Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts

New For 2010! Last year's 9 foot 9-weight saltwater rod built on the G Loomis three-piece blank is still available and better than ever! This was our premier custom rod offering last year and we're still making it. Struble components, gold-plated hardware, and the unmistakable Billy Shaw design motifs continue the legacy of high-end Loomis rods in a handmade American product. Shown below is the First-Edition Commemorative with Englehardt investment grade solid silver trim. Price for this rod, including bag, Clear Creek case, Struble fighting butt (not shown), and shipping (continental US) is $930 (USD). As with all Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts products, this rod is a one-of-a-kind handmade piece; approximately 50 will be available in the next twelve months. Get on the list today! This rod was a real hit at the Bluewater Open!

Latest News and Happenings

The Sebastian Shrimp saltwater pattern is now available. Designed for the Sebastian Inlet and its fish that like shrimp, this lure brings in snook, permit, and an assortment of other local tasty favorites that like these tempting little crustaceans.

Based on the original 1994 shrimp pattern (one of Billy Shaw's first commercial products) designed in Florida for flats flyfishing, the Sebastian Shrimp incorporates a succession of lessons acquired by actually fishing the area and observing what the locals like to eat. This lure works great on a conventional castrod as well!

Package is now available online or locally (Melbourne/Central Florida area). In addition to being great lures, these little packages have long proven to be remarkable promotional vehicles for Billy Shaw custom fly rods. Custom packaging for outfitters, bait-and-tackle shops, corporate promotions, Church organizations, etc. is available.

Current custom flyrods on the building table include our new design 9" 9-weight saltwater rod built on the Loomis IMX (three-piece) blank. We're especially excited about these new rods. You can read more about them below.

Also on the table were the last of our two-piece Loomis GL4 7-weights (which became One Rods). Once our most popular rod, these mark the end of an era as the high-end two-piece Loomis GL4 is out of production. These rods are both rare and special, joining our GL4 2-weight trout rod in the realm of rare and collectable fishing gear. Each of these special collector's rods has found a home... including California and Florida!

The Origins Of Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts

Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts is rooted in South Florida in the early '90s, beginning with the original One Rod (tm), a two-handed 9 foot 7-weight designed especially for light saltwater but intended to be the one rod (hence the name) that a fisherman would want to have for most any occasion. Through the various iterations of product offerings, including the original Onyx line and the subsequent Jade series, the One Rod design has stood the test of time and a wide variety of fishing conditions, and is still the centerpiece of the Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concept.

Originally marketed under the name Billy Shaw Custom Flyrod Concepts, the Onyx series of rods, representing 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 weight flyrods, was based on the Loomis GL4 two-piece graphite blank, considered at the time to be one of the finest two piece blanks available. In fact, one of the primary design considerations with the Onyx line was to utilize only the very best available components, at every stage of construction, to create the highest quality and most desirable handmade custom flyrods on the market. Price was not a consideration, although in retrospect, the product line was attractively priced and competitive with prevalent mass-produced high end products of the day (in the six and seven hundred dollar range, at the height of the Flyfishing-is-Fashionable craze).

As the line progressed, so did Billy Shaw. In the late '90s, he moved to the High Rockies and turned his attentions to mountain trout rod design and construction, in addition to a growing line of custom flies for an assortment of local and regional uses. It was at this time that the Jade product line was introduced, basically an Onyx rod on Sage 2-piece blank (custom jade green color) designed to be around a third less expensive than the equivalent Onyx. Word of mouth around Colorado was strong for the Jade, and they ultimately outsold the Onyx, not because they were cheaper, but because for the prevailing fishing conditions, the rod was considered more comfortable than the rigid fast-action Loomis.

Since each Jade was every bit the same rod as an Onyx, including components, design, and handmade construction, the lower cost fell away as an issue as demand for the rods was bid up by prospective buyers. In the meantime, the entire Onyx series sold out and Billy continued focusing on the Jades commercially, along with continued production of the distinctive 2-weight Onyx rod for specialized high country trout streams (7-3/4 foot 2-piece Loomis GL4, today an extremely rare fly rod).

