The Mojo on Bamboo Fly Rods

The first time you venture into the wilderness of fly fishing, you are going to notice something strange. The fly rods are much different than other forms of fishing.

The most popular and traditional fly rods are made from bamboo. History is a little dodgy on when the first one was made, but the early 1800s seems to be the time range generally agreed upon. Of course, it was once generally agreed that the Earth was flat and we know how that one turned out.

Discussing the "best" of anything is always a dubious affair. For many fly fishing enthusiasts, however, the bamboo rod is the undisputed choice. You may want to disagree, but you don't get to unless you try one first.

Bamboo is considered a good choice because it contains both the stiffness and strength required for consistent action given the length of the rod. Tonkin bamboo, originally found in China of all places, is considered the superior form of bamboo for rods. The specific species has a high fiber count, which gives it superior performance as a rod and adds to the life of the rod if maintained correctly.

Bamboo fly rods are not made by cutting a length of bamboo and slapping a reel on it. Instead, the bamboo shoot is broken into long panels. The panels are then sanded and planed to the desired dimension. Next, they are glued together to create the rod, itself. Accessories are added and, walla, you have a bamboo blank rod. You can buy them in this form or go for a finished rod that is ready for the water.

A quality bamboo rod is absolutely a work of art. It can take well over 100 hours to complete just one. As you might imagine, this makes them a bit price. Prices range according to the artist creating them, but you can expect to pay a minimum of a couple thousand dollars for one. For masterpieces, the price quickly escalates into the tens of thousands of dollars. Most of these rods are made by small businesses, so you have to hunt. A couple of them are Keone Rodsmiths and Oyster Fly Rods. Bill Oyster actually offers classes on making the rods if you are interested in learning more about the process.

For car enthusiasts, seeing a rare Ferrari can set the heart a flutter. In the world of fly fishing, a quality bamboo rod does the trick.