Snake Brand - Rod Builder Profiles

Jim Schaaf, "The Schaaf Rod Shop"

"I believe the bamboo fly rod is the noblest tribute to the sport of fishing. As a work of art it is an object of beauty. As a tool its purpose is to catch fish. Yet, as an instrument that unites the skills of man with the materials of nature, it has a higher calling. It is a final testament to a saying that dates back to the days of Izaac Walton: 'piscator-non-solum-piscatur' - 'there is more to fishing than catching a fish.'"

Jim Schaaf has been building bamboo fly rods for over 40 years. His journey in rod building started as a young fisherman, as he became interested in the characteristics of bamboo rods. At first, Jim repaired and restored some older rods to their original condition. After a while, Jim purchased his own planing form and winder.

In 1986, Jim purchased the L.L. Dickerson equipment and the Bedford Anglers rod shop. The largest influence on Jim's rod building technique was Lyle Dickerson: "I truly believe that this man entered the world of rod making with the skill, talent, and vision to craft rods destined to become legacies." In addition to his own line, Jim has built a limited number of rods using original Dickerson patterns. Jim has 10 series of bamboo rods available, besides the Dickerson series:

Dickerson series - made from the original Dickerson pattern
Cascapedia series - a powerful rod favored for Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead fishermen
Rio Grande series - a rod built to handle big fish on lakes and rivers
Three Piece series - the classic style of the split cane editions
Midge series - made for the tiny streams of the Rocky Mountains or the East Coast
Creede series - designed for the small creeks and streams of the West and East Coast
Spinning Rod series - for Bass and lake fishermen, and trout fishermen who like to spin
Fly/Spin series - designed for small streams and lakes, can accommodate either fly or spin reel
Spring Creek series - traditional classic, swelled-butt, two-piece fly rod
Hollow Butt series - a two-piece rod built for the heavy waters of British Columbia
Antique Classic series - traditional three-piece wet fly rod

Jim Schaaf's rods are truly a work of art, which holds true to the words of Izaac Walton. They are considered to be of high value, which comes from quality craftsmanship paired with an artist's touch.

The Schaaf Rod Shop
P.O. Box 535
Concord, CA 94521
925-682-9144

Rodmaker Profile - Stephen Kiley

After retiring from the financial markets, Steve Kiley searched for a craft that required the dedication and precision of his former profession. Combining a passion for fly-fishing with commercial practicality, he began carefully crafting bamboo fly rods with proven tapers, especially those of Dickerson and Leonard. From the beginning, Steve was successful in placing his rods with satisfied anglers so that now he has a following of clients international in scope.

Since 1999, Steve has been making bamboo fly rods full-time. However, his interest in bamboo has been life long, starting when his father took him brook trout fishing in the Old Northwest of Michigan and Wisconsin. Steve still has his father's prized bamboo rod, but he doesn't fish with it. In 1971, he saved money and built a bamboo rod from an Orvis kit. That rod has been restored twice and is still used by Steve, often on his favorite rivers in Central Oregon.

During the first years, Kiley made rods in the traditional manner with hand tools and planing forms. After a couple years of production, Steve decided to try motor driven equipment to accomplish tedious and repetitive tasks related to hand planing. Achieving success with a series of Al Bellinger designed bamboo milling machines, Kiley currently has one of the most modern, but crowded, production facilities in the bamboo rod making business.

Steve makes it very clear that his production methods are not automated, they are simply designed to speed certain time consuming tasks while remaining within tolerances tighter than he achieved with hand tools.

As his skills progressed, Steve began using his computer to modify a variety of historic tapers into rod actions for his clients to enjoy. From this first step in bamboo rod design, Kiley has progressed into a series of rods made from his own taper formulas based on historical tapers. In general, Kiley propriety tapers provide for a strong rod with moderately fast action.

We at Snake Brand guides are also happy to report that several years ago Stephen Kiley, in his quest to provide the finest possible quality to his customers, decided to wrap only Snake Brand guides onto his bamboo fly rods.

25790 Kimberly Dr.
West Linn, OR 97068
503-657-7246
www.splitcanerods.com
Stephen Kiley photos by Michael Durham

Bernard Ramanauskas - Eden Cane Ltd.
Bernard started building nodeless split cane flyrods in 1998. The company came under the managerial control of Len Codella (former owner of Thomas & Thomas) shortly thereafter.

Bernard's rods have managed to secure an international following, earning high praise from 'cane heads'. Eden Cane has also managed to attract many new fisherman to the cane market, mostly former graphite casters. As a result Eden Cane was rewarded with the coveted 'Gray's Best' award, from Gray's Sporting Journal, in 2001. This award was the first of it's kind ever given to a cane flyrod manufacturer.

The company offers two trout rod series, another Steelhead/Bass series, as well as a full line of specialty rods.

While always striving to produce the best possible casting tool, Eden Cane allied itself with Mike McCoy and Snake Brand immediately upon the company's arrival on the market. Eden Cane has been pleased to support Snake Brand's products ever since. Best of Luck for the future!

For more information please visit www.edencane.com or call (352)637-5454.
View Eden Cane ad.

Casimira Orlowski and Jeff Wagner, Rodmakers
Fine Split Cane Flyrods

I started building bamboo flyrods as a result of a long-held fascination with their handcrafted beauty and utility. As a teenager I would visit flyshops and somehow feel drawn to the cane rods even though fiberglass was largely replacing cane at the time. After purchasing my first cane rod in 1980 and fishing it exclusively I never dreamed that one day I would be a builder myself.

