121 W Galena St, Butte, MT 59701
Sweetgrass Rods is not a fly shop in the conventional sense — it is a bamboo rod atelier, a working studio where one of the most venerated craft traditions in fly fishing is practiced with museum-level precision. Founded by Glenn Brackett, whose 50-year career at the bench began under the master rod makers at the legendary R.L. Winston Rod Company (which he and Tom Morgan relocated from San Francisco to Twin Bridges, Montana in the mid-1970s to be closer to the Jefferson, Big Hole, Beaverhead, and Madison), Sweetgrass represents a direct lineage from the golden age of American cane rod making. The studio operates from Butte, Montana, by appointment, with a showroom that functions as both gallery and classroom.
Each Sweetgrass rod begins as Arundinaria amabilis bamboo sourced directly from select Chinese growers and passes through an estimated 3,000 individual steps before leaving the shop — hand-splitting, oven treatment to achieve the signature honey-amber color, machine beveling, and final hand-finishing. The process takes 15 to 20 hours per rod. Brackett's signature "Mantra" series and custom commission rods are fished seriously by collectors and working anglers alike on the surrounding tailwaters and freestone streams. Visitors who call ahead are welcomed with impromptu casting sessions and tours of the workshop — a rare window into a craft practiced by fewer than a handful of makers at this level of quality anywhere in the world.
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout
Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Cutthroat Trout
“I drove from Denver to Butte specifically to visit Glenn Brackett's shop and it was worth every mile. He gave me a full tour of the workshop — showing me the splitting, oven-treating, and beveling process — and let me cast two demo rods on the lawn. The feel of a finished Sweetgrass rod is something no graphite rod can replicate: alive in the hand, deeply intuitive on the cast. I ordered a 7-foot 6-inch 4-weight Mantra and it's the finest thing I've ever fished with.”
“Glenn Brackett is a living legend and spending an afternoon in his Butte studio felt like a visit to a master's workshop from another era. He showed us sections of cane at different stages of the build and explained the 3,000 steps between raw bamboo and finished rod with the patience of a true craftsman. My husband fished his Sweetgrass for the first time on the Big Hole — 19 inches of wild brown on a size 14 elk hair caddis. The rod was perfect.”
“There is no higher standard in American bamboo rod making than Sweetgrass. I've owned Paynes, Leonards, and Winston cane rods and the Sweetgrass Mantra I commissioned two years ago is my most-fished rod. The craftsmanship is flawless — the ferrule fit, the action, the cosmetics. Glenn is generous with his time if you call ahead. Do not miss this place if you're anywhere near southwestern Montana.”
