Backwater Angler Staffer and bamboo rod builder Bill Felter sent in an interesting report from this past weekend in western Maryland-

“My birthday was this past Sunday and my wife and I spent part of the holiday weekend doing some light backcountry camping in western Maryland. We passed up the Savage and its perfect flows and instead headed up to a tributary of Savage River Reservoir, for a little brook trout fishing. That was the plan anyway-to fish for brookies-but 10 minutes after leaving the house a deep sense of dread came over me. Oh, crap! The fly rods! I had forgotten the fly rods. Rather than turn back right then I decided that renting one from Mike Evans at Savage River Outfitters would be just as easy and wouldn’t require any backtracking. So I hoped, for when we stopped by his shop later that afternoon the door was locked. He had stepped away from the shop. Bummed out but not soured, we accepted our karmic fate and headed for our campsite thinking that on this trip we would give the brookies a break and instead enjoy everything else that nature had to offer. That was until the Sunday morning when I spotted a reasonably straight Beech branch while searching the hillside for firewood. “Hmm,” I thought. ” I did remember my reels and flies…and the Leatherman’s nice and sharp…I wonder if there are any safety pins in that first aid kit…maybe some tape, too…”. In less than half-an-hour I had a dandy new 5 ft., one piece, 5 weight with attached fighting butt with a Bill Riley patent reelseat.”

I can’t say it’s my best work but…it worked