Well, Happy New Year to all my friends!  Last year, 2025, was very busy in many respects: I was very fortunate to get out for more time on the water; fishing both vintage bamboo rods and some of my own builds.  The brookies in northern Maine were eager to take my flies and I had a rare opportunity to fish some private waters where certain ponds had not been fished in at least 10 yrs.  Some were over-populated with small brookies but other lakes offered brookies up to 19".  Great fun on 3-5 wt. bamboo rods!  
As for stripers, they were scarce last year and I didn't land one until mid-summer.  The few fish that were around were mostly larger fish- apparently indicating the lack of successful spawning in the Chesapeake in recent years.  
A highlight for me was my first trip to the Bahamas for Bonefish in November.  What a powerful fish!!!  I managed to land 40+ fish in 6 days.  It was a blast, so I re-booked a trip with the same lodge for this coming November.  Although I don't like to admit it, I used graphite rods for my first trip, and managed to break both rods in the first 2 days.  One was my fault... but that's another story.  This upcoming Summer, I plan to build at least one, possibly two bamboo rods for my next trip... 8 wts. 
By the way, having a good reel with a drag system is a must for these race-horses.  I used my Danielsson reels and they performed flawlessly.  Many fish took me into my backing: especially when sharks decided to chase my fish and I had to back off on the drag to allow the bones to out-swim the shark.  
Re: Rod Making Workshops:  I continue to receive inquiries about possible rod-making workshops for this year, with over 20 people who have expressed serious interest in them.  I am maintaing a list of interested people, and will contact them in the order in which I received their emails, when I decide how many workshops I will have time to conduct.  Due to the high demand, I will have to schedule 2 students per class, and I anticipate only having time to offer 2-3 workshops this year.  Both my wife and I truly enjoy meeting our new students and we have made many life-long friends through these workshops.
​Fred

We're having a wet spell right now which should help our groundwater supply improve this year.  Rivers and creeks are full but fishable, and we are hearing nice reports of trout being caught around Maine and other New England rivers.  Many people are contacting us for repair work on their vintage rods.  However, our backlog of new rods to build takes priority so we are not accepting repair/restoration work right now.  If that changes, we will post it on this site.  In addition, we will be listing more rods for sale: some on consignment from friends, and others that have belonged to me.  There isn't enough time to fish all the rods we've accumulated over the years, so some very good rods are available.  Be sure to check the "Offerings" section for more vintage tackle for sale...
Now, off to a few choice fishing spots with bamboo rods in hand.  Tight lines to all ...

Well, here we are near the end of August, and I hope to get some quality time on the water this Fall... fishing for landlocked salmon and brook trout.  Before leaving on fishing trips, I wanted to list some vintage fly rods and other tackle for sale under the  "Offerings" section.  Many of these rods came to me from a family in the Catskill mountains of N.Y.  This family has some gems, including one of only 15 limited edition T & T "Catskill Legends" bamboo fly rods.  It is in mint condition.  Another web site listed a 25th T & T Anniversary Edition recently for $4850 and there were more rods of that edition than the Catskill Legends model...!  Ours is priced lower and represents an excellent investment value.  In addition to this collection from N.Y., I am selling a few chosen rods from my personal collection.  I've got more rods than I can fish, so it's time to share some of them with others who appreciate fine vintage tackle.  I hope you all get some quality time on the water- making memories with fine bamboo in your hands!!!

Our next show is the Annual Eldredge Brothers Fly Expo on March 30th.
This show attracts a lot of fly fishers and we will have our booth there this year, with a display of new rods and perhaps a few vintage rods for sale...  Some of our rods will be available to cast too.  This event is held no matter what the weather does: rain, snow, sleet, or sunshine, it is always a fun show.  And the friendly staff at Eldredge Brothers can help you find the right fly line, flies, and tying materials too.  Hope to see our old friends and make new ones too.  It's located on Rt. 1 in Cape Neddeck, Maine.  See you there!

