Metolius Bamboo Fly Rod 7'6" 5-wt Medium | Leonard 49 Taper
The 5-weight for technical spring creek water.
The Metolius is one of the coldest, clearest rivers in the Pacific Northwest - a spring creek that comes out of the ground already cold, running through ponderosa pine flats with wild rainbow trout that have seen enough anglers to be selective. It's not beginner water, and the rod that fishes it well isn't a beginner rod.
At 7'6" in a 5-weight with medium action, the Metolius sits between the Henrys Fork's deliberate pace and the Rogue's quicker stroke. It has the length to reach without crowding a fish and the softness to present a dry fly the way spring creek trout require.
The Leonard Model 49 Taper
Hiram Leonard is the maker the whole tradition traces back to. He built the first refined American cane rods in the 1870s, and the men who learned in his shop (Payne, Edwards, Thomas, Hawes) went on to define the craft. Every taper on this page has Leonard somewhere in its family tree. The 49 is the source itself.
The Model 49 is a medium-action 7'6" 5-weight, built in three pieces. It loads deep and progressive through the blank, with the full, unhurried flex that made Leonard rods the standard other makers were measured against. Enough backbone to reach across a spring creek, enough softness to lay a fly down without a ripple.
Three pieces means it travels. Broken down it fits a carry-on or a pack, and it fishes like a rod built for the technical spring-creek water it is named for.
Built the Way a Bamboo Rod Should Be
The Metolius 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 | $650 - 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 | $750 - Two tips, two sections of extra security. The complete rod as it was meant to be fished. A second tip on its own is $150, so the Deluxe is the cheaper way to own both.
Add the matching reel at half price. At checkout you can add a Clark Fork 3.0 fly reel, sized to this rod. It sells for $295 on its own, and it's $147.50 with the rod. Line it yourself, or add Line It and we'll spool it ready to fish.
3-Piece Travel Design
Built for packability. Fits in a carry-on, a backpack, or behind a truck seat. Slightly heavier than a 2-piece equivalent due to two ferrule stations. If you want the lightest possible setup, a 2-piece rod is the better choice.
Specifications
- Action: Medium
- Length: 7'6"
- Line weight: 5-weight
- Pieces: 3 (Deluxe includes extra tip)
- Taper: Leonard Model 49
- 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.