Dickerson 8014

The first fly rod I made took two years to complete from start to finish. Along with the fly rod I was making the tools I needed to make the finest fly rods I can. Some of the tools that I had made needed some improvement, and with those improvements made another rod was started. The out come was what I had hoped for: a higher quality rod.

The higher quality rod was in the form of a Dickerson 8014 6 wt. fly rod. There is a great taper on this rod to begin with. Lyle Dickerson is the maker who designed this rod and I have done my best to make a close reproduction. It is a fast/mid-fast taper, depending on the line you cast, making it a nice rod for those who normally fish with graphite rods.

The better quality in this rod comes in several forms. The first is the quality of the plained strips. The angles on each of the six strips were much more accurate due to improved plaining technique and improvements made to my plaining form. Secondly, the wraps were much tighter and sealed a lot cleaner than with the last rod. I also like the color combination which is green and orange.

Next comes the finish. I am vary pleased with the finish with one exception. With the last rod I had problems with the finish running after I thought it was dry. For nearly two weeks after I dipped the rod in varnish, run marks appeared in the finish. I was tipped off by another rod maker that my varnish needed thinning, which helped tremendously. The one exception I have is there are some specks and dust flecks in the finish, nothing that would turn me away from the rod, which I hope to have worked out soon.

In addition to the rod I made a tube to go with it. The tube is made out of red oak, capped on each end with red oak caps (one of which is permanently in place), and one leather strap is used to hold the top in place. The tube is made as a hexagon to mirror the rod.

I also had the rod sock embroidered with HRC. These letters represent "Heritage Rod Company," which is also the way I signed the rod this time. I chose Heritage Rod Co. because of the fishing heritage we have with this type of rod. It is a heritage that goes back to the time of my grandfather, a heritage that is worth holding on to.

If you are interested in having a handcrafted fly rod made for fishing you can contact me by email, on facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, or Linkedin.

The rod is $600 plus shipping. The price includes the Dickerson 8014, one rod sock, and the rod tube. If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them.

Matthew

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