A very special Gouldfish LemonGlass build for a Russian Navy veteran

This was one of our most interesting briefs so far, a client was planning a surprise fishing trip for his father to the UK from Russia and wanted a custom fly rod to celebrate his 70th birthday and that would be a tribute to his service in the Russian navy.

The lemke reel seat is finished with Karelian birch (from the Western part of Russia on the Finnish border, famous for great fishing) and the grip was turned from some birch bark that I had ordered a while back from Siberia. For the guide wraps we opted to alternate between blue and white like a naval serviceman's vest and the base of each tip includes the patriotic St George's ribbon.

The Butt of the rod was finished with a button from a Russian naval uniform and a beautiful Joe Arguello Agate stripping guide was used as a final accent.

The rod bag, as all of our bags, was designed by Kate at Gouldstyle http://www.gouldstyle.com

The client, and more importantly his father, were extremely pleased with the result and had a very successful trip to Islay to give it a test. Thanks to David and Glen at Fly Fish Islay for arranging the fishing.

https://flyfishislay.co.uk/2017/05/03/islay-trout-heaven-april-2017/