About last week (ish)… SIX busy days in Blue Ridge, Georgia, fish talk, some bourbon, a few beers and a very special induction into…OYSTER’S 10 CLASS CLUB
Oyster’s June 22-27, 2026 bamboo fly rod making class brought back 5 repeat rod makers and welcomed 5 new students…
Randy (Randers!) from Roswell, GA, was here for his 10th class. His first class was a gift in 2012 from his wife. Randy says, “The class brings you friends you didn’t know you needed in life.” This time, he crafted a 7’6” 6wt for himself. Congratulations, Randy—see you soon!
John joined us from Anna Maria, FL, for his 36th class🤯. He says that if he could bring anyone to a rod-making class, it would have been his father, since he enjoyed woodworking. John built a 7’6” 6wt bamboo fly rod for himself this time. See you soon!
David was here from Houston, Texas with his friends of over 20 years, Lynn & Dave for his first class. When David signed up, Lynn and Dave decided they were also coming back with him. David built an 8’ 7wt.
Tim from Alabama attended his first class. When he retired, he decided to sign up for a rod-making class and handcrafted an 8’ 4wt to fish a small pond on his farm and for mountain trout. See you soon!
Jeff from Ellijay, GA, was here for his first class. He has been fishing with his father since he was little and he decided on an 8’ 9wt for saltwater fly fishing that he can pass down to his son. Lucky kid!
Brandon was here from Canton, GA. He took a fly fishing trip last year with John and Jeff. After casting John’s rods, he immediately signed up to attend this week’s rod-making class with them. Brandon made a 7’9” 6wt dedicated to camping trips he takes each year with his father. Love that!
Lynn & Dave flew in from Houston, TX for their 2nd class. Lynn 🐍 discovered Oyster in a Garden & Gun article in 2021. She signed up and convinced her husband to join her since Dave needs to expand his collection of rods. This time, Lynn crafted an 8’ 7wt and Dave made an 8’ 9wt for saltwater fly fishing.
Bill joined us from Naples, FL for his first class; he splits his time between there and Blue Ridge. He visited Oyster’s brick-and-mortar on Main Street 3 years ago to purchase a hat (oh, the mighty Oyster hat!) and decided to sign up. Bill crafted a 7’9” 4wt for smaller streams.
Brad from Leesburg, GA was here for his 2nd class. Brad taught himself to fly fish on his grandfather’s bamboo fly rod. He said if he could bring anyone to a rod-building class it would have been his grandfather. This time Brad handcrafted a 7’6” 4wt. See you soon!
💫Keeping the craft alive.💫
☀️A camaraderie filled the week. Each rod is a testament to the craft, and we’re grateful that you chose to spend the week at Oyster.