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... 

 

Well, here we are in a new year, and still dealing the effects of covid.  While we have been fully vaccinated and boosted, a few customers and clients have not, so we are only allowing fully vaccinated people into our shop.  
A number of folks have asked whether we will be attending any Fly Fishing Shows this year, and the answer is that we may do a small show or two-outdoors venues only.  There is too much risk for covid at the larger indoor shows.  If Eldredge Brothers  host their annual Fly Expo in late March, we will be there.  We are also considering the American Museum of Fly Fishings annual Festival Weekend in August.  More details  will be forthcoming, so please check back here regularly.

In regards to repairs and restoration work, one of my steady customers said he could understand why I wasn't accepting new projects, and he put it this way:  "Fred, you should be making Ferrari's, not changing oil in Chevy's!"  I like his analogy on the situation.   We continue to build the highest quality rods available, and enjoy a backlog of steady new rod orders.  Please contact us if you would like to discuss have a hand-crafted bamboo fly rod!  They make excellent gifts....

Hello Friends:
As we enter the second Winter during this Covid Pandemic, it's time to recap this year and let you know how we are doing. First, we hope everyone is well and avoiding covid.  This year, we restricted visitors from our shop until June, when we started hosting students for our workshops again.  Each student must be vaccinated and this has protected us from becoming infected.  We had some great folks in our workshops and have more scheduled for next year.  
In addition, the orders for new Kretchman fly rods has been very strong- the best year yet!  The backlog of orders has not been less than 7-8 months.  In the coming year, we will be adding new models so stay tuned.
Also, after 29 years of repairing and restoring rods, we have decided to not accept additional rods for repair.  This will free up our time to develop new rod tapers/models, which is our passion.  
Last June, my wife and I organized a trip to Iceland, where I fished for Browns and Char, while Bonnie golfed and toured.  It was the trip of a lifetime, and I will be repeating that adventure in June/July of 2022.  7 friends of ours will join me  and we anticipate more fantastic fishing!  For example, I spent a half day on the famous Laxa River, and landed 9 browns, all between 3-6 lbs.  On another day, I hooked 2 char, the largest of which gave me a 10 minute fight, coming close to the net at least 3 times before the hook came out.  It appeared to be in the 14 lb. range- about 2 lbs larger than the biggest sea-run brown of that morning.  
Finally, we continue to accept limited higher quality vintage tackle for resale. And we are the only outlet for Dr. Paul Hermann's fantastic fly reels.  Feel free to contact us if you have tackle to sell and/or if you find something you like on our site.  
Be well and in touch.

 

We have posted NEW HOURS of operation effective September 2020.  We are open Monday through Thursday,
9 AM - 5 PM.  This change is not because of lack of work (we are backlogged in orders), but this will give us more time to enjoy life together.  This Summer has been the busiest in our history, as more people have contacted us regarding repair and restoration work on their family hierloom rods, and placed orders for our new rods.  This was unexpected due to the Covid-19 virus pandemic, and we welcome the chance to bring older rods back to life for their owners.  But my wife and I have many things on our 'bucket list' and we need time away from the shop to accomplish these.

Also, we have re-started our Rod Making Workshops again, and are practicing appropriate measures to conduct classes and avoid the Covid -19 Virus.  Feel free to contact us if you are interested in taking our one-on-one bamboo rod making workshops.  

As of mid-June, all our shows have been cancelled through August.  However, our shop has never been busier!  Many folks have contacted us with requests for repair and restoration work on their bamboo rods.  We enjoy helping people use their family heirlooms- whether to fish with them or display them.  We have also received inquiries about our rod-making workshops.  Due to the travel restrictions in place at this time, we have moved our workshops to August, in hopes that students will be able to travel from out of state by then.  Please don't hesitate to inquire about available times if you want to build your own custom bamboo fly rod.   

