CHUCK STRANAHAN SIGNATURE FLY RODS

For most of my adult life I had the privilege of working with a legendary fly rod maker. He made rods in bamboo, fiberglass, graphite, and pioneered the development of other fibers. He believed in building high quality fishing rods that the average angler could afford.

My SIGNATURE rods are in that tradition. They are exactingly detailed with features you’d only expect to find on more expensive rods:

Uplocking machined aluminum reelseats. The reelseats are anodized pewter with rosewood inserts.
Distinctive maroon wraps, to match the reelseat inserts, on cobalt-blue or teal-green blanks.
Dotted ferrules for ease of assembly.
Marked ornamental wraps at 15’, 18’, and 21’ on the butt section.

Each rod comes in a cloth sack with a one year parts and workmanship guarantee. If you break a section at any time by accident we will replace it at nominal cost.

You pay for a fine fly rod. You get one. One that is designed to strike light leaders against 18” rainbows as they pounce on emergers, without breaking them off. One that comes into bend in the middle, to handle real-time aerial mending and delicate casting situations, yet with a reserve of power in the butt for the occasional long cast.

You don’t pay up-front for a “lifetime guarantee” that is “honored” with “service charges” to cover accidental breakage, and which drives the costs of many fine fly rods beyond the point of reason. Nor do you pay up-front for a case that will probably be propped in a corner as you fish the rod from a cordura-covered PVC rod and reel case.

At present I offer only three models. These rods were lacking from the parade of line-cannons trotted out by the major manufacturers, but rods for which I felt a particular need. I fish each one.

	One is the Small Stream rod. It is 7’9” in two sections and handles 3-4-5 wt. lines, according to angler preference and the angling situation at hand. It is light as a feather in the hand, and has a delicacy in the tip that is rare in today’s graphite rods.	$179
	The Trout rod is an 8’6" rod in three sections that handles 4-5-6 lines in the hands of various anglers and fishing situations. It doesn’t pretend to be an “all-purpose” rod, like the bevy of faster 9’ 5wt. rods on the market. Its shorter length handles quickly for delivering fast, accurate casts while drift fishing. Of greater significance, though, it has the inherent finesse to add the finishing touch of enjoyment to those wade-fishing and trout-stalking situations that, for me, are still the epitome of the sport.	$239
	The Light Dry Fly rod is a 9’ rod in three sections that handles 3-4-5 weight lines for various anglers and situations. It has more range than the Trout rod, the same sensitive tip, and the ability to handle the line-control and casting required in demanding spring creek situations. It is a delight to cast and fish.	$249

For now, please order via email or contact us through our contact form. (Secured E-commerce ordering under construction.)

I don’t offer a 9’ 5wt. “all purpose” rod in the SIGNATURE series. There are plenty of good ones out there to choose from. (My personal preferences, at the moment, are the Gary LaFontaine Stealth rod, which we can obtain for you, or Tim Rajeff’s new ECHO, which we carry. I own and fish both.)

My SIGNATURE rods fill the bill where those rods, and rods like them, seem too big a gun. As we mature as anglers, we often find that our best fishing comes from those special angling situations that call for our best efforts. They can involve the ultimate sneak, the delicate just-so drop of the fly, or just relaxing without having to force anything on the days when it all seems to go right. Those moments are made complete by the tools best suited for them, tools that complete the experience with the greatest delight and greatest satisfaction. Perhaps a SIGNATURE rod will add the extra peak of enjoyment to your favorite kind of fishing, as they have to mine.

– Chuck

ECHO FLY RODS

When Tim Rajeff broke from one of the tackle industry giants, he set out to build a series of fine fly rods at affordable prices for specific jobs of fishing. No one in the trade would be better qualified to do so. Tim is a superb caster – occasionally besting brother Steve, who is without doubt the greatest fly caster who ever lived. Tim is a rod designer and an angler.

His ECHO fly rods are fishing rods. They are superb. He advertises them to be the best rods in their price range. I’ll go further: You can spend a lot more and get a rod that is far less fishable. Many people do. As I talk to them, many of them are switching to ECHO’s, and putting their more expensive sticks up for sale on Ebay.

The ECHO line includes rods through 10wt., which we don’t have much call for here in the Bitterroot. I can have any ECHO rod drop-shipped direct if we don’t have it in stock.

ECHO rods are 4 pc. for travel, and come in an attractive, rugged, dark green cordura and PVC case. They are beautifully appointed: Dotted ferrules, nice wood insert reel seats, deep green finish, and oversized single-foot snakes all the way up.

The ECHO rods that we keep on hand and are most familiar with are these:

	8’ 4wt. A fine, delicate little stick that casts effortlessly – particularly in the hands of youths or women whose bone structure and musculature is taxed by bigger rods. Last year I watch a lady’s frustration with flyfishing turn to pure delight within ten minutes of picking up this rod. Men like it, too, for any angling situation calling for an 8’ 4wt.	$129
	9’ 5wt. This is my “go to” rod for dry-fly fishing on the Missouri on a breezy day. Light tip for striking big trout on light tippet, the right combination of power and delicacy. Some rod designers seem only to understand that rods are sold on football fields and in parking lots for their ability to sling line beyond any semblance of practical distance, and high line speed is everything. Tim understands that trout fishing is still about fishing, and has designed this superb tool accordingly.	$129
	9’ 6wt. This one is the choice of a couple of our guides, as a boat rod and a personal rod. Unlike most 6wt. rods on the market, you don’t need a 7 or 8 line to bring this one into bend at comfortable fishing distances. It will strike light leaders, when called for, and will handle big salmon flies and sculpins with ease. Bends into the middle for more oomph than the 5 wt.	$129
	10’ 6wt. I was skeptical at first, and then I lined it up. Most 10’ rods either require too much energy to cast, or are noodles, or seem to break up when you lean on them. This rod, I found shortly, is different. It does it all it should where a longer trout rod is called for. Every year Jan and I visit Georgetown Lake to fish for trout that go from 14” to five pounds during the damselfly and lake caddis hatches. I can wade as deep as I dare, and cast this rod all day without fatigue. I can paddle around in my float tube, or Jan’s pontoon boat, when she lets me borrow it, and cover a lot of water with real economy of motion. Power. Delicacy. Reach. No forcing. This rod is fun to fish. I forget about its ten-foot length while I’m using it. This one comes with a full wells grip and short fighting butt – a handy feature when you’re afloat.	$149
	9’ 8wt. The perfect light steelhead rod. I’ve only cast it at the casting ponds during demos at the sportsmen’s shows, and talked to a few enthusiastic owners, but I’ll say this: I knew it would be a fine rod before I cast it. Tim Rajeff understands this sort of casting and fishing about as well as anybody could – I knew he’d design a wonderful rod for the purpose. He has. It roll casts, carries as much line as you’d care to in most situations, and slings a whole bunch of it with ease. Next fall, I’m grabbing one and heading over the border to Idaho’s Clearwater. I’ve got to learn more for myself.	$159

Chuck’s Leader System consists of

a 10’ section of .024” butt material, adequate for three fly lines
two 7’6" 3x Targus tapered leaders
two 7’6" 4x Targus tapered leaders
two 9’ 5x Targus tapered leaders
a spool each of Targus 3x,4x,5x, and 6x tippet material

Chuck’s Leader System

$25.00

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For now, please order via email or contact us through our contact form.