About Bart
Rods & Custom Rod Building
And Other Assorted
Information
Smoked Salmon, Steelhead, Trout
& Walleye
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I
have been custom smoking fish for anglers far and
wide for over 20 years. Steelhead, Salmon, Trout,
Walleye, Bass and others.
My
prices are very reasonable and the product is best
described as exquisite.
Comparing
my freshly smoked & seasoned fish to what
you can find in a grocery store is
like comparing Kansas City Fillet Mignon with hamburger
helper. Once you try mine, you'll never buy any more
from the store!
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I have
a large, professionally built smokehouse and use a particular
species of hardwood for the best possible flavor. My
brine is a special blend of secret ingredients - don't
ask, I will not disclose my recipe.
Once the
fillets have cured in the brine solution
and have been smoked (very precisely timed), they are enhanced
even further with another secret blend of special spices
and seasonings.
No artificial
preseratives, no ingredients you can't pronounce. With
my secret recipes and the old school technique I use, you
won't find better tasting smoked fish anywhere in the World.
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Driftboats: What
are they? Why is this technique becoming so popular?
How much fun could it possibly be? The best way we
can answer these questions is to present this video. Click
on the image at right. (Windows Media .wmv - 8.2
MB)
This is an ad
video for Lavro driftboats, which we do not particularly
endorse, but we decided to offer this movie due
to its exciting content. If you work for Lavro in
sales or advertising, send
me an email to discuss
my endorsement.
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The Megaphone™
The Megaphone
was invented by Jim Kelso out of
a need for fishing using a rod with better sensitivity
after spinal surgery left his fingers with very little
feeling. Jim and Bart DeFrancesco (BartRods) worked
together to fine tune this component and its application.
From its
conception, Bart worked with Jim to incorporate this invention
into Jim's favorite fly rod. Bart now builds this device
into many of his custom rods and is available upon request
when ordering a custom rod.
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Not only does this
component improve the overall success of the average
angler, it is especially helpful for anglers with failing
or poor vision.
The hand will
tell you what the eye cannot see.
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The Megaphone is
a solid graphite ring component that is built into
the grip of a fishing rod.
Typically, one
or two Megaphones are used. On fly rods, usually
a single device is built into the forward grip
where the angler's hand rests in the normal cast/retrieve
position.
Click
on the images for the full size views.
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For spinning rods,
sometimes two Megaphones are installed, one on either
side of the reel seat.
The application
at the left shows a spinning rod with two built-in
Megaphones, one is contoured. Click on the image
for a larger view.
All types of rods
can benefit from this device because it intensifies
sensitivity drastically.
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Vibration/Sensitivity
Transmission is enhanced through the rod, rod guides
and reel seat when using the Megaphone. It is definitely
an advantage.
Whether you
are using a carbon rod, a graphite rod, or even
a graphite composite rod, this element will make
a huge difference when detecting a light strike or
bite.
Click
on the images for the full size views.
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The Megaphone
graphite ring's outside diameter is generally the same
diameter as the cork handle, however, with some
applications, a contour can be shaped into the Megaphone
using a lathe in order to match the flowing contour of
the grip, depending on where in the grip it is installed.
Center Pin Rods, Reels & Float
Fishing
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Although the basic
design of the Center Pin reel has been around for nearly
a century, this style of fishing has recently been
adapted to Steelhead fishing, in particular when float
fishing using a long float or noodle rod & float -
hence the term Float Fishing - or Pinning.
The Center Pin
reel shown in these photos is a high quality Okuma
S 1002 by Sheffield. These can be purchased at
Salmon River Outfitters.
Click on the
images for the full size views.
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A centerpin reel is
often confused with a fly reel, but is far from it.
A Centerpin is a DRAG - FREE reel used for drifting
baits.
A cast is made by
casting the rod forward and at the same time, taking
line "off the side" of
the spool - similar to a spinning reel on its side.
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Once
the cast is made, the line is tightened and the pull
of the line / float pulls more line off the spool.
The result is a free
flowing drift down the current. The length of the
rod only adds to the "perfect" drift.
This allows the
float to drift downstream with virtually no resistance
and present the bait naturally to the fish.
Click
on the images for the full size views.
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Float
reels further enhance the excitement of the fight
with a direct one-to-one retrieve and no mechanical
drag.
There
is a bit of a learning curve with any new fishing
system you try and float fishing with a center
pin rod & reel
is no exception. But the rewards are worth it.
Most
anglers that try this system hook more Steelhead
than ever before.
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Give
it a try this Steelhead season and you won't be disappointed
in the results.
Center
pins do take awhile to get the hang of, so maximize
your time on the water by practicing a few casts
before you get to the stream.
At left are some
of Bart's custom float rods.
Click
on the images for the full size views.
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Bart's Rod Photo Gallery
Below: Examples
showing some the quality
of work that goes into
every custom Bartrod.
Basic Info for selecting a fly
rod
There are literally thousands of fly rods to
choose from but which one will help you in creating memories?