So, here we are in mid-March, and due to the severity of the Corona Virus, public shows and meetings are being cancelled to prevent the rapid spread of this illness.  We were scheduled for the Eldredge Brothers Fly Fishing Expo the last Saturday in March, but it has been cancelled.  We are also scheduled for shows in April and May, but it is too early to know if they will be cancelled too.  Please check this website for further information regarding upcoming shows.  Be well and think about Spring Fishing!

We have to following schedule of shows for this year.  These shows are a great place to meet new people and renew friendships with so many of our friends.  Please stop by and visit if you can...

January 17-19th. Marlboro Fly Fishing Expo.  This is the largest show of it's kind in New England.  We always enjoy this 3-day show.  For more information, go to: www.flyfishingshow.com

February 22.  18th Annual Fly Fish N.H. Show.  We love this 1-day show because it is held in a nice conference center, attracts over 800 attendees, and gives us a chance to visit with people in a friendly setting.  It is held in the Executive Court Banquet Facility, located at 1199 South Mammoth Rd. in Manchester, New Hampshire.  It is sponsored by the Merrimack Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter and they run a top -notch show.  The show hours are 9-4:00.  

March 28th.  The Annual Eldredge Brothers Fly Fishing Expo.  Our local fly shop, Eldredge Bros. holds this event every year, outside under a tent, and it features vendors from Maine sporting camps, fly tyers, our local Trout Unlimited chapter, and us!  We bring Kretchman rods for people to see and cast.  The TU members supply free breakfast and lunch food...  If you have never atternded, you'll be amazed at the quality of this show and the large selection of fly fishing gear/tackle/ etc. offered by the Fly Shop.  Dress appropriately for outside weather conditions.  We are a hardy bunch of New Englanders so come join the fun and cast some bamboo... The shop is located on Rt. 1, in Cape Neddek.  More information will be forthcoming on the shops' web site.  The is no admission fee.

August 1-4th.  The 86th Annual League of N.H. Craftsmen Craft Fair.   The League is one of the oldest craftsmen organizations in the country and this Fair attracts 30-40,000 attendees each year.  Held at the Mt. Sunapee Ski Resort in western N.H., we will be displaying our new bamboo rods  and also holding casting lessons at the pond on-site.  Last year, musician Steven Tyler [lead singer for Aerosmith],  attended and spent time talking with Fred after watching him give casting lessons.  Show hours and directions can be found at the Leagues web site: www.nhcrafts.org

August 22nd.  Portland Fine Craft Show.  This one day show is a very different venue for us.  The city of Portland, Maine, closes a 2-block area of Congress street and has over 100 juried crafts people who set up displays of their work.  We, of course, bring our fly rods.  Portland is the Foodie Capital of New England, so plan to spend a day walking the show and streets of downtown, sampling some fine food and enjoying excellent crafts.  More details can be found at: www.mainecrafts.org

Less than 2 weeks ago, I was fishing on the Henry's Fork in Idaho when a friend called me to let me know that our mutual friend, Sante Giullian, had passed away.  Sante was a well-respected authority on vintage tackle, especially bamboo rods, and a dear friend of ours.  I first met him nearly 20 years ago when he bought a Thomas fly rod from me.  Years later, I married and moved to the coast of Maine, and Sante lived only 4 miles from our house.  We spent many days traveling to shows, looking at bamboo rods that one of us may have acquired, and even fished.  In fact, I took him to Grand Lake Stream one October for some landlocked salmon fishing.  It turned out to be the last time he fished... We talked about life, fishing, tackle collecting, rods we owned or wished we owned, and sometimes talked about health issues.... Sante suffered the side effects of exposure to agent orange in Vietnam.  He struggled through tough days but always kept a positive attitude- never giving in to the pain he felt and he never expressed anger at being exposed to agent orange.  He was as patriotic as any person I've ever known.  We miss you Sante.... 

Please see the write ups in the post from January.  We will be at the Discover Wild NH show on April 20th and at the Harriman Ranch Bamboo Rod Gathering on June 22-23rd. in Last Chance, Idaho.