Prices
Finished rods with ferrule plug, sock, and tube. All you have to do is go fishing.
Cane rods blanks for you to finish. If you have built graphite rods - you can do a cane rod.
Do you have an older or broken cane rod you would like to return to it's former glory?
RKP Cane Rods
989 348 2435
rkp@rkpcanerods.com
989 348 2435
rkp@rkpcanerods.com
| Cane Fly Rod Economics 101 Cane fly rods are a luxury item. They cast nice and make you feel good. Every fly fisherperson should have one or two. But fishing isn’t car insurance or a mortgage payment, and the money has to come from somewhere. Once you have the rod you will want to go fishing which can cost some money too. You can spend $1,400.00 for a bamboo fly rod, or you can spend $850.00 for a fly rod. The difference is $550.00. Let’s take a moment and think about bamboo fly rods – from a fishing and performance perspective the cane, the construction, and the taper are what is important. You can take a properly constructed ferruled blank – form a reel seat and grip with masking tape and hose clamps – duct tape the guides and stripper on – stick the tip top on with wax and you have a rod that will cast and fish just about as good as the taper will allow. Parts are going to start falling off pretty quick but the point of the exercise is the cane is the rod. If the cane is right the rod will be all it can be regardless of how elaborate the cosmetic accoutrements are. If the cane is not right all the spar varnish, tip wraps, agate strippers, and engraving in the world cannot improve the situation. Not to suggest artfully finished rods are not fine casting rods. In my mind it simply a matter of the economics manifest in performance over perception. These are not offshore blanks. I start with Tonkin cane culms from Royer or Demarest and make hand crafted rods planed to exacting tolerances to faithfully match the taper dimensions. I use time tested methods and processes to insure the cane is properly prepared and goes together straight and tight. I focus on the cane and getting the blanks right. The guides are wrapped with Pearsall’s 6/0 gossamer thread and finished with Sutherland Welles spar, and then the entire rod is finished with 3-4 dip coats of poly spar varnish. The wraps are to hold the guides on so no tipping or fancy threadwork, the finish is to protect the rod so I use enough to protect the rod, and it may look a little heavy compared to other rods. The idea/hope is if this rod slides down a gunwale, or a dock, finish will peel off rather than thread or wood. I make rods to be fished – and fished for a long time. I can sell rods for less because I keep my overhead down; I am retired and can manage labor costs because I work for and with myself (alone - which means I win most arguments in the shop); I only sell out of my shop so I am not paying 20 – 30 percent of sales to some one else for putting my rods in their rack. I only sell rods, the odd tool/jig I make in the shop, or some excess material I may buy in bulk. No inventory and associated costs. I do not attend expensive trade shows; I do not ordinarily tip wraps, my grips are usually cigar shaped which are functional and simple to form, and reel seats are reel seats – not art. This allows me to do professional quality work – but do it with less labor (time). The result is a good looking well finished fishing rod. Not an artfully finished collector’s piece. You want to fish or run a museum? If tipping, signature wraps, an elegant reel seat, and grip contoured to the winding check are worth $550.00 to you then the $1,400.00 rod may be exactly what you need, if you can turn away from the $2,500.00 version. You decide what is necessary for you - and while you are thinking let’s do some math. Buy a rod for $1,400.00 and you have a rod. Buy a rod for $850.00 – and you can also buy a good reel, backing, a fly line, a leader, and have money left for a weekend at a lodge to try out the whole outfit. Most people who look at rods from my shop comment favorably on the finish, the overall appearance, and the performance. It is not a matter of sacrificing quality, appearance, or performance to get cheap rod. It is a matter of having a well made bamboo rod at a very competitive price. I want to make rods and I want people to be able to own and fish the rods I make - $850.00+ Mi sales tax is enough to pay for a fly rod. |
Economics addendum - Due to tax increases in the Great State of Michigan I am compelled
to raise the price of rods to $850.00. Don't know what they are spending the money on - But I
know for sure it is not the roads in Crawford county.
to raise the price of rods to $850.00. Don't know what they are spending the money on - But I
know for sure it is not the roads in Crawford county.
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