired in 1976, so your rod could have been made by him.
Then as it was, then again it will be. Though the course may change sometimes, rivers always reach the sea. - Led Zeppelin, 10 Years Gone

http://www.splittingcane.com

User avatar
BigTJ
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 4941
Joined: 06/04/06 18:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#9

Post by BigTJ »

Thanks a million for the info. The signature is in Tom Morgan’s hand, so I think the blanks was Merrick made.

John

jim royston
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1291
Joined: 08/20/08 18:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#10

Post by jim royston »

Being purposely vague maybe doesn't cut it if you are refuting his account

User avatar
BigTJ
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 4941
Joined: 06/04/06 18:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#11

Post by BigTJ »

Jim,

I said it that way to stay within the board rules of conduct, out of respect to those people in the discussion who are no longer with us, and out of respect with those that shared information with me in confidence. Sorry if that doesn’t “cut it” for you.

John

User avatar
ibookje
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 5018
Joined: 12/23/04 19:00
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#12

Post by ibookje »

Thanks for the resurrection.
I'm a big fan of Tom Morgan

jim royston
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1291
Joined: 08/20/08 18:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#13

Post by jim royston »

John, you are refuting a first hand account by the responsible party. Your options were to hold your tongue or tell us your side. You did neither.

User avatar
mcflyfish
Guide
Posts: 255
Joined: 03/14/06 19:00
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#14

Post by mcflyfish »

Folks...I have a quick story related to TM and the old Winston shop on Harrison in SF about 1973. I was new to flyfishing and wanted to build my own rod. Went downtown to the shop and Tom was behind the counter and told him I wanted to build a trout rod. He brought me back to the shop...picked out an 8 1/2' 5wt fiberglass blank (brown), cut in 2 pieces, cut a small piece of white ferrule material and blew it into the butt (with glue of course). He picked out a grip, reel seat, some guides and thread (red). He did everything in less than 15 minutes and I was out the door. $25 total! I built a couple more in those early years...alas...all gone now. Four years of bass fishing from a boat in North Carolina took its toll!

User avatar
ibookje
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 5018
Joined: 12/23/04 19:00
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#15

Post by ibookje »

That’s a memory to cherish

User avatar
Brooks
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1643
Joined: 04/07/19 15:58
Location: Idaho

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#16

Post by Brooks »

Not sure if this is helpful or not--Here's a timeline that my firm did for a customer about four years ago (when I had the distasteful displeasure of working with Ondaatjee).

1929
1929 is an infamous year in financial circles, yet is cherished by anglers worldwide. That year, following the stock market crash, Robert Winther and Lew Stoner started what is known today as the R.L. Winston Rod Company. Originally calling their company the Winston-Stoner Manufacturing Co., they later combined elements from both their names, and renamed it the R.L. Winston Rod Company. Technicians at heart, they began the Winston tradition of archiving each rod with a journal entry and a serial number. Almost immediately, the bamboo rods these two men built earned a reputation for performance and exceptional quality.

1930’s
In 1933, Robert Winther sold his interest to employee Red Loskot, an accomplished fisherman and member of the Golden Gate Angling Club. The next year, Stoner developed a patented hol- low-fluted rod design for use in tournament casting competition. The Winstons built with this design were lightweight, very powerful, and would soon shatter a number of world distance casting records. Primo Livenais used a Winston surf rod in 1936 to break the world record with a 623 foot cast. In 1938, Marvin Hedge used a Winston to break the world fly casting record by
36 feet.

1940’s – 1950’s
In 1945, Doug Merrick stopped by the shop to buy a new rod and also found himself a job at Winston. In 1953, he purchased Red Loskot's interest. When Lew Stoner died unexpectedly in 1957, Merrick became sole owner. Winston continued to set world casting records at the Golden Gate Anglers Club led by John "Buddy" Tarantino. In the early 1950s, Winston incorporated the casting characteristics of its famous hollow-fluted rods into a new material: fiberglass

1960’s
In the 1960s, Doug's penchant for quality and his exceptional rod building skills continued to raise Winston's standard of excellence, already the highest in the industry. In 1967, renowned angler and hotelier Charles Ritz, president of the International Fario Club in Paris, presented Merrick with a medal for "Outstanding work and knowledge pertaining to split bamboo rods."

