Westslope Rods

I had a few more pics to post of the new rod. It's about time to start on the next one, but I think I will have to wait until next week. It is campin time. With rods and bows, we wil be sure to have a good time. Hopefully I come back with some fish pics. Oh yeah I fell in the river the other day too. Really woke me up.

New Rod

This is the newest rod I finished. These photos were takin by my good friend Cort. He did an amazing job with these pics. A fly rod is so hard to photograph, because it is so long and narrow. I love how they turned out. This rod was built for my dad. The reelseat and two caps on the grip are made out of Chokecherry Burl wood. When I was younger living in Idaho, I used to go pick Chokecherries with my dad and grandpa in the fall. Then grandma would make us some jelly. I always thought it was neat that we could go to the mountains, bring these berries back and make something with it. The rest of the grip is cork with a cottonwood and birch bark inset. I flamed the rod with a torch. It reminded me of a rattle from a rattlesnake. Bamboo ferrules are my favorite. It let's there be a little art in the middle of the rod. Most bamboo ferrules are made of nickel silver which is good looking, I just like how much more natural bamboo is. On the signiture wrap I used some horse hair from my dads favorite race horse that passed away earlier this year. Luckly I pulled some hair last year to tie some flies. The case is made from cedar, another Idaho touch. Growing up in smalltown Idaho and having my dad and grandpa build stock fences for a living meant that we needed to cut alot of cedar posts. So with this case having cedar and chokecherry together was cool. You can even take a few flies with you too.
Thanks Cort for the awesome photography.

Gray Ghost

My newest rod I built for catching brown trout. The last five photos are the new rod.

Fishing is fun

Fishing during the spawn is so fun. The fish it the fly so hard. gotta be careful of the redds.

Firewood

A few pics from cutting firewood in Almo. Almo is the little town you see between the trees. And a photo of me, bro brandon, sis Cami and dad after we got the truck load of firewood.

Saved horses

While I was in Idaho at my parents house, my dad got a phone call. The Veternarian in the area had been out to this ranch checkin someones cows, when the people asked him if he could put the horses down, "kill them". The vet said no. They are good horses. So he called my dad to see if he wanted them. Of course my dad could use more horses. Plus seeing the horses this way just makes you want to take care of them. So with in an hour my dad was on his way to get the horses. 3 in all. I took these pics to see how much they will improve. He has been givin 6 horses this year. people just don't have enough money to feed them.

My brother the hunter

This is my younger brother Brandon. He loves to hunt. In the past he has been a rifle kind of guy. This year he decided to use a bow. Last year he killed a deer, elk, antelope and cougar, with a rifle. This year he has tags for all four again but he is going to try with a bow. I think he has a good start.

Cody's Rod

I built this rod for Cody as a gift for helping me build a bow. As I have no money to give. Turns out this is my favorite rod. Hopefully we can fish together alot, so that I can see it in action. Hope you like Code.

Brook Trout

I made this rod for the brook trout that I love to fish for. They are usually found in some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I wrapped the rod with threads that resemble the brook trout. Had a good day of fishing.