	The two-piece Loomis GL4 2-weight trout rod has been one of the runaway bestsellers in the original Onyx product line. A rare rod today owing to the discontinuation of the rod blank, we still get inquiries about its current availability. Shown here is a commemorative edition featuring the distinctive dusted Englehardt Silver column and three-color motif. It is our intention at Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts to continue to offer a comparable rod into the future. We are talking with select manufacturers about securing a supply of this type of high-modulus 2-piece blank in a matte-black finish. If we succeed, we believe that this product will remain one of the hallmarks of our company, as it has in the past.
As was the practice on freshwater Onyx Series rods, the reelseat is a custom Struble with nickel-silver hardware. Jade Series later utilized a lighter maple seat as shown in the next section (*The Shade of Jade). The One Rod* Series two-handed light saltwater 7-weight rod uses a black anodized aluminum reelseat (and continues to do so). The Struble nickel-silver reelseat is still one of our most popular custom rod requests, and for good reason; it's a great reelseat and adds significant value to a custom rod. Notice the bit of cork adjacent to the reelseat and how it's resined. This feature is found across our product lines and is done to protect the grip, a practice originating with our saltwater rods utilized on flats boats.
	All of our rods feature gold-plated hardware. Not only does each piece retain its lustre over decades of use, but the general desirability and overall value of the rod remains high over the course of ownership. While different forms of hardware in various metals are requested and accommodated, gold pieces comprise the vast bulk of construction for these rods. As always, color styles and motif are completely within your control as a custom rod client. Our most popular have been the two-color Onyx black-gold motif, and the three-color commemorative patterns shown here and below.

The Shade of Jade

Shown below are some of the details of the original Jade Series rods and how they are being designed and produced today. The one shown here is a commemorative edition 5-weight, replete with the distinctive column of dusted Englehardt Silver above the grip, which has come to identify Billy Shaw rods built for the Colorado custom market.

Note also on the underside of the cork grip adjacent to the reelseat a distinctive dice-like pattern of five dots. This is characteristically how Billy Shaw rods are identified by weight. This particular 5-weight rod has been fished alot over its ten year lifespan. It's held up well owing to the choice of materials and design features intended to keep the rod looking new for decades of use.




*The Jade One Rod* The One Rod in the Jade Series is heir to the Onyx legacy. A two-handed 9 foot 7-weight two-piece fly rod designed to be the One Rod you'll want for most any kind of fishing, this rod represents the past and the future of Custom Flyfishing Concepts. Today, we believe that it still represents one of the greatest values in flyfishing. Shown below are shots of the latest One Rod executed in the Jade Series motif; this is the current manner in which this rod is offered, although custom Onyx One Rods (on the discontinued Loomis GL4 blank) are still built by special request (until we run out of the blanks). Rod features a removable fighting butt (shown) and a resin reinforced custom butt on an anodized reelseat for saltwater protection.

The Past Becomes The Future

Billy took a hiatus from rod construction in the early new millenium and pursued other forms of engineering design (although fly designs continued uninterrupted).

So 2006 rolls around and Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts is reborn, still committed to the same ideals that birthed Custom Fly Rod Concepts - that Quality is King, and that the world's finest graphite rods still embody Quality and Lasting Value, in addition to being the most effective flyfishing instruments available, from high country trout to the Florida Flats.

Owning A Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts Product

Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts products are hand-made, basically a mix of special-order and ready-to-ship new products from existing collections. Special order products are currently running about four months to fill an order. Products from our collection can be shipped and into your hands within 5 to 7 days, typically using USPS. As always, we pay shipping.

Rods are being built today using Loomis, Rainshadow, and Sage blanks, in your choice of two, three, and four pieces. Prices depend on your choice of blank, special requested features, and number of rods in the order.

The Loomis-based 9-foot 9-weight three-piece saltwater rod is now available! This year we are focusing on the production of a new line of 9-foot 9-weight saltwater rods; these rods feature Struble components along with the familiar gold-plated hardware that grace our existing rods. These two-handed big-game rods are available as G. Loomis three-piece (IMX) and four-piece (GLX) products and represent a no-holds-barred approach to putting a cutting-edge high-end fishing tool into your hands; we are sparing no expenses with this line of rods. Products are now available. Call today if you'd like to order (or pre-order a custom) one. Pricing is $930 for the three-piece IMX; bag, rod case, and shipping included. These are G. Loomis' current top-of-the-line rod blanks; we're really happy to be working with them. Note that other weights are also available by special request.

Your own new custom Billy Shaw fly rod can be in your hands exactly as you specify before the end of the season! As it is, there's a strong and vibrant community of custom rod builders available to you today; if you're in the market for a custom fly rod, you have many good choices. Billy Shaw Custom Flyfishing Concepts rods will become your final choice, as it has for many discriminating fishermen over the past decade. We are so entirely pleased to be able to continue this legacy.