Introducing South Shore Rods

Check out the new website. I will no longer be posting any updates here, please visit the new blog on the SSR website.

Big News Coming Soon....

I will be launching South Shore Rods this spring, the website is receiving the finishing touches. Look for two production rods, a 7wt and 10wt that will have features not available in any production rod. The 7wt is a real dream to cast with a mod-fast action. The 10wt is a xtra-fast rocket for throwing big flies in windy conditions specifically for muskie. Of course I will still be building full custom rods. Look for more news in the near future.

I have 2 of the Shikari Troutski rods remaining, you can see the details in one of the older posts. This will probably be the last Shikari blanks I will ever have the chance to build on and your chance to own one of these legendary blanks.

My buddy Kyle boated his first musky last night on one of our local lakes. A healthy 36"er. I lost one musky and had another follow. The muskies were active that is for sure.

We are fortunate to have so many musky lakes in our area. Within 15 miles of my house there are 8 very productive lakes. Some of the lakes have trophy regulations (50" length) and catch and release is widely accepted and encouraged.

St. Marys River Field Testing 2009

I just returned from another trip to the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The weather has been unseasonably cold up there and there were days it only managed to reach 55 degrees. The rapids had a few fish in but not as many as expected. I did manage to land my first Atlantic Salmon on a salmostick rod (a St. Croix 3SML90-2 blank wrapped with #4 guides and a carbon fiber split grip), I was also throwing spinners I made which made it a little more rewarding.
You can see he has his right pectoral fin clipped which indicated the fish was released in 2007 from the Lake Superior State University research center. The fish are released when they are 1-1/2 years old so this fish is 3-1/2 years old, he is still swimming around out there and I hope he makes it back next year. I also spent a day in "The Soo" fishing with Capt. Travis White who runs St. Mary's Guide Company. We fished with fly gear from his boat and caught 5 Atlantics and 3 Rainbow/Steelhead. It was one of the best times I've had fishing, fighting the hard charging Atlantics on a 6wt is quite the experience. They will be there in fishable numbers through August, if you have a chance I hightly suggest you reserve a date with Capt. Travis and head north. You will not be dissapointed.


In the rod building cue for this week are 2 musky rods and 2 walleye bottom bouncing rods. All are being built on Batson blanks. This will be my first build on these blanks and they are very nice, especially the Rainshodows. Very high quality construction and high modulus graphite, they will make some nice high performance musky rods. In the following week I will be working on another musky rod and "skipping" rod for bass fishing.

Baitcasters In Da' House or Breaking Rank Part Duece

I've been doing some experimentation with baitcasting rods and it has worked out very well so far. I purchased an old fishing boat this past winter and it has allowed me to target some additional species. I built this musky rod on a 8-6 Lamiglas blank featuring a carbon fiber grip (of course) and spiral wrapped with #5 guides. Its a great rod to use for bucktails but a bit light for throwing the bull dawg shown in the photo.


The next one is a bass type rod built on a 7-6 Rogue blank. Also spiral wrapped with a matte carbon handle and again spiral wrapped this time with #3 guides. I really see no reason not to spiral wrap baitcasting rods. All rods in the future, including this one, with #4 or smaller guides will feature a single foot guide wrapped as a tip top. This has proven to be far more durable that the available micro tip tops. The micro tip tops are not braced and will need to be braced before I would consider using them on a rod.

This rod also features a full grip instead of the now common split grip. Why? When using carbon this grip still weighs less than a split cork grip. Also when tucked under the arm or pinched against the ribs the carbon really transmits the vibration from the blank, almost amplifying them. It really must be fished to be believed. Either a full or split grip is available, your choice.

Some Spring Color

The spring fishing was tough for me to time right on the Brule. Some story, should have been here 2 days ago. We ended up with more browns than steelhead which was odd for the spring run. This one hit on a dark spinner after my partner had thrown silver into the same hole for 20 minutes. It pays to change things up and try new lures some days.




I did see quite a few fish caught on what could be called "Brule fly rods". These are fly rods loaded with mono and drift fished with spawn or bright colored yarn. Not my cup of tea but a very effected method of catching steelhead on the Brule. I would say 80% of the fisherman use this teachnque on this river.

Brule River is now closed for the season.

It was a tough fall on the Brule to say the least. Timing was critical with the limited rain, this fishing was always better a few days before I was there. It will be interesting to see the DNR's fall run report, I'm guessing there are still a few thousand fish left to come in.

Closing day chrome.

I will be offering a limited number of ice rods this winter, look for a prototype of a heatable handle in the near future. I'm also be accepting rod orders with a down payment of the blank cost for a spring delivery.