11th Special Exhibition - Time travel through the history of the splitcane fly rod

We cordially invite you to take a journey through the history of the splitcane fly rod at the 11th EWF special exhibition.

 

For over 150 years, splitcane rods and hand-tied flies were the measure of all things in fly fishing. Elegant design, perfect craftsmanship and high-quality raw materials were part of the recipe for success.

The Swiss rod maker Philipp Sicher shows the development of splitcane fishing rods from the beginnings around 1850 to the present day. The decades are embellished with exciting background information on rod manufacturers and examples from his large collection.

 

 

 

How it all came about ...

Summer 1980, Scotland, River Spey. I was definitely hooked on splitcane fly rods back then.

... maybe it was the generosity of the English gentleman who let my wife and I - both inexperienced salmon fishermen - use his pool, maybe it was the fact that he was fishing with a splitcane rod, or maybe it was the subsequent visit to the Partridge company in Reddich, which was still making splitcane rods at the time ...

The fever has stayed with me to this day! And a hobby has turned into a fascinating passion. Since then, I have hung one rod after another in my collector's display case, which is now a small bamboo forest. This collection of old and new masterpieces has given me countless ideas and inspiration for my own designs.

 

   


As a young student in the sixties and seventies, I witnessed the disappearance of splitcane rods from the shelves of fishing tackle shops. The few remaining specimens, mostly rods from Walter Brunner or Hardy, were unaffordable for me as a student. However, I was so fascinated by these rods that I decided to make them myself. So I started making rods at the end of the seventies.

 

   

 

The construction of splitcane rods, and thus the cultivation of an almost forgotten craft, has recently experienced an enormous revival. It seems important to me that we do not lose sight of the history of its origins and the work of the great masters of the past.

I do not offer any products for the market myself. My only intention is to collect as much information as possible that is necessary or helpful for our craft and to make it accessible to an interested public.