bamboo fly rods

A friend let me try a few casts with a newish Bean (or was it Orvis?) 5 wt bamboo. It was slower and heavier than my similar length and weight graphite rods (none of 'em top of the line, my kids call me a "value consumer").  It was a gem of a rod, and priced accordingly, which to me was the problem. Hard to justify the price diff between functional graphite and heirloom quality bamboo, especially in a world full of slippery rocks, slamming car doors and chronic klutziness. And like I said, I'm a value consumer. Okay, cheap. 

rapala11,
     Yes bamboo is heavier and slower than modern graphite.  And, it must be fished slower, easier casts and less force on the rod but most people feel that the feel and the touch you get with good bamboo is worth the weight  (pardon the pun).
       Classic rods can be had for as little as 100.00 in "fishable" condition with some junk rods going for as little as 20 bucks  (or they should)..  The better and the best classic bamboo rods really can put you back some serious bucks but the experience of catching a fish with the same type of material used 100 years ago is priceless to some.
       I have been playing with bamboo for years and have restored many to "fishable" condition and I haven't had a complaint from anybody who's fished with them.   There's even one fellow; who will remain nameless, who caught 3 steelhead on a 5 wt bamboo rod in the chutes a few years ago, before it broke.  And I have landed 2 both on lower elk, in the past two years.
      Why don't you come to the "one Fly" this fall and then maybe you can win a classic.  (I give away a restored clssic rod each year)
       I guess fishing with bamboo is like driving a 57 chevy you really don't need to. . . . but it sure is neat.

Rap, I,ll bring one that indsguis made to the get together. You,ll love it.

formerguide,
     You should talk to Bughawk!
Rpala11
     I am currently working on bringing the cost of hand assembled, hand wrapped and finished bamboo rods down to the price where most people can afford them.  Right now the components for a really nice rod will set a person back just about twice what a nice graphite rod will.  The biggest problem with bamboo is in the wrapping and finishing.  What looks good on 'phite, IMHO usually doesn't look good on bamboo.  I am now in the process of building some rods  (presently on hold due to my back) and I hope to show them at the "One Fly".  I am pretty well jammed with trying to get antiques re-done.   They take soooooooo long to re-do right.  But then again that's just my opinion.

rapala11
     I don't know how many of the people on this site who have one of my re-done rods have the capability of posting pictures but maybe some of them will post pix for you.

rapala11,
    Personally I like an old Pfleuger Meadlist.   My 2d choice is any period correct automatic.  Third choice is an appropriate Ocean City reel.   There are probably more types of reels than there are rods.  I have over 60 old reels (mostly operational;) in my conglomeration and about 92 bamboo rods from different makers.   Plus 6 that I have made to "speriment" with.
    I also forgot, for a really old rod an old skeleton reel looks great.
    One of the reasons for the big automatic reels was to act as a counterbalance to the weight of a larger heavier rod, and to hold more line.  I have two old rods that balance excellently with old Southbend automatic reels which are way to heavy for anything graphite.
    But these combos can be really arm-killing after a long day.
    It's just my opinion but the newer reels just look sort of odd to ME when they are placed on a classic rod.  Simple seems best to me.
    There are some reproductions of classic reels out there and they look great but are very pricey.  Again, I have a couple of old originals; made of bakelite/nickle -silver and they are wondeful but I shy away from any serious use due to their scarcity and value.  And the fact that I tend to slip and fall a lot when fishing anymore.
 
PS:  If you decide to get the bamboo "bug" be very careful.  There are some people out there who will try to sell you something common and make it sound rare or try to sell something that was a poor value when it was new in the 20's and without massive re-building is marginal today.  I will say repeatedly that I am not the do-all of bamboo rods I only have my opinions and experiences to fall back on.  An excellent book to read  (If you can find a copy) is Keanes'  "Bamboo Flyrods and their Makers".  read it, memorize it and you won't go very wrong.

ownership may never happen, but it still neat learning about them.  i am in my 50s and my father is wetting a line elsewhere with the saints, but i remember him talking about varnishing the rod and soaking silk lines or leaders.  he fished out of a canvas canoe and would sleep next to it all night prior to the bass opener. 

Ah, rapala11, I see why you're interested in bamboo. It's true that it's hard to develop an emotional tie to graphite.
 
You asked about a suitable reel -- check out the Orvis Battenkill, still available at a very reasonable price. Alternatively, the Okuma magnitude looks like a traditional reel and is very serviceable, but you may wince at the off-shore origin on a bamboo rod. (Then, again, I don't know where today's Battenkills are made.)
 
And, finally, you might look up, "A Fly Fisher's Life," by Charles Ritz. It includes a chapter on "The Split Cane Fly Rod," which may be of interest.
 
