What’s your view on bamboo fly rods?
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While I’ve found the above opinions both interesting and informative, I feel somewhat embarrassd that after 25 years of flyfishing I’ve never casted a bamboo flyrod.
Find a maker in your area. I’m sure they’d let you try a rod on hand. Most keep demo rods available for just that purpose. The maker should try to determine what kind of rod you like, action, type of fishing, etc.
OK, I’ll admit to aging toward the “ancient” stage, having started fishing when there were still steel casting rods, cheap “Japanese bamboo” rods (in retrospect, I believe these were inexpensive Japan-made knockoff reproductions of quality domestic cane rods), and the beginning of fiberglass rods.
I own a couple of very nice cane rods. One is an old Orvis designed by Charlie Fox and built by Wes Jordan. The other is a six-foot Sweetwater small stream rod – some of us old guys fish in rhododendron thickets too. But now I only fish them on special occasions on special streams – the Orvis rod on the Battenkill for example.
For ninety nine percent of my fishing I use graphite. It’s simply more practical. As much as I love my 7 1/2 ft Orvis, I can’t imagine casting a 13 1/2 ft bamboo spey rod all day. And, of course if you do break one, it’s easily replaced.
For me it’s about tradition. And, bamboo is a great part of that tradition. I love the history and tradition of fly fishing and one of my favorite pastimes is reading and collecting books about our sport.
…What I’m interested is, since the rod making conditions are the best they have ever been (best available tools, internet making sharing info a breeze, best synthetic glues available, etc.), how good a rod are the current crops of bamboo rods these days? Can they be a true alternative to modern graphite rods?
However before getting to that level of discussion, I guess we/I needed to know what the experience on bamboo rod our forum members have so far. As soon as the ones that really have tried (and still trying) the best modern bamboo rods made come through, we’ll probably be talking about to what level the modern bamboo rods are capable of fishing the way we do today. What are their limits, what are these rods good at, does the nostalgic ‘sound’ of bamboo add to the fishing experience, etc.
I’m not sure if this kind of thoughts and discussion gets a chance here? At the Clark’s bamboo forum, it gets too much caught in ‘I just prefer bamboo no matter what’ kind of discussion.
Am I making any sense here? ::)
I have been holding off on this question, and thinking about it a lot. I hope I can answer these questions.
About me: I am sponsored by the Sweetgrass Rod company, so I will likely say nice things about their rods. However, I am also a journalist, and try to provide some facts to go along with my opinions, and hope my thoughts are useful. I have been making bamboo rods from the culm, for around five years, and refinishing/building bamboo for about 10 years. I have written about rods and interviewed many well-known makers/designers, published in newspapers primarily while writing an outdoor column for the Lewiston Morning Tribune, Lewiston, Idaho. Some makers I have interviewed and B.S. with on a regular basis: Glenn Brackett, Jerry Kustich, Sam Drukman (carbon fiber, but a genius rod designer), of Sweetgrass rods, Tom Morgan and Bill Blackburn of Morgan Rodsmiths and past owner of Winston, Bernard Ramanauskas of Eden Cane/Scott, Jeff Walker retired Winston/Sweetgrass Rods, Jeff Hatton of Gnomish Rodworks, Harry Boyd, Denver Dave Collyer, Wayne Macca, Matt Schliske, Mike Clark, Joe Arguello, Steve Kiley, Brian Morrow, Mike Peck, Thomas Simarud (Norway), and another carbon fiber guy: Tim Rajeff, and bamboo personalities: AK Best and John Gierach.
There are others, I’m sure, but these are most of the people I know and are friends. I have cast every one of these maker’s rods, and fished most of ’em. I have worked in both the Sweetgrass and Matt Schliske’s shops as an apprentice maker.
I first started fishing bamboo at around age 16. The first main event that got me in to fishing primarily bamboo was breaking/bending hooks and tippet while fishing the trico/caddis hatch on the Bighorn river in Montana. I was fishing a custom-made G Loomis rod, and it was the finest rod I owned. The other was an 8 wt. Eagle Claw… Then I got an old bamboo rod from a local sporting goods shop ($85), took it to the Horn, and started setting the hook to 20+ inch Brownies with 5x tippet, and #22 flies landing the bruisers successfully.
My main concern with fly rods is their performance for actual fishing conditions. I don’t care if you can cast 100′ with it, if you break your tippet trying to set a hook. My experience lately with carbon-fiber rod design is mostly from what I’ve learned from Sam Drukman, and a bit from Tom Morgan. Morgan was the first to insist to me that the material doesn’t matter. What matters is the maker’s ability to understand the characteristics of the material and design rods using the certain qualities of the chosen material.
Sam has mentioned that graphite is better in some instances, such as bigger rods, due to it’s high modulus, but that you can still make a bad rod if you don’t design around the modulus correctly. Same with fiberglass, which he and others makes a better trout rod. Sam has also been designing rods with graphite/glass hybrid blanks to make what he sees as some of the best rods out there. That being said, every rod I’ve designed in the past couple years (5 versions of three rods), I’ve given to Sam to try out, and he points out weak and strong points in the taper. The taper. THE TAPER. I’ll say it again — the taper.
That being said, what I’ve learned in the last several years has been from professionals building commercially, some as a hobby, and some as the prototypical maker in the garage. I have taken all these perspectives in to account, combined with my own rod-making experiences with those of the clients that I guide in Montana.
Many makers and users of bamboo rods feel it is best as a trout-water rod for medium to small streams and lakes. I would have to agree with that for the most part, but have made a rod that is just shy of 9′, weighs under 5 oz., and can throw double-streamers with accuracy and authority. I have fished it in the salt many times, I have yet to catch anything bigger than 8 inches in the ocean however :'( It’s a killer rod and an example of how bamboo can make a great big-water tool. But, I didn’t build it using common techniques, but also didn’t vary too far from what has been made in the past.
The reason for trout-water preference seems to be the weight issue. Bamboo is the heaviest material used, but not by much. Wayne Macca makes bamboo rods as light as and as strong as many graphite rods, but custom-made to a customer’s preference — including bass and salt. Some of his rods are even completely hollow through the tip. Crazy.
I don’t see weight in and of itself as an issue. I have these things in my arm called “muscles.” Maybe you’ve heard of them :D. The more I work them, the bigger they get. Thing is, they don’t have to get much bigger to handle an extra 2 oz, which is about the biggest difference from comparable carbon-fiber and bamboo rods. That being said, what matters is where the weight is! Some rods can be “tip heavy,” and truly are a pain to cast. How do I know this? I have carpel tunnel in both my hands, 1″ missing from my right clavicle, and a displaced left clavicle. There are a few historic rods I’ve cast that kill my hands after a couple hours, and are “too heavy,” b/c of the weight primarily in the tip section. This has only happened on 9′, solid rods. Then, again, I’ve cast 9′ rods that didn’t hurt my hands. It’s in the design.
One way I get around weight issues is by using our modern glues and hollowing in some areas, keeping solid in others, and using components (ferrules, reel seats, guides) that are lighter than “normal.” Many makers do the same thing. Many historic makers have done this as well, since the early 1900s.
I went away from carbon-fiber rods, because they started to ballyhoo how far they could cast. The faster-action the better. This to me, made them a pain to use with delicate fishing techniques, and for casting in close, which is where most trout anglers fish. To me, a rod needs to react in close, as well as out to farther distances, at least 50-60 feet for most trout fishing. I have lots more thoughts on distances fished and how rods should react, but will have to leave that for later.
After talking with Morgan and Drukman, and casting their rods, I have found a new love of carbon-fiber! Yep. Some carbon-fiber rods just turn me on — Sam’s especially. Also, a few models in general production for graphite makers are pretty nice. The thing I love about Drukman’s and Morgan’s rods, are they have delicate tips that transition to powerful butts, making them useful for casting in close and far out.
Bamboo does this naturally, especially rods with swelled buts, or steep changes in taper in the butt section. Especially rods with mortised rod grips — bamboo and hardwoods laminated to form the grip. Bamboo has about the same (slightly lower) modulus as fiberglass. But, they must be designed differently to get the performance we desire. A rod has to flex to get that performance.
This is where bamboo gets interesting. There are 2 strip (of bamboo)/4-sided rods, 3 strip/4-sided, 3-sided, 4-sided, 5-sided, 6-sided, 7-sided, 8-sided, 9-sided and 10-sided rods available today and many from more than 100 years ago. Carbon-fiber rods are round and hollow, and original blanks are difficult to find, as they are expensive to make. Therefore original tapers and wrapping of carbon-fibers is less common. Many rods available come from the same maker, then re-painted and built with different components and labeled for whichever company. There is one instance where a graphite company used the exact same rod then labeled it for four different models. Same blanks, same lengths. Only thing different was the label, I believe they labeled 4 to 7 weights the same. It took a lot of complaining from dealers, but they eventually changed those models.
And bamboo rods are available from 100s of makers around the world: Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Michigan being some notable Meccas. This variation in models and makers makes bamboo an interesting fly-fishing tool for sure. And, say you find that sweet little (or big) rod that fits your casting style perfectly, you can get the taper and have a near-perfect replication made by any one of these makers. Find your favorite carbon-fiber rod, break it five years later or wanna get another, and you are likely out of luck. Those blanks are long gone, and you will never be able to fish that rod again. Not so with bamboo — as long as you have the taper.
Speaking of tapers, this is the change in dimensions from big to little in 1-inch increments. The bigger the change in dims., the faster the action. Those looking for their first bamboo rod will likely want to fish a progressive-actioned rod with a “fast action.” This is a steady change in dims. from butt to tip, maybe with a couple steeper areas in strategic places. A traditional maker example would be Lyle Dickerson, and a more modern maker would be Matt Schliske or the Sweetgrass company, or Bernard Ramanauskas. I have fished their rods and know. Sweetgrass is overall faster than Winston, but likely a medium-actioned design if you have been fishing carbon fiber.
If you can get the taper of a rod (likely in 5-inch increments), find the difference per inch, i.e. if you have dims.: .280 and .270 at two stations, five inches apart, your taper per inch is .002 inches. In my opinion, this is a satisfactory change in taper for a progressive rod design, at a minimum. I build my rods with a couple places that drop a bit more steeply, especially in the top 15 inches near the tip.
But a rod doesn’t need to be fast to be a joy to cast. This is something fiberglass aficionados know. Just wait a little longer on your back cast and you will discover the magic of your rod working for you. Once you get that slightly heavier rod moving, the inertia keeps it keepin’ on, and “casts for you.” That is a description you will hear from a lot of makers/users of bamboo. They cast for you. They cast for you because the bamboo fibers transmit energy stored in them. So does a carbon-fiber rod. BUT, they transmit it quicker (higher modulus and lighter weight). A rod-maker can adjust the materials and rod design to get the action they want. But, overall bamboo is easier to work. You don’t have to jar it to get it going. The mass in the rod transmits the energy in a fluid motion — in most rods.
And price? You can find amazing rods from anywhere in the $400 price range on up. Even notable makers of $1,500 to $2,000 rods have prototypes available at a fraction of the cost. Some will sell a blank for a comparable pittance, and you can build them up to a wonderful rod for less than $50 in materials. I have even cast “bidi” rods that were very nice fishing/casting tools. These rods are the top two sections (usually) from a 9′ rod. So, say you find an old South Bend rod with plastic reel seat, cheap components, and painfully tip-heavy action. You can get these rods for $50 or less. Again, for about another $50 in materials, you can use the mid and tip to make a sweet 6′, 2 pc. rod that will likely throw a 4 to 6 weight line with delicacy and ease. I know because I’ve done it and cast other makers/builders’ rods that did it. Of course, maybe you don’t like small rods…
In summary, it is the variation, durability, effectiveness and beauty in bamboo rods that make them a joy to fish. Yes, they are durable. Brackett often will throw a bamboo rod on the concrete floor, stop on it with his booted foot, then hand it to someone to fish with. The support of the several strips bound together help protect against hook dings and general abuse. The one weak spot really is metal ferrules (generally and not always). Here, the stiff metal joint meets the more flexible bamboo, and is one of the most common places for breakage, besides the tip. To protect against this, the angler should fight fish with an obtuse angle rather than an acute one. What? Well, instead of heaving the rod back, over your head, putting a sharp angle (less than 45 degrees) bend in the rod, keep an “open” angle generally greater than 50 degrees to fight fish. You may have to get a longer-handled net or wade back to shore more often, but it will reduce the chance for failure at the ferrule.
Landing a Largemouth bass with a 4 weight PMQ (Poor Man’s Quad), a rod I made with two strips of bamboo to make a quad rod, with no forms. A micrometer, plane, measuring tape, glue, varnish, clamps and hardware are about all you need. A pencil helps. Note how I’m keeping my hand back to keep the angle more open and not stress the ferrule as much. It’s still a steep angle, but only for a brief moment.
Fighting an 18-inch Brownie on Montana’s Bighorn river on my birthday with my first bamboo rod made from a culm. It’s a nodeless Leonard copy, 7’6″, 4 weight, hex rod. Again, note the open angle that successfully brought the beauty to my hands.
The blanks I used a couple years ago for my prototype big-water rod of my own design. Note the hollowing in the butt section — completely threw the grip, to reduce weight and quicken the response in the rod’s flex. I’m still working on the design of this rod, but it is a killer rod even enjoyed by a buddy who HATES bamboo.
http://www.sweetgrassrods.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=24">
http://www.sweetgrassrods.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&Itemid=24
A link to my blog for Sweetgrass rods. You might be surprised at the size of one particular fish… Maybe not….At any rate, I love bamboo. I also love properly designed carbon-fiber rods. And while I’m on it, not all bamboo rods are “properly” designed. I have cast rods that I didn’t really enjoy, and others that simply had poor tapers and did not produce proper loops. And bamboo in no way has a “dead” action. If bamboo does, then fiberglass does.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please let me know.
In Wild Waters,
Zac Sexton
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