Ralph Moon Dies

Master bamboo rod maker and former Federation of Fly Fishing director Ralph Moon died Wednesday at the age of 85. Moon was a self-taught rodbuilder who said he was “a staunch traditionalist when it comes to rods. They are blonde, simple, but danged good fishing poles.” He was also an adviser to Robert Redford during the making of “A River Runs Through It.”
Moon told how he got his start in cane rod building on “FlyAnglersOnline:” “Fourty-five years ago, I purchased for 25 cents a little book by George Leonard Herter about building bamboo rods. Excited about what seemed to me to be a most interesting activity, I decided on the spot to build a bamboo rod. Immediate I ran into a myriad of stumbling blocks.”