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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Craftsmen plan to leave rod company

Associated Press

TWIN BRIDGES, Mont. – The four craftsmen who build bamboo fly-fishing rods that R.L. Winston Rod Co. sells for several thousand dollars apiece say they’re quitting and will be gone by February.

Glenn Brackett, a former Winston co-owner, said he feels compelled to leave now that his preferred candidate for an apprenticeship has been rejected by chief executive Woody Woodard. Brackett said he and the others resigning have a total of 80 years experience as builders of bamboo rods.

Woodard said the resignations are surprising and regrettable, but Winston will remain a producer of superior bamboo rods. The company has moved two of its graphite rod makers into the bamboo shop, where Brackett has been training them.

“Our goal is to continue to build the best bamboo rods in the world right here in Twin Bridges,” Woodard said. “Our production manager here has stepped up and is taking the responsibility for that department.”

Said Wayne Maca, another of those resigning: “They do not seem to understand that you do not simply walk in the door and learn to build bamboo rods.”

Winston has been making them since the company’s 1929 start in California. The business moved to Twin Bridges in 1976 and sells mostly graphite fly rods, but rings up annual sales of about 90 rods made from bamboo. They are priced at $2,750 to $3,000.

Total employment by the company is just under 100 people.

Brackett, 65, said that when Jeff Walker announced he planned to leave within a couple of years, it was time to find a replacement for him in the bamboo shop. Brackett, outspoken when Winston decided last year to have some of its lower-end rods made in China, said being overridden in the selection of an apprentice indicated it was time to leave.

Another of the men resigning, Jerry Kustich, said Winston has made money in part because clients were willing to pay top dollar for bamboo rods built by craftsmen.

“We’re still going to make them the same way,” Woodard said.