Bamboo Fly Fishing Rods - A Light And Beautiful Choice

Bamboo fly fishing rods are a popular choice for fly fishing. The main advantage of these rods is that they are light. Of course, many people also think they are very beautiful.

When looking for a place to buy a bamboo fly rod, there are commercial makers, such as Winston and there are also individuals that make and sell the fly rods.

MAKING BAMBOO BLANKS

If ordering from a reputable maker, the wait for the rod may be six to nine months!

The cost of these rods can be from $1000 up to as high of a price that can be imagined. The reason that they are so expensive is that each one is a hand made project.

The best material for a split bamboo fly rod is a bamboo that is known as Tonkin Cane.



Tonkin Cane grows best in China and is harvested in what are known as culms (a culm is one bamboo stalk and it is about four inches in diameter). The bamboo fly rod maker purchases culms, dries them, and may heat them to make them stronger.

The culms are then split into narrow strips which are used to make the triangular strips that are used.

The most common design of bamboo fly fishing rods is a tapered rod made of six hand planed strips of bamboo glued together to make a rod that is hexagonal in cross-section.

Each of the six strips in cross-section is an equilateral triangle. To achieve the tapered strips, the maker uses a set of forms and planes the strips to the correct taper and shape.

There may be a problem with getting the nodes (the joints in bamboo) flat and straight. The nodes may require special manipulation to get the strips straight. Some rod makers made nodeless rods where the pieces of bamboo are spliced together with glue after they are popularly tapered.

Old production type rods may have used hide type glue. However, newer rods probably used resorcinol type glue, but most modern rod makers use either an epoxy or urethane type glue.

The more modern glues give the rods a toughness that was not present in rods before these glues were available.

The type of rod is going to depend on the taper. There are many classic tapers and many rod designers have their own special tapers used for specific tapers. Wrapping guides and placing tip tops and setting the handle in real seat in place is identical to the procedure for making graphite rods.

The finish on bamboo rods is traditionally varnish, not epoxy (like on graphite rods). The coverings of thread wrappings on bamboo rods, is traditionally varnish, but more recently some rod makers have started using rod building epoxy.

For those desiring a bamboo rod, but not having enough money to afford buying one, they might consider purchasing an old production rod from South Bend, Heddon, or Montigue. These rods are often available on auction sites such as eBay.

These vintage rods can often be restored to fishable conditions. A useful website for help in identifying what bamboo rod you have or want is the classic fly rod forum.

For help in general rod building and rod repair, including bamboo fly fishing rods, the members of the rod building forum are friendly and helpful. These resources should help you repair and maintain your rod.

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