about scott

The Scott Fly Rod Company started in a basement on Cook Street in San Francisco back in 1973 when Harry Wilson followed his dream of building a better fly rod (really, we’re not making that up). Being an accomplished engineer and angler, Harry left his job as an executive to pursue his passion for building the world’s finest fly rods.

Incorporated in 1974, and named after Harry’s son, Scott, the company quickly became known for fine fiberglass fly rods. Innovations like the first five-piece rods for backpacking anglers caught the attention of serious fishermen.

In the early 70’s, graphite came on the scene. Scott was there to lead the charge and was the company that realized this material made it possible to design the first high performance long rods for light lines. Scott introduced a new concept in fly rods in 1975, a 9 foot rod for a 4 line, that opened the eyes of anglers around the world.

In 1975, Harry Wilson hired his first employee, Larry Kenney, and they developed and grew the company from its basement roots to a rod company known across the globe in just a few short years.

With business booming, and Kenney now at the helm as a partner, Scott moved to a new location across the Bay to expand further. Larry Kenney continued to innovate new rods like Harry had before him.

In 1993, under new ownership, Scott moved operations from Berkeley, California to Telluride, Colorado. The Telluride facility soon began to stretch at the seams, and a new facility was built in Montrose, Colorado where we operate today.

We have a lot more people crafting fly rods today then back in the San Francisco years (and a lot fewer sideburns) but our traditions of innovation and handcrafting every Scott rod continue with a dedication and passion as strong as ever.