North Fork has now conquered our last and most dubious obstacle in our quest to be  “100% MADE IN THE USA!”

At 2:17 P.M. Friday March 12, 2010 Marsha – The West Coast Sales Representative of Spiral Binding completed our order of 10,000 paper staples, all of which were made right here in the great U S of A!

Now we are 100% made in the USA from the blanks that we make all the way down to the papers we staple.

Special thanks to Jim Hicks for responding to our earlier “Made in the USA-a funny question” blog post and giving us a heads up of where to find made in the USA staples.

Since we started officially in June of last year, we have been receiving regular questions from eager anglers as to when certain models or categories of blanks will be available. Here’s a little insight on what goes into approving a blank for production:

First, Gary has to design the pattern.  This is a bigger challenge than you might think.  Sometimes we have to lock Gary in the office and disconnect his phone and email. Otherwise, all of Gary’s time will be swallowed up with his fish conservation activities (Fish First, CCA, SSA), his traveling and all the calls we get from his industry reps and customers. He is a man in demand!

Once Gary designs the pattern, chooses the material and mandrel, then Brad builds a test blank. The test blank is run with our normal production, so the pattern is cut, tacked, rolled, cellophaned, baked, stripped, sanded and trimmed.

Brad then puts the blank on the flex board and we compare it to other models that we may like. Gary gives it the feel and fondle test and normally makes some changes to the pattern for a re run.

If redesign isn’t needed at that time, then Brad breaks a number of the blank model to determine the strength and see if there are any design issues.

The blank is weighed and measured at the tip, butt and its points of failure.  If break strength is sufficient, Jon sends one of the unbroken models out to be built into a rod and sent out for testing. If it happens to be a category of blank that Gary is experienced with, then he will test it personally. If not, then we get it in the hands of one of our pros, someone that we know will fish it everyday.

The pro’s input is then incorporated into the model, and Gary modifies the pattern, Brad runs a new sample.  The process repeats.

If the blank is perfect, we approve the final design.  Final tip, butt, weight and CCS measurements are taken, a decal is ordered and the blank is ready for production.

In a perfect world, Gary hits the pattern on the first try and then the process takes only takes 2-3 weeks.  More often, the process can take a month or longer.

We started designing in earnest in June 2009.  We currently have 80 blank designs approved for production and ready for sale. About 20 are in the final steps of the process. We wish we were further along, but all things considered, we feel pretty fortunate to be where we are today.  We’re working as hard as we can to bring you the best products that we can offer as soon as we can.

First we had the Tackle Tour Interview article.

Then came the Intinerent Angler Podcast.

Now, we have the story of how Gary got into rods on video.

1% For The Planet is an organization that recognizes companies’ contributions to our environment. Membership requires a company give 1% of their total sales to environmental groups based in the US or around the world.

We here at North Fork have decided to do our part to save the fish. 1% of our gross sales is given to something very close to Gary, the Pacific Northwest Coastal Conservation Association (PNWCCA). Depletion of Pacific Northwest Salmon along with many other species of fish have caused a major need for change within our oceans and rivers. The PNWCCA recognizes the need for change and has become a major player in the revitalization of fish populations in the Pacific Northwest Waters. North Fork sees the value in giving back to our fish because without them we wouldn’t exist, and you all would have to find another hobby.

So, 1% for the Planet, because we’re crappy golfers.

1% For The Planet Link:

http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/

Pacific Northwest Coastal Conservation Association Link:

http://www.ccapnw.org/home

Sometimes while I’m at my desk wolfing down my lunch, I’ll pull up a couple forums and see what the latest is. Today I happened to find some confusion that I’d like to clear up. A poster on a well known board was questioning the origin of the Z-Bone blanks.  So, I grabbed my camera and walked to the shop floor.

This is Steve.  Steve is stress testing our last batch of Z-Bones.  I think this is the 4MH in HM.  Please do not try and duplicate this in your fishing as Steve knows exactly how much pressure and angle the rod should take.  In the background is Brad who is sanding the 3MH in HM.  I took a shot of the pattern, but it was too clear so I can’t post it.  Here is a picture of some of Trey’s blanks that are ready for final inspection before they are shipped.  The white folded paper is what we call the traveler, it’s the pattern, or the recipe for building that blank.

So, if you ever have any questions about the origin of any blanks, just drop us a note.  While some of our customers are secretive and we respect that, the majority of them want you to know that they are using blanks made in Gary’s shop, right here in Woodland, Washington.

We were glad to see some of you at the Custom Rod Builders Show in High Point, NC. The show was a success and we had a great time.

Gary's rod building lecture at the show reached standing room only.

What was the funniest question that we were asked at the show?

– Excuse me, [Gary Loomis, godfather of graphite rods], can you tell me where your blanks are imported from? –

For those of you who are still unsure, North Fork blanks are designed by Gary Loomis, built by his son Brad Loomis, tested by Gary and our Pro Staff, and if needed redesigned to perfection again by Gary all here in Woodland, Washington USA.

We try very hard to reduce the trade deficit, now more than ever. Everything sold out of North Fork is made in America, often locally. From NFC hats and t-shirts to printing jobs contracted out to local businesses, we strive to further USA businesses.

There is one thing, and only one thing, that goes on our blank that is foreign-made – the staple that holds our packaging together. We haven’t been able to find a USA made staple, so if anyone knows of one, please let us know.

Jason has mentioned that he has more 2-piece fly blanks to test than I previously realized. If all of them work out, there will be a good pile of fly-specific stuff soon (including light trout, mid-weights and steelhead, with saltwater next on the list)! Jason mentioned that the current actions are focused more toward “classic fishing,” and less toward “parking lots.” Hope that NFC customers spend more time on the water than casting on asphalt!

Since 9 out of 10 questions at the Expo were about fly blanks, I thought I’d give the rest of you an update on where we are.

We have a 904, 905 and 906 in the first trial stage. That means that we have built the first round. The second step is for Gary and Jason to flex, review, wiggle and make changes to the pattern. We then repeat the process until Gary and Jason say it is time to tape on some guides and do some casting. They may make more changes to the pattern for another round. The re-runs are tested again, and hopefully it’s time to build up for field testing.

Assuming successful field testing, we would then have a perfected fly blank… in a two piece. Gary then takes his measurements and turns that two piece into a four piece, which we run through the same process.

So, the short answer is… the fly blanks are coming!

Jon

Wow, what an incredible show. Gary’s talk was standing room only and at one point, Gary was surrounded three deep in front of our booth with folks hanging on his every word. We were overwhelmed by the support.

I asked Gary his thoughts about the show and what he wanted to share with you all and he said that he was happy to see old friends, and really excited to meet the new young faces.  He looks forward to working with some of them to take this industry to the next level. I asked Vern what he thought of the show and he said that his butt hurts.

I’ll post a photo or two (not of Vern or any of his parts) on Monday when I get reunited with my camera cord.

Everyone has been very supportive, relieved and frankly elated that we’re back in the blank business. Our distributors have been selling our blanks and Gary has autographed quite a few hats and t-shirts. We’re down to about 25 percent of the T-shirts, so if that is on your list, you might make it a morning stop.

Thanks again, we look forward to tomorrow.

Jon

North Fork is currently selling hats, decals, and autographed Gary Loomis T-shirts. If you are at the High Point International Custom Rod Building Exposition, please stop by and take a look!

We are also proud to have two distributors who will be displaying our blanks at the Expo! Please take the time to stop by the Mud Hole and Bingham booths to take a look.

We’re proud to be building blanks for Trey and any other rod maker that is interested in moving to blanks made in our little shop in Woodland, Washington, USA.

You can see a review here.

If you watch at the video, we don’t recommend yarding up on the middle of the blank with your off hand!

How’s that for a set of acronyms? Well, if you know what they mean, the you know what the chart is all about (if you don’t know yet, have a look here). North Fork’s itinerant graphic designer slaved for two days over hot pixels to get this thing into shape, and now it’s yours to download and have for your very own.

The chart is available—thanks to Dr. Hanneman’s behind-the-scenes work—as a free PDF file. It covers ERN/TP/PR numbers from 1 to 200, and is set in cents (U.S. cents), grams/kilos, and grains. It does not tell you how to use the CCS system. It is a data chart only! It is also big, as in 11X17 inches, so unless you have a large-format printer, you may need to take a little trip over to a Kinkos, a PiP, etc.

We had a good once-over of the chart before releasing it, but if anyone finds errors, please let us know! We want it to be accurate and will adjust as necessary going forward.

So, without further ado, click the pic to download (643KB):

We are excited to announce the addition of Victor Fong to our Pro Partnership.

Victor’s history as a fisherman began in Sacramento, CA with his Dad and a couple of red and white bobbers. (We looked it up and the top 3 father-son early relationship building objects are:  baseball gloves, hot dogs and the red and white bobber). Most of his early fishing memories were made aboard a small car-topper around the Sacramento Delta area.

Attending college at UC Irvine, Victor learned to ocean fish out of San Diego despite bouts of seasickness (no worries Victor, Gary gets quite seasick too). While living in Boston for grad school he enjoyed fishing for bluefish, stripers, flukes, shark, and lunker bass everywhere from Nova Scotia to Florida.

Victor’s love for small and largemouth fishing went from hobby to obsession in 1998, when he bought his first Champion bass boat.  This ride also carried him and his new wife to their wedding reception. Since then Victor has competed in dozens of tournaments, winning a handful of Angler of the Year awards.

Victor’s passion is swim bait fishing, preferring Huddlestons and MS Hammers. He started with swim baits in ’04, and in ’06 began fishing the Delta exclusively with swim baits to help prepare him for the numerous weekend Delta tournaments. Victor has fished with several different clubs and teams in various circuit tournaments including American Bass, Anglers Choice, and 100% Bass.

North Fork is excited to have a fisherman of Victor’s caliber and we welcome him to the team!

The handle was nice…