Custom "Noodle" Fly Rod 

Custom made "Noodle" fly rod by John Nagy  (see below for more pictures).

     John Nagy offers a custom made 10 1/2 foot "noodle" fly rod (2 piece/6 weight). This rod is featured in John Nagy's book, Steelhead Guide, Fly Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead and is ideal for "high- stick" nymphing with long leaders, light tippets and small flies to achieve critical drag-free drifts on or near the stream bottom.

     John Nagy uses this rod exclusively on his Lake Erie tributary steelhead guide trips. It is the ultimate tool for dead- drifting steelhead fly patterns such as egg flies, bead head nymphs, soft hackles and wooly buggers. Many of his guide trip customers, after fishing this incredible fly rod all day, end up ordering one!  

     It can easily play a big steelhead on lighter tippets (steelhead over 15 pounds have been played and landed on it), has tremendous fly line and leader control due to it's great length and casts split-shot, weighted flies, indicators, etc. very smoothly due to it's soft action. The added length also allows for pressure to be added at largely different angles when playing a steelhead. This keeps a steelhead off balance and reduces total playing and landing time.

On Stream Reviews of John Nagy's

Noodle Fly Rod

"The design of John Nagy's noodle fly rod is well thought out with great workmanship. The action of this custom fly rod provides an unparalled ability to protect the lightest of tippets and at the same time have enough back bone for fly casting. The 5 inch fighting butt also adds increased leverage in playing those chrome sticks of dynamite. I am so pleased with this fly rod that I have packed away my high-end production rod (at twice the cost) in favor of the noodle fly rod!"

Tony DiBenedetto, Jr. of Youngstown, Ohio 

"It is so easy to cast even with weighted flies, split-shot and a float if needed. I have very little trouble casting this rod even in wind gusts up to 35 mph. This rod roll casts with very little effort. It's 10 1/2 foot length makes it so nice to make on the water mends with ease. The best thing about this rod is it's soft action and your percentage of busted off
fish with lighter tippets will really drop. My biggest steelhead taken on this rod was
15 lbs. on 5X tippet. Anyone serious about tributary fishing for Lake
Erie steelhead should have this rod in his or her arsenal."

Joe Ciavaglia of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

"I was very impressed with every aspect of John Nagy's noodle fly rod. I was able to get a drag-free drift with little effort, feel every little bump on the drift and could easy tell if I was in the strike zone. Also I was able to roll cast with little effort and the fish fighting abilities of the rod were outstanding. For you guys fishing with production rods and are serious about Lake Erie steelhead fishing you have to get one on John Nagy's custom steelhead rods!"

William Cober

"The soft action of John Nagy's noodle fly rod enabled me to down-size my tippets and increase my hookups and land many more large steelhead without break-offs."

Walt Schaffer of Willoughby Hills, Ohio

"John Nagy's noodle fly rod is ideal for dead-drifting flies on light tippets in the cold winter flows of the Lake Erie tributaries. It's 10 1/2 foot length allows me to reach out over tricky currents, precisely present my flies and achieve long, drag-free presentations. The capability to interchange fighting butts is also a nice feature."

Joe Morgan of Hamburg, New York

     It is custom made from a 10 1/2 foot St. Croix Wild River noodle rod blank (black satin finish, SC II mid-modulus graphite). It has ultra-light power with a slow action, is 2-6 lb. monofilament line rated but can handle tippets up to 9 lb. when needed.

     The fly rod is assembled with quality Pac Bay components and has 3 stripper guides (single foot with black chrome frames and Hialoy rings), over-size snake guides and an over-size tip-top to prevent ice freeze-up (all with stainless steel/industrial hard chrome plating), hook keeper and a 2 inch removable fighting butt. An optional 5 inch removable fighting butt is available for more added leverage when high-stick nymphing and playing large steelhead.

     It comes with your choice of western, full wells or reverse half wells super fine grade cork grips (front tapered reverse half wells is ideal for feel/sensitivity when high-stick nymphing), your choice of guide wrap color, optional rose dynawood reel insert, hook keeper, a hand made/flannel cloth rod bag, heavy duty pvc rod tube and your name or initials on the rod.

    Reel seat is heavy duty/all aluminum with machined fixed hood with rubber O-ring imbedded in the front lock nut for secure locking. It is available in all titanium or black anodized black satin finish. Also available in anodized black satin body with gold hoods and nuts. All locking nuts are heavy duty reverse knurled nuts to prevent scratching rods during transport or storing. 

    Guide wraps (which are epoxy finished) can also be accented with tipping in standard or metallic colors at no charge. Accent tipping is added at stripper guides, female ferrule, butt wrap near hook keeper and trim wrap where name is located. Epoxy finish for guide wraps can have very fine gold, silver, blue, green or red flaking added for a subtle/unique effect at no charge. Measuring wraps or hash marks are also available in any increments desired on the blank itself. 

     This slow action fly rod casts a 6 weight floating fly line like the Wulff Triangle Taper (which is ideal for high-stick nymphing presentations) very well. Incorporating a single fly line "haul" on your forward cast will increase your line speed on this rod allowing you to turn over split-shot, weighted flies and indicators more easily, cast into the wind and also relieve casting fatigue since you are using your free arm to help cast the fly line. 

     It sells for $325 shipped (including insurance) to your door in less than 2 weeks after receiving payment. 7% PA state sales tax is applicable for PA residents. For a 65 inch by 2 inch diameter aluminum rod tube (some prefer this for aesthetic reasons) add an additional $33.00. Also for a rosewood colored/dynawood reel seat (with choice of titanium, black satin or gold hoods and nuts) or 5 inch detachable fighting butt add an additional $11 and $5.50 respectively. 

Reel seat is also available in the new "channel lock" design from Pac Bay (in anodized silver, black or black/gold). The channel design of the reel seat body centers and holds any size reel more securely. Also this design prevents sliding hood to spin since it is keyed to the channel and attached to lock nut. Call or email John Nagy for more details. 

For mail orders send payment to:

Great Lakes Publishing,

606 Crysler Street,

Pittsburgh, Pa. 15226

Please contact John Nagy by email below or call him at (412) 531-5819 if you have any questions regarding his custom "noodle" fly rod. 

John Nagy can also build any other rod you may have in mind. Just let him know what blank and components you are interested in.

 

Reverse half wells grip, black satin anodized hood and nut fittings, rosewood colored/Dynawood reel seat, 5 inch and 2 inch removable fighting butts.

 

Over-size snake guides (stainless steel/chrome plated), single foot stripping guide (Hialoy ring/black chrome frame) and epoxy finish guide wrap (silver flaking added) with metalic silver accent tipping.

 

Hand made flannel rod bag.

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