Chris Reilly – President
OK, OK… Maybe the word “REVOLUTION“ is a little dramatic BUT we are definitely bucking the status quo!
Those of you that know us know that we do things a little differently at Reilly Rod Crafters. Our mission has always been to provide high quality fishing rods at modest prices.
As we roll out our new blog, we thought we should talk a bit about what Reilly Rod Crafters is really all about.
RRC, as our website states, was born from a deep passion for the outdoors, particularly fishing, and most particularly… fly fishing.
Matt Reilly – Chief Exec. Fish Bum
We are anglers, instructors, guides, physicists, and problem solvers. We are determined to solve a problem that we’ve been seeing in the direction the industry has taken. Specifically, rods were becoming much too fast, much too expensive and, not surprisingly, much too fragile. We also saw a market that has become almost exclusively controlled by a small handful of BIG companies. We believe that the focus has shifted away from the customer and concentrated more on profits.
We set out to change all of this. Some people call it the Reilly Revolution… we just call it our mission!
“Small businesses are the innovators of the world and are at the core of our communities. It will be small companies, in competition, that will drive innovation and strengthen our industry.”
We believe that the focus MUST ALWAYS be on our customers.
Stu Apte – Legend!
During travels with the likes of Stu Apte, Chuck Kraft, Joe Mahler, and others we’ve talked with literally thousands of anglers (many times back at the lodge over a drink after a long day on the water) and, invariably, what they’ve told us is that they aren’t very happy with the available selection of rods on the market. We frequently hear “What happened to the kinds of rods that we learned to fish with?”, “Why don’t they make rods like my dad’s old model ABC?”, “Why do rods have to be so expensive?”, or “Why does it seem like rods are breaking so easily now?”.
SO who’s listening?!? We Are!
You’ll find our rods to be very effective fishing tools. We’ve designed tapers and material blends that:
- Allow you to feel the rod load with each back cast regardless of distance (and no, you don’t have to up-line two sizes!).
- Have excellent recovery.
Chuck Kraft – Legend!
- Provide laser like accuracy and are extremely forgiving.
- Are extremely rugged.
- Are affordable!
We strive to keep our price points between $275 and $500 and to do this while locally sourcing as many components and labor as possible.
We source responsibly so that as much as possible is local content while still bringing you the greatest VALUE possible. For the very few items that are not sourced locally, we are working hard behind the scenes with local shops to look at new materials, new or improved processes, and creative sourcing deals that can be employed to provide the proper value for our customers.
We could easily jump on the bandwagon of having rods completely manufactured for us overseas, paying $60 dollars for each, and them sell them to our customers for $250 to $300. A lot of folks do, but where is the value in that? How is that helping to build and strengthen our country, communities, or our industry? That’s just not our style.
Joe Mahler – Legend!
Debbie Hanson – Legend in the Making
Here are just some of the things you can expect to hear from us in future installments:
- News/Happenings – There’s never a dull moment around here. It seems like there is always something new, so we’ll do our best to keep you in the know!
- Events – With dealers and pros scattered around the country, there’s usually something close by. We’ll update you on where we are going to be. Whether its at a show, a tournament (Go Team RRC!!), hosting a Reilly Days event, or conducting casting games and casting clinics at your local club, you’ll know as soon as we know.
- Trips – Stay tuned to be the first to know about hosted trips… We’ve got some doozies planned!!
- Special Deals – You’ll be the first to know about special offers on RRC fly rods, spinning rods, and combos!
- New Product Announcements – Hear about new rods as soon as they come off our benches!
- RRC Pro Guide Profiles – Meet some of the top guides around the country that fish RRC rods every day.
- Featured Videos – Casting techniques, fly tying, and more
- Essays & Trip Reports – We’ll bring you stories from team members from Florida to Alaska. You’ll recognize several of them from their books and magazine articles.
We want to hear from you!
If you want more of a particular type of content, we want to hear it. If you have questions… let’s have it! And if you’d like to share stories and/or pictures with us, we’d love to get them!