Old and New

I took an old friend along with me the other day and introduced him to a new one. My favorite graphite fly rods are a pair of Thomas & Thomas Paradigms that I have fished for twenty years or more. They boast a smooth, graceful action, something the major fly rod companies forgot long ago. The late Thomas Dorsey designed the taper to offer the closest action to a bamboo rod, the instrument that brought fame to him and his partner, the late Tom Maxwell back in 1969. He did a very fine job.

For many of those years, I dreamed of fishing the original, one of the first Paradigm models crafted by this duo from Tonkin cane. To say that these were out of my price range is most certainly understatement. Time passes and markets change, particularly an angler and collector driven market like that which trades in vintage bamboo rods. I looked, I wished, and time continued on.

I picked up another fine rod one spring, a beautiful thing whose owner was anxious to sell, and I got a major bargain in that deal. As happens sometimes, the rod turned out not to be a favorite, it’s action more suited to a different casting style. I was a little disappointed, but I held onto the rod and “banked” the value the deal had given me. Eventually I had a chance to trade that rod for the Holy Grail, an 8-foot six-weight Thomas & Thomas Paradigm, one made by Dorsey and Maxwell during their early years.

My Paradigm is a sweet casting fly rod if ever there was one, and it has that hidden power the marque is known for. I reserve it for special occasions, as it has a lot of meaning to me. Far across the ocean, there is another craftsman who has influenced my angling. Vlad Rachenko made his bones creating some of the most gorgeous fly reels in the world. He designed and machined these special reels from titanium in his workshop in the Ukraine, VR Design. Titanium is an expensive metal, difficult to machine, and his world class fly reels were likewise costly to own. A few years ago, he designed a beautiful and innovative trout reel, the Trutta Perfetta and decided to make a very affordable model in aluminum as well as titanium. I ordered a 3″ aluminum reel as soon as I became aware of it, and it has been a wonderful reel and a delight to fish.

Thankfully, Vlad and his family are safe today, after fleeing Ukraine under the clouds of war, and he has been able to get his business operating in Germany. He had promised a larger version of the Trutta Perfetta a year or more ago, and in mid-May I saw his announcement that the first small batch of the new 3-1/2″ reels were available. A little something for my birthday arrived in time to see the rivers rounding into fishable condition, and on Monday afternoon, I matched the beautiful new reel to my treasured old T&T Paradigm, and went fishing.

Now fishing has been kind of rare and difficult this season. Mother Nature healed the Catskills from the drought that spanned most of 2024 and the early months of 2025. Rivers have only been wadable for a small portion of May. With a favorite reach fishable at last, I looked upon the day as a celebration.

Nature agreed with my assessment it seems, for she sent a variety of mayflies to greet me. The weather was fair and the water sublime, though the Red Gods made certain the trout would not be easy. My new Trutta got along very well with my treasured old Paradigm, and at last I enjoyed the chance to really hear her sing!