KITTERY, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Every fly fisherman knows that your equipment is as important as your favorite secret fishing hole. Fred Kretchman is a Mainer who has made it his life's work to make sure many of those rods are as perfect as possible.
Kretchman used his first bamboo fly rod in 1990 and fell in love with the natural feel. It wasn't long after that that he started making his own rods from scratch. Today he makes several a year from his shop in Kittery called F.D. Kretchman Rod Company. To him, a manufactured rod can't come close to performing like his bamboo rods.
"I just fell in love with the look, the feel of bamboo. It was so much better, more enjoyable fishing with bamboo than the graphite rods I had been raised fishing with," said Kretchman.
Custom made bamboo fly rods are an investment, ranging from $1,500 all the way up to $3,500. To find out more about Kretchman's bamboo fly rods visit his website, www.finebamboorods.com.
