The New Divine Rods were born out of a desire to commemorate the beautiful “Celebrated Divine Rods” made by the Fred D. Divine Co of Utica, NY during the period from about 1900 through about 1930, the “Golden Era” of classic bamboo rod making.

The New Divine Rod is one of very few being made today by a traditional collection of highly skilled contributors rather than by a single craftsman. We hope that the old saying is right: “Two heads are better than one”. We certainly think so.

The concept is both classic and contemporary: to gather, via the Internet, a talented group of craftsmen who each contribute their special skills to the creation of fine modern bamboo rods with the appearance of the classic Divine Rods. Our goal is to make rods that fit the tastes and style of modern fishermen with the look of the classics. You’ll to be able to identify a New Divine Rod from ten feet away.

The New Divine Rods are not a reproduction, but an evolution of the classic rods into modern fishing instruments.

The New Divine Rods was organized by bamboo rod historian Michael Sinclair, author of “Fishing Rods by Divine” which was published in 1994. The company, like the book, originated from Michael’s love of the Divine Rods and the history of the original Fred D. Divine Co. Michaels’ area of expertise is in finishing rods: wrapping the guides and other silks and varnishing the rods. He has never planed a single strip of bamboo or made a blank. And so the company concept was born. The company address is in Paducah, Kentucky. Located in the rolling hills of Western Kentucky, Paducah is just about the last place you would expect to find bamboo rods being made. The only trout in Western Kentucky are the antique mounts on Michael’s walls.

Our Head Rodmaker is Chris Bogart of Luray, Virginia. Chris heads his own rod making venture, Shenandoah Rods, and is well versed in all aspects of rod making. Chris is making the Fairy Fly Rod, the Standard Trout and the Rainbow models. The original tapers were taken from classic rods and “cleaned up” to give them an even smoother action. He completes the blank, adds the ferrules and grip and installs the reel seat. The unfinished rod is then shipped to Michael for finishing.

Rodmaker Wayne Daley of Wayne Daley Rodsmiths in West Edmiston, New York is responsible for making the specialized “Fly-Wate” rods. Wayne designed the taper for this super light hollow-built rod. He completes the blank, adds the ferrules and grip and installs the reel seat. The rod is then sent on to Paducah for final finishing.

Reel Seats for the New Divine Rods are created by master craftsman Bob Venneri. Bob replicated the reel seats and hardware from original Divine Rods to an amazing degree of accuracy. Although his metal work is nearly identical to the original in appearance, it is actually of much higher quality. Bob’s Divine hardware is machined from solid stock Nickel Silver and is made to be more substantial than the originals which tended to ding and dent easily.

The ferrules are a custom creation by Bailey Woods Classic Sporting Enterprises. They are very similar to an original Divine ferrule design, but are vastly superior to any Divine ferrule from the past. The basic design of the New Divine Rods ferrule is the classic Super Step-Down ferrule – a tested and proven ferrule of superior quality. The New Divine ferrule has a full welt and two incised bands in the style of the original Divine.

All genuine agate strippers, snake guides and tip-tops for the New Divine Rods are from Snake Brand. They are simply the best guides available today, and are hand made in Washington State by Michael and Susan McCoy.

The New Divine Rods are made of the finest American made components obtainable. These components are assembled with great care by our team to make classically styled rods with modern dependability.

The New Divine Rods are packed in lush, golden 100% cotton velveteen bags and feature an embroidered New Divine Rods label, just as they were in the 1920’s. The bags are made in Paducah by Sharon Sinclair, Michael’s wife and an excellent seamstress. These bags are tailored with great attention to detail. Comparing these bags to most others is like comparing a tailor made suit to one bought “off the rack”. The plush bag will provide your rod with a safe haven during transport as they provide cushioning within the tube.

Tubes for the New Divine Rods are made by Bob Widgren of Albuquerque New Mexico. Bob has created aluminum rod tubes with a unique blue powder coat finish. Each tube is fitted with a solid machined genuine brass collar and classic style domed cap. The tubes are marked with the New Divine Rods logo on the tube and a separate sticker for the model. The model sticker features the old Divine Fisherman, who first appeared in Divine advertising in 1899.

All New Divine Rods feature classic 3x3 node spacing and honey colored oven-tempered cane. Although the original Divines used random node spacing, we’ve chosen to use this proven spacing for our New Divine Rods.