can anyone help me. a friend of mine has in his possesion a 7ft 4-5 fly rod. the rodbuilders name is on it as "NICOLAS WHIPP RODBUILDER NEFYN N.WALES". this friend asked me if I could find anything about this man on the net and so far ive made little headway.did notice that posts on this site made by nigel connor and brian salmon a few years ago did mention this rodbuilder. so im hoping some of you throw me some crumbs or good info about nicolas . the name nicolas whipp is spelled exactley as it is spelled on the rod,it does not have a H after the C.my friend was given the rod years ago by a distant relative who died soon after. so gents if any of you can help us, we will appreciate it.
Nicolas Whipp
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preston96
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It is going to be very nice rod of that i have no doubt but the only mention i can find of NW is on an American site and even then it says little........i find that strange because i have heard of him.....i always thought his surname was made up for a rod builder! 
................how old is it? i thought NW was a recent rod builder?
................how old is it? i thought NW was a recent rod builder?
Derek Gibson
Well-known member
I remember seeing adverts for N W rods in several of my old fishing mags i will dig them out and pass on any relevant info, his rods seemed very desirable. Bear with me.
mikeshaw1979
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I suspect 'Nicholas Whipp' was a made up name. The Nefyn factory lasting about as long as the WDA grants.
It was before my time but hearsay has it that angling author Paul Boote was somehow involved.
It was before my time but hearsay has it that angling author Paul Boote was somehow involved.
preston96
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Salmonella.........NW and Paul Boote rings a bell with me to, didn't NW "take over" the rod building at what was Paul Boote?
I had a couple of carp rods built by Paul, they were nice tools.
mikeshaw1979
Well-known member
I think NW made some one off heavy spinning rods for Jeremy Wade and Boote's "Casting for Gold" film - Mahseer on the upper Ganges, almost in the Himalayas.
I have their book somewhere. I'll check on the credits etc later.
I have their book somewhere. I'll check on the credits etc later.
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A few points.
The filmed August-September 1989, screened worldwide 1990, Casting For Gold film featured John Bailey (not Wade) and myself (I was also Consultant to the makers of the film). The upper Ganges is definitely in - well and truly in - the Himalaya. The rods used in the film (I still have three of the four, the fourth I gave as a present to a fine old gentleman who appeared in the film, a great mahseer-angler and long-time good friend of mine, Lt. Col. Morris Mehta of Dehra Dun) were special one-offs designed and built by myself on blanks (two "light", two "heavy") made specially for me by Century Composites to my spec. 11-foot, lowish-diameter, woven carbon-kevlars fitted with Fuji SiC guides. Not heavy, by any means - indeed, of lighter test curve and far less stiff than the vast majority of today's carp rods.
Nicholas Whipp. Nicholas was a rod builder based in north Wales who initially built fly rods (mostly for the U.S. market), then began to look towards building and selling coarse rods here. In late 1989, tired of six years of non-stop rod building for my pretty successful Graham Phillips Rods business, I decided to sell G.P. I put the word out, and very soon Nicholas Whipp was in touch. The sale was effected by the spring of 1990, and I was free of rods and free to fish again as much as I wanted to!
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geoffmaynard
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A little more angling history unravelled then. Thanks Paul. What are you up to these days? Any more adventures for us to look forward to?
Nigel Connor
Well-known member
Paul obvioulsy sums it up.
Fine rods the Graham Philips range most certainly were.I still use my 1.25 TC Barbel Quiver to this day.A classic.
Fine rods the Graham Philips range most certainly were.I still use my 1.25 TC Barbel Quiver to this day.A classic.
Thankyou all gents,for your inputs to date.Its all very very interesting, and (with yor blessings) I would like to ask more about NW soon. On the said rod is a number, in small print. This number is 596.What could it mean? over
cgriff9999
New member
It is 10 years later and I found this conversation as I was trying to find out more about the NW 9ft 8wt fly rod I found among the 50 years of assorted fly fishing stuff that I have collected. It will be fun to see if anyone wants this rod as long as shipping costs are not too high.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Paul Boote. Wind up king of FM. COME BACK