Riverwatch Rods

Spey Rod Specs and Thoughts

The River Series Spey Rods
A truly modern bamboo spey rod, these rods are light and responsive. These rods are well suited to the Scandinavian short belly fly lines with a poly leader anchor for that delicate presentation, or a Skagit style line with interchangeable tips when you want to get that big fly out there.  Available in 12 and 13 foot lengths and in either 5 or 6 sided models.  Line sizes 7/8 0r 8/9.  Five or 6 sided?  Now that’s a question that’s hard to answer but in general terms 5 sided rods with the same taper are a bit lighter and some say a bit quicker.  I like them both! New for 2009 Little River - 11 footer.

Speycaster Series
These are traditional spey rods that are built upon the line lift principal. If you can lift it you can cast it! Not much shooting of the line going on here.  Well suited for double taper and long belly fly lines These rods have more wood in the mid and tip and thus makes them heavier and a might slower.
Hollow building helps alleviate the problem, but its a rod that you want to get into the rhythm with. Made in 13, 14 ,and 15 foot lengths, line sizes 8/9 , 9/10 , 10/11, these rods will be available in 2008.

Bob at work with Eiya, shop manager

Riverwatch rods are hollow built in the tradition of E.C. Powell.   His semi hollow method allows us to vary the wall thickness and length of the hollow areas in relationship to the stress factors at any one place in the rod.  This mixture of strength and lightness allows us to get all we can from our chosen material- bamboo.   Every material has its limits and knowing where that is helps us make a better rod. We see this in graphite as every year brings better models; it is the same in bamboo.

Balance is another critical area. Cane rods are heavier than graphite rods, and because of this, the question of balance is important. Balance can be accomplished through rod building techniques and reel selection. Overall weight is important, but where the weight is, is more important. The rod should not be tip heavy, so we want to have, proportionately, more weight in the lower end of the rod. The rod should balance close to the top of the cork grasp.

Why Splice Joints?

When we first started making spey rods we used the traditional nickel silver ferrules used on our trout rods and consequently we broke every SPEY rod above or below the ferrule. The metal ferrule creates a" stiff spot" where the stresses in the rod cannot be transferred further down the rod where it is stronger. Spice ferrules pretty much make the rod a one piece instrument with no stress spots, if designed properly. The ferrule areas are slightly swelled, as two halves do not make a whole. This traditional jointing method is a proven winner.

Thoughts about Single Handed rods

Every maker of bygone years has had some terrific models. I have really come to enjoy the work of E.C. Powell, Lyle Dickerson and Glenn Brackett of Winston fame, just to mention a few. These masters built sweet rods which we try to emulate here at Riverwatch. We put our style and character into their great designs, fusing it all together to come up with a truly unique rod. As you can tell there is a wide variety available and when we build you a rod it is truly one of a kind. I try to work with our customers to build a rod that suits their style and needs. Single handed rods, from trout to tarpon models are available, in 5 or 6 strip designs, with or without ferrules. All our rods are hollow built unless specified.

Trout and Steelhead rods of note

Steelhead
8'9" GB-7/8    Powerful light and the ideal length
9'6" Pc-8     Reserve power for that long cast
9' Penta -9  The big fly specialist

Trout
8PB-3       Truly delicate
8'3"-4-5    This rod can cast it all
8MK -5      3 piece smoothness
8'6" -5     Reaches out there and has the line control

Cosmetics:

Bamboo: either natural or flame treated

Reel Seats: up locking, down locking and sliding band in aluminum or nickel silver are available with wood or cork inserts. Some available woods are Dean River Vine Maple, Kispiox River Wild Cherry. Skeena River Cottonwood, Dee River Yew and exotics such as ebony , figured maple, and Oregon myrtle wood.

Wraps: Spey Rods - choice of tan or rust with matching accents
Single handers - Honey gold silk with brown accents

Guides:Spey Rods - mildrum carbide stripping guides
Single handers - Agate stripping guides [other snake guides the same choices]
Snake guides - either black or silver hard chrome or bronze

Engraving: an option is a west coast native fish design engraved into the reel seat. This is an extra.

Finish: All spey rods are impregnated for waterproofness. They can either be left as is or varnished.

All rod come with 2 tops, standard, single top rods can be specified. All rods come in aluminum tube with a Riverwatch logo

Ordering

Single handed rods:

• 2 piece with extra tip $1300.00 USD
• 3 piece with extra tip $1500.00 USD

Spey rods:

• River Series $1900 USD
• Speycaster $2200 USD

Spey rods are 3 piece with extra tip

25% deposit required

Riverwatch rods have been sent to Great Britain, Germany , Italy and the United States.

Waiting time:  Rods built in order of deposit. Waiting time varies. Please contact Riverwatch for details.