Paul Arden | Tuesday, 24 February 2026
20 years ago, while driving across Texas, I met up with Andy Dear for the first time. We had already known each other for some years and Andy had shared his fascinating rod maker interviews which I republished on Sexyloops. I was on the way to meet Wild Bill Gammel and so Andy and I met up for a cast on the side of an interstate highway. This was not that unusual for me, since the US has some very long drives, that often take multiple days. And the best way to stay nimble is to regularly pull over and work on your fly casting. But this was my first time having company! If I remember rightly we cast distance and worked on the double haul. But it was much more about actually meeting each other in person.
Twelve years ago I asked Andy if he would be interested in building Sexyloops rods in the States. We had just brought out the HT6 and I knew Andy was an extremely classy rod builder with decades of experience. Andy at this time was building his very successful epoxy business and just didn’t have the time. But the seed of an idea was planted!!!
I realised long ago that it’s far better for customers if rods are assembled locally. Taxes/duties (and now tariffs) are not then an uncertain mystery. And it’s so much easier to replace broken sections this way.
I see my job as customer service. I’m the guy who builds relationships with customers and I’m the one who fixes problems. If you have a business then I cannot overemphasise the importance of customer service. So many businesses spend money trying to attract new customers but spend very little on actually keeping them. I am a consumer too; we all are. When I get what I think is poor customer service, then I take my business elsewhere. However when I get good customer service (with an excellent product too of course!) then I become what many call a “loyal” customer. It’s so important.
That’s why I give Zoom lessons with every rod. Customer service is about building relationships and what better way to start than by meeting and casting together on Zoom? If we have met and cast and talked fly fishing, then there is confidence that I will solve any problem that comes along to the best of my ability.
We spent years trying to find a way that replacement sections of any section could be sent straight out without having to have the rod returned to our factory. There is nothing worse than having to send a rod back to the factory; it takes time, it’s expensive, and sometimes they disappear. We solved this about two years ago and now all builds have sections that fit and interchange. So any broken rod manufactured since then, does not require return to factory and we can ship out a replacement section straight out of stock. Not now, but very soon, this will mean that you will have a new rod section in your hand in a matter of days. Not weeks or months.
It’s great to solve problems, but if we can solve problems quickly then this is even better!
Our blanks arrived with Andy yesterday. They took a month to get through US customs. Now that they are finally through, we have components shipping down from Rec and we have new decals for the US market. Rods manufactured in the UK by Lee were called the “Hot Torpedo”. Rods manufactured in Spain are called the “Hot Tortuga”. Sexyloops rods assembled in the US are going to be called the “Tornado”. The blank is always the same. That’s the bit I spend years tweaking and getting right.
There is a very funky thread wrap invented by the well-known Californian rod builder Jim Trelikes that he calls the “Saw Blade” Wrap, that we think looks like shark teeth. Andy has asked if we can use it and Jim has kindly given us his blessing. Thanks Jim!! The saw blade/shark tooth just makes things that little bit more special. You can see a test wrap as today’s Pic of Day.
Rec Components were closed yesterday for a snowstorm. Decals should be finalised today. Andy will be building rods very soon. We have ten orders to build now to catch up. And then, fingers crossed, for the first time in 12 years, we will not only have stock of finished rods, ready to courier out at a moment’s notice, but also ready to ship from Texas.
Very exciting times… it’s all about to happen!
Yesterday I had my first lesson in Bahasa Melayu. I can tell already that this is going to be an adventure :))) Let me give you a tip here, that may or may not work. Instead of waking up and checking your phone for emails, messages, news… which we all know is very unhealthy… instead try learning a new language! Morning, apparently, is the best time of day to learn new languages. I’ll let you know how this works!
I enjoyed the rugby last weekend. I got a dedicated IP address for my VPN which has solved all the buffering problems. Great games throwing surprising spanners in the works.
And finally, very many thanks to Kalyn for a wonderful series on Sexyloops FPs!! I’ve enjoyed his musings and stories very much. Best of luck with the casting sport, Kalyn!! I hope we meet sometime and have a cast and a fish together!
Have a great week everyone!!
Cheers, Paul