I love attending the British Fly Fair, it's always great to start the season off meeting up with old friends and acquiring new ones!

For us, it all started back in January ..

We were just prepping and test building our stand in the office when there was a knock at the door, it was the postman:

"Is this for you?" he asked "It just says 'Barbless Flies - try Scarborough' on it".

It was a 'rod-shaped' parcel and was indeed for us - it looks like the initial label had fallen off and the Post Office had made a good guess at where it should be delivered - top job Mr Postman 

Inside the parcel was a fly rod, from the rod-building maestro himself - Luke Bannister.

This was a little different to his usual fayre though - this was a carbon 9ft 6wt, perfect as a Stillwater rod.

You may remember that last year Luke introduced us to his stunning 8ft 4wt carbon river rod (see the end of this email) - which we sold out of within a couple of hours - I did keep one back for myself, which I used (with immense pleasure) regularly throughout last season.

This 9ft 6wt is the latest incarnation of that rod - this time aimed at the Stillwater angler.

Fast forward to Friday 7th February ...

We we're setting up at the BFFI, when Luke approaches our hastily erected stand.

The ensuing conversation went something like this:

Luke: "Afternoon Richard, did you receive the present I sent you?"

Me: "Hi Luke, I did (I then explained the missing label fiasco etc)."

Luke: "It's a 6-weight I've been playing about with, what did you think to it?"

Me: "I don't fish stillwaters as much now, but a good friend does. I gave him the rod to test out on a local water."

Luke: "And?"

Me: "He wouldn't give me it back - It was that good! Do you have any more, I'd love to show our customers it?"

Luke: "That's exactly the reaction I had from a couple of guys who've used one. I do have a few which I can put your name on if you want?"

Me: "Yes please!"

As you may (or may not) be aware, Luke Bannister is a very well respected rod maker - he specialises in split-cane and the quality of his builds are second to none!

Here's an example of Luke's previous work - one of the most expensive fly rods in the world - to save you googling, it's £14,500:

When I returned to the office last week, after a couple of days laid up with the BFFI Bug - I always seem to catch a cold/flu when I get back! I called Luke to learn a little more about the new rod and the blank it is built on.

It turns out that, quite by chance, he came across some really nice blanks where he'd had the chance to fine-tune the taper and then had a factory make up the rods to his exacting specifications.

The specifications for his 9ft 6wt are:

• Action: Medium-Fast
• Blank: 4-Piece Hi-modulus Japanese carbon
• Handle: AAA grade cork
• Guides: PacBay
• Reel seat: Hardwood Up-locking
• Rod Tube: Cordura Segmented Rod Tube

The rod taper was designed by Luke himself and the fixtures and fittings are to his own specification, with over 25 years of rod making and designing under his belt he has come up with a very versatile Stillwater rod.

The butt section is powerful enough to get plenty of pressure on bigger fish, however there is some flex in the butt to help lift sunk lines as well as giving the rod plenty of that all important feel.

The mid-section continues that theme up the rod to a tip that is soft enough to be forgiving on lighter tippets, but stiff enough to help generate tight enough loops that will drive into that inevitable head wind.

What's not to like!

All in all, I was impressed - I was even more impressed once he told me the price - only £295. I know that these will fly off his shelves - especially with Luke's seal of approval at the beginning of a fly fishing season.

Luke's custom 9ft blanks are in pretty short supply and he's agreed to reserve some for us to offer our email community (i.e. you) - hence this email to you!

*** I know that nobody NEEDS a new fly rod, but it's always nice to treat yourself every now and then - especially at the beginning of the season ***

So here's the deal:

I am placing our order with Luke at 9am on Monday morning (24th Feb), if you would like one, just order one from our site (by clicking any button or image in this email) before midnight on Sunday, or sooner as we are likely to sell all of our small allocation of both 9ft and 8ft (see below) rods.

Logistics wise, once we place the order with Luke he will send the rods to us and we will then ship directly to you, so you will receive your rod in the first week of March - just in time for the season to start!

Each of Luke's rods are covered by a 1-year warranty personally guaranteed by Luke himself. Should you have any warranty queries please direct those through myself in the first instance.

Luke's 8ft 4wt River Rod - Offer

This is an 8' #4 fly rod dedicated to the small stream/river angler.

This is the very same rod which we offered at this time last year, for all of you who missed out (as we sold our small allocation within hours) we've now managed to reserve a few more for this season.

You can view full details of the specification and order yours on our website here.

Here's the deal:

I am placing our order with Luke at 9am on Monday morning (24th Feb), if you would like one, just order one from our site (by clicking the button or image above) before midnight on Sunday, or sooner as we are likely to sell all of our small allocation of these 8ft river wonders.

Logistics wise, once we place the order with Luke he will send the rods to us and we will then ship directly to you, so you will receive your rod in the first week of March - just in time for the season to start!

Each of Luke's rods are covered by a 1-year warranty personally guaranteed by Luke himself. Should you have any warranty queries please direct those through myself in the first instance.

I know that nobody NEEDS a new fly rod, but it's always nice to treat yourself every now and then - especially at the beginning of a new season

 

Tight lines & remember to feed your soul every now and then.

P.S. Both of the 8ft and 9ft blanks are in very short supply and we have only been allowed to reserve a very small number of each rod, if you would like one, please don't hesitate as I know they will go pretty quickly!