February 4, 1998

Fly-fishing exhibit at MSU reels in artisan and author

By Eric Dick
Herald editor

The first major exhibition of fly-fishing in Michigan features the bamboo artistry of an East Bay Township river codger and the handsome mug of a Peninsula Township writer who limits his success by fishing too much.

"Caught on the Fly: Fly Fishing Traditions in Michigan" opened Nov. 16 and runs through March 29 at Michigan State University Museum in East Lansing. The exhibit celebrates Michigan fly-fishing with displays of 20 early bamboo fly rods, 100 types of flies, three river boats, maps of the state's "Blue Ribbon" trout streams and record-fish mounts. Also shown are fly tying and casting demonstrations.

Featured prominently in the exhibit is the work of Bob Summers, a 59-year-old bamboo fly-rod maker who splits his work area in two: a big shed, where lathes, drills, metal files, power cords, torches, wood and aluminum so crowd the interior that it baffles the newcomer why something as seemingly fragile as thin strips of bamboo are not snapped daily underneath stumbling feet; and a Boardman River home, that Summers bought in 1974 before adding on rooms himself that look either unfinished or perfect for housing more rods and more rod-making paraphernalia.

Less featured at the museum exhibit but just as difficult to miss are three pictures of a fly-fishing Jerry Dennis, 43, an outdoor writer and Traverse City native who is releasing this spring his seventh book, The River Home. "There's been some consideration of naming my book Ruined by Rivers," said Dennis, who has written for Sports Afield and Outdoor Life, "because it's been suggested by my wife and my agent that if it wasn't for fishing, I'd be a lot more successful."

But his inclusion in the museum stems more from handsome happenstance than fly-fishing renown. Lynne Swanson, production coordinator for the exhibit, came across the photogenic Dennis while searching through Department of Natural Resources archives. "He's so handsome," she said, sounding as though caught in a school girl blush. "I didn't realize he was a famous fly fisherman." But more about Dennis' good looks later.

Summers was chosen for the exhibit because he has been cutting, sanding, gluing and fastening bamboo fly rods together for more years - 42 - than most anyone else. At 16, the fly-fishing enthusiast in 1956 began working in Detroit for Paul Young, who is considered a pioneer in fly-fishing history. In 1969 Summers and Young's son, Jack, moved to Traverse City as business partners, before Summers went his own way in 1974 to pursue new product ideas.

Now Summers toils away five, six, seven days a week, crafting bamboo fly rods for mail-order and e-mail-order clients worldwide. Requests come in from England, Italy, Holland and Germany, he noted, while brushing sawdust off a 1994 order for eight fly rods from a Japanese buyer. "Well, I gotta get going on him," Summers said as if recognizing a please-pick-up-milk-and-bread note from his wife. "But he said, 'No hurry.'" One rod, made of imported bamboo from China, takes about 50 hours to make. One costs about $1,200.

The price pays for craftsmanship. Fly-fishing enthusiasts argue that bamboo rods are of better quality because they "present" flies more lifelike on the water than do their graphite and fiberglass counterparts. (As a child, Summers built model airplanes out of wood. "When I see those plastic planes today, I think, What a bunch of crap!") Handmade bamboo rods also command an air of tradition and nostalgia.

Which explains his place in the museum exhibit. When museum director and exhibit curator Kurt Dewhurst sent out word to anglers that he wanted to produce the first major exhibition of fly-fishing in Michigan, Summers' name floated to the surface of conversation. "Everywhere I turned, and I'm not exaggerating, if bamboo came up they said, 'We have the foremost bamboo rod maker right here in Traverse City,'" Dewhurst said.

The exhibit includes bamboo fly rods of Summers' as well as a video of the artisan in action. Though museum exposure is new, fanfare for his work is nearly as old as some of the rods he keeps. Fishing books have devoted pages to him. Features on Summers have popped up in sporting magazines. "I'm sure they could have found somebody else (for the exhibit)," he said. "So, what the heck, I'm honored."

In the annals of fly-fishing - history is, after all, what museums preserve - Summers now stands with the likes of fly-fishing pioneer Paul Young and Anatomy of a Murder and Trout Madness author John Voelker.

And sharing museum wall space with these legends is Jerry Dennis, Peninsula author and fly fisherman, whose pictures look good in the right place and at the right time. "He takes a good picture, that's all I can say," said Dewhurst the museum director. "The guy looks great."

For his part, Dennis is pleased to be part of something that promotes the sport, saying Michigan rarely receives the credit it deserves for fly-fishing. "I've fly-fished all over the world and I still like fly-fishing Michigan trout streams better than any other," he said. "I think it's a good thing that people know how rich our history is."

But Dennis, occasionally gibed by fellow anglers for having a better looking profile than cast, stops short of acknowledging any significance pictures of himself may contribute to the exhibit. "I'm going to stay away from that or my friends will pounce on that," he said.