G.W. Gregory
All of my rods are built to order and you have control over everything from grip shape, guide colour and shade of silk as a standard. I will always discuss your needs before starting and I am happy to suggest a rod based on your requirements and experience.
However, since the first split cane rod was manufactured, there have been an enormous number of makers and designs for an almost infinite number of applications. I have access to many of these taper calculations and I am more than happy to build you something specific from any of the historic makers, and for any application.
I have observed, with some considerable experience that once a traditional solid built split cane single handed rod passes 8ft it will begin to feel heavier, and I suggest going no longer than 9ft. Even my old Hardy Perfection 9ft was a little sluggish and heavy in the hand, and that was generally considered to be the best 9ft rod ever made.
Split cane fly rods, reels and restoration
Devon, United Kingdom
Greg
Our Story
”I purchased my first split-cane fly rod at the age of seventeen, an 8ft Robert Turnbull, and on occasion I still fish with it today. It was this rod that inspired me to start building my own bamboo fly rods.
GregoryG.W. Gregory
I have been living in Devon since 2004, having moved from my native Suffolk largely because of the fishing opportunities to be had. I have always loved moving water, ever since my childhood and fishing for perch of the slow rivers of my youth. My first rod was an old 1940s cane contraption which had belonged to my father and I have been hooked on the material ever since. Nothing else feels or looks like bamboo and I love it. Sadly that rod has long since departed this world, but its memory will always be a part of my passion for fishing.
I purchased my first split-cane fly rod at the age of seventeen, an 8ft Robert Turnbull, and on occasion I still fish with it today. It was this rod that inspired me to start building my own bamboo fly rods. I can now offer you the finest, bespoke, hand planed split-cane fly rods, built to order in my small Devonshire workshop.
Whenever possible I will escape up onto Dartmoor and fish the wilder stretches of the rivers Dart, Cherry Brook and Avon in pursuit of the wild trout that inhabit them. The challenges of presenting tiny flies with absolute accuracy has brought me to produce a range of fly rods which combine accuracy and range with classic feel and style.
If you are looking for a slower, more classical actioned rod then I offer a few designs based on early English tapers, these have a much more leisurely feel and if you like the idea of gentile afternoons with a creel and nip of sloe gin then these will fit the bill perfectly.
In either event an entirely new dimension to fishing will open up before you, a complete escape from the modern world.