On fishing
I was born in Portland, Oregon, September 1947. (I  refer to myself as a "New Year's Eve" baby and drive people crazy
until they think about it for a few.)

Just before my 4th birthday I watched  Dad, and a friend of his, as they stood in the front yard fly casting across the lawn
towards the creek. I was immediately enthralled by the beauty of the casting action and pestered Dad about how it
worked. He taught me that day how to cast using a 6' bamboo rod.

The following summer I began fly-fishing and immediately became an addict. Since I was somewhat hyper-active I found
fly-fishing to be an extremely relaxing activity and, unlike bait fishing, kept me on the move.

I tried bait fishing but found that to require me to stand still longer than I was comfortable standing so I gave that up after
about an hour. (Later, in my teens, I would take a book with me when I went baiting for the sturgeon in the Columbia. It
worked, but it was still boring waiting for the action.)

Early  on I figured that fly-fishing was simply a widely different method of bait fishing. Instead of using "live bait", like
insects or worms, we tied the "bait" out of materials that appeared the same as the actual food, delivered it in a different
manner and worked hard at perfecting the presentation to attract the fish.

Over the years I've studied the fish, the insects, the habitat and lots of other areas that have an effect on our fishing results.
I am NOT an expert, just somebody with a lot of experience and not afraid to ask others for information on what might
work better.


On the rods

As I said, I was raised on bamboo rods and I'm very demanding when it comes to how a rod responds to the users
casting effort, how well it tells you what is happening at the end of the line and the capacity of the rod to the fish you catch.
I grew up on a good quality bamboo rod and used that until a steelhead outmaneuvered me in 1972 and cracked the rod.
Unfortunately I couldn't afford to replace it with another bamboo rod of equal quality so I started trying others. I had not
found one I felt qualified as a competitor to the abilities of bamboo until I met the inventor of the Compound Rod, Jerry
Kollodge.

Once I understood the principles of the Compound Rod, and overcame all of the problems developed by the lesser rods
over the years, I became a solid backer of Jerry and his rods.

For several years I went to sports shows and demo'ed the Compound Rods for free. Most of the time I received nothing
in the form of payment for doing these shows. That way I could say what I wanted and didn't have to do like a lot of
"endorsers" do: Speak the mind of the business, not their own.

It finally came time to do something more for the Compound Rod to show my total support and I got licensed to build the
rods. I definitely do not plan on getting rich from these rods, but I do hope to educate many about the rods and help them
make fly-fishing an enjoyable and much more productive time with the Compound Rods. (Jerry passed away in June
2008 and I am continuing the development and building of the rods based on what he taught me.)

Need more info? flyfishingphil@ffpC-rods.com

FYI: Sometimes there may be a delay  in my responses. That is usually because I am out enjoying the fishing, or working,
on some sort of project and not in a reachable area. Please be patient (and maybe envious) if this happens.

Here's I am, quietly setting on a stump on the shoreline of one of
the many waters I've fished.

Here's another shot
of me fishing the
Crooked River on
New Years Day
during a club outing for
the Central Oregon
Flyfishers. (We refer
to this group as the
"Hardcores".)