Ray Taylor

My name is Ray Taylor and I am a new comer to the list. My wife and I live in Washington State in the little town of White Salmon. Work requires that I travel a great deal but it also affords time with friends and family. My introduction to rod building came from reading a series of articles by Harry Boyd. Since this inspiration I have built several rods, and I just finished a 2 piece 2 tip quad blank that will be used to support tomatoes in the spring. I enjoy seeing the rods built by list members, the elegance and craftsmanship encourages me to set my standards higher. I started fly fishing by exploring the small streams outside of Bishop California with encouragement from my parents. I used an 8 ½' fiberglass 7 wt. that was poorly suited for this type of fishing. Luckily I didn't know any better. I now fish the local streams in the Cascades where a 7' to 8' bamboo rod is ideal. While I still appreciate the action of a good fiberglass rod, I like the action, feel, and beauty of bamboo even more.