Product Spotlight: Douglas Upstream Rod

August 25, 2016

I’ve been a long time Winston Fan and I still am. But I was looking for a softer rod when I stopped by George Anderson’s Fly Shop in Livingston last summer and noticed what I thought, with it’s lighter color, was a cane rod. So I picked it up and gave it a wiggle and I knew INSTANTLY that this was just what I was looking for. I loved everything about it; the small all cork handle, the finish, the smooth soft flex, all coming in at a spartan 1.7 ounces and about 50% of the price of the competition.

So off I went for home, via Fernie, and used it on some of my favorite little Cutthroat Rivers. When I got home I ordered a second one, same model; 8’8” 4 piece for a 4 weight and I’ve never done that before, buying the same model twice. Then I took it down for another New Zealand Trout Season, but it was a bit light for those fish. So now I’m waiting and hoping the the new upcoming 5 and 6 weight Upstream Models arrive in time for my Nov. departure for N.Z.

Years ago I gave a cartoon idea to my buddy John Randolph, the then editor of Fly Fisherman Magazine, and they ran it. It was a guy lying in bed with a fly rod and he had a goofy worried look on his face and the caption was, “Is Fly Rod Love…wrong?” So for me, I think I met that rod with the Douglas Upstream Model.

After fishing all over world all these years and chasing the photos for my annual calendar, I have never found a rod that I loved more. In September I’ll be fishing the High Country Streams in Colorado with it and I can’t wait.

David Lambroughton grew up in California, graduating from San Jose University in 1976. Immediately after graduation, he headed to the Fall River and a life-changing summer tying flies and guiding for Rick’s Lodge. From 1976 to 1988, he worked as a full-time guide in locales that included Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia, carrying a camera throughout it all. He now travels and fishes all over the globe, writing and collecting images for his annual Fly Fishing Dreams Calendar. Via MidCurrent

Although our photos are not as majestic as the legendary David Lambroughton, we have also been fishing the upstream Rod this summer. In fact two weeks ago we fished on the Farmington River up in Connecticut. To be honest I had never experienced fish this picky. Throwing two dries in a tandem rig, I watched this fish nose at the larger fly, bumping it to see if it was real. It turned it down quickly, then opened its mouth to slurp a small Trico trailing behind. The Upstream Rod Series, has a way of delicately laying out your line, allowing the fly to land as naturally as possible. It really makes a difference in circumstances like this.