Review: Mr. Ant’s Rods – The Northfork Composite LMX
The NorthFork Composite (NFC) LMX 11-foot 2-weight rod arrived from Mr. Ant’s Rods just in time for a quick trip to central Pennsylvania where I planned to explore a small Class A limestone stream. Water was up following Hurricane Debby, and cooler temperatures had the streams quite fishable. It didn’t take long to land my first trout, a nice wild brown, or my second or my third on the new rod.
One of the trademarks of a great rod, I believe, is that fishing with it feels natural. It’s not clunky and doesn’t take “getting used to.” You pick it up for the first time and it feels like you’ve been using it all your life. That’s how the Mr. Ant’s Rod felt in my hand that day.
The NFC LMX blank used for this particular rod was designed by legendary rod maker Gary Loomis. “They’re American made and I believe one of the best blanks you can buy,” says Richard Steinhart, the owner and custom rod builder behind Mr. Ant’s Rods.
I agree. The sensitivity on this particular rod is incredible. Through shallow riffles, deeper pools, and swift runs, I felt every rock along the stream bottom – and every strike. That’s one major aspect I’ve noticed about this rod.
The other two qualities that quickly got my attention are these. First, casting accuracy is noticeably better with this rod than other Euro rods I’ve used – primarily the Cortland Nymph, Orvis Recon, and TFO Drift Rod. Part of that can be attributed to the rod’s recovery rate, which allows for a smooth follow through that places the fly exactly where I want it. But it’s also partly due to the monofilament wraps around the top two sections of the blank.
Have you ever experienced your mono leader sticking to your Euro rod? When this happens, it’s not just hard to cast, but hard to cast accurately. However, wrapping 4x monofilament around the top two sections, an idea Steinhart got from Devin Olsen at The Tactical Fly Fisher, basically resolves this issue. The result is an easy-to-cast line that lands the fly exactly where you want it.
Also, this rod has incredible recovery, which allows me to gain a quick connection with my fly or flies. The quicker you can engage your nymphs into the drift, the longer you’ll be able to effectively detect strikes throughout the prime, fish-holding zones.
I like the lightweight feel of this rod, too, compared to other similar rods I’ve used. One of my chief complaints regarding the Cortland Nymph Rod, for instance, is its heaviness. After a few hours on the water, I have to stop and give my arm a rest, and by day’s end I’m ready to ice up. Not so with the NFC LMX 11-foot 2-weight from Mr. Ant’s Rods. Fishing with this for a full day was pretty much effortless, no arm fatigue whatsoever.
This rod is easy on the eyes, too. Its carbon fiber grip and fighting butt are sharp. The wraps around the aluminum ferrules on this particular rod match well with the reel seat, but these can be customized to the blank, as Steinhart builds rods to suit the desires of each customer.
Rich custom builds approximately 150 fly rods every year. “I’m a civil engineer by education, and I was running an international company and decided when I was 49 years old that I wanted to start my own consulting business. I was doing that for a couple years when COVID-19 hit, and suddenly there was little interest in having a consultant on the payroll. business So I was looking for something to do to keep myself busy, and I decided to build a few rods and sell them until COVID passed.”
As word spread about the quality of Steinhart’s rods, orders increased. “After about six months, I thought it was something I could do full time,” he says.
Rich has been fly fishing since he was 5 years old, and used to spend 80-100 days on the water with his dad and uncle when he was a kid. Throughout the years, he built custom rods “off and on” as well.
So where does the name Mr. Ant’s Rods come from?
“My dad, John Steinhart, was an avid fly fisherman, and I went with him and my uncle every weekend,” Rich explains. “About 45 years ago, we used something called a McMurray Ant, which was basically a couple small, balsa wood balls or cork glued to a piece of monofilament and tied to a hook shank. They were great except they fell apart after two or three fish. So my dad invented the foam body ant and started selling them to fly shops in Pennsylvania. Fly Fishers Paradise in State College was probably the first shop to sell them
“My dad called them Instant Ants and Crickets and ended up selling them in fly shops all around the state. He often sold these foam bodies and finished flies out of the back of his pickup truck on the banks of streams, too. He was also one of the first to ever have a vanity license plate in Pennsylvania, which he had on that pickup truck, that said, ‘Mr. Ants.’
“When I started building fly rods full time, I decided to name my rods in his honor. I put the same dedication into my rods as he did into his Instant Ants and Crickets.”
Steinhart builds rod specifically tailored for all types of fly fishing, whether you’re looking for a quality Euro nymphing stick or need a new dry fly rod to deliver soft presentations to spooky fish. Contact Steinhart today at 724-272-5903 or email mrantsrods@comcast.net. Also, visit him on Facebook to see some of his latest work.
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