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Maurice Noel

Profile of an Artisan
by Luis Nasim

I first met Maurice Noel at the Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Forum in Toronto a few years ago. I was walking down the Forum's aisles between seminars when I happened to meet him. He had a small booth with a few of his reels on display and brochures with descriptions about his products. A vivacious man with a true French accent, Mr. Noel seemed a bit anxious, as if he would rather be making reels than marketing them.

The Maurice Noel I met a few months later in St. Philippe was different from the man I ran across in Toronto. Excusing himself for the greasy hands, he greeted me and led me to the basement of his big old stone house. Strewn about a huge table were aluminum, titanium, delrin and exotic wood plates, bronze bushings, steel springs and spools, and little brass plates with names engraved on them. All the pieces of the reel puzzle on display.

Salmon

Mr. Noel has been making salmon and trout reels in the tradition of the classic Vom hofe, Zwarg, and Meek styles since 1994. Judging by all the "work in progress", business is good. It is quite apparent that an increasing number of people world-wide have an increased interest in fine traditional gear during the last few years and are willing to pay the price. As the demand increases, the supply capacity of this one-man operation has a tough time catching up.

Maurice turned out to be a truly affable man, ready to talk about salmon fishing, different rivers, places and people. Unfortunately, the business that provides for his livelyhood takes more and more of his time and he doesn't get to fish as often as he would like. He spoke about the Maritimes, the Margaree and other Nova Scotia rivers of which he has many fond memories. He also spoke of the huge salmon of the Restigouche and was looking forward to an invitation from Paul Dube to fish that fabled river for some huge spring atlantic salmon.

Maurice does not only fish for atlantics. He often makes trips to Pulaski to fish for steelhead. So if you are ever wading the Salmon River and come upon a gentleman with a French accent and a beautiful traditional Vom hofe type reel, go say hello to Mr. Noel.

Finally, he showed me some of the titanium and aluminum Spey reels and smaller trout reels in progress. He mentioned that the demand for these was really taking off and acknowledged that he's had a few people waiting for months to get theirs. I asked him why he felt people were willing to pay almost twice as much for the titanium type reel. He said titanium is pretty much unalterable, and although a reel made out of titanium is 30% heavier than one made of aluminum, some people actually prefer the heavier material to balance the two-handed rods. He was quick to point out however that given half decent care, one would not wear out his aluminum reels in a lifetime of use.

Monsieur Noel is also an enthusiast of two-handed rods. He admits he still has some learning to do but he practices whenever he gets a chance on the St. Lawerence River rapids on the south shore of Montreal. As I drooled on, he showed me the Spey reel he uses with the long rod. A gorgeous beast four inches in diameter with a very different drag lever. Instead of an adjustable knob somewhere on the back plate, there is an appropriately shaped sliver of metal running through part of the circumference of the reel and from plate to plate. To affect the drag, one slides this lever with the thumb of the reeling hand. If one were to hold the reel in a "palmed spool" position, the sliding plate would be right at the bottom --a very natural position to reach and control.

Time flies when you are having fun, and after spending a couple of hours at his shop it was time to go and let the man attend to his work. As I drove home, I enjoyed daydreams of large salmon and screaming Noel reels.

Maurice Noel can be contacted at:
Tel & Fax: 450 659-6410

Maurice Noel's Website

Born in St. Affrique, France, by the shores of the Sorgues River, he now makes his home in St.Philippe, Quebec, not far from where I live.
Being a neighbor to Maurice is a dangerous proposition as I knew that sooner or later I would have to pay him a visit; to see the man in his element hand-crafting traditional salmon and trout reels into works of art, or better yet to convince myself (and my wife) that these beautiful reels are a worthwhile investment.