JP Ross Fly Rod Quality
“When a company talks about quality,
what does it really mean?”
The background of JP Ross, comes from JP himself. A Senior Manager and materials specialist in the electronics industry that started as a thermal specialist and has traveled the world solving problems and helping customers. JP has multiple patents for product design and applications. His experience has also lead him to running tool shops and experimenting with 3D printing, and laser cutting and engraving. With this understanding of materials as a resource, it is important that our customer know that quality of workmanship on the rod is only part of the equation. Quality in the product starts with the relationship we have with our suppliers. With 20 years in the business of making fly rods, we are not just a custom fly rod maker, we are also a fly rod manufacturer. That is a different level of expertise than fly rod builders that just assemble and have a strong social media campaign.
We design, build specifications, make drawings in CAD, build prototypes, fish prototypes, and then go to market. To us, its a lot different than just taking a blank and gluing some components on it and calling yourself a rod company. We are in business to feed our need to create, and our desire to make people happy. Our business foundation is based on a model to be world class. We aspire from great companies like Porsche, Rolex, Intel and Canon. We are doing it right, when we can turn a profit and contribute to our self created conservation effort called Trout Power.
Made in New York, Born in the Adirondack Mountains.. you don't have to be the biggest to be the best. Others may imitate, but there is only one JP Ross & Company.
Quality of Components.
The Blank: The quality in a rod blank is in its matrix, its resin, its taper, its ferrules and its finish. The quality of a supply is based on consistency, and predictability. Our blanks are made by our domestic supplier that we have done business with for over 18 years. All of our blanks have a specific design, and specification and or drawing associated with them. Our supply is quality tested and statistically sampled and measure to give a representation of quality for the entire lot that is produced. JP Ross offers a range of blanks in our line that vary by color, length, action and number of sections. Start the JP Ross journey by choosing a blank.
The Guides: All you have to do is look at a recoil guide in its raw material form to know that the Nickel Titanium alloy that is used is high quality. Nitanol, or memory alloy was actually made for the medical industry. It is a metal that can be used in the human body and holds a shape to release blood clots. Today Nitanol is used in eye wear, various electronic applications and medical applications….and also as recoil guides manufactured by long time supplier REC components in Connecticut, USA.
Step away from the recoil guide and the next in line is the Titanium Carbide guides followed by stainless and chrome. Guides are important and we also do not discount the fact that sometimes they are not perfectly round, because some are hand bent. This is part of the hand made quality that makes a JP Ross.
Consider our hand made in USA Agate guides in silver frame and you are not talking about just a guide, you are talking about jewelry grade components.
The Handle: You’ll never find low grade cork on a JP Ross handle. I never knew what was so special about cork until I met with quality cork people. They are in the wine industry. They get quality. There’s a big difference between Flor Grade Cork, Grade A, Super Grade and essentially low grade cork. Low grade cork is full of filler. Filler falls out over time, we have almost no filler.
The Reel Seat: Take a very close look at a JP Ross reel seat. You’ll never see a machine mark. That’s because our seats are made here in the USA, not in China. Your reel will fit perfectly because our seat follows the AFFTA standards. Our threads are deep and will not strip when you turn them. If you want a reel seat blued, it is blued by hand in our New York workshop.
Stabilized Wood: Whether in the rain or even submerged the JP Ross wood reel seats should never swell, chip or crack. Stabilized wood is resin impregnated wood making the natural fibers impenetrable to water.
Engraving: We can just about engrave anything, giving you more personalized quality. How about one more… you want a brook trout or a tarpon engraved on your reel seat, we can do that too. Not enough? Send us a jpeg of what you want and we’ll do everything we can to feature that image on your reel seat or case cap. There are really no limits, all you have to do is talk to us about some ideas you have and we will get started.
The Case: A great fly rod deserves a great case. Bang your rod around your car, truck or drift boat for a few years and your JP Ross case resists the abuse. Our automotive grade powder coating resists scratches. Our extruded aluminum cases are available with many different options. Choose from powder coating, anodized caps, laser engraved caps or even solid brass caps. We also can add handles or shoulder straps, just let us know what you are thinking. As shown below, this customer wanted a Bison leather wrapped case with strap... and he got it.
