During that time, a friend referred me to James Reid, a local bamboo builder who specializes in spey rods. I first met James, not at his shop but at a local river where I happily cast a number of his rods. To my surprise, he asked me to bring along several of my carbon rods, in order for him to try them. For about and hour, I bent rods to my hearts content until once again, there was an “I get it” moment.
Of course, I was hooked. A new rod was produced about six months later, a thirteen foot, very light line rod. Over the few months it took to build the rod, my initial impression of James as a quiet, methodical builder was unchanged. The quality of the fittings and the build itself was, to my eyes, fantastic.