The Maniform Ergonomic Fly Rod Grip

Around ten years ago my fishing pal, John Newton, and I had a go at re-designing the fly rod handle along ergonomic principles. The ?Maniform? handle that we developed differed from ?normal? fly rod handles in not being round in cross section. The overall effect was to change the way the hand gripped the rod, with more of the grip being achieved by the back three fingers of the casting hand, rather than the thumb and forefinger.

Although we came close, no UK manufacturer was brave enough to launch a range of rods fitted with the grip ?as standard?, although numbers were sold steadily to custom rod builders in the USA, in particular.

When we developed the handle, the internet was relatively young, and broadband was non-existent. But times have changed and I?ve decided to employ some cheapskate online research to establish what, if any, product awareness may still be out there, and maybe garner some testimonials, if anyone?s been happily hauling out fish with one.

If you aren?t aware of it and are curious, you might want to look at our new web pages, and the claims we made on its behalf at

http://www.siestacorktiles.co.uk/maniform2.htm

That looks good Dave. I wish you all the best with it, but people are "reluctant to change", an old saying we used to have about computers and new systems.

They prefer "conventional" because they know it and have grown accustomed to it. Manufacturers have a chain of suppliers and they're not willing to test out new ones for fear of them not being reliable, never mind the product. Also, what is the perception of the public, you want a nice fly rod, a Sage maybe, but this new handle looks nothing like the one on a Sage rod.

A great shame because a lot of really good developments founder simply because of attitude.


And another thing, I was told that Fuji will not manufacture anything they haven't invented. So add stubborness to your list.

I know just what you mean, Woody. But look at how much has changed in the world of fly fishing tackle. That said there's 'radical' and 'well radical', and ours is, IMO, the latter.

And you are so right about the need for an aspirational brand like Sage to in some way endorse it.

What's interesting is how the grip seems to be helping folk with tennis elbow/RSI, arthritis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome carry on fishing.

It looks almost exactly like the orthopaedic pistol grip I used to use on my foils when fencing, in those long lost days three stone and a knee operation or two ago.

I suppose the human hand is the same shape whatever, so less surprising ! Now to see if I can perhaps modify an old fencing handle to take a fly rod blank...... hmmmmm !

But in fencing terms I can certainly endorse the greater stability and control of the ortho over the trad straight pommel, so it makes sense that the same would apply, applied to rods.

Good luck with it matey !

Certainly a hell of a lot of fly fishermen who complain of tennis elbow, enough to give you a decent market for a few dozen gross of sales.

I suppose the trickier bit is retro fitting them to existing rods, as opposed to persuading a manufacturer to take it forwards. And unless you have a patent there is no copyright in an idea..... consult a decent business lawyer.[edit]D'oh.... pending ! Good man. Moral, read website first before making public pratt of self.[/edit]

[edit] come to think of it the main point of a fencing ortho pommel is to get more contribution from the middle ring and little fingers than the conventional "see saw" grip of thumb over crooked index finger, and it certainly does make for quite a difference with a foil. The die hard traditionalists used to argue the point but I doubt if any modern Olympic standard fencer is using anything but an ortho of some sort or another. If it can do it for a rod too....
And just an idea, what about a "stick on" assembly of bits to add to a conventional existing round cigar shape handle to create the correct ortho shape ? Would make converting old rods a hell of a lot easier than a complete strip down of the butt.... and cheaper ![/edit]