How Fly Rods are Designed, with Shawn Combs

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

James Hathaway

Bass, Fishing, Bonefish, Wilderness, Flyfishing, Trout, How To, Steelhead, Bluegill, Fly, Orvis, Sports, Salmon, Panfish, Education, Rosenbauer

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2022

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I get a lot of questions about how fly rods are designed and I think there are a number of misconceptions about where that new rod, like the Helios Blackout series, came from. Where did the idea come from? How is the design created? If you want a 9-foot, five-inch 5-weight rod, do you just add five inches to an existing rod design? I think you’ll be surprised at what goes into a new fly-rod design, and think you’ll enjoy peaking under the hood with a rod designer [41:04].

In the fly box this week, we have some great comments and questions, including:

A great explanation of the spirituality of fly fishing

When I move from one tailwater to another, my techniques don’t seem to work. What should I change?

My small stream fished well last year. This year the water is colder and higher. What should I do?

Is it OK to cut my fly line back if it’s cracked?

What would you do if you see trout in shallow, clear water and they are not rising?

Do you have any suggestions for detecting carp strikes in cloudy water?

Is there a largemouth fly that is as weedless as a rubber worm?

What flies do you recommend for bonnethead sharks?

A cool suggestion for adding a dropper fly

What organizations do you recommend if I care about climate change and the environment?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, and welcome to the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast.
0:14.1	This is your host Tom Rosenbauer, and this week I have a special guest, Sean Combs,
0:20.8	Orvis Rod Designer, and I have Sean to come on the podcast, Bika, number one because he's
0:26.5	always a fun person to talk to, and I know being the chief product developer for hunting
0:34.8	and fishing and dogs nests, you people are always interested in what he has to say, mostly
0:41.1	from the fishing end to things, and he's always fun, and I get the sense from questions
0:48.2	that I answer that people are always curious about how fly rods are developed, and how they
0:55.7	come into being and what goes into designing a fly rod, you know, it's the it's the most expensive
1:02.1	piece of tackle that we have other than other than our travel costs or our vehicles, and you know,
1:10.0	it's kind of something that we all get get very attached to, so I thought you might enjoy digging
1:17.8	into how a fly rod is developed, and there's no better person than Sean to tell us about it.
1:29.3	But first, the fly box, and if you have a question or a comment or a complaint for the fly box,
1:35.6	you can send it to me at podcastatorvis.com, either just type your question in your email or
1:42.6	attach a voice file. I don't answer them all, especially if they're, especially if I just answered
1:48.2	one recently, or if your phone call goes over about two, two and a half minutes, I'm probably not
1:53.8	going to play it on the air, but other than that, I read them all. So the first question this week
2:03.0	is not a question, it's a comment, and it's a really thoughtful comments from Paul from Texas,
2:09.9	from an email. I hear your struggle in talking about spirituality. I think that too often people
2:16.3	get hooked on the religious aspects, aspects of spirituality, and maybe I'm even afraid to talk
2:22.9	about spirituality. Though spirituality can be religious, it can also be quite broader. Christine
2:29.4	Pachowski, MD, director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health,
2:36.1	contends that spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek
	...

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