I know that a lot is covered on T.F.M. on the various rod builders and their work in the shop but it's always great to come across a solid trip report where the builder becomes the angler. Recently Marty Romeo, of Deep Bend Rodworks, posted a dispatch on the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum where he fished RMNP with a freshly built James Green HTS 8' two weight and I asked if I could share here as well.
I've spent a good bit of time in RMNP and have fished many of the same lakes and streams that Marty covered on this trip. These waters and the cutthroat that swim there are special places.
Marty wrote... "Many moons ago, I started a thread on the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum to gauge interest in long 2-weight fly rods. Being one of the obvious paucities in the glass rod spectrum, and being someone who takes "there's no way it can be done effectively" as an outright challenge, I ended up contacting fellow rod builder and blank maker James Green. James was similarly interested in designing something along the lines of what I'd described. After numerous conversations along the way, and after the highly anticipated arrival of the first batch of new blanks, the Heritage Trout Series (HTS), he gave he his impressions and sent me a few. After clearing the queue of orders for customers, I finally built one of the 8'0" two weight HTS rods for a three day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.
I wanted to fish it out there for many reasons, primarily because of the small but relatively open streams, the high elevation lakes and the tendency for the fish to run in the 8-12" range. There's not much need for a fly bigger than a #12 and plenty of occasions to toss small midges to the cutts cruising the lake shorelines sipping tiny things while swimming right in front of the frustrated angler. They see plenty of pressure on some lakes and streams to the point where a delicate presentation is more of a key to success than the color, shape or size of fly.
The 8000' elevation change had me panting the entire hike in to a small lake with abundant cutthroats. After a short break to rig up and catch my breath, I went to work and was quickly rewarded with a doubled-over rod and a beautiful cutt. Over the next several days I fished several other lakes and streams to 10,000 feet.
In short, this rod now has plenty of mojo, doing exactly what it was asked, from providing delicate presentations in close, at longer distances, in light wind (strong winds - no way) to allowing excellent mending on small streams with braided currents. At no point did I feel undermatched, even with a few unexpected larger fish in the 12-15" range. The moderate-slow action took very little adjustment for me, but I favor slower-actioned rods anyway.
I made some acquaintances during these outings, some of whom had a chance to cast the rod and land a few fish with it. At least one has already contacted me to build a twin to the rod I fished out there, and you can't beat hands-on advertising. I'm sure there will be some detractors who, without ever touching these blanks, will echo the sentiments of a few months ago. That's fine, it's not for everyone but it's a winner in my book."
Marty Romeo has done quite a few rod builds on James Green blanks and has developed a very good working relationship with him. Marty is currently working on a James Green HTS blank build for the T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program which I'll share more information on soon.
Marty is low drag with no website for now but follow along on the Deep Bend Rodworks Facebook page for the latest shop news.
I've spent a good bit of time in RMNP and have fished many of the same lakes and streams that Marty covered on this trip. These waters and the cutthroat that swim there are special places.
Marty wrote... "Many moons ago, I started a thread on the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum to gauge interest in long 2-weight fly rods. Being one of the obvious paucities in the glass rod spectrum, and being someone who takes "there's no way it can be done effectively" as an outright challenge, I ended up contacting fellow rod builder and blank maker James Green. James was similarly interested in designing something along the lines of what I'd described. After numerous conversations along the way, and after the highly anticipated arrival of the first batch of new blanks, the Heritage Trout Series (HTS), he gave he his impressions and sent me a few. After clearing the queue of orders for customers, I finally built one of the 8'0" two weight HTS rods for a three day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park.
I wanted to fish it out there for many reasons, primarily because of the small but relatively open streams, the high elevation lakes and the tendency for the fish to run in the 8-12" range. There's not much need for a fly bigger than a #12 and plenty of occasions to toss small midges to the cutts cruising the lake shorelines sipping tiny things while swimming right in front of the frustrated angler. They see plenty of pressure on some lakes and streams to the point where a delicate presentation is more of a key to success than the color, shape or size of fly.
The 8000' elevation change had me panting the entire hike in to a small lake with abundant cutthroats. After a short break to rig up and catch my breath, I went to work and was quickly rewarded with a doubled-over rod and a beautiful cutt. Over the next several days I fished several other lakes and streams to 10,000 feet.
In short, this rod now has plenty of mojo, doing exactly what it was asked, from providing delicate presentations in close, at longer distances, in light wind (strong winds - no way) to allowing excellent mending on small streams with braided currents. At no point did I feel undermatched, even with a few unexpected larger fish in the 12-15" range. The moderate-slow action took very little adjustment for me, but I favor slower-actioned rods anyway.
I made some acquaintances during these outings, some of whom had a chance to cast the rod and land a few fish with it. At least one has already contacted me to build a twin to the rod I fished out there, and you can't beat hands-on advertising. I'm sure there will be some detractors who, without ever touching these blanks, will echo the sentiments of a few months ago. That's fine, it's not for everyone but it's a winner in my book."
Marty Romeo has done quite a few rod builds on James Green blanks and has developed a very good working relationship with him. Marty is currently working on a James Green HTS blank build for the T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program which I'll share more information on soon.
Marty is low drag with no website for now but follow along on the Deep Bend Rodworks Facebook page for the latest shop news.
3 comments:
well done that configuration has been on my mind for a long time to, will have look into getting a blank and building one up for my self to test
I'm the guy who's interested that twin. Marty, it was great meeting you out there. I'm waiting for the Holiday crush to pass by, then I'll be reaching out again.
I can vouch for the quality of the build. It's the perfect rig for those of us who hike up high to avoid the crowds. And those who appreciate the zen of fly fishing small streams and high alpine lakes. We're not the guys who chase the big grip-and-grin photos for our Instagram feeds.
I have two rods built by Marty ( Deepbend Rodworks) highly recommend
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