Bamboo fly rod
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A bamboo fly rod or a split cane rod is a fly fishing rod that is made from bamboo also referred to as cane. With more than 1,000 different bamboo species and nearly a hundred different kinds, Tonkin Cane (Arundinaria amabilis or Pseudosasa amabilis) is most often used for fishing rods; Calcutta cane has also been used extensively.
This bamboo species originally grew on only approximately 190 km² (48,000 acres) up the Sui River in the Tonkin region of Guangdong Province in China. It is said to be one of the strongest bamboo species because of its high density of fibers. This high density is what the bamboo fly rod maker is after because this gives the rod its strength and flexibility. This, however, is not the only reason that bamboo rod builders use this species. It also is selected because of its straightness, and well-spaced nodes.
In order to make this type of fishing rod, the bamboo culms are split and then split again into smaller and smaller strips, which are then planed and glued together to form a blank. This process, together with the wrapping of the guides with very fine silk thread, varnishing and making of the cork grip and wooden reel seat, can easily take up to more than 100 hours. It is for this reason that some of the contemporary artisans charge more than $2,500 for their rods today. Collectors of bamboo rods are known to pay more than $15,000 for mint condition antiques.
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[edit] History
From references it seems likely that fishing with a fly rod the way we know it today started between 1790 and 1845. Many bamboo and wood species were used as a building material before and during that period but bamboo soon became the popular and preferred material to use. It is believed that in 1846 Samuel Phillipe, a gunsmith from Easton, Pennsylvania made the first 6 strips designed tip from Calcutta Cane and that his son, Solon, built the first complete hexagonal rod from Calcutta cane in 1859.[citation needed]. Although that assertion has come under fire recently, with the publication of Split & Glued By Vincent C. Marinaro (2007). The two authors, Bill Harms and Tom Whittle, dispute Samuel Phillipe as the first to use six strip design to build bamboo rods. According to their research Charles Murphy and others began building six-strip bamboo rods at least five years earlier.
As bamboo popularity increased, the H.L. Leonard rod company[1] started making machinery to produce cane/ bamboo fly rods. The first fly fishing rods were made from ash and lancewood, but H.L. Leonard started to make complete bamboo rods exclusively in 1874.
Square or Quadrate rods were the first rods Leonard made because his belief was that these performed much better but he eventually started making 6 strip or hexagonal rods because of commercial reasons. At that time good quality cane was hard to find. What was available was often full of scorch marks and insect damage. For this reason it was easier to acquire six strips of good quality cane than 4 wider strips for the Quadrate rod. The hexagonal version was easier to produce and soon became the standard. Bill Edwards, Sam Carlson and Ebenezer Green produced Quadrate rods and others even made bamboo rods which had pentagonal and octagonal cross-sections.
Bamboo soon became the preferred material for all fishing rods with Tonkin cane being prized above other species. This continued to 1950 when a trade embargo was imposed on Chinese goods. Due to the resultant shortage of quality bamboo and the concurrent development of synthetic fibers the fabrication of bamboo rods nearly stopped. By the time the embargo ended in the early seventies only a handful of craftsmen were still making bamboo rods. The main reason for bamboo rods regaining their popularity was a result of Everett Garrison together with Hoagy Carmichael publishing bamboo rod building ‘secrets’ in their book A Masters guide to building a bamboo fly rod.
[edit] So Why Fish Today With Bamboo Fly Rods?
Bamboo rods are somewhat susceptible to damage and warpage if stored incorrectly. The varnish finish can nick or become checked from too much sunlight over the years or too much heat. Breakage of the bamboo rod tips by car doors, power windows, and screen doors is notorious. The bamboo rod cane is also known to snap at the ferrule if too much heavy line is thrown in the air with too much force (ever notice rods for sale with one or both tips short?). So, with all the tender loving care and handling caution required of these natural fiber sporting goods, why are they so prized, so valuable and worth the risk of ownership and usage? Because of the way they cast. There is nothing that casts a trout fly line like a quality-made Tonkin cane bamboo fly rod. Engineers have dedicated decades of research into experimenting with resins, fiberglass, carbon fiber, boron filaments, etc. in the quest to replicate the line-throwing qualities of the bamboo fly rod -- they have gotten close, but not exactly the same.
In a nutshell: Bamboo rods produce a smooth, fluid backcast which provides its own 'dampening' effect at the end of the backcast; the forward cast accelerates the line throw through the air with the same 'dampening' effect at the beginning of the cast and then, again, at the end of the cast as the caster lays the line out over the target water -- so smooth, so precise in its placement. The synthetics can produce a somewhat similar powerful backcast and forward cast, but they lack the subtle 'dampening' effect consistently produced by the bamboo rod in the hands of a skilled caster. And, quality bamboo fly rods and their rod tubes were made by highly skilled craftsmen using the best quality canes, reel seats, nickel silver-plated fittings and cork, and these rods look great even after decades of use if stored correctly. Bamboo rod reel seats match up well to all modern reels with no modifications, so no special requirements are needed to use your modern reel and lines with the old-timers.
Bottom line: Every flyfisherman committed to the sport desires to own at least one quality bamboo fly rod in his or her rod collection, and to find time to use the prized asset at least once each fishing season. Purists will even mount an antique reel on a cane rod and use braided silk lines with dressing, like many decades in the past. It connects us all to flyfishing as it was once done; hopefully for decades to come as these 'ultimate flyfishing tools' are preserved and passed on to new generations of sportsmen. Best quality bamboo fly rods can be found among the following 20th century classic makers: Garrison, Jim Payne, E. F. Payne (the father), H. L. Leonard, E. C. Powell, Hardy Bros., Heddon, Thomas & Thomas, Orvis (Wes Jordan and Battenkill models), F. E. Thomas, Edwards, Goodwin-Granger, Phillipson, Winston, and Paul Young; for the lesser, but more affordable, quality classic rod look to makers Varney and Montague, and, yes, Wright & McGill, South Bend and J.C. Higgins also made useful, though not truly collectible quality, bamboo rods in their day. Long live the best quality Tonkin cane bamboo fly rods. Excellent books on the subject of bamboo rods and makers are A. J. Campbell's Classic and Antique Flyfishing Tackle and Ernest Schwiebert's indispensible multiple volume treatise Trout. If you like, start your search for yours today (check listings at ebay.com and www.codella.com).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Garrison, Everett (1977). A master's Guide to Building a bamboo fly rod. Nick Lyons Books.
- Phillips, Don (2000). The Technology of fly rods. Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
- Homel, Daniel (1997). Antique and Collectible fishing rods. Forrest Park Publishers.
- Gierach, John (1997). Fishing Bamboo-One Man's Love Affair with Bamboo Fly Rods. New York: Lyons and Burford. ISBN 1558215913.
