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Bahn, Scott

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My name is Scott Bahn.  I am 40 years old and live in Neenah, WI with my Wife and 2 young girls, ages 6 and 3.  I am a Project Manager in the Defense/Security/Aerospace sector for a contract manufacturer in the electronics industry by the name of Plexus Corporation.  I joined the list back in 2003 on a recommendation from Scott Grady, to whom I owe a debt of gratitude to for helping me with a few questions and borrowing me a planing form to get me started!

I started fly fishing at a very early age thanks to a wonderful Dad who taught me to have fun in the outdoors.  If it has flown, swam or ran in Central Wisconsin, I’ve chased after it in one form or another, although not as frequently now because of the young girls.  I grew up fly fishing for bluegills and trout, particularly during the Hex hatch on the central sand streams of Waushara County (Wautoma) where I was born.  My first bamboo fly rod was one that I acquired from a widow I used to mow lawn for at around the age of 12.  It was a Model 6086 3/2 made by the Winchester Fire Arms Co. under the supervision of E. Edwards in the very early 1920’s complete with an agate striper and agate tip tops (yes, agate tip tops!).  At age 16 I was tying flies for a fly shop in a nearby town and in trade for some of my flies, I acquired a couple of South Bend bamboos, one of which was a model 59 that I beat the brush with and was my exclusive fly rod for years until I started making my own in 2003.  I have never fished the Winchester and it continues to sit in my shop as a reminder of why I got in to this craft.

The thing I am the most proud of is that with the help of the list folks and books available, I have made all of my own tools and contraptions.  My most recent is a Dickerson/Bellinger style power beveller that I just completed a few weeks ago.  I get down in the shop usually starting in October and emerge about the first of May.  There are just too many things to do and fish to catch during the warmer months here in Wisconsin to be stuck making rods for hours on end when it’s nice outside!  What I currently have on the bench for projects in the coming weeks are the Payne Canadian Canoe, the Leonard 8652, the PHY Para 17 and the Hardy Continental Special; I’ll probably add a couple more to that before the winter is over if time permits.

I’ve developed some great email “relationships” with a few of the folks on the list over the years and hope one of these days it will work out so I can get to the various gatherings to meet my friends face to face and swap stories.

I almost started deleting these emails as I didn’t think I had the time to read all of them, but I started reading a few of the stories and have become captivated.  I’ll probably get them all read, but it might take me a few days!  It’s interesting reading all of the walks of life that people come from and how we have all come together because of this craft!