Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2014 - 45

This design is from one of the first bamboo fishing rods
made by Samuel Phillippe's son, Solon. Samuel Phillippe was
the first to use four pieces of bamboo and then six pieces to
construct fly fishing rods in their Northampton gun shop.

photos-Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

photo-State Museum of Pennsylvania

Samuel Phillippe
is credited as the
first to use bamboo
in building fly
fishing rods.

This sign shows
where Samuel
Phillippe's gun
shop stood in
Northampton
County.

®The historical marker is a
registered trademark of the
Pennsylvania Historical and
Museum Commission and
the marker text is copyright
protected. Used with permission.

While there were some fishing rods being built for
purchase in the early 1800s, most people built their own
and used the same rod for all forms of fishing. It wasn't
until mid-century, after Walton's book was printed in
America and American technology was developing at a
rapid rate, did that change.
By 1860, recreational anglers were purchasing specific
rods for specific types of fishing. Many old records say
that the discovery of using split bamboo for fly rods is
attributed to Pennsylvanian Samuel Phillippe, Easton.

PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com
PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com

While he never obtained a patent, George W. Snyder is credited
with producing the first American-made fishing reel. It was the
Meek brothers and many others who actually took his design and
manufactured and sold the reel to the general public.

In 1846, he made rods using four strips of bamboo in the
mid and tip sections. He later went on to make complete
6-strip bamboo rods.
A friend of Phillippe's was Philadelphia tackle shop
owner Thaddeus Norris. The two fished on creeks in the
Poconos such as Brodhead Creek, Bushkill Creek and
Pocono Creek. Norris was a famous angler who wrote The
American Angler's Book: Embracing the Natural History of
Sporting Fish, and the Art of Taking Them. It is considered
the first comprehensive book on angling in America.
George W. Snyder was born in Bucks County. Snyder,
a watchmaker and silversmith, was a pretty good angler
who moved to Kentucky in about 1803. He is credited
with inventing the first American-made fishing reel in
1820. The reel was designed for fly fishing and was called
the Kentucky Reel. He never patented the reel, just made
them for himself and members of his fishing club. Soon,
several other manufacturers copied the reel. By 1835, the
Meek brothers were the first to commercially manufacture
"Kentucky Reels."
Trained as a surgeon, Dr. James A. Henshall's Book of the
Black Bass is a classic read. Henshall had such an influence
on bass fishing in the 1880s that he asked rod-maker
Charles Orvis to build a rod to his specifications for the sole
purpose of fishing for black bass. The design, the Henshall
rod, became so popular Orvis could not meet the demand.
As the story goes, in about 1848, as Julio T. Buel was
walking along a Vermont river he accidentally dropped a
silver spoon. To his amazement, he watched a large trout
gobble up the spoon and swim away. So, he began to do
some tinkering with spoons and spinners and was granted
the first United States patent for a fishing lure in 1852.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * November/December 2014
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * November/December 2014

45
45
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2014

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