Hiram Leonard: The Father of the Fly Rod?
Henry David Thoreau met him in 1857, when he was a hunter, and described him in Canoeing in the Wilderness as a handsome man of good height but not apparently robust, of gentlemanly address and faultless grooming. He was a spiritualist, a vegetarian who abhorred liquor and detested tobacco. He was a good musician, playing the flute and bass viol, and held the entertaining belief that a man could not make a good fishing rod unless he loved music and could play at least one instrument.
Leonard set foot on the path to fame when a Boston sporting-goods house, Bradford & Anthony, was so impressed with the workmanship of a wooden rod that he had made for his own use that they started him making split-bamboo rods for them. This type was becoming popular and the firm was having trouble getting well-made rods.
That was in 1871, when Leonard was 40 years old. From the start, he had more work than he could handle, even though he soon hired Fred Thomas to help him and, subsequently; Ed Payne, Billy Edwards, and two of his cousins; Hiram and Loman Hawes, whom he brought up from Honesdale. Incidentally, all of those names-Thomas, Payne, Edwards, and Hawes were given to famous brands of fine fly rods in after years.
Taken from "The Father of the Fly Rod" by Sparse Grey Hackle (Published in Sports Illustrated, June 4, 1956)
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"Just to say, I've had remarkable fun using your rods. Bamboo is cool to cast, and is effortless for long periods of time. I've had lots of all-day sessions on the water and afterwards I just feel better."