Careful, though on Ritz's casting advice. In the first place, he's partial to rods with parabolic action. In the second place, Joan Wulff once complained that, "Every time I see Charlie, he wants to tell me about the best way to cast. And it's a different way every time."

rapala11,
     Most of the rods I have could rightly be classified as old pieces of crap!   But at one time they were good, adequate fishing rods.  So I like to refurbish them so that they may live again to catch at least one more fish; and then be retired to a place of honor above a mantle, or continued to fish.   Don't forget there were also bamboo casting rods and a few spinning rods.  I hope to have a few finished soon, conditions permitting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Rapala11,
     Mostly from yard sales and estate auctions.  Sometimes a person will give me one in exchange for me restoring another.  Sometimes people will just give me broken or messed up ones that need restored because they want them to live again and they have no use for them. 
     I have bought a few on e-bay but I avoid that pretty much now since there is some really bad fraud going on on e-bay in the antique rod market.  There is one guy who will buy under one name and sell under another who will buy an old rod, slap a coat of varnish on it (without repairing any of the flaws) and then re-list it as a refinished valuable antique.  There are some other people who will get a cheap old Monteague and strip the decal off and try to pass it off as a more expensive model by another maker.  I have a rule to never sell anything I get.  I do sell the new stuff I make but only to friends (it isn't any sort of a business)  Mostly I restore and then give them away at the One Fly or to friends, or at the PSA banquet.   Again I will restore for people, but I hate to accept money except when the rod requires new parts.
      If you are interested in getting one I'd suggest antique stores, or estate sales.  I once got 12 rods for under 100 bucks, as a lot, because most of them were in bad shape but the one that I got in the lot was a jewel.  Over 108 years old (pre1900).  It went as a door prize at the PSA banquet.   If you want to know more I'll tell you all I know (which ain't much) e-mail me at: hemilovr@hotmail.com

rapala,
    Well, it all started when I was about 14 years old.  My grandmother loved to fish (and she was VERY good) and her favorite rod was a bamboo casting rod that grandpap had worked for in trade.  Now this was the early 30's and he was a master stone mason so he worked for two days building a fireplace on a wealthy man's patio in exchange for the rod.  { Now considering that a master mason makes about 20 bucks an hour now days;(25 cents back in the depression) and grandpap worked about 10-12 hour days, that rod ment a lot to grandma}  Well one day as she was fishing she slipped and broke the rod in the middle (greenstick fracture).
     This upset her so much that I asked if I could try to fix the rod (which was going to be thrown out, or stored in the corner for the next 50 years).  Since she had nothing to loose, and all the sporting goods stores we went to said it was impossible or would be too expensive, my dad bought me an old book on building rods and I started reading.  I found out about the old glues and finishes (mostly varnish and spar varnish)  I learned how the old timers wrapped the rods by hand. and basically what materials were used.  Then I "exsperemented" with the rod.  It took about three weeks but I got it stripped, mended the break (it hadn't snapped in two) and gave it back to her.
      All my relatives at the time said that it was a waste of time to do all that because fiberglass was soo cheap and graphite was just starting to come on , as was boron and other fibers now no longer used.  I had to admit that spending about 40 hours repairing a rod worth back then about $5.00 was pretty much a waste of time money wise but it was fun and there was a steep learning curve, and I've done it as a hobby off and on ever since.  Now when I say 40 hours that is the labor time just repairing the rod.  The time reading the books and trying out techniques on other pieces of broken rod (there were a lot of these around in the 60's) took months before I tried the whole rod.
     There is no way I could ever make any money doing it since it is so time consuming (at least the way I do it) but when my back allows me to sit bent over a bench, with some classical music on the radio, for at least 4-5 hours, I like to work on them.  I find that I have to have at least 4 hours or my work is inconsistant from piece to piece on the rod.   Besides, it's fun to fix something everyone else says it unfixable.  And in all of the reading I've done I've learned some very esoteric things about how one man would do something different from another and sometimes some stuff that was pretty amazing.
     I still haven't arrived at the point where I split my own cane; but I have done it  once to make up a new mid for a very nice rod.   And I have completely delaminated some and returned at least one basket case and shortened it and re-made it for a good friend  (T.T. are you there?).  So that's about it.  I do about 16-18 a year and it seems to make some people happy and they don't seem to mind the wait.
     I sure don't know everything there is to know.  And I have some opinions on old bamboo that others disagree with me on but everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion.  I'll just keep doing what I do as long as I have friends who appreciate the gift or the work.

Talk about flashbacks-- In the early fifties my dad started me fly fishing with bamboo when I was 8-9 years old. We spent many hours on Spring creek and the Brokenstraws working dries to rising trout. My biggest problem was learning proper hook set. His constant speach to me was (you don't have to break their damm necks)--broke a lot of rod ends before I learned to do it right.

Ah, Com'on Dano.   Don't you want to at least land one steelie on bamboo?  Maybe, just maybe, I'll build up a brand new one this year for the "One Fly" and see if it's still possible.  Of course I've never caught ANYTHING during the "One Fly" so the bamboo should be pretty safe.

Dano,  I have a sometime supplier of ferrules.  Sometimes he has em sometimes he doesn't.  If you still have the rod e-mail me the ferrule sizes and I'll see what he has in stock right now.  I'm still searching for some originals for Mikastorm, but if you're willing to upgrade or change type I should be able to help you out.   Monty's were notorious for bad ferrules and reel seats.   It's a shame too because some of their 'boo' was pretty decent, and most of it was crap  (bad glue).  I've been having a real hard time right now.  Neck & back are killing me, but I will be at the "One Fly"!