I didn't tell Tyler I was going to post this but here's an excerpt from my fishing blog about my new rod that Tyler built up. I'm very pleased with how it came out. I was using two new pieces of gear for the first time on this outing. The first is the rod shown in the photo above. About two years ago, I got a wild hair to build my own rod so I picked up a 2-piece Thomas & Thomas Paradigm blank, a 904-2 (9′ 4wt) which I finally got around to building up into a beautiful rod. And then I woke up… No, what really happened is that I put it in the closet and didn’t do shite-all with it. Finally, a few weeks back, I decided that it was too nice a blank to let sit any longer and sent it to a pro who actually knows how to build rods. Tyler Speir took my blank and turned it into an awesome fishing tool. I gave him a minimal amount of instruction for the build which was probably frustrating for him. Something along the lines of “well… you know, something vintage, yet modern, low-bling and simple but with all the fanciest stuff…”. Well, Tyler brought the goods and did a great job. It’s a long, light rod with a very traditional medium dry fly type action. The cosmetics are skillfully executed, simple, yet elegant and remain true to the T&T heritage. The length is great for throwing big mends, holding line off the water or reaching out to cast around brush like I was doing on this trip. 50′ is easy-peasy even for a crap caster like me but it also feels good with only a bit of line out of the tip top. I picked up a nice trout on the third cast and caught fish throughout the day with both dries and swung softhackles. It’s a rod that has mojo from day one so I’m going to give it to my 13yo son Angus (but I’ll ‘borrow’ it whenever I want..). So if you want a custom rod, look up Tyler.
I've seen many of Tylers rods in photos here and live at the Radish bash. Recently I received my fiberglass Bruce and Walker switch rod back from Tyler. It needed a new lower handle and reel seat because the original was worked loose. Tyler had to sand down the butt of the blank to fit the new seat, and did an amazing job of the rebuild. Thomas, your rod and your fishy friend make a great photo. I think you chose well sending your blank to Tyler. I'm glad I sent him my project!
Wow, Thanks for all the kind words. This was a nice surprise to find this post. Taking the time to go out of your way write that means a lot to someone like me. I really do apperciate it. Thank both of you...
