|
In this day of resurgence of fine bamboo fly rods, on thing
important to know is what you are buying and who you are
buying it from. How do you know? How can you filter through
the Internet and advertising hype and find out the truth
about a rodmaker? Well, sometimes that's hard to do, but
there are ways to protect yourself from the many "wannabe"
builders and find a true rodmaker that makes a fine fishing
instrument.
There are several rodmakers out there whose reputations speak
for themselves. Those makers who are still in business from
what many call the "Golden Era" of cane have proven themselves
and stand above the many who rely on self glorification and
claims, sometimes false claims, of being rodmakers. Those who
come to mind right off are Ron Kusse, Bob Summers, Bob Taylor,
Walt Carpenter and Mark Aroner. There are also three large rod
companies that are safe, consistent and established; Orvis,
Thomas and Thomas and Winston. All of these individuals and
companies are well established and we know what kind of rods
they produce. Safe buys? Yes, absolutely!
So, how do we know about those who are not so established and
well known? Of course, the best way to know is to have hands
on experience with their rods. Nothing tells the tale more
than to have a rod in your hand and can cast it and view
the cosmetic quality.
What about the new age of rodmakers? Well, that's where I
have concerns. There are many out there who make claims of
being rodmakers, and sure, they do make rods, but how many
rods have they actually made? Have they made enough to
establish themselves as rodmakers in the true sense? Many
have not. Regardless of how pretty their websites are and
how well they speak of themselves, many of the modern day
rodmakers have not even exceeded 50 rods. Fifty Rods? In
my opinion, 50 rods is about half the number a maker should
make before he has any idea whether he'll ever BE a
rodmaker.
Even in this age of sharing of information, there are some
things only time and experience will overcome.
I know one of the new age makers who has sold less than 20
rods in his very short career, yet he advertises himself as
though he were an experienced rodmaker. I know another who
after making his first two rods, started a self glorification
campaign on several bulletin boards and list serves, touting
himself as an experienced rodmaker. The scary thing is that
it worked. These two are now becoming well known in the
rodmaking world. When you consider one of the new era
rodmakers, you need to thoroughly check them out. They
aren't always what they're cracked up to be. I have two
prime examples of that in my shop right now. One rod is
from a maker who sells a lot of his rods through a broker
at what might be considered a very cheap price (usually,
there's a reason that a rod is cheap). The rod was crooked,
the guides misaligned, they were home made and BADLY home
made, and the maker told the customer that it was just the
nature of cane rods, that they were ALL like that. He
refused to fix it, so his customer, who is also one of
my customers, sent the rod to me to be repaired.
The other is a rod that belongs to another of my customers
for which he paid a very high price. It has been back to
the maker twice to fix problems. The rod has yet to be
fixed or fished! The second time it came back, it was
still not acceptable, so he sent it here and asked me
to fix it. These are the kind of makers you need to weed
out of the flock of wannabes! Check out their website,
of course, then ask them for a list of customers to contact.
Ask the customer how well the rod was made, how clean the
finish is, how well the rod casts, ask what kind of customer
service he received from the maker.
Ask if he had any concerns with the rod when he received it
and if so, did the maker address the concerns to his
satisfaction and most important ask if the customer owns
any other cane rods. After all, if it was his first cane
rod, then he may not even know if he has a bad product! He
may think it's the best thing since sliced bread, and not
have any idea what he's talking about! Get on the Internet
and post on the various flyfishing and cane rod bulletin
boards and ask for the opinions of others who either own
or have cast or fished a particular makers rod. The Internet
can be a powerful advertising tool for those who are trying
to make a name for themselves without having the experience
behind them, but it can also be a powerful tool for weeding
out the wannabes from the true rodmakers.
What about lead time, or the amount of time it takes for a
maker to get a rod in your hands from the day you order?
Well, lead time is a funny thing. A maker can make the
lead time anything he wants it to be. Many buyers are
of the opinion that if it takes a year or two or three
to get a rod, that it must be among the best rods!
Sometimes that's true, and sometimes it's not. When
you talk about makers like the ones listed above, who
are established and who have more orders than they can
handle, then yes, you may have to wait a year or more
for a rod merely because that maker has so many orders
and he just can't get to yours for awhile. BUT... there
are other reasons for long lead times.
The most prominent one, in my opinion, is what I call "the
hook." The maker hooks you into thinking that if it's going
to take eighteen months for him to make you a rod that they
are popular, busy and overrun with orders because their rods
are top quality! In many cases, it's merely a promotional
thing! It's something to make you think that you have to
wait in line to get one of their rods. When a maker quotes
you a long lead time, don't immediately assume that it's
because he's a good rodmaker. First, check it out. Does
the maker make rods full time or is he a weekend rodmaker
who just doesn't have the time to dedicate to working on
rods? If he's full time, then really check him out! If you
didn't read his name above and he's giving you an extremely
long lead time, then consider the possibility that it could
be just hype to give the appearance of his rods being as
desirable as those of some of the modern day masters.
Caveat Emptor says it all... Buyer Beware! Check out the
maker, his product, his customers and his history. Does
this automatically protect you from buying a lemon when
you're shopping for oranges? No, but it sure does increase
your chances of finding someone who will make you a good
bamboo rod that will serve you for many years.
Well, if I haven't stepped on any toes, then I'll be absolutely
shocked! I expect that I'll get hate mail from many who read
this, but I'm really not worried. The ones that are offended
by this article are the ones that I'm trying to warn you about.
~ Bob Nunley
|
