ABOUT

The idea of creating a six-sided rod from graphite or fiberglass has been on my mind for nearly 20 years. Back when Harry Brisco owned the Hexagraph rod company, I built numerous rods using blanks cut and ferruled by Jim Clarkson of Raptor Rod Works. These blanks were made by Bruce and Walker in the UK. The six-sided rods and blanks, featuring a foam core, were beloved by many anglers. However, when Harry sold the brand around 2012, I became determined to design a six-sided rod from fiberglass or graphite myself. Drawing on two decades of experience crafting split cane rods, I initially attempted to build them in the same manner. While it worked, I quickly realized that replicating the process was nearly impossible.

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Over the next 12 years, I experimented with different approaches, sometimes setting the project aside for months or even years. Eventually, I was inspired by the work of Sou Maruyama at Solid Octagon in Japan. Instead of meticulously planning each strip by hand, I employed a six-sided cutter machine, which I later adapted into a proprietary cutting and tapering system for Paragon Rods.

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During the development phase—spanning a little over a year—I decided against mimicking the action of Hexagraph rods. While excellent in their own right, they lacked the feel of bamboo. Solid Octagon rods, meanwhile, were beyond the capabilities of my equipment. This led me to develop two distinct series: the True Parabolic Fiberglass rod series and the Semi Parabolic carbon series. Both, I believe, successfully replicate the action of some of my favorite bamboo tapers.

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Give one a try! And thanks for looking. Shane Gray