 The E. C. Powell Fly Fishers Club is named in honor of the legendary fisherman, Mr. E. C. Powell, one of the foremost cane (bamboo) fly rod builders of his time. The club was formed in the late 1970's with the encouragement of Powell's son, Walton. Ed Hobbs and Jim Fujii contacted several of their local fishing friends and organized a committee to form the club. After several meetings, Jim Fujii was selected as the first Chairman of the committee. Shortly thereafter, Jim was elected as the club’s first President and Ed Hobbs was elected Vice President. Today, both Jim and Ed are still active members of the club as are Mark Iwanaga and Jack MacFarlane, both original members of the organizing committee. The first formal meeting of the E. C. Powell Fly Fishers club was held on January 8th, 1980.
Objectives of the E. C. Powell Fly Fishers Club
The main objective of the club is to promote the sport of fly fishing in all forms including cold water, warm water and saltwater fisheries. Further, the club promotes the conservation of the resources that provide habitat for the sport by providing financial support to several national and international fly fishing organizations. Locally, the club actively promotes the sport to youngsters and adults alike, encourages good sportsmanship and proper stream etiquette.
Some notes about E. C. Powell
E. C. Powell began building bamboo fly rods in 1910 and his creations are still considered by many to be the best engineered rods ever built. By the early 1900's, Powell had single handedly changed the way bamboo fly rods are made by discovering techniques for designing and assembling the raw bamboo into rods which could be tailored into different weights. During the 1930's and 1940's, E. C. Powell began manufacturing fly rods in a factory located in Marysville, California. Highly sought after by collectors, some early Powell bamboo rods can sell for thousands of dollars. To this day, E. C. Powell is about as big a name as you can get in the world of fly fishing. Upon E. C. Powell’s death, his son, Walton, continued the tradition for many years. Later Walton’s son, Press, would become a respected craftsman in his own right focusing on graphite rods. While no Powells work for Powell & Co. today, fly rods continue to be manufactured under the Powell family name in Novato, California.
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