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Post Info TOPIC: Bamboo Rod Question


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Bamboo Rod Question
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well i was checking out a few things today and came across this link.

http://www.thomaspenrose.com/tonkin.htm

so i was wondering how hard would it be to make an 8ft bambo rod, or even a 9ft bambo rod, how long would it take. i do know this, after makin one and then catching fish with it, it would be well worth it. but again is it a tough thing to due. just wondering cuz it might be something that i might want to do. have a nice medium action light weight rod for those small mountain streams and putah in the late winter early fall time, after most of the fish have spawned out.

any advise on this matter and where can i go for more info.

thanks
brian

-- Edited by brian clemens at 13:38, 2007-11-25

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Brian I also thought about making my own rod....let me know what you find out....also Ill be out there on the creek tomarow (monday) if you your going let me know....

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ya not tomorrow, maybe this coming friday, i dont know. i do have a few things that i have been looking at, mostly that link. but if you do a yahoo google for bambo fly rod. you come up with a bunch of stuff, and if you actually by one you are looking over 900 bucks. so i think ill take my time and make one. but it will take a long long time. and if you find anything as well let me know.

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hey wyt do you know of a club or work shop that might have some or all of the stuff that we need to build a fly rod, its pretty involved as far as what you need to make to produce a perfect equilateral triangle for the hexagon shaped pole. and we would also need a big oven to pull the rest of the moisture out of the bamboo and also a rod binding machine. that link has every possible tool and every step needed to make one. i know i aint in the mood to buy all that stuff to make a pole, so figured there has to be someone around or a shop or club that can help us out.

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.



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I dont know of any club. but I did see a show on flyfishing america that feachered the "Boo Boys" from "Sweet Grass" fly rods. The had all worked for a big company and quit to make thier own rods. I think they were making make shift bamboo driers and building the stuff in thier garage. I havent looked at the site you posted yet but you might be able to make the rods with out all the fancy tools....

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ya it would be tough, you could use a home oven if its wide enough, might have to make 4 peices instead of 3 if your oven isnt wide enough. making the 60 degree angle metal blocks and making them go from large to smaller will be tough. and ofcourse the rod wrapper would be tough as well. but still wouldnt mind tryin it sometime soon. must you use specific bamboo or would any type work. there is a grip of bamboo a ways down i think the sac somewhere out there near the delta. i forgot the city but out there somewhere. would that work.

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SCM


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Building a bamboo rod is a pretty pricey venture and is not for the impatient. The shaping jigs and micro-planes alone could run several hundred to a couple thousand dollars. I thought about building a bamboo rod, but lost the urge after seeing the price of the tools. As an alternative, you might first try refurbishing an old bamboo rod. Often you can find salvagable blanks that can be re-wrapped, varnished, and install a new reel seat and grip. I have a 7'6" 4-wt bamboo that was built out of an old 8'-6" rod.

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JT


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I know a guy who builds bamboo fly rods.  He doesn't have the time that he used to, so I don't know if he's still doing it.  I might be able to get some answers for you.

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Brian, You might consider picking up a "re-conditionrd" bamboo ron on ebay. It's pretty much a hit or miss situation as far a quality, but if you're careful and ask all of the questions about the rod from the seller that are important, you can come away with a sweet casting rod for a fraction of what a new rod will set you back. I've picked up 2 so far on ebay. The first was a 7! 3 piece that the seller was rated for a 5wt. Well,the rod is pretty stiff and is better suited for a 6 or 7 wt. I paid about $150.00 for taht one. The second one is an 8' 2pc. 4-5 wt, which is slower and does in fact load with a 4wt and tosses a 4 or 5 wt. nicely.I paid $175.00 for it and never looked back. The point is until you hold the rod in your hand, cast it, fish it, it's pretty much a crap shoot with the cheap used bamboo, but you can score now and then with a really nice stick. I've also thought about building my own but theres a lot of knowlege and skill involved in building bamboo that must be aquired.Not to mention a Lot of time.  I've done a lot of research on unfinnished blanks and components which is another way to go to keep costs down. If you have any questions,let me know. I'd be glad to help. Tight lines, Viking      

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YA I WAS LOOKING AT THE PRICES OF NEW ONES 800-3000 DOLLARS, my bad on the caps, that is way way to much for a new rod. making one like you all said is about the same. i have been lookin into bamboo for a while, and they look like they can be a blast to use. i would love to get a 8-9 ft 3-4 wt for putah in the spring or the small tahoe streams. but looks like i will have to do some more research before i move onto the next step, either buy a very good one on ebay or gettin a fixer upper


thanks guys

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.