The following is intended to give you some of the basics in,
weight, action, size, and price that hopefully will put you
on the right track to fly rod ownership.
Casting:
Before going into the details of rod construction let's cover
the basic premise of fly-casting. Unlike gear fishing where
the line weighs nearly nothing and lead weight or a steal
spoon provides the weight to load the rod, the art of fly
casting is in the ability to use weighted line to load or
evenly flex a rod on the back cast, then unload and propel
the line and fly on the forward cast. Therefore, picking
a fly rod is all about matching your casting stroke with
the right rod and line weight combination.
Weight:
Determining where you will be using this rod the majority of
the time will help you decide on the appropriate weight.
Will it be that small creek not far from home, standing on
a local beach strewn with cobbles as the waves lap the shores,
or maybe on your next backpacking trip to your favorite alpine
lake?
Fly rods are given a weight, which has nothing to do with
the actual weight of the rod. It's the number that best describes
a fly line that will properly load the rod on both the forward
and back cast. Fly line manufactures alter the diameter and
density of line producing a variety of lines given numbers
from 00 through 12+ that are then matched to the rod weight
that best suits your fishing environment and desired casting
length.
In general, a rod with a small weight number will cast a shorter
distance and require lighter flies. If this is going to be
your only rod, I would recommend picking a rod weight that
represents the largest, heaviest fly you plan to fish. Here
are some generalizations that describe fly rods by weight:
00-3 weight rods are designed to cast up to 40 feet or so
and are best suited to small dry flies in the 24-14 size range.
They are most commonly 6-7 1/2 feet in length and are best
suited to small streams or areas with heavy cover behind the
caster.
4-6 weight rods are designed to cast up to approximately 70
feet and are capable of casting most dry flies and nymphs up
to size 6. They are typically 8-9 1/2 feet in length and are
the workhorse trout rods used on most mid-sized rivers and
streams.
7-8 weight rods are capable of casting up to 100 feet with
heavier and larger flies. They are typically 9-10 feet in length
and are best suited to fishing larger rivers or saltwater beaches
for large fish like Salmon or Steelhead.
9-12 weight rods are
designed to cast "your kitchen sink" (well,
not really) but they can throw some huge flies up and over
120 feet. They can reach lengths of over 14 feet and are typically
used for large game and are designed more for landing fish
than casting.
Action:
Rod action refers to the flex and feel of a rod. Most rods
can be classified as slow, medium or fast action.
Slow Action Rods
These rods are typically quite soft and can flex almost all
the way to the cork handle. They are best suited for anglers
who have a wider, slower, more open casting stroke. Slow action
rods tend to be a good choice in the small weight range. They
work well at casing short distances and chasing small fish.
Medium Action Rods
Medium action rods often flex in the upper third of the rod
and are most common for the beginning angler or those looking
for medium length cast. These rods are an excellent all around
choice to fit most fishing situations.
Fast Action Rods
Fast action rods allow anglers to cast tighter loops (back
cast and forward cast) that increase line speed and distance.
The higher line speed also makes these rods very capable of
casting in heavy winds.
Piece Size
By now you probably have some ideas about which weight and
action rod fits your needs. Now let's cover 2-piece rods
verses 4-piece.
2-piece, 4-piece or even 5-piece rods are all available in
today's market. Most often, the fewer pieces a rod is the cheaper
the rod. This is justified by the amount of engineering it
takes to provide a reliable, even flex as you add joints to
the system. I prefer to go with 4-piece rods because they are
easy to store and travel with. These typically break down to
be around 2 1/2 feet in length and fit in many different style
travel bags.
Price:
Price might not be such an issue with rods if all you had to
buy was the rod, but that's often not the case. You need
a reel, fly line and backing. If this is your first rod you
are also likely to be buy a whole lot of other fly fishing
garb such as, tippit, fly boxes, vests, flies, etc. So where
should you spend the bulk of your hard earned cash? The rod,
hands down. The rod is the most critical piece to the puzzle.
Besides skill (which you learn through practice and instruction)
the rod has more to do with your ability to make quality
presentations to eager fish than any other piece in the system.
Not to say a cheap rod isn't capable of making quality casts,
but often they aren't as consistent and can be much harder
to learn or improve your casting ability on. So with that
said, I spend most of my money on the rod, buy the best line
I can afford, then whatever money I have left would go to
the reel.
Cast It
When buying a rod make sure you take some time to cast it before
you buy it. I've picked up some amazingly expensive rods,
cast them and known right from the start I liked its cheaper
counterpart better. Have a knowledgeable sales person work
with you to find the rod that fits. In fact rod manufactures
like Sage are now outfitting some of there retailers with
a casting analysis tool that break your cast down into section
give you tips to improve on and help you choose the right
rod for your casting stroke.
Ask Questions
Ask some question about what comes with the rod. Is there an
unconditional replacement / repair warranty? How about a
rod tube and sleeve? Details like these have a way of leveling
the playing field when it comes to price. My experience is
that many of the cheaper rods don't come with these items,
which are all things that I've found to be really useful
in the long-term ownership of a fly rod.
