The Story of the Beaver Meadow Fly Rod.
The Story of the Beaver Meadow Fly Rod.
When I was young I spent all my summers in the Adirondacks. I lived in a town called Eagle Bay, NY. If I rode my bike about a mile down Big Moose Road I came to a small creek called the Eagle Creek. There I learned how to catch brook trout on a bobber and a worm. Later, when I became busy with college I found myself going back to this small creek to see if those brook trout were still there. This time I left my spinning rod at home and brought my 9 foot 5 weight fly rod. I soon found that trying to roll cast and navigate through the alders was no easy task. So when I started my company over 20 years ago I knew I wanted to make a rod to fish these small streams. It took me a few years to design the right tool for the task because making a short medium action rod that can roll cast well is extremely difficult. They usually end up feeling like a car antenna. Our Beaver Meadow fly rod feels like a real fly rod. It took years to perfect, but we have and we have made thousands, all made in New York State, USA.
The Beaver Meadow is by far the most enjoyable fly rod I have ever designed. When I have spare time in my rod shop, I find myself making a Beaver Meadow. It was over 20 years ago that I came up with the 5 foot 2 weight fly rod. I remember the day that my now very good friend Brian Corbett walked into the fly shop and the second ready for market prototype was on the wall. "How much for this" he asked. "I don't even have a name for it" I said. We sat and talked for at least an hour, and after a few cups of coffee Brian suggested we call it the Beaver Meadow. He still fishes the first Beaver Meadow ever sold. Since then we have offered many different styles of Beaver Meadow, from 7'6" 4 piece down to the classic 5'0" 2-3 weights.
The benefits of the Beaver Meadow is its short length, light weight and roll casting ability. The rod was designed to fish small streams for wild brook trout, but later we found that people had been looking for a rod like this to catch golden trout, cutthroat trout and even smallmouth bass; so although it is inspired by the Adirondack Brook Trout, it can in fact be used for just about anything.
What we want you to know is that this rod blank is made for fun light weight fishing. The blank is an emerald green color or spring green for our Carbon series and is satin olive river moss color for our S-Glass. The Beaver Meadow Carbon are medium to slow but crisp action so that they roll cast well and have a faster tip recovery speed for accuracy. For the Carbon Series (emerald green and spring green) Bump up a line weight to slow the rod down, or to throw bigger streamers and double fly rigs. We sell most Beaver Meadows rated for a 2 weight but the can be up-lined to a 3. This is true for most of our rods that the lines you used can be variable. That's why the 5 footer and 6'6" are called a 2-3. 2 weight line for distance casting a bit more crisp medium and a 3 weight line for roll casting more moderate feel and casting bigger flies or double fly rigs.
If you are looking for a special rod that will sit in the corner of your fishing cave waiting for the right day, this is it. Please get the handle dirty and use it. Catch that fish that makes you happy and gently toss the rod on the bank or in the mud and relish in the beauty of the fish and the moment you are in. Enjoy being happy and being coherent of what is happening. Once in a while, send our staff and JP a picture of your adventures with your Beaver Meadow, and tell us a story. We love to hear stories and we love to make products that help you create them.
The new Beaver Meadow S-Glass takes our small stream rod line up to a whole new level. For sure there is a place for the Carbon Beaver Meadow for accurate casting and stronger butt section for landing bigger fish. However, our customers have been asking for a slower more parabolic action and true glass feel. Therefore we have created the new S-Glass line made from 100% High Strength S-Glass fabric. The S-Glass gives an advantage to the fish with its soft retro feel. Catch a fish on it and watch it bend right into the cork handle.
Shown below is the S-Glass in River Moss Olive and the Carbon in Spring Green.