After finishing college with a Biology degree I worked in various laboratory fields. Later I met the woman who would become my partner in life and rodbuilding, Casimira. It all began when she purchased a tablesaw for me as a Christmas gift and then brought home a video about making wooden boxes. One of the projects was building a wooden rod case and after building a few for friends and family I began to supply them to area flyshops.

One day while delivering some rodcases I spied a book for sale about cane rodbuilding and began to be intrigued with learning about how to build my own cane flyrod. After reading anything that I could get my hands on that related to building cane rods, I began to assemble and build my first rod. It took almost a year to gather the necessary tools, knowledge and technique to produce that first rod.

In 1995 I left my laboratory position to concentrate on building full time. Casimira continued at her profession as a hospital administrator while providing me with support and encouragement as I established the business. As a result of steady growth and demand, Casimira joined me as a full time builder in November of 1997 and is, to the best of my knowledge, the only female professional cane rodbuilder in the world.

Today we continue to work together as our business has grown and evolved. We now produce three distinct lines of cane rods, ranging from an economically priced introductory series to fine one-of-a-kind works of art. Our rods are sold directly through appearances at flyfishing shows, advertising, and the 'word-of-mouth' testimony of satisfied customers. Our work is also featured by several flyshops and dealers.

We have been featured in Ed Engle's book, Splitting Cane, in addition to feature articles in Worth Magazine, The Art of Angling Journal, The Angler's Journal, and an article by the Associated Press. We have won an Ohio Individual Craftsmanship Award from the Ohio Arts Council and have been featured guest rodbuilders for the The Art of Angling: A Visual Celebration of Fly Fishing exhibit at the Milne Special Collection and Archives at the University of New Hampshire. We have given lectures on the history and craft of bamboo rodbuilding for numerous TU groups, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Trout Club, and the Chautauqua Institution.

In addition to producing and supplying tools for other aspiring cane rodbuilders we are also pleased to announce that we offer week-long rodbuilding classes where others can learn how to build their own first cane rod. Finally, we also perform a good deal of cane rod repair and restoration- always with an eye for historic authenticity and integrity.

For more information please visit www.wagnerrods.com.

Jerry Andrews, Moundsville, West Virginia
Andrews Cane Rods

Jerry Andrews has been an accomplished rod maker for the past several years, and is now building full-time. He specializes in trout rods in lengths from 5' 0" to 8' 6", using whatever tapers a customer desires, or providing advice on a rod that will be right for the client. Only the best components go into these rods, with loving workmanship.

Jerry makes all the rods, and by the time the rod is finished, it's been examined and handled many times. It's a product that is known well by the maker.

Jerry is also involved directly in helping Harman's North Fork Cottages, a family owned business since 1939, establish their one-mile stretch of the North Fork of the South Branch near Seneca Rocks, West Virginia as one of the premier trout streams in the state of West Virginia.

To view Jerry Andrews' fine cane rods, visit
www.andrewscanerods.com.
For more information on Harman's Cottages, visit
www.wvlogcabins.com.

Bill Currie
Bill Currie Custom Rods

I started fishing at about age 4 in the Northern Sierras in California, with my Dad and my Grandfather. Fishing has been a passion for me all of my life. I can remember, even at a very young age, thinking about how fishing rods were never quite right, and they could be made better.

I traveled with a construction company for 15 years as an Electrical Superintendent. That time allowed me to fish 17 different states in this great land of ours. In April 1990 I was in the town of Woodland Washington for a job, and it was like a dream come true for me to be in Salmon and Steelhead country. My uncle had told me of these magnificent fish as a boy. I needed a good steelhead rod and while shopping, I found that the prices were quite high and would strain the family budget. Then I happened in to "Anglers Workshop", which was very small at the time. That was the day that would change my life.

The folks there were very friendly and helpful. They sent me home with everything I needed to build my first rod, including a book by Dale Clemens. The cost was less than the production rod that I had been eyeing. That first rod was quite a challenge, using a phone book for a tensioner and a coat hanger for a rod stand. A month later I went fishing with a local angler and caught my first Steelhead. I immediately went home and started on another, better rod.

From that point on I was "hooked". I found and talked with other rod builders, bought more books, videos, and any information that I could find on the art of rod building. My travels led me to Southern California, where I met some outstanding Saltwater rod builders, and eventually inland to the Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, and all of the other warm water species.

The first 8 years my focus was on performance, and I took a lot of notes and developed many good rod designs. I always admired the traditional subtle elegance of the finely crafted bamboo rods, but my rod building experience and designs were all graphite and fiberglass. I decided that if I was going to build great rods that they should look like great rods.

Now after 14 years my customers and I feel we have achieved both. My rods are designed and handcrafted from an Anglers point of view for hours of comfort, durability, and high performance. I will never become a high volume mass producer of rods. I am a Custom Rod Builder and will maintain the personal touch of building rods for a specific customer and giving them some choices about their rod designs. This gives me a chance to build to their specific needs and offer a true custom rod.

During my quest for the perfect marriage of subtle elegance and high performance, I was contacted by Mike McCoy. Snake Brand Guides have added a touch of precision and elegance that simply cannot be found anywhere else. They have made a tremendous difference in the appearance and the graduated wire sizes improved the performance.

I build rods for everything from High Mountain Rainbow Trout to Halibut and Yellow-fin Tune. Every fly rod that leaves my shop is built with Snake Brand Guides. It would be a perfect world if he would build Spin, Cast and Saltwater Guides with this kind of precision.

Bill Currie
Bill Currie Custom Rods
207 Pine Haven Rd.
Pine Haven, Wyoming. 82721
Ph: 307-756-3698
E-mail: currierods@direcway.com