Last Summer while headed up north on I-5 to meet up with Gabe on the Umpqua River I got a phone call from Barbara over at Bauer Fly Reels. The New RX was in production and some of the first finished reels where ready to ship. Barbara informed me she had some pictures of the new reel that I could use for the website. I knew Bauer Fly Reel was somewhere in southern Oregan so I ask "whereabouts are you guys located, I'm driving north on I-5 getting ready to cross the Cali/Oregon border." Barbara says "You are less than 10 minutes away and we are really close off the exit. We're getting ready to go have lunch, we'll wait on you." Awesome! I'll be there in a few!
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| Front Door |
It's fun to walk into a business and see reel parts on the desk instead of files. This is my kind of business!
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| View From the restaurant. Beautiful! Looks like Oregon |
After Lunch Jon Bauer gave me the tour. The first thing I took interest in was Jon's workbench. How many fly reels have been assembled here is anyone's guess. Well worn from years of use it was obvious that this bench was Jon's very own personal work space. Clean, neat and all in order. Having come from a mechanical career myself it was easy for me to recognize that his assortment of tools had been well chosen and precision instruments. It's kind of like a passionate and precision fly tyers bench were each tool and device has been proven over years to be the best for the job.
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| Champion Race Car Driver |
Passionate Fly Angler, Precision Fly Reel Designer and a Champion Race Car Driver, I personally don't think Jon has it in him to do anything in life less than perfect.
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| Color Options |
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| RX (Rogue Extreme) Frames |
I arrived just in time to witness some of the first RX (Rogue Extreme) Reels to exit the factory. One of the shipments being prepared was custom color order on the way to Gorge Fly Shop. I quickly understood how they could ship out a custom reel in the same day as ordered. All the different colored parts necessary were neatly organized on shelves so when a custom order was requested the finished reel is assembled on the spot.
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| I see reels |
After Lunch Jon and I went over to the machine shop where I could witness reels at the beginning stage of production.
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| Program this! Ahhhh! |
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| CFX #4 solid backs? Maybe...Stay Tuned! |
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| I'm holding my new reel |
I have great pride and passion in my fly fishing gear and its easy for me to spot others that share the same feelings. Bauer Fly Reels have always been about quality, function and attention to detail and they back that up with incredible service. Being here on this day to witness it getting done just reinforces what I have believed for many years that my pride and passion comes from the people who have shared there pride and passion. Jon and Barbara Bauer relentlessly share it everyday in every reel they make.
Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist
"Fly Fish the World with Us"
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