C1 Design Group enters fly fishing as the Waterworks: 1995 to 1998
Following the Ketchum Release and several other accessory ideas, we quickly turned our attention to fly reels. We could see that fly reels were poorly designed. Reels were too complicated; they were using too many parts; drag systems and other running parts were exposed to the elements; reels were too heavy. We began with a blank sheet of paper, and undertook a total re-think of the fly reel. Center Axis Concept
	To “quiet” the negative influence that the weight of a reel has on the rod, the ultimate solution would be to align the center of mass of the reel with the center axis of the rod. By aligning these two centers of mass along the same axis, the twisting or pronating force would be eliminated and the pendulum effect reduced. The rod would be in better balance, feel more responsive, and perform according to the rod designer’s vision. And so we developed, designed and patented this concept. One small problem: we weren’t a rod company. Sage Manufacturing helped on this one. They saw the merit in this design innovation and licensed our design which they brought to market as the Sage Center Axis. In order for Sage to also offer a truly lightweight and high-end reel for Center Axis and standard seat rods, Sage engaged the Waterworks to design a large arbor reel. Our design for Sage became known as the Sage 3000 series.

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