3 minute read
The Scott Fly Rod Tour
from FFE Magazine 2020
If you’re serious about fly fishing, at some point in your life you’ll get serious about making the journey to Americas mid-west, a region that has shaped modern fly fishing tools and methods more than any other region or country. From browns and rainbow trout sipping dries barely visible to the naked eye to big rivers and drifts boats and of course the high country Alps tiny streams and legendary cutthroat trout. There’s certainly a lot to digest on a visit to a state such as Colorado. Of course, if you’re in the mid-west, and you get the opportunity to visit the Scott fly rod factory in Montrose, and then fish with CEO and chief designer Jimmy Bartchi, and Frank Smethurst from felt sole media fame- you’ve landed the opportunity of a lifetime!
BY MICAH ADAMS
Fly fishing the famous ‘Black canyon’ on the Gunnison River with Jim Bartschi was a super cool experience. For an old fashion fly rod tragic like myself, to be sharing a bank with Mr Scott himself, high fiving when solid trout sipped my tiny dry or just laughing endlessly over the craziest jokes!
It struck me as incredible just how relaxed, personable, or straight up cool Jim is for the position he holds. Sporting a beard for his upcoming quest to hunt a moose, Jim quickly received the nickname ‘Jimmy Badass’, and wore it with pride. Such is the nature of the man who has delivered many of the worlds greatest fly rod advancements!
Then there’s Frank Smethurst. You know the guy from ‘running down the man’? The roosterfish eccentric who’s every bit the character you’d expect: Full of passion and emotion for both fishes and the environments they inhabit.
Sharing a drift boat, a hotel room and a high altitude hike in search of the native cutthroat trout with Frank was simply awesome. The cutthroat adventure, literally one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
I was in Colorado to film two or three episodes of TV for my program- Adventure Angler. One of the driving scripts was to visit the factory and get an in depth tour from Jim on the making of a Scott fly rod, from start to finish.
When you visit the factory and take the tour, two things strike a note. Firstly, these rods are all truly hand made from start to finish. Nothing is outsourced, nothing is mass produced. Secondly and as a result, how can these rods be so cheap, serious!
Jim Bartschi casting one of his awardwinning rods on the Gunnison River.
When you see how many people work in the factory and how meticulous and highly scrutinised for imperfections these rods go through, you understand the attention that goes into every rod that hits the stores. One such example of the commitment to quality would be the final lacquering stage.
Other rod manufacturers apply one thick coat and leave to dry. While at Scott, they apply four to five thin coats with a full day to dry for each. Jim believes they get a thinner, more streamlined and superior finish on their trims this way. Another feature might be the un sanded blank that doesn’t allow even the most minor imperfection to be painted over. Nothing can be hidden and every single worker along the stage is a quality controller!
The add campaigns always stated- ‘hand made in the USA’. Once you’ve taken the Scott fly rod tour, you quickly realise these rods are so much more than that. They’re each given a life of their own. They have soul!
