Swift Hooks Vokey

Swift has announced that April Vokey, noted fly fishing personality and business woman, has bought into the company as a shareholder and director. “April’s seemingly boundless enthusiasm, sincerity and positive energy are in perfect concert with our goals,” says Carl McNeil.

Read more in the press release below.

Swift Hooks Vokey

For immediate release: Thursday, 12 May, 2016

April Vokey joins Swift Fly Fishing. Swift, the company behind Epic fly rods and award-winning films, Casts that Catch Fish, Once in a Blue Moon, and Itu’s Bones, was founded in 2004 by master fly caster, Carl McNeil. More recently, it’s been the Epic brand that is taking the industry by storm. Designed and manufactured in New Zealand, the premier rod company is renowned for its high performance glass fly rods and is quickly following suit with their soon to be released carbon fibre series.

Vokey, noted fly fishing personality and business woman, has bought into the company as a shareholder and director.

“I am very excited to be on board with such an innovative and dynamic company.  I’ve been watching the Epic brand grow since its first introduction into the industry, and I’ve been a fan of Carl’s for even longer. Epic is refreshingly honest, to the point, and innovative at a time when personal connection with the consumer is often missed. We’re working hard to bring the world some of the finest carbon-fibre two-handed rods on the market, and of course are always fine-tuning the glass and carbon rods currently available. For me, it was important to put my name and confidence into a company whose quality is flawless and uncompromising — with components only sourced from the best manufacturers in the world, and each blank rolled and quality-checked in New Zealand. Between myself and Carl, the majority of our time is spent in British Columbia, Australia and New Zealand. This gives us a unique opportunity to dial in tapers, materials, and construction. I’m genuinely looking forward to being a part of the Swift team.”

Each Epic fly rod is built upon a proprietary taper, and is handcrafted in the Swift studio workshop. Using “just in time” manufacturing, rods are made one at a time as ordered by the customer.

“A guide since the age of twenty-two, writer, accomplished fly angler, and respected business woman, April’s seemingly boundless enthusiasm, sincerity and positive energy are in perfect concert with our goals,” says McNeil.

“A company is only as good as its team and we’re incredibly fortunate to be working with such a great bunch of people. If I sat down to draw up a list of the qualities I look for in a business partner to help lead a pioneering and disruptive company, it would be a description of April Vokey. For now, it is business as usual — with the company producing limited numbers of fly rods for current orders. Our short-term focus is ensuring that we keep producing the absolute best quality fly rod we can. Volume will come later, but we won’t be mass producing anything any time soon. We don’t aim to be the biggest or the cheapest, but we do aim to deliver the very best.”

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