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Renowned fly rod maker Tom Morgan dies in Montana

HELENA, Mont. (AP) Renowned fly fishing rod maker Tom Morgan has died in Montana. He was 76.

Matt Barber, who bought Morgan’s company in February, says Morgan died of pneumonia on Monday.

Morgan spent his life in pursuit of crafting perfect fly rods, regardless of cost, even after he was paralyzed by multiple sclerosis in the mid-1990s.

His wife, Gerri Carlson, became his hands. They spent the next two decades transforming his designs into flawless bamboo, graphite and fiberglass rods.

Morgan had been a Montana fishing guide when he bought the R.L. Winston Rod Company in 1973.