"This is the hottest thing going in the world of fly fishing today! Our rods will challenge the graphite fly rod industry," claims George Gehrke, who is probably better known for his Gink and Xink fly dressings than for manufacturing fishing rods. If his claims are true, he just might be onto something.

Gehrke is an active participant in the rec.outdoors.fishing.fly (ROFF) newsgroup, where some time ago, he made the claim that split cane rods made today are over priced. He obviously got the dander up of a few folks who hand built cane rods, so he challenged the news group readers after being dared to try building cane rods.

In an interview with Gehrke, he stated "I can build a rod as good as Thomas & Thomas for $150.00." He went on to say that he asked the readers "if I could build a split cane rod for $150.00, would you buy it if I marked it up 100% to $300.00 plus taxes?" He apparently received 100 orders the first week.

Without any previous knowledge of rod manufacturing, Gehrke did some research, determined that he would deliver on his promise. He decided to let the world know everything about his experiences of putting together the newest cane rod production plant including his costs, frustrations, and successes on his website. "My customers were my greatest allies. I layed everthing on the table and made them part of this adventure. It was easy to be frank, truthful and honest. The hard part was having the patience during the building process."

The biggest hurdle was "coming up with a mill and developing the manufacturing concepts that are top secret here," noted Gehrke. But now, 20 rods have been delivered to customers and another 30 are almost ready to be shipped. Presently, Gehrke can produce 5 split cane rods per day compared with one rod every 2 or 3 months that it takes for a hand crafted non production line rod. How do they compare in quality and performance? "I am not competing against the hobbiest rod builder. But, my rods are as good, if not better than a three thousand dollar rod," he said in a matter of fact manner. In fact, Gehrke claims that he has had several fly casting experts check out his rods. After watching the rods easily cast distances of 75 to 100 feet of line, comments were nothing but positive.

"In pre World War 2, Southbend's mass produced fly rods sold for $2.50. Montague made more bamboo fly rods than any other company and they were selling for $4.00. A Heddon was 75 cents! In todays dollars, you are getting more fly rod, more value than any pre World War 2 production rod," Gehrke noted. "During the war effort, most of the production cane rod companies went bankrupt, and after the war, cane rod building became a hobbiest trade. I will re-invent the production line!"

So far, the quality control has been excellent. Out of the 20 rods that have been delivered, one was returned because of a finish problem, and one because the tip section warped due to extreme hot weather conditions during shipping. There were no complaints about the performance of the rods.

So why the name 'Bastard'? "Because everyone will call me that after they see what I can do so inexpensively," Gehrke laughed, tongue in cheek. "The real reason is that these rods are named for the bastard file, which means average run of the mill file. Our rods are of the highest quality but come with an average price that people can afford."

There are going to be several different models available, for different species and fishing situations. Although the $300.00 rod will have high performance components, there is also the option of upgrading the rod. As well, Gehrke is making available cane blanks, ready to install your own components, for the price of $180.00. According to the new rod manufacturer, "These blanks are gorgeous. We have kept the characer of China in every one of them. We are able to use 98% of the cane we receive and we are keeping the watermarks, dots, specks, colours and hues that are found in the cane. These rods are beautiful."

George and I have had our own disagreements regarding fishing ethics and the subject of Catch & Release, through email correspondance and ROFF posts. In speaking with George on the phone, I found him to be very helpful and gracious. Regardless of what others think of his project, it is obvious that Gehrke believes in what he is doing. His excitement about his rods, his production line, and the crew he has working for him is contagious. I have to admit that when I first heard of the Bastard Rod story, I was a little dubious. George has convinced me that maybe he is onto something.

Last Year On All-About Flyfishing:
Art of Splitting Cane
The craftsmanship involved in split cane rod making.