Beaverhead Bamboo Fly Rod 7'0" 4-wt Medium | Payne 98 Taper
Complete your rig
Add the reel and line. Fish it the day it arrives.
$275 · $100 less than buying it separatelyAdd the Clark Fork reel, matched line, backing, leader, and tippet to your rod order. We match the reel size and line weight to the rod you chose, so it shows up ready to fish. At $275, that’s $100 less than the reel bundle on its own ($375).
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Matched to the rod you selected above. 30-day trial and lifetime warranty apply to the rod.
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Seven feet of Payne. Built for technical water.
The Beaverhead River demands precision. It's a tailwater - clear, cold, fished hard - and the trout in it have seen everything. What works there is a rod that delivers a fly without disturbance, on a tippet you'd rather not break, at a distance that doesn't spook the fish before the cast lands.
At 7 feet in a 4-weight, the Beaverhead is exactly that rod. Enough length to mend line on a technical run. Enough softness in the action to protect 6X. Enough backbone to land a fish that earned its place in that river.
The Payne 98 Taper
Jim Payne is the most copied rod maker in bamboo history, and the 98 is the most copied Payne taper. At 7 feet in a 4-weight, it's one of the most studied and admired designs in the craft - a rod that loads fully at short range, protects fine tippet through the fight, and delivers a dry fly with the kind of accuracy that technical trout fishing demands.
Where most rods are designed for distance, the Payne 98 was designed for presentation. The medium action runs through the full blank, which means the rod is working for you on every cast, whether you're dropping a size-18 PMD at 20 feet or reaching to mend at 45.
If you've heard anglers talk about bamboo feeling "alive," the Payne 98 is usually what they mean.
Built the Way a Bamboo Rod Should Be
The Beaverhead is hand-planed to the standard that has defined Headwaters rods since 2002.
The fittings: A finely knurled double-locking downlocking reel seat with stabilized burled maple insert. Ultra-fine cork grip. Red agate stripping guide. Hard chrome guides wrapped in deep burgundy thread with a narrow black tip.
The tube: Cordura rod tube with rod sock included.
Choose Your Version
The Favorite | $400 - Single-tip version for the angler who wants to get on the water first. Same rod, same fittings, same hand-planed cane. Clear upgrade path to the Deluxe when you're ready.
The Deluxe | $600 - Two tips, two sections of extra security. The complete rod as it was meant to be fished.
The Outfit | $875 - Everything you need to step onto the water. The Beaverhead Deluxe paired with a Clark Fork 2.5 fly reel, weight-forward fly line, backing, leader, tippet, and a selection of flies.
Specifications
- Action: Medium
- Length: 7'0"
- Line weight: 4-weight
- Pieces: 2 (Deluxe and Outfit include extra tip)
- Taper: Payne 98
- Reel seat: Downlocking, double-locking knurled nut, stabilized burled maple insert
- Grip: Ultra-fine cork
- Stripping guide: Red agate
- Guide wrap: Deep burgundy with black tip
- Tube: Cordura with rod sock
No Risk. Our Promise.
Fish it for 30 days. If it's not the rod you hoped it would be, send it back for a full refund, no questions asked. The lifetime warranty covers the original owner for as long as you fish it.
Read what our customers have to say about us
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Wiggle it, cast it, fish it
for up to 30 days.
Free Returns
Exchange or return for free. Contact us for return label.
Lifetime Warranty
On any workmanship issue
for original owner.
"A great way to get into bamboo--affordable and well made."
"I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth, graceful action."
"It greatly improves your accuracy, especially at short distances."
"Allows the fly fisherman to feel good about the renewable, sustainably-sourced rod."
"The natural tone, attractive windings, cork, and fittings; and flawless finish--impressive."
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