Real Bass Boats for Real Bass

Most Americans outside the "coffee milk belt" mistakenly confuse a "Bass Boat"  with those logo-sticker-encrusted, disco-glitter-bedazzled plastic speedboats best known from basic cable fishing shows.  In Non-Rhotic American English the word "Bass" refers to the Striper (Roccus Saxatilis) and a "Bass Boat" is a rugged, deep water inboard like the beautiful MacKenzie Cuttyhunk pictured above. Designed for the steep chop and swift currents of the Northeastern coast of the U.S., these chunky, no-nonsense boats are the precursors of the now ubiquitous deep-vee center console fishing boats.  Like the Striper, these boats were seemingly everywhere at one point and then very nearly vanished completely in the 70's and 80's.  Thankfully, both are enjoying somewhat of a resurgence now and several new companies have started making updated versions of this venerable design, both in fiberglass and wood.  It's easy to see why, In addition to the rugged, good looks of the Bass Boat, the design is much more flexible, economical and family friendly than the center console.

My Hand Wrapped Sage RPLX 10wt Striper Fly Rod

A few months before Stoddard's downtown closed, I picked up this blank for short money, it must have been sitting there for a while as the RPLXi had been in production for quite some time. The RPLX is an absolute gun of a flyrod, and although some people complain that they are too stiff, I find it easy to cast and it will easily throw a Teeny shooting head line across the jetties in Menemsha. I am really pleased with the way it turned out, the copper and black thread really sets off the lovely deep brown of the blank.