With the Plethora of custom rods out there, why a Thramer?

AJ has been pursuing the construction of split cane rods since the late 1970's, with the first ones becoming available to purchase in 1983. 

When AJ first became interested in building a bamboo rod, there was no real information available, There was not the collection of old time builders here in Oregon as there were on the East Coast, in the Rockies or in California. Without the Internet, AJ had to rely on the occasional dropped sentence or phrase from what old guard could be found. AJ had to build his own tools, whether it was his original glue binder built from an old road sign he got from his father in law, or the oven he built from a piece of steam pipe, there were many trial and errors before he came up with tools that worked. We still use the steam pipe oven today!

Working mostly in solitude in his garage, AJ has produced approximately 2,000 rods, under both his own name and under over a half dozen others under contract. It is not the numbers AJ is proud of, it is the trust these other builders put in him. 

AJ is now joined by his son, McKenzie, building in their garage, just as AJ did over 40 years ago.

We build many classic tapers and tapers AJ designed himself. When AJ first started, the classic tapers were not available like they are today. All of the classic tapers we build, AJ has measured himself. 

The pinnacle of AJ's designs are the Dx series. HDx if hollowbuilt, DxSB if built with a swelled butt. HDxSB if both a swelled butt and hollow. This series was an answer to Len Codella's request. He wanted to sell a rod that was easy to time and cast, was an excellent all around rod which retained both power and delicacy. Turns out, these tapers were exactly what was needed and these are still our best selling tapers today.

All of our rods are double tempered, it is extremely rare for one of them to take a set.

All of our rods use AJ's proprietary ferrules, ferrules that are both durable and classic in appearance. AJ and McKenzie solder them from hand drawn tubing that matches Jim Payne's specifications. We then lap them to a buttery smooth engagement. It is AJ's philosophy ferrules should be designed into the taper of the rod, not added in afterwards. There were a few Golden Era masters who added ferrules to the rod, but the vast majority knew, when properly done, ferrules were an opportunity to help with the fell and function of a rod. The taper drop across the ferules is an important design element that gives a maker's rods a distinctive feel. "Smoothing" out the taper to create a constant diameter through the ferrules will often lead to a classic taper to feel muddy, and will not achieve the feel of an original rod.

Our varnish is unique to Thramer and Son rods. It is extremely durable, smooth and carefully compounded to not inhibit the rod. Click Here for our explanation of our proprietary varnish.

All AJ Thramer and Son Rods use Bellinger reel seats, nothing but the finest for Thramer and Son!

All of our classic tapers have been collected by AJ and have been carefully vetted by not only us, but many people who have an intimate experience of the original rods.

Our goal is simple, to build high quality rods at an affordable price. Our rods are meant to be fished often and fished for generations. Quality, durability and affordability, out three core values that we have been delivering over 2000 rods to almost a thousand anglers for over 40 years.