Beaver Meadow

JP Ross Engraving Options

Beaver Meadow, the perfect Small Stream Fly Rod

The Story of the Beaver Meadow Small Stream 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 began 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 tag alders was no easy task. When I started my company almost 10 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.

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. Sometimes I try to make it as light as I can, sometimes I go very retro with a 4 inch mini fullwells grip and sometimes I just focus on my favorite fish, the Adirondack Brook Trout. It was about 6 years ago that I came up with the 5 foot 2 weight fly rod and did it really as a marketing tool to be the first rod company to make a small stream fly rod. I remember the day that my now very good friend Brian Corbett walked into the fly shop and the second 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 and 5 piece to 5' 2 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 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. Because this is a JP Ross Rod, you can design your own beaver meadow with a fighting butt if you wanted… its up to you.

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 and is very light and thin. All beaver meadows are fairly slow so that they roll cast well. This is not a great fly rod for a double fly rig and big indicator, nor is it a great rod for a windy day.

If you are looking for a special rod that will sit in the corner of your man cave waiting for the right day, this is it.

Rod Blank Specifications Ordering and Price List Product Data Sheets

Beaver Meadow Actions and Recommendations:

No matter if you are an experienced angler or just starting out, you probably know what it is like to cast a fly rod in close quarters like small streams. Small streams by our definition is a stream that is less than 20 feet wide, spring creek slow moving or tumbling brook. The stream bank will be trees and big glacial erratic rock or tall grass anxious to catch your fly on your back cast. Hence the longest Beaver Meadow we make is 7 feet long, and the shortest is 5 feet.

The 5 foot rods are soft and are made to roll cast. They are not big fish fighters they are made for small brook trout, cutthroat, golden trout, and even small landlock salmon. The rods are light weight and are tricky to cast, but once you get used to it, they can easily cast 50 feet.

The 6 foot 6 inch 2 weight is probably the best all around Beaver Meadow. It is a little stiffer than the 5 foot series and is capable of landing a 12-15 inch fish with ease.

The 7 foot rods can e used on small streams and even have the power to be used on big water as a fun toy. If you are used to casting a 9 foot rod, these rods are an easy transition.

Additional Blanks Available

4 piece: 6.5 foot 2-3 weight (blue blank only)

For additional information please see the specifications sheet or the build your own feature.

Small Stream Fly Rod Packages

You always wondered if there were native trout in that brook... now go find out!  (but don't tell anyone)

Information on "the Perfect Small Stream Fly Rod"

Premium Package Features:

• Retro Mini Cigar Handle
• Miniature down lock reel seat
• genuine nickle silver hardware
• rope knurl on end cap and lock nut
• Native Black Ash Burl wood insert
• Nitanol (NiTi) flexible, durable guide system
• slow smooth action
• Tuxedo Black Powder coated Tube
• Brass Cap and Bottom with jumping trout engraving
• Emerald Green 43 Million Modulus IM6 Blank
• Who says 6 inch trout arn't fun?

Standard Package:

• Retro Mini Cigar Handle
• Miniature down lock reel seat
• genuine nickle silver hardware
• rope knurl on end cap and lock nut
• Native Black Ash Burl wood insert
• Nitanol (NiTi) flexible, durable guide system
• slow smooth action
• Standard Cap and Collar with Green Powder Coat Tube
• Emerald Green 43 Million Modulus IM6 Blank

Guide Model Package

• Same as Standard Package execpt has no engraving, Chrome guides, and extruded tube.

Call us today, or send us an email to get started.

NEW Back Country Angler Convertible multi section fly rod

It was a typical late fall day, and I was driving in my car returning phone calls. The most interesting one was to a customer named Erik Oster.   Erik lives in Boston and was interested in a small stream fly rod. We talked for over 20 minutes about JP Ross Fly Rods and what we could do for him. 

With the James Taylor Rod, we made a 5 section product, however the idea with Erik was a little different, it would be 6 built sections, with 2 spare unused sections. We would use two full sets of blanks. When we built the rod we included a spare tip and packaged the extra sections into the rod bag, as a stiffener for the rod bag, and an easy way for the rod sections to stay intact. That way if Erik broke a section, there was a good chance that he could ship the rod back to me. I would in turn open the bag, take out the spare section, fabricate it and send it back in a matter of days. 

However, Erik wanted a rod that was shorter and much more light weight. We decided on the 6 and a half foot 2 weight 4 piece and included another section to turn the rod into a 5 foot 2 weight on demand. With the extra section for the 5 footer, I built that butt section very ultra light with a cork seat and slide bands, pictured here. I also made the handle a little shorter, which is common on our beaver meadows. We also wanted to make this rod high tech, so we decided to go with the Nickle Titanium, Memory Alloy Guides, also known as "RECOIL" guides from REC components.  This certainly bumped up the cost to do the rod, but I believe this rod will get a lot of abuse and the Nitanol guides can take it. 

We also packaged the entire rod in a 2 inch diameter rod tube. The rod was called the Back Country Angler, and we shipped it to him just before Christmas. After running the numbers on this rod, Erik and I felt that $599.00 for this outfit was a fair price; and that is what we will offer this rod to our customers for. I look forward to getting some feed back from Erik on how it went, and I also am looking forward to fishing with James Taylor soon and discussing his next idea on a convertible fly rod.

Back Country Angler fly rod. 6 ½ foot 2 weight 4 piece and 4 ¾ foot 2 weight 3 piece, with integrated 2 inch diameter rod case and extra tip section. $599.00

Emerald Reel Seats for Custom Beaver Meadow Fly Rods

We have many options to offer on the Beaver Meadow if you choose to build a custom design.  Just go to our Home Page and click the build your own feature or our downloadable worksheet.