1970’s – 1980’s
The 1970s were years of change at Winston. Tom Morgan purchased the company from Merrick in 1973, and a year later took on a partner to learn to build bamboo rods. In 1975, Winston offered a new line of 2 and 3-piece rods incorporating a new material: graphite. In '76, the decision was made to move the company from San Francisco to Twin Bridges, Montana in order to be near the world-class trout fishing of the Beaverhead, Big Hole, and Jefferson rivers. The 1980s saw the introduction of slightly faster IM6 graphite, which is still used in WT trout rods.

1990’s
In 1991, David Ondaatje bought Winston.

2000’s
The new century issued in Winston Boron IIx, Boron IIt and Boron II-MX rods

2011 to Present
In 2011, Winston launched its new Boron III technology with the Boron III X rod series.

User avatar
BigTJ
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 4941
Joined: 06/04/06 18:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#17

Post by BigTJ »

jim royston wrote:
01/11/22 10:58
John, you are refuting a first hand account by the responsible party. Your options were to hold your tongue or tell us your side. You did neither.
Jim,

There are always two sides to a story. Doug Merrick certainly wasn’t able to give his. Most of these guys are all dead now. The only living people who do know can be contacted. Feel free to do so if you are curious. I heard that the tapers weren’t lost and that Merrick was a hell of a rod maker not a bumbling fool which the story above seems to indicate. And the Merrick made rods I have had in my hands from the early 70’s were pretty nice. Maybe I got it wrong but that’s what I remember.

Tom intended this to be posted on the internet even though he clearly stated he didn’t intend for the story to pass judgement. He also offered an apology of sorts at the end for saying what he did. It’s important to keep that in mind, because a lot of what was said was pretty negative. If any of us were to post a similar story about a rod maker my guess is it would be deleted.

All the best,

John
Last edited by BigTJ on 01/11/22 18:06, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Brooks
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 1643
Joined: 04/07/19 15:58
Location: Idaho

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#18

Post by Brooks »

You’ll notice in the brief bit about Tom Morgan above “and a year later took on a partner to learn to build bamboo rods….”
Ondaatjee didn’t want Brackett’s name mentioned in this little synopsis.

adrien schnee
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 2346
Joined: 11/10/11 19:00

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#19

Post by adrien schnee »

Brooks, the timeline you shared is of course on Winston’s site as their company history. The first time I read it I remember thinking the exact line you shared above to be a complete disgrace, as Glen’s name was ( obviously ) purposefully not given mention. That was a couple of years ago, and I see on their website now that Winston has still not amended it to include Glen Brackett’s name, but continue to refer to him anonymously as nothing more than as a partner taken on to learn rod making.

That Glen has been given not a single mention by name in the entire Winston history is petulant, and to me shameful. Particularly given the contributions he made over decades to Winston and the quality of his personal character.

16pmd
Bamboo Fanatic
Posts: 2104
Joined: 07/17/05 10:39

Re: Tom Morgan on His History with Winston Bamboo (Part 1/2)

#20

Post by 16pmd »

I don't want to stir the pot, but I knew Doug Merrick from the late 60's until he sold Winston to Tom Morgan and his partner, Sid Eliason. I also knew Tom Morgan from the time he took over Winston until he passed away. I've owned very good rods of various materials designed and made by both. Though I don't know the details, I think it's fair to say that Doug was a practical, "Get 'er done" rodmaker who turned out some fine rods and had a good sense and feel of what taper would result in a particular desired action. Tom, on the other hand, was a perfectionist who also designed and built fine rods that suited his taste in actions and were also cosmetically impeccable. Both made excellent rods, but one from a more commercially oriented mindset and the other driven by a more aesthetic and idealistic sense. I think Tom's critique of Doug came from that distinct difference in their philosophies and approaches and I don't think much more should be made of the differences in the rods they turned out.

Post Reply

Return to “Collecting Bamboo Fly Rods”