I am well aware of the lean towards ever lighter fly rods and even more aware of the upsurge in requests to carry out repairs to a variety of "top brand named" rods which have suffered blank breakage or damage, many of these rods costing hundreds of pounds.

There are a variety of modern materials available to blank manufacturers which can help reduce the overall weight of the blank by fractions of an ounce however the most common "remedy" is simply to make the blank walls thinner which not only saves the manufacturer a lot of money over a year by using less material but also leads to easier breakage

My own preference is to remain loyal to tried and tested blank producers who also appreciate the problems and who concentrate on keeping the blanks light whilst maintaining durability regardless of cost.

I have tested dozens of blanks from UK, USA & Europe and a long time ago opted for fly blanks made in UK. For many years the manufacturers have produce some of the finest freshwater blanks in the world. The technology and expertise gained has been used to produce what I consider to be some of the best fly rod blanks available anywhere. Re-design of the blank walls has been undertaken with extreme precision resulting in lightweight blanks capable of withstanding some rough treatment whilst offering a crisp casting action. Once delivered these blanks are splined with care and guides positioned to offer the optimum balance and casting ability.

The range of Alba Fly rods is extensive covering almost 60 rods. As standard I use burgundy blanks with maroon & gold wraps. Blanks are also available in blue, green , brown & black. As is expected with a custom rod the wrap colour is at your own discretion.

New for the 2006 season is a range of rods built on the superb new LORTHIC blanks. State of the art, low resin, high modulus blanks. Fast, crisp and very light whilst maintaining good blank wall strength and durability. These are available ranging from a 9 ft, 6 weight through to a 15ft, 10/11 weight, all three section rods.

Reel seats on most of the rods are by Struble, although some of the salmon rods use heavy duty seats by Hopkins & Holloway manufactured in UK The Struble reel seats have solid hardwood inserts, not plastic imitations. Salmon reel seats have carbon spacer inserts in grey / black but colour options are available.

I can also turn my own reel seats in the workshop from a variety of stabilised hardwood blanks. These hardwood blanks come from a supplier in USA and are sourced, worldwide, from managed recources. The highly precision engineered skeleton fittings for my own seats are available in black / silver /titanium grey / gold. These skeletons are manufactured in USA. (these seats are a bit more expensive as they are turned individually from your own choice of wood, not mass produced, please contact for a quote) Pics will be added shortly.

Should you anticipate that your trout or salmon fly rod may occasionally (or regularily) be used in saltwater conditions then at no additional cost I can incorporate UK manufactured, anodised polished black reels seats which are designed for saltwater use. These seats have twin locking nuts. They can be laser engraved with fish logos, trout, salmon, bonefish, permit as illustrations or left as plain black.

Guides are a mixture of US pattern recoil snake guides from REC Components in USA or Fuji depending on the rod type. . Single leg guides can be used on request. Corks are AAA grade from Portugal and with many being hand turned by me in my own workshop they can be custom shaped with lengths varied to suit the client.

TACKLE TEST BY JIM BOYD, ANGLING CORRESPONDENT, DAILY EXPRESS, 13/4/02.

When the average fly fisherman thinks about where top-quality rods come from you can bet your bottom dollar his mind immediately goes Stateside. Well I`ve got news for them, I`ve just discovered a location near Glasgow where some of the best fishing rods I`ve ever come across are made. I`m sure when I mention near Glasgow remarks will be muttered that old JB has finally lost it.

Not a bit of it. In my time I`ve owned and handled rods from all over the world - so you can take my word for it that the rods crafted by Alba Rods are as good as anything you could ever wish for. Stan is proud to build up to a standard not down to a budget. Watching Stan create a unique butt wrap, twisting, turning & winding threads to produce a beautiful, intricate pattern you can see why hand-crafted custom rods are indeed unique.

Alba Rods have a full range of freshwater fly rods all made from Harrison blanks and feature AAA Portuguese cork grips, Struble reel seats and titanium coated snake guides or rings. The range varies from a 2 piece, 6ft, AFTMA 3-4 up to a whopping 18ft fourpiece AFTMA 10-12 salmon rod.

The components are the finest available anywhere. The reel seats use figured walnut inserts, hand-crafted and inspected for precise metal to wood fit and finish. The frames are nickel plated silver, the cork grips are `extra select` and the line guides are REC`s latest Recoil versions in snake or single leg. All rods can be built using different wrap colour schemes and the walnut inserts can be replaced by a choice of hardwoods.

What then is it like to fish with? Well I`ve been putting one of the rods through its` paces and frankly find it an absolute dream to use. The feel of a top grade cork handle is something special , the overall feel was of perfect balance, the quality of the fittings is a delight. More importantly, its` crisp action presents a fly with great accuracy and it had the inherent power to quickly subdue a good rainbow.