Maniform fly rod handle

“You fish whenever you can, and when you fish, you fish hard. But fly fishing does make demands on your body, and the longer you fish, the greater the chance that the effort needed for casting will take its toll on your casting arm. To safeguard your fly fishing future, make Maniform your insurance policy.”

The ergonomically designed Maniform fly rod handle offers:

• Improved directional control of casting
• A balanced grip that evens-out strain on the tendons of the forearm, reducing the likelihood of sustaining repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) such as ‘tennis elbow’.
• Unrivalled comfort for day-long casting and fishing.
• Improved sensitivity to delicate ‘takes’ through reduced tension in the hand.
• A fully ambidextrous option to the conventional round-sectioned rod handle
• A marriage of high-tech performance-enhancing design, with the comfort and aesthetic appeal of traditional materials.

The greater the demands on the angler, the greater are the benefits to be enjoyed. In the case of the Maniform grip the performance potential of the component is maximised

• in situations where long, frequent, controlled casting is required.
• where regular pin-point accuracy is essential, cast after cast.
• where ‘searching’ techniques that demand high work-rate on the angler’s part, are critical for success.
• where fast-actioned rods, rated for the heavier fly lines are used for extensive periods.
• where an angler has sustained injury to, or developed disability in the hand, affecting their ability to fish effectively in comfort.

The pre-formed Maniform handle is available to rod manufacturers, custom builders, amateur rod builders, and to individual fly anglers for retro-fitting to existing rods. We suggest that a cork extension butt adds to the aesthetic appeal.

Engineered Comfort

The design of the fly rod handle, that critical interface between the the angler and his casting tool, has suffered almost total neglect since the advent of fly fishing. It is probably fair to conclude that the familiar round-sectioned fly rod handle has survived in its current shape, for the convenience of rod builders, rather than for the comfort of the angler.

It was with this consideration in mind that that award-winning british design engineer and expert fly fisherman, John Newton , and his fishing partner David Stocker, set out to discover whether and how it was possible to improve on a design that had remained largely unquestioned for more than a hundred years.

Starting from first principles, using anatomical data and an understanding of the mechanics of human grip, precise design relationships were arrived at, enabling the eventual construction of a truly ergonomic handle. Following extensive field trials in the UK and USA, the Maniform fly rod handle was born.