The Story of

ArcticSilver USA

ArcticSilver International, based in Norway, is proud to launch ArcticSilver USA to bring this welcome advance in fly-fishing technology to North American shores. The ArcticSilver USA team is made up of dynamic and dedicated members from both Europe and the U.S. who boast cross-disciplinary skills and heapfuls of passion for the art and science of fly casting.

We couldn’t be more excited to introduce stateside anglers to the pioneering potential of the ArcticSilver ZENSE fly rod. Meticulously field-tested everywhere from the tropical rivers of Belize to the harsh elements of Scandinavia, this is a rod ready to amaze on North America’s fabled streams and flats. Whether you’re a trout junkie, a salmon fanatic, or one of those tarpon obsessives who loves nothing more than battling a silver king off South Florida’s mangrove coast, the ArcticSilver fly rod promises a transformative experience.

Extend your casting muscle and touch, spend more (and longer) days on the water, and reduce your own physical strain with the ZENSE rod, designed to make the seduction of fly fishing all the more magical.

From idea to realization

ArcticSilver is the story of how the combination of chronic tenovaginitis (acute or chronic inflammation of the tendon sheath, occurring in the region of the hand, the wrist joint, and forearm) and a passion for design became the start of a creative process – one that turned into a genuine fly-fishing innovation.
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The combination of tireless MAC-work and long stints of fly-fishing resulted in two years of agonizing chronic tenovaginitis. It does something to you! Especially when one is, a passionate fly-fisherman and you suddenly cannot fish as much as you would like to. Many questions arose, like can a rod be developed that makes casting possible with radically less force?​

During casting instruction many years ago, I noted how the casting instructor emphasized ‘that a rod’s power potential lies in the butt section of the rod’. This doctrine became my focal point in terms of designing the unique Free-Flex concept.

​Drawing pads and tools were brought to the table, and, for a period, the garage became the developmental workspace for the first prototypes. The first tests gave me all the answers I needed to move on. It worked! A cross-disciplinary team of experts from SINTEF (A company for industrial and technical research and development) helped optimize the handle’s construction and production technology.

Together with some of Scandinavia’s most accomplished Industrial Designers, ArcticSilver has now developed a new category of fly rods based on the Free-Flex concept.

Robert Selfors