Hello Friends:
We plan to have a table at The American Museum of Fly Fishing's Annual Festival Weekend.  This event is held on the Museum's lawn, next to the Orvis store on Rt. 7 in Manchester, VT.  We'll have  Fred's new rods for you to see as well as some vintage bamboo rods for sale.  This show is more like a family reunion for us.  We get to visit with friends, some of whom we met back in the mid 1990's.  And we always meet new folks as well.  Fred will also be available to appraise your tackle, based on his 30+ yrs. of making/restoring/fishing bamboo.  So please bring your tackle (especially cane rods) in for an appraisal.  Also bring any bamboo rods you have that might need some repairs.  Since 2004, Fred has been the sole rod appraiser for Lang's Antique Tackle Auction, so he has handled thousands of rods over the years.  More information on this Festival Weekend can be found on the web site for the AMFF.  There will be activities for kids of all ages  Hope to see you there!

Nearly mid-Summer, our shop is as busy as ever... both new rod builds and catching up on repair/restoration projects.   We've also managed to catch a few stripers locally and some fat shad.  Using a 6-wt. 2-handed bamboo rod is a lot of fun. In addition, our rod-building workshops are very popular, again, and we are nearly filled up for this year.  We even have one student from the U.K. who booked a week in April 2024. If you want to build your own cane rod this year, please don't hesitate to contact us.  
Our next show will be August 12th at the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, VT.  This is their annual Festival Weekend, and we will have a table there with a display of our new rods as well as some vintage bamboo rods for sale too.  
Remember, "Friends don't let friends fish graphite"... Fish Bamboo!
​

Well, now that  COVID appears to be running out of steam, it's time for an update on what we've been doing.  We are just ending a long vacation in Florida- escaping the harshness of Maine Winter for the first time.  Although we enjoyed our time here (fishing for bass in the ponds on the golf courses, dodging alligators, and hitting a few golf balls), it's time to get back into the shop and fill new rod orders,  continue with our professional repair and restoration work, etc.  We also have a number of nice vintage rods to sell, include some shorter Orvis rods with very low serial numbers!  The market for cane rods, classic reels, and related tackle is as strong as ever.  Because we have a backlog of new rods to build, we have to be selective as to how much repair/restoration work we take into our shop.  So as always, please contact us if you need a rod repaired and we can discuss your situation.
We've also had an inquiry recently about whether we might consider offering a special rod model to celebrate our 30th year in making  bamboo rods.  While we have not made any committment in that direction, who knows what might happen later this year...  
We also hope to spend more time on the water this year.  We have led groups of fly fishers to Iceland the past 2 yrs., but will skip doing so in 2023.  The fishing for 3-6 lb. browns there is incredible, and the accomodations are top notch, so perhaps in 2024 we may lead another group of friends there to taste the culture and spectacular fishing that is only found in Iceland.   
As a reminder, our shop is only open by prior appointment.
Tight lines to all our friends and customers.

 

As of late July, we are announcing that we have time to do some limited project rods (REPAIRS and RESTORATIONS).  We continue to assist our many existing customers and friends, and now will accept a few more rods that need some work.  Please contact us if you need our assistance.

ICELAND UPDATE:
I (Fred) had another very successful trip to Iceland in late June and early July.  Five friends also joined me for the trip-of-a-lifetime, chasing browns and arctic char.  We had days where the browns were feeding steadily on dry flies.  When they were not rising, nymphs and streamers brought fish to the net.  The larger browns were in the 5-6 lb. range.  We also had a few Atlantic Salmon around- one even chased someone's fly but missed it !  It looks like this trip will be an annual event.  The outfitter is fantastic, the food so delicious, scenery spectacular, and people so friendly.  We are beginning to plan next year's trip- which should be around the same time as this year's.  The lodge is limited to 8 guests, and we typically fish 4 full days.  If you would like to consider joining me, please inquire.  BTW- this is not for those who are "competitive fishers"... We only want folks who love to fish and share good times with others in a spectacular setting.  Also, I used exclusively my 7 1/2' 3-piece 5-wt. rod bamboo rod and it was a perfect rod for this trip...