From Swift Fly Fishing:
Wanaka, New Zealand: May 12, 2016 —Swift Fly Fishing, the company behind Epic fly rods and the award-winning films, Casts that Catch Fish, Once in a Blue Moon, and Itu’s Bones, is pleased to announce that April Vokey has joined their team.
“A guide since the age of twenty-two, writer, accomplished fly angler, and respected businesswoman, Vokey’s seemingly boundless enthusiasm, sincerity and positive energy are in perfect concert with our goals,” says Swift’s founder and owner Carl McNeil. “A company is only as good as its team and we’re incredibly fortunate to be working with such a great bunch of people. If I sat down to draw up a list of the qualities I look for in a business partner to help lead a pioneering and disruptive company, it would be a description of April.”
Vokey, a noted fly-fishing personality, has bought into the company as a shareholder and director. “I am very excited to be on board with such an innovative and dynamic company. I’ve been watching the Epic brand grow since its first introduction into the industry,” said Vokey. “It was important for me to put my name and confidence into a company whose quality is flawless and uncompromising, with components only sourced from the best manufacturers in the world, and each blank rolled and quality-checked in New Zealand. Between Carl and myself, the majority of our time is spent in British Columbia, Australia and New Zealand. This gives us a unique opportunity to dial in tapers, materials, and construction. I’m genuinely looking forward to being a part of the Swift team.”
Epic is refreshingly honest and innovative at a time when personal connection with the consumer is often missed. The fly-fishing company is working hard to bring the world some of the finest carbon-fibre two-handed rods on the market, and they are also committed to fine-tuning the glass and carbon rods currently available.
Each Epic fly rod is built upon a proprietary taper and is handcrafted in the Swift studio workshop. Using “just in time” manufacturing, rods are made one at a time as ordered by the customer.
For now, it is business as usual — with the company producing a limited number of fly rods for current orders. McNeil said, “Our short-term focus is ensuring that we keep producing the absolute best quality fly rod we can. Volume will come later, but we won’t be mass-producing anything any time soon. We don’t aim to be the biggest or the cheapest, but we do aim to deliver the very best.”