Updated 11/15/2001.

In a backwards world where function unfortunately all too often seems to follow form, it's nice to know there are rod builders like Don Andersen who instinctively know that it should be the other way around. Don's hand-crafted split cane fly rods are built to fish: the fact they also look good is an added bonus in my books.

Great fly rods have the power to cast a line as far as your abilities allow, and the finesse to gently guide the fly where it needs to go. Don Andersen builds great rods that not only have power and finesse, but that also have the warmth and tradition that only a hand-crafted split-cane fly rod can possess.

I'm very fortunate to own and fish three of Don Andersen's rods. Don didn't really want to build the first one I ordered from him (an 8' for #5) when we first met in 1984 because he told me it would be too slow. He was only partly right, though. It is slow, but that's precisely what I wanted, and for more than 15 years now it's been my rod of choice when I fish Stauffer Creek where short, accurate delicate casts are mandatory when fishing this beautiful but unforgiving stream.

My second Andersen rod is a beefed-up version of one of Don's favourite models (the 7'9" for #5) which he custom built for me after noticing that I have an unusual power stroke. It's become my fish-anywhere rod which I use day in and day out on all waters from Lost Creek to the Athabasca River.

My third Andersen rod (an 8' for #6) was a surprise which Don presented to me a couple of years ago while on our annual spring trip to the Oldman and Crowsnest. This is the rod I use when the streamers and nymphs are heavily weighted, or when the hair-wings are big and bushy and the winds are blowing like the mill-tails of hell.

Barry Mitchell, publisher of Barry Mitchell's Alberta Fishing Guide

Some people have asked me whether I'm worried about breaking my cane rod by fishing it too hard or catching fish that are too big. My answer is a resounding "No!". But let me qualify that.

I have one of Don Andersen's 7' 9" 5 weight rods. With it I have landed the biggest fish I have ever caught, a 26" 6 pound rainbow trout that I successfully kept out of the thick weeds on a spring pond. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the fish:

This is not to say that I never break off fish. I have broken off several large fish, but it was my tippet that broke because I tried to horse the fish. I have been fishing with some people who play the fish for too long because they are afraid of stressing their graphite rods. I believe in "putting the wood" to the fish, playing it hard and landing it quickly so I can release it sooner and go on to another fish. I don't have any fears that I will break my cane rod by fishing it too hard. There is no need to "baby" a good cane rod. Don has his own destructive testing program in place.

When asked if I'm afraid that I will break my cane rod, I say "No, I know the guy who builds them."

Michael Dell