The two sides of Scottie Redin
Everybody knows a guy, who knows a guy… and I’m very fortunate, in my line of work, that I know a guy!
His name is Scottie Redin, and he’s a fishing rod builder and repairer… and guess what… he lives right here in Your Thunder Bay!
It sometimes happens when you’re lending fishing rods to clients that the tips or guides get broken, and you need to get them fixed and back in service as quickly as possible, and for me, Scottie is that guy.
I’m not sure whether I’m just lucky or whether he’s just that good (I’m thinking it’s the latter), but I rarely have to wait more than a week to get a broken rod repaired.
Of course, bigger jobs – like building a rod, or retying and refinishing the guide wraps on a good old rod – take a little more time.
For Scottie, fishing and rod building runs in his blood… he started building rods and tying flies when he was quite young… and he comes by it naturally as his father built rods as well, and was the derby & events director for the Brantford & Ontario Steelheaders clubs.
On weekends in the fall, his father’s friends would pop by in the evenings to tie roe bags or flies and to plan upcoming fishing adventures (and obviously tell tall fishing tales) while his father would be tying/repairing fishing rods.
Scottie told me that after attentively watching and listening for many years, his father started teaching him the basics of rod building.
He says that building rods has advanced leaps and bounds since the 70’s and 80’s. Back then they used to cut each cork ring and fit it to the blank, then turn the cork on an industrial lathe.
Now, he drills the cork out on a drill press and assembles, glues and presses it on a mandrel, then turns it on a small benchtop wood lathe, which is much easier, faster and takes up much less equipment space.
He says the variations for the different types and colours of cork are mind-boggling as well; it’s not just the 2 or 3 grades like it was in the old days.
Scottie recalls the first rod dryer he had for rotating the blanks so the epoxy would set up evenly on the thread… it was 2 circular disks with a bunch of half circles cut into the circumference.
They were placed on a long piece of tubing attached to 2 little stands and powered by a BBQ rotisserie motor. He said he could go on and on for hours about how things have evolved over the two and a half decades that he’s been building rods.
Currently, Scottie says he’s building at least one custom rod every month, with a couple of repairs also in the mix, and he’s always trying new techniques and evolving his skill set.
He builds custom drift rods, fly rods and casting rods all with great detail and unbelievable individuality.
His cork handles are often emblazoned with a key identifying mark for each owner.
And, as a former glassblower, I’ve seen him incorporate some incredible glass artwork into the rods he builds as well.
Scottie has built some pretty elaborate fly rods… one in particular for Larry Mellors (a well-known fly fishing guide, fly fishing/switch rod and spey casting instructor) that was used for a demonstration at the Toronto Sportsman Show.
Scottie has also built fly rods and a drift rod for Thunder Bay’s own Gord Ellis (local celebrity & recent inductee to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame), as well as completing multiple repairs for him.
So if you’re looking for a custom fishing rod built to order for your specific style of fishing, and you can’t find just what you’re looking for off a store shelf, then consider having Scottie build you a rod that will serve you well for many, many years.
Check out his business – “Fishin’ With Fingers” – and give Scottie a call… you’ll be glad that you did!
And now, for the fishing part of the story!! Scottie is also a wonderful multi-species fisherman, and I recently had the pleasure of spending a day with him in my boat. He was looking for a new Personal Best Brook Trout, and I was only too happy to try and help him achieve that goal.
We departed from the Birch Point launch on Jessie Lake and made our way up the Nipigon River, stopping at a few “fishy” spots along the way.
Scottie landed several nice fish, including a scrappy Whitefish that was destined to make its way to his smoker… but none of the fish that he landed to that point were approaching “personal best” status, so we moved again.
After a few more fish were brought to the net, Scottie’s magic moment finally arrived. After an intense tug of war, we boated the Brook Trout and a huge smile and completely gratifying sense of accomplishment emerged.
Scottie had landed a beautiful, deep & thick male Brook Trout that measured 21.25 inches and tipped the scale at 4.75 pounds. It was indeed his new Personal Best, and it leaves him lots of room to improve upon that in a subsequent visit later this year.
The fish was safely released after a couple of photos… and it wasted no time finding its way back into the fast, rushing waters of the Nipigon River.
Congrats, Scottie… and thanks again for all the great work you’ve done on my fishing rods. I look forward to spending time with you “on the water” later this year!!
