2013 Boise Fly Fishing Expo Update

Mary Ann and I just got back from two days in Boise at the Fly Fishing Expo. This is always a fun show, with a very enthusiastic crowd interested in talking about bamboo fly rods. I met a lot of nice folks, and had some great converstations about “Why Bamboo?”, how to build bamboo fly rods, and how to fix up old rods. Several attendees also brought by their old rods to talk about. It’s always fun to pull an old rod out of the rod sock to see what treasure is inside.
My Booth at the 2013 Boise Fly Fishing Expo
Along side my booth was Mike Morin of Cutthroat Leaders. Mike makes some great furled leaders, and I fish with them often. They are a great match to the action of bamboo fly rods and turn over flies in wonderfully smooth manner.

Mary Ann also gave a casting demonstration on “Adjusting your casting stroke for different distances”. She also had the chance to spend a lot of time on the casting pond with folks who were interested in casting bamboo fly rods to see what it’s all about.
Mary Ann Dozer giving a casting demonstration

New Switch Rod Comes Off The Bench

I just completed a new Switch Rod for Mary Ann.  This one is my 10′ 6″  3/2  5 wt Progressive Action Rod designed for swinging streamers and soft hackles for trout.  It’s casts great with a light Scandi Head or 5 wt Switch Line, perfect for medium-sized rivers and larger trout.  I’ll have this rod at the Fly Fishing Expo in Boise next week for attendees to cast, fondle, and oggle!

Bamboo Switch Rod

Switch Rod

Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo – 2013

Mary Ann and I are heading out next week for the Western Idaho Fy Fishing Expo in Boise, Idaho on January 11th and 12th. Check out their WEB site at: www.bvffexpo.com . The show is a great chance to take in a few classes, watch and talk with some great fly tiers, and visit with many different vendors. And, it’s only $5 to get in. We had a great time at the show last year..the Boise crowd was very friendly and many folks were very interested in learning about bamboo fly rods. I’ll have a booth at the show and Mary Ann will be giving a couple of casting demonstrations on the casting pond. If you’re in the Boise, I would strongly encourage you to stop by.  Also, be sure to stop by the booth for Cutthroat Leaders and talk with owner Michael Morin.  Mike’s furled leaders work great on bamboo rods.  I use them often, especially when I’m dry fly fishing.  Mike is a great guy and he’ll give you the straight talk about furled leaders.

Fishing the Fall River with Bamboo

Mary Ann and I had the chance to get out on the Fall River in central Oregon a week ago.  Our bamboo rods were a great match for the slow, spring creek waters of the Fall River.  If you haven’t ever fished the Fall, you should add it to your list of waters-to-fish.  The gin-clear waters make it great for spotting up fish, and there are plenty to go around.  Try the uppper section near the headwaters for some solitude, or venture out on the waters near the hatchery for some great opportunities for rising fish.

Early Morning Photo on the Fall River

The calm waters of the Fall River near the fish hatchery.

I took out a 7′  6″  5 wt medium fast bamboo rod, while Mary Ann chose her progressive action 7′  6″  5 wt bamboo rod to cast