Fiberglass Art!

Fiberglass Art!

Check out my beautifully rebuilt Fiberglass fly rod, thanks to James DeLoria of Petosky Michigan.

I met James at the Michigan Fly Fishing Show this year, and sent him my old Wright & McGill 8-ft glass rod that had half of its guides missing. Little did I realize what a talented artist James is. He did a masterful job, don't you think?

My new rod now sports a freshly scraped blank with a clear-coat finish. James told me that my rod has an uncommon grip shape. I have since learned that the shape is called a "Hammer Handle" because it has an elliptical cross-section. James cleaned and filled the cork. He replaced the missing and damaged guides with new titanium ones, and added 3 additional guides to bring the total number to 9. The extra guides add both beauty and function. A new hook-keeper replaces my old rubber band. New red wraps and a spiral flourish makes the rod look great.

The best feature is the logo. James re-touched the worn "Wright & McGill Fre-Line FLR-8" logo and added "DeLoria rebuild 4/2013". This really makes my rod unique. I am definitely going to call it my "deLoria" when talking to it in the future. (yes, I talk to my fly rods)

Now all I need is for Bass season to open up and the recent flooding to subside, and I will be heading down to Dexter/Ann Arbor to fish the "Book Section" of the Huron River. Hopefully I will get a nice photo to post here of a big smallie next to my lovely glass rod.

To see some other wonderful art by James deLoria, and to check out some unique canoes that James also converted to art, click this post on the Fiberglass Manifesto Blog: http://bit.ly/XX9u14 and this post http://bit.ly/YChJus on The Graphic Weekly.

Oh, and here are a couple of photos of me using my fiberglass rod on the Hershey River in pre-rebuild condition: http://bit.ly/Z70AwB

And here is a link to a really dumb video I made while standing in the middle of Johnson Creek -the first time I ever fly-fished. Be sure to turn your speakers on. http://bit.ly/17BY3L4 Yeah, I was using my deLoria.

The "Hammer Handle" grip.

Wright & McGill "Fre-Line" - 8ft.  No. FLR-8

de Loria rebuild 4/2013 and a nice new spiral flourish.

The business end - featuring a new hook keeper.

Nice new red wraps and titanium guides.

Additional snake guides.

A new tip to replace my old cracked one.