Vix


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...There is reading material here. ( clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com) or look into a fiberglass rod classic or modern. They have tapers and actions like bamboo. Goodluck in your endeavor. Tight lines,

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So what makes a bamboo rod so good ? I have a hard time beleivi ng that a bamboo rod can out perform a moderrn day high end graphite rod for half the cost. Am I wrong ? I have never used bamboo. I figured you are paying for the craftsmanship and time involved to make one. Don't get me wrong I'd defenitly like to have one.

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this is how i look at it, fly fishing to commune with nature, why not use the most natural rod? A bamboo fly fishing rod combines history, art, and sport. i my mind bamboo rods are more flexible than graphite, and they have a slower action which is great for leisurely and refined fishing, especially with dry fly presentation. it also has a much more natural, flowing and subtle casting capability. again great for dry fly fishing. i have actually had the opportunity to fish a bamboo rod one time the first time i started fly fishing and i was absolutly amazed by it. i couldnt believe how flimsy or delicate it was i thought i was going to break it. but after readin many magz and articles bamboo has been used for over 150 years and is still one of the best materials available for this purpose. It is actually very durable, flexible and can withstand all the rigors of fly fishing when properly treated and sealed. in my opinion once youve tried a bamboo fly rod, you will come to understand why so many fly fishermen are addicted to its charms. once you have your first experience with bamboo fly rods will attest to the slower presentation and more fluid casts that they will give you especially for those anglers who fish for wary trout on very light tippets. bamboo fly rods are inherently slow action. they are also quite a bit heavier in comparison to today's lightweight graphite and glass fly rods. despite this, and their HIGH COSTS, Bamboo fly rods are still considered the finest fly rods on the market today. and after all that, a bamboo rod that is well taken care of will last you your entire life. the way there are made is indistructable. if you step on it your good, if you fall on it your good, nothing against these rods these days but the thin wall nature of graphite makes it very vulnerable when compared against the solid make up of bamboo.

but this is just my opinion







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Boyz,

Bamboo can be a great way to go, or you can blow a lot of money on tonkin crud. I have picked
up some old rods from england and usa. I have to say that if you want to fish the rod, stay
away from the british stuff as it tends to be extremely noodly. As for the older american rods,
the ones that seem useful are ones made by Lew $toner (founder of Winston Rods, S.F.) and
the $ is not an accident. You will pay. If you really want a nice new one, I think it really is the way
to go. There are two guys here who make a great rod that I know of, although I am sure there
are a few more. Chris Rainey in Dunsmuir (Dunsmuir Rod Co.) makes a sweet bamboo rod
that will run you about $1800. He also makes a killer quadrate rod (four-sided) that casts
like nothing else, and you will pay more, but you get what you pay for. These are top drawer
rods, but you don't need to fling 3 grand away for a rod from Winston or Orvis. Sweet Grass
rods are the guys who were at Winston until Winston started talking about getting bamboo
rods made in China (There are two sides to that story. . .). The other bamboo rod maker
whose rods are magic is Randy Johnson of Volcano Rod Co. in Volcano, Ca. I cast a 7'
4 wt. that was an absolute dream. His prices run about the same as Chris Rainey's.
You will find super nice hardware on both maker's rods like agate stripping guides, and exotic
wood and silver reel seats. You will not escape. Beware. Your life will quickly go downhill from
here except in the fishing department. Anybody who has read John Gierach's "Trout Bum"
remembers where is was said when someone asked if John was truley a trout bum,
"Hey John, how can a guy driving a smokey ol' pickup, wearing raggedy clothes can afford
such snazzy fly fishing gear?" He replied, "I think it should be obvious."

Mike

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thats a crazy story, but so so true. ya dont know if i am ready to shell out 1800, maybe 150-300 like viking was talkin about. i need to do some more research before i hit up ebay.

