Bamboo Fly Fishing Rods

Bamboo is the best fly fishing rod material due to its combination of strength, lightness, resiliency, pliancy, power, and balance. Anglers and rod makers can distinguish between male and female Calcutta and Tonkin "canes," but good Calcutta is becoming increasingly scarce. Steel vine or African cane is the cheapest split cane and makes good, low-cost bamboo fly fishing rods. The eight strip rod has better action than the six strip planed down rod, but is more expensive. Double built rods are heavier and stronger than ordinary rods and hold their shape better.

The steel center rod is an English invention that consists of a fine piece of steel running as a core through sections of regular split bamboo. An American manufacturer offers a "twisted bamboo" rod that equalizes strain and produces better action. Will M has been fishing for over ten years and has learned a lot about catching various types of fish.

Without a doubt, the best fly fishing rod material is good bamboo that has been properly selected, cured, split, glued, and proportioned. It combines strength with lightness, resiliency, pliancy, power, and balance to a greater extent than steel or solid woods.

Anglers and rod makers used to be able to tell the difference between male and female Calcutta and Tonkin "canes," but good Calcutta is becoming increasingly scarce, and the term "Calcutta " is becoming merely a trade term. Good bamboo of all kinds is more difficult to come by, and a good piece of Tonkin is preferable to a mediocre one from Calcutta. Male Calcutta, on the other hand, is thought to be superior to both female and Tonkin Calcutta. Steel vine or African cane is the cheapest split cane. It is light in color and makes good, low-cost bamboo fly fishing rods.

Bamboo Fly Fishing Rods with Six and Eight Strips

We're assuming you're aware that bamboo is split and then glued together to make use of the hard outer enamel and reduce the diameter of the pieces. Some bamboo rods are divided into six sections (hexagonal) and others into eight (octagonal), but the six strip construction is more common. Some manufacturers claim that the eight strip rod has better action because it is closer to a true cylinder, but this appears to be more theoretical than practical, and the tiny tips of an eight strip rod are likely to be " soft" due to the relatively small amount of glue required to hold the pieces together. Eight strip rods are more expensive than six strip rods, and if the angler wants a round bamboo fly fishing rod, the six strip planed down rod is preferable because planing must injure a rod. A well-made six strip rod, in general, leaves little to be desired.

Bamboo Fly Fishing Rods with a Unique Design

The "double built" rods, which are made of two layers of split and glued bamboo, one within the other, are a novelty in bamboo fly fishing rod making. They are heavier and stronger than ordinary rods and, it is claimed, hold their shape better. They are popular for sea and salmon fishing but, in my opinion, unnecessary in single hand fly rods. The steel center rod is an English invention that consists of a fine piece of well-tempered steel running as a core through sections of regular split bamboo. The creators claim that this construction results in a rod with superior casting power while adding only an ounce of weight. Friends who own rods of this type are enthusiastic supporters of this design for heavy fishing.

An American manufacturer offers a "twisted bamboo" rod that he claims equalizes strain and produces better action. I have never tried a rod of this type so am unable to pass on its merits, but Perry Frazer, in his " Amateur Rodmaking," speaks well of it.

Will M has been fishing for over ten years and has learned a lot about catching various types of fish.