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Savage, Neil

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Hi, all.  I'm Neil Savage, and I made my first bamboo rod in 2000.  I'd started tying flies about a year before, then my son in law talked me into taking a bamboo rodmaking class from Ron Barch (editor of "The Planing Form") and after I made my first rod I decided I needed to learn how to use it!  I'd been bait or spin fishing, mostly for panfish, since I was 5.  I will be 69 this month.  Now I fish for Smallmouth and Trout when I can.  So far I've not been able to make it to a gathering, but I hope for Grayrock next year.

I'm strictly a hobby maker, have made 6 now, and never more than one a year.

I started woodworking when my dad built a summer cottage in northern Michigan in 1950.  Kind of primitive then, no road even never mind modern conveniences like electricity and running water.  I now own my grandfather's cottage next door, and my brother has dad's place.  I've built a couple of sail boats, and done quite a bit of finish carpentry and some furniture making.

I've been married (to a saint) for 46 years, and she says she'll give it a little longer and see if it works out...  We have 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren.

I live outside Ann Arbor, Michigan in the cold months and on Drummond Island in the summer.  No computer in the cottage, not even a television.  I retired from IBM Field Engineering in 1996 after 32 years.