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.

ez


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brian   iv dabled in bamboo rod making...all i did was pick up a blank cost was 350.00 and did my own thing...it is very time consuming put the finish rod came out great....it might be the best way to do it... just buy the blank. the rod was a 2p with extra tip 8' 6" great rod

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where did you pick it up at, and as far as finish you picked your own varnish, and guides and everything like that. again where did you get all that stuff.

how do you like it

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.



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Brian you did it now you got me sceeming on how to buy all the tools and giving rod building a try.....

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As yukon mike stated above, I was gonna say you might wanna look at the dunsmuir rod co. I bet they would sell you a blank. I have wrapped a few spinning rods and it was really time consuming but not to diffucult, it turned out ok, That was with absolutly no tools either, Just hand wrapped em a few times then put a bunch of thick layers of clear varnish over the rod. When i went to the upper sac. and mccloud a few months ago i stopped by the dunsmuir rod co. they were closed, I was lookin in the window, Cool place, I bet they make a sweet rod. I might just have to lookk into a bamboo rod, But first i gotta get my waders to stop leaking !

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man you still got the wader leak. ya me too. i think before i get into the bamboo rod i need to either completely have mine redone or buy a new set.

hey captain did you talk to cooter about the fly box. i think he found yours.

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.



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Yes, and i dont think its mine. My box had two little compartments inside, One he found does not. Not surprising, I'm sure many people attack putah with a scientific anglers fly box full of midges. I gotta fix that wader leak before i fish again, It'll be easy to fix once i get something, just trying to decide what to use, The bicycle tube patch worked for about half the day, biggrin Was an emergency repair guys ! Oh and hear is a peice of advice about what happened to my waders, Last weekend i broke a boot lace in the morning, So i couldn't realy tighten my boot completey, I walked alot that day and the loose fitting boot chaffed the back heel of my wader. Just one of those thing you can only learn from experience.

-- Edited by thecaptain at 18:41, 2007-11-27

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thats kinda what i figured when you showed me where it had the hole. the only way for it to be on the heel of the waders is chaffing. well now that you have time to fix it you should be good to go. man that sucks it wasnt your box. oh well. wish i would have found it, and nobody claimed it. kinda like what happened with you.

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.



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Chris Rainey at Dunsmuir Rod Co. had a hip transplant operation and should be back in his shop pretty soon. The finish that both he and Randy Johnson put on bamboo is done by dipping
in a special finishing tank like the one shown in Wayne Cattanach's book on bamboo rod making.
They do all of their wrapping in Pearsall silk, and use reelseats milled by them or from
Bellinger. If you google Bellinger rods you will find that they offer bamboo from complete culms
to ready to wrap blanks and ready to wrap blanks with ferrules and with the handle and reelseat
area turned.

Mike

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hey Brian check out Dunsmuir's websight. you can go up there for a week and build your own rod for $1000 (and fish at night)

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That would be pretty awesome to spend a week up there and build your own rod. And the upper sac. is open year round now.

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thats not a bad idea. might have start saving

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.



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Save your penny's Brian and we can do an upper sac. trip this winter if it dosen't get blown out. It's a pretty awesome river to fish, It's simply bueatiful up there, With huge mount. shasta as a backdrop. Ya just gotta be willing to do a little camping in the snow biggrin. Its all about being a trout bum man.

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Graphite rods work great. I think you can also get bamboo blanks on the internet although you
will probably be dissappointed in the action. Don't waste your $. As for building a cane rod
at Dunsmuir, Chris Rainey had hip transplant surgury and has put off any rod buiding classes
for the near future. But, if you go up there call ahead to see if he'll open up and check it out.
Very worthwhile.

Mike

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thats not a bad idea either, save up money and just fish with what i got. might just have to do that as well. we shall see after the new yr, with me moving into a new place and my trip back home to new york for a few weeks its gonna be a busy one. but we shall see.

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Fishing isnt about catching fish, its not about who caught the most, or who caught the biggest, its about the experience that you have on the water, and the life long bonds you make with others on the journey to becoming a better person inside.



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Hey Brian check out Duluth fly rod company. I think these rods are made in china but they are only $329.00

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