The origins of Wild Bearings bamboo fly rods date back to an enterprise named Lacey & Johnson Sporting Designs. During the 1990s partners Gary Lacey and Sam R. Johnson crafted hundreds of bamboo fly rods for LL Bean, Wright & McGill, and scores of serious anglers and collectors around the world. When Lacey & Johnson ceased collaboration, Sam teamed up with rod maker Chris Sloan to take the craft to the next level. In an economy where time is money and the quest to produce things more cheaply is the rule, we feel there’s still a place for things made the old-fashioned way – one at a time!

Our rods are built using historic tapers from legendary makers such as Goodwin Granger, F.E. Thomas, Payne, Dickerson, Gillum, Halstead, and Leonard, etc. Tapers proven for accuracy and durability, yet sensitive enough to set a hook in a stick of warm butter! Each of our Rubicon and Touchstone Series rods start with the same high-quality blanks made from the highest-grade Tonkin bamboo – and each blank is handmade in our shop. Each rod is a 35 to 50-hour labor of love -not mass produced in China with cheap labor and CADing. Only their aesthetics and features set the two Series apart. Each Rubicon and Touchstone rod is a true piece of functional art that will provide generations of pleasure for the serious fly angler or collector. Why fish with a factory-made rod or cheap look-a-like, when you could fish with a piece of hand crafted fly fishing artistry?

We also specialize in refurbishing vintage rods.