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I got a 905 G2.
Great rod that does everything: dries, hoppers, weighted nymphs and even small streamers. Don’t know why it’s considered (only) a dry fly rod?…Here’s a brook trout from Austria.
Amadou is indeed an amazing (natural) product to squeeze out excess water.
I also have a similar ritual: rinse well to get rid of all slime, a few false casts to snap off the water, rinse again for last time, cast again and then squeeze with amadou.
Can you guys buy amadou for a reasonable price?
Looks very nice but it looks like it uses a regular bulb? I was hoping for one with LED lights for longevity as well as brightness.
Like this one from Marc Petitjean, but boy is it expensive!
http://www.petitjean.ch/eng/MPVise/daylightregular.aspPersonally I would have immediately suspected aliens and/or a crashed jet while fighting aliens, but then again I do watch too much Fox. 🙂
Steve, did this happen?
Great trip report!
They kinda look a bit narrow like the Simms L2 boots a while ago.
Can you tell us whether the toe area is roomy or snug?Well, the Dickerson is obviously not meant as an example that the better rods need to be $6500+ but to show that great rods were built many many years ago.
The value of Dickerson rods went through the roof as short as some 10-15 years ago?I’m sure there are many makers who make an excellent copy of the 8013 Dickerson rod for a fraction of the price.
It looks like the discussion was meant turning out like the baseball teams analogy. However that was not the reason of my posting, although the risk turning into one was very much anticipated.
I started getting interested in bamboo some 5-6 years ago. Although I first thought just of getting one nice bamboo rod, it turned out to be much more of a journey. The history behind them is very interesting, but that’s a different part of it. I’m not looking for a rod that belonged to President X or the rod that should be in the museum.
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 think the main issue being that many (most?) fly fishermen have never cast (let alone fished) a good and light 8ft #5 rod. With good I mean not slow but very well loading and active feeling rod.
I try not to use the words ‘fast’, ‘snappy’ or ‘stiff’ because that’s the way graphite rods are described and bamboo rods CAN be stiff and fast (rods made by the Austrian rod maker Brunner are typical stiff and fast). But I think we do not want a copy of graphite’s rods in bamboo.
Heavy is a very overrated thing. Take a 9ft graphite rod from 20-25 years ago and you’ll find them heavy as well. Yes, on the weighing scale bamboo will put some more weight simply because a few reasons: it’s solid material (there are hollowing techniques for bamboo but let’s keep it simple) rather than hollow tube like graphite rods and there is at least one set (in case of a two piece rod) of nickel silver ferrules.
I do agree myself that long bamboo rods (9ft) is just too heavy. Rod weighing 5oz is just too heavy for my taste too.
People who have never cast a good & light 8ft bamboo rods need to cast one when they run into one. With a good rod I do mean the one that are considered by the bamboo community: Brandin, Wojnicki and such. Or even a Dickerson 8013, but real Dickersons are valuable rods (these rods are made around the 2nd WW) and cost around $6500+….
Now I think of it, it’s like Windows users saying Macs are no good while they have never really used one. Not just fiddled at at Walmart. 😎
No worries mate! 😀
Yeah, but look at the physique of Bob. That’s the size and strength of a grizzly! 😉
Mike,
I already own a couple of bamboo rods.
Clarks is a fine forum, yet it’s also very ‘bamboo minded’ which is fine for inside information, but for a ‘helicopter view’ it’s not the best place.
The best way to compare & get info is indeed cast as many rods possible, get in touch with a local maker. However that’s not possible here in Europe. At least not within a reasonable distance. I do try out rods when I meet fishermen fishing bamboo.
Please let’s not talk about ‘bamboo has its place’. That’s an argument that will kill any discussion.
I am interested (as many other I guess) about what makes you fish bamboo (or not) and what do you like or dislike about them.
About the pricing:
I don’t think bamboo rods need to be priced above $1500.
The ones that cost more are just cashing in on their name. But it’s a free market of course.About exceptional casting rods:
I have barely scratched the surface on casting excellent casting bamboo rods.
I have heard good things about the casting abilities of rods made by Wojnicki, Reams, Brandin and Dana Gray. Probably much more out there.Durability:
Said before.
I have Sage rods from the Light Line (LL) and SP era. I love them!
I doubt I can get it replaced easily if I broke them?Workmanship:
A factory made rod from Scott, Sage, Winston or Loomis. They are great rods for both fishing and casting. But in terms of workmanship and finish, I doubt they can compare to bamboo rods made by makers these days. Simply because a factory rod builder can’t spend a lot of time on a single rod (time = money).Current bamboo rod makers have access to the best glues, best tools and knowledge ever. This makes current rods much better than older rods (pre-1980?).
Length & material:
I think bamboo as a material is best for shorter length (up to 8 -8.5 ft). Longer rods will be quite heavy. Using hollowing techniques makers still can build rods around 8ft (8.2 ft etc.) weighing at around 3.3 – 3.5 oz. Not bad!Nostalgia:
I guess this comes with age and experience.
Very personal matter.Zach’s view is quite clear and there is no need to try to convince the other.
I’m interested in views from other members.One thing I find extremely difficult out here in Europe is the possibility to try out different tapers, makers’ rods, etc. Very few bamboo fans out here and meeting means traveling a long way.
PS.
Your bamboo article in American Angler was quite good. In fact it was one of the recent articles on bamboo which helped me make sense of the subject.Zach,
I agree to a certain point that price of bamboo rods are horrendous.
However there are lots of great rod makers in several price classes:
Around $700 – 800:
Lew Parks
Art Weiler
Mike Brooks
AJ Thramer
…Around $1200 – 1500:
AJ Thramer
Bob Nunley
W.R. Taylor
Wm Abrams
H. Jennings
T. Zietak
T. Nigro
….Around $1800 – 2000
Jenkins
Pickard
Schoeder
Zimny
Sweetgrass
RK Bolt
….Around $2500
Hidy
Summers
Reams
Thomas & Thomas
Winston
Fries
Wojnicki
Eden
Scott
…..Used bamboo rods can be the best way to try a bamboo rod.
So, you don’t need to fetch $2500+ to get a decent bamboo rod?The trouble is that rods like that cost as much as a used drift boat and they break. I am not financially in a position to buy a really good bamboo rod. And my experience has been that there are a whole lot more bad bamboo rods than good ones.
I think this is a realative problem. Two or three high end graphite rods will buy you a Ramanauskas Eden or Scott bamboo fly rod. Or two or three high end Abel reels. Or…
A lot of it has to do with your local water. I fish tangled rhododendron hells and open boats with tackle getting slung around. Those are anti-bamboo environments.
Although these are risky situations, it’s also a matter of taking care of your gear. I have fished many rocky freestones with slippery rocks with both graphite and bamboo rods.
The perfect bamboo owner is someone with money, who appreciates beauty and subtle differences in feel, who fishes open tailwaters or freestones and doesn’t really do much wading. One day in my life time I may become that person but I’m not yet.
Ha, that’s what most people think: you gotta be a CEO or have a CEO salary. Funny thing is most bamboo owners are just ordinary guys like you and me.
How they manage to finance their habit is a mystery to me too… 😀
