Marc Aroner, the rod maker, at home in his shop.

One of the things I love about fly fishing is the craftsmanship involved. In this sport you can make most of what you use: rods, reels, flies, lines, wading staffs — I know people who, when they fish, they fish with these instruments made by their own hands. To me, that’s inspiring — a good way to spend the winter, to spend a life.

I’ve been fortunate to know many of these craftsmen over my life, but I’ve come to know one recently: Marc Aroner, the man behind the bamboo rods of Spinoza Rod Company. I met Marc through the talented artist Galen Mercer, and soon after I traveled to Nova Scotia to fish the Margaree with Marc and his son Jonas Clark. (Here’s the article about that trip.) Marc is a world-class machinist, and a world-class salmon fisherman. (Ask me about his trip to the Grand Cascapedia.)

Together, Marc and Jonas are doing some fun things on the Spinoza Rod Co. website, including videos of Marc working in his shop. Jonas was kind enough to share the code to embed them here, and so I wanted to take a minute to share them with you.

On a related note, the lathes on which Marc is working are the best there are. I was recently considered purchasing a metal lathe second-hand, and asked Marc for his guidance. What I got was a thorough reckoning of why I shouldn’t buy the lathe. In the process, it occurred to me that I had asked Ferran Adrià what he thought of a local lobster shack. You get the point: the guy’s good, and Jonas knows how to handle a DSLR. Hope you enjoy.