Quality Split Bamboo Fly Rods
Robert K. Bolt has been making rods for more than 30 years with several hundred rods built. Robert is one of the very few rod makers on the west coast of the U.S. with a direct link to the discipline, heritage, and craftsmanship of the old masters, toiling daily with the equipment and tooling handed down through Winston to Gary H. Howells to Robert Bolt. These rods may be art, but they are made for fishing, with a singular action refined through the generations to accomplish all a fly fisher needs to do in a day's fishing.
Robert fishing the Big Horn River in Montana
Taper and rod design - Robert has made rods now for over two decades. In that time, he has learned how to design a unique rod that functions not only as a beautiful work of art but also as a superb fishing tool. This design work is done empirically, by building and field testing and then building another. All rods are made of Robert’s own design.
Gary Howells records - When Robert acquired Gary H. Howells' rod shop, he also received all of the original rod making notes, shop notes, shop books, records, 400 bamboo culms and some memorabilia. He has used this material to build a foundation of knowledge and experience.
Bamboo - Robert uses Arundinaria amabilis which is sourced from a plantation in Southern China. All culms are high graded first in China and then by a broker in the United States and finally by Robert himself to ensure that only the highest quality bamboo is used in each rod.