George Gilpatrick and his son break in the Beaver Meadow

Over 8 years ago I sat in my office at JP Ross Fly Rods and the phone rang.  It was a delightful young man named George who spoke to me about building a fly rod that was to be a special pack rod for a special trip he was planning.  I built the rod, and George loved it.  I later actually named the rod "the Gilpatrick".  We sold many of those rods.  Years later we built another special edition rod for George, and about a year after that George was blessed with a young boy.  At the same time we had a beaver meadow sale, and we made a rod for his son Lachlan.  I met George and his family once for lunch when they were on their way through Utica.  They are a beautiful couple and I am delighted to know them. 

George recently sent this photo to me, and it is a testament to our relationship.  It also speaks to our company and the lifestyle we embrace.  Thank you George for sharing Lachlan's first fish.  We hope for many more to come soon. 

photo by: Justin Bramley

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 10 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 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. 

JP,    

Now available as a 6 foot 6 inch 2 weight Adams Edition $219.00 complete

Look at our Beaver Meadows on our online store.

Rod Blank Specifications

Custom Ordering and Price List

Product Data Sheets

Short Fly Rods for small stream fly fishing:

Short fly rods are something we specialize in.  Fly Fishing in the Adirondacks is a lot of rock hoping and exploration.  However you don't have to be from the Adirondacks to like small stream fly fishing. Small streams happen everywhere, from Vermont to the Midwest to the west coast and I have even talked to people wanting short fly rods for fishing for schoolie striped bass. 

But if you want to make a real short fly rod for fishing small streams you have to have a fly rod that is diversified and can handle a lot of different casts. The rod has to be able to roll cast. It has to set the hook quickly. It has to be able to flip a fly, especially a weighted fly or a bushy fly in the wind, and most importantly, it has to be a lot of fun when catching a wild trout or small fish or any kind.  

Can you just chop a long fly rod to turn it into a short fly rod?  The simple answer is no.  Consider the reason we make a small stream short fly rod.  The rivers and stream we have in Central New York are essentially the delta before the Adirondacks filters to the Mohawk River. Our environment has forced us to design a fly rod for these types of applications and fly fishing styles. If you simply chop a few inches off the tip of a fly rod, you are making the rod much stiffer and usually not very good for roll casting. Yes, but what if you just chop a bunch of inches off the butt section? Well, this does work, but it makes for a cob job fly rod and eventually when you do need the butt section of the rod to land a bigger fish, you won't have it anymore. You also will have a fly rod that does not have equal sections.  

What on average does a short fly rod weigh?  On Average a Beaver Meadow Small Stream Fly Rod weighs a little over an oz. Although recently we have update our ONYX series of fly rod, to offer a 6 foot 6 inch 4 weight in a multi blend graphite which allows us to hit less than 1 oz for a 2 weight multi piece fly rod.  

What is the action of a short fly rod?  Nearly all our small stream fly rods have a medium or a slow action. The reason for this is because you need a small stream fly rod for fishing small streams to be nimble and have the ability to roll cast. If the rod is to stiff it just will not load enough to bend and flip a fly. Also, if a rod is too stiff it will not be fun when you are trying to catch wild trout or other small stream fish.  

What are the options you can get on a short fly rod? We have many different options for the Beaver meadow and other small stream fly rods.  The most common options are the recoil guides, which are made of a memory type alloy like you would find in your glasses. This allows the rod to be much lighter and also allows the guides to be extremely durable. Other customers like the super fine grips or custom grips. Many of the ideas can be found on the build your own feature of our site, and on our data sheet page, and also on our rod builder excel form.   

What is the future of short fly rods for fly fishing? I think a lot of the future of small stream fly fishing will be in fiberglass fly rods; such as our Reuben Wood Retro fiberglass fly rod.  Or also in the convertible style fly rods, where multiple sections will be designed with the rod so the rod can fish as a 9 footer or a 7 footer or even a 5 footer.  

What is the difference between the Beaver Meadow short fly rod and Tenkara? Tenkara fishing is really cool. And I think I am going to try it more this year. I have spent a lot of time in Japan, and this type of fishing is very cool. However, the trout or char in Japan seldom reach 9 inches, so the chances of catching a huge fish is rare. For those of you that don't know; Tenkara is a type of fly fishing where you do not have a reel. All you have is a long rod and a line coming out of the end. It is kind of like dapping. The Beaver Meadow Fly Rod and the Reuben Wood Fly Rod are a little more diversified in that our rods are short, not long. Our small stream fly rods have a reel seat to accept a line. That way if you did catch a big trout, you have a little extra line for insurance. The extra line is also nice if you have a big slow pool, and you need to get deep and far down the pool. You can keep feeding line out of the rod to fish such applications. The action of the Beaver Meadow is also much slower and smoother then that tenkara rods which makes our rod more of a roll casting rod. 

Jordan, Got the rod today brother, and it's truly a work of art. Thank you again! I have a Winston custom 4 pc. 9' 5 wght. B III X, a Winston WT 7'6" 4wght. 3 pc.,
and this custom Beaver Meadow. I can say with honesty that this work of art that you have blessed me with, is just as nice as any of those but carries much more sentimental value and will be cherished for the rest of my life. This is part of the legacy of who I am as a person, and will be handed down to my grandchildren! Again many thank's to you, and the people who have helped to make this all possible. Joe <:"<   P.S.~ Tight lines to you my friend!

5 and 5 sale. Beaver meadow fly rods for only $155.00

Sale starts today until mid December.    I have about a dozen of these rods left and have extended the sale until they are gone.  

5 foot 2 weight and 5 foot 3 weight for only $155.00

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 be 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.

For the Adventurous Angler, we have the back country edition.  A rod that converts from a 9 footer to a 7 footer to a 5 footer.

JP Ross Engraving Options

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.