88-year-old gives young angler the fly-fishing rod he made as a teen

88-year-old gives young angler the fly-fishing rod he made as a teen

Source: CBC News

6/25/2022

Credit: Aaron Billard

In support of his new hobby of fly fishing, 11-year-old Eli Billard from Moncton received a special fishing rod as a gift.

Made with four pieces of bamboo and about six feet long, the fishing rod was handmade by Pat Gillespie, who is now 88 but made the rod when he was just 16.

Gillespie said he threaded and varnished the rod himself, and it was used to fish many rivers in New Brunswick. His hope is that Eli "enjoys it as much as I did over the years."

Gillespie learned about Eli's new love for fly fishing through a community pastoral letter delivered to his door in early June by Eli's father, Aaron Billard, the minister at St. John's United Church in Moncton.