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 I am the owner of the Gary H. Howells bamboo rod making shop. I have in my possession all of Gary Howells' original equipment, materials, rod making notes, rod records, and other memorabilia. All of my R. K. BOLT rods are made in the tradition of Gary H. Howells. When I acquired Gary Howells' shop, I had already made rods for about 10 years, using hand planing techniques. Immediately upon acquiring Gary Howells' shop, I sought out the advice and counsel of Glenn Brackett, the master bamboo rod maker formerly at Winston Rod Co. Gary Howells had been Glenn's mentor and Glenn taught me Gary Howells' tradition and techniques. Lew Stoner and Doug Merrick had taught this tradition to Gary Howells, so this tradition extends back to the beginning of Winston Rods during the Great Depression. I spent a lot of time at the Winston Bamboo rod shop learning and honing these techniques. It has required a great deal of discipline to make rods within the Gary Howells tradition, but making rods this way has also been liberating to me. Let me briefly explain. Discipline is required to learn to use someone else's seemingly cumbersome procedures in rod making. However, when I began to master these techniques, certain fundamental truths of rod making became evident to me. These truths only became obvious, though, through repeated use and constant study of the master's methods and techniques. I will give only one of many examples of the value of this heritage to me. I emphasize that this example is only one of many lessons taught to me by Gary Howells tradition and techniques. Like Gary Howells, I make many, many blanks every year. Like Gary Howells, I keep extensive records about the techniques used to make these blanks; everything from bamboo pole selection to gluing and unstringing of the blanks. After much study of Gary Howells' notes, it became clear to me that he used the scientific method in experimenting with different techniques to accomplish the ends he desired. Specifically, Gary Howells only changed one thing at a time in making a batch of blanks, and then checked the blanks when completed to discover if that change had accomplished his purpose. In this way, he maintained control over the process and was sure about the effect of the change. I now use this scientific method in everything I do in making a rod, keeping notes about changes made and the results obtained, just as Gary Howells did. This method is laborious and time consuming, but the results are assured. The liberation I have experienced by working within these traditions and techniques has been surprising to me. I would have thought that innovation would come from a "clean slate". However, the old adage that an innovator "stands on the shoulders of all who came before him" could not be truer than in bamboo rod making. My study of Gary Howells' tapers and techniques have taught me very clearly that, within this tradition, small changes can have very large effects. These small changes can be very clearly seen when compared to the original and evaluated by themselves for what they accomplish. Thus, a small change in taper gives a completely different, and hopefully, more pleasant fishing rod. It is vital that, wherever possible, we, as fly fishermen understand the heritage and traditions of our sport and continue these traditions where the basic reasons for them have not changed. I have been pleasantly surprised to learn that the reasons for a certain fly tying method, rod making method, line or leader making method, or reel making method, have not changed over time and the traditional methods used are still valid and vital to success and satisfaction in the sport of fly fishing. It is important for every fly fisher to become conversant with our shared literature and heritage. All of these things, and much more, have come to me through making R. K. BOLT bamboo rods in the tradition of Gary Howells and through him, working within the heritage of those who came before him.
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 Gary H. Howells |
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