JP ROSS FLY RODS - Beaver Meadow Trout Art Painted Builds

I am always a huge fan of collaborations and have been bugging JP Ross Fly Rods to share the story of the Trout Art Painted builds that he's recently been showing off on social media that feature the work of angler and artist, Jeffrey Kimball.

A fly rod blank is not your typical canvas and the work done by JP and Jeffrey is just stunning. 
 

JP Ross wrote...  "I recently teamed up with my good friend Jeff Kimball to do some trout art painting on our Beaver Meadow S-Glass fly rods.  The Matte River Moss Olive color of the blank just spoke to me like a canvas and wanted to do some kind of collaboration with Jeff to help him and his art talent.  He is an artist and taxidermist and a terrific angler.  His greatest gift to me is being around him when his kids call him.  He is a terrific father and you can tell in his voice that he has nothing but unconditional love for his kids.  

Ive had Jeff and Mark together on a podcast talking about fishing and Jeff is a big fish hunter for sure.  Some people think they know their river or stream, but really they just are familiar with it.  Jeff knows his river so well he can actually walk it in the dark without a light.  I admire this in him and also envy him very much.  He's made a decision in his life as an artist, and dad, to make angling a part of him and who he is.  

I struggle with that because of my addiction to being a "founder" of things.  The rod company is only one facet of my addiction to make business and things happen.  I am also haunted by the meaning of it all.  I also am now realizing as I get older that the meaning changes as we age and get wiser.  When you realize you're "half way there" you change.  

Anyway...  Jeff and the rods.  

What we do is...  If a customer speak to me and order a rod and decide on the theme and fish species to paint.  When that happens I pull in Jeff and he actually picks up the blank and takes it to his shop and he creates it right on the blank.  To be clear, this is not a decal.  Jeff paints each one.  I am not exactly sure how he does it, but I know its a combination of hand paint and airbrush.  I gave him the first batch of blanks with some outdoor UV acrylic paint and he returned the blanks painted and gave me back the box of paints, unopened.

The purpose of all this is both the collaborative effort to support Jeff and make a unique fly rod, but also the collaborative effort and unique experience it gives the owner.  For those who choose the Rattan grip, they are made by Mark Usyk.

Please do share this with TFM followers.  I hope they like it and appreciate the thought and care Jeff puts into every rod.  We are accepting orders now for Christmas Holiday delivery but will only be taking orders from now through mid November to ensure they are completed in time.  By the way, the Rattan grips of these fly rods are made by Mark Usyk.  As you can tell, this is a true collaborative effort."

To discuss a trout art painted Beaver Meadow S-Glass build, or maybe just chat about life, reach out to JP Ross by email or through the JP Ross Fly Rods website. 

Like JP's musings?  Check out the In the Seam podcast.  He does a great job on these interviews and the podcast that we did together is still one of my favorites.  We talked about a lot more than just fly fishing if I remember correctly.