Chris Clemes Fly Rods
| Private | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
| Industry | Fishing tackle manufacturing |
| Founded 📆 | 2009 in London, England |
| Founder 👔 | Chris Clemes |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Handmade split cane fly rods |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | chrisclemes |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Chris Clemes Fly Rods is a London-based maker of handmade split cane (bamboo) fly rods. Founded in 2009 by South African-born rod maker Chris Clemes, the company produces bespoke fly fishing rods using traditional construction methods.[1]
History
Chris Clemes was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, where he grew up fishing the streams of the Western Cape.[1] After relocating to the United Kingdom, he worked for Orvis at their Dover Street store in Mayfair for two years before founding Chris Clemes Fly Rods in 2009.[1]
The company operates through direct commissions and a small number of specialist retail stockists. Its rods are stocked at Farlows of Pall Mall, London, one of the oldest fly fishing retailers in the world, established in 1840.[2] Chris Clemes Fly Rods was commissioned to build the Farlows 175th Anniversary Split Cane Fly Rod.[3] The company also supplies stockists in South Africa and ships internationally.[2]
Products
The company's core products are bespoke split cane fly rods in two ranges: the Harmony, a pre-designed two-piece rod, and the Symphony, a fully bespoke two-piece, two-tip rod built to the customer's specifications over a period of two to four months.[3] The range also includes the Sjambok, a compact S-glass rod designed for backcountry and mountain river fishing.[1]
Construction
The rods are built from Tonkin cane sourced from Guangdong, southern China. The construction process involves hand-splitting the cane into six strips, planing each strip to precise tapers, gluing and binding the strips into a hexagonal blank, and applying multiple coats of spar varnish. Hardware including guides, reel seats and ferrules is then fitted by hand. Each completed rod is flex-tested and cast-tested before delivery.[4]
The design of rod taper — the progressive change in cross-section along the rod's length — is central to the rod's casting characteristics and is tailored to each customer's fishing style.[3]
Media coverage
Chris Clemes Fly Rods has been featured in British Airways First in-flight magazine in a profile titled "The Makers",[5] The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine,[1] the Financial Times supplement How to Spend It,[6][full citation needed] FlyFisher magazine,[4] and Piscator, the journal of the Cape Piscatorial Society.[7]
See also
- Fly fishing
- Bamboo fly rod
- Fly rod
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The Little Guy – Chris Clemes". The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Chris Clemes Split Cane Fly Rod". Farlows. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Bespoke Custom Bamboo Fly Rods by Chris Clemes". Farlows. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Split Cane Fly Rod Review – FlyFisher Magazine". Chris Clemes Fly Rods. 4 August 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "The Makers – A reprint of the British Airways First In Flight Magazine article". Chris Clemes Fly Rods. May 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ↑ "Chris Clemes Fly Rods". Financial Times.
- ↑ "Our Rods in the Press". Chris Clemes Fly Rods. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
External links
- Official website
- Chris Clemes at Farlows
- "The Little Guy – Chris Clemes" at The Mission Fly Fishing Magazine
Category:Fishing equipment manufacturers
Category:Manufacturing companies based in London
Category:British brands
Category:Companies established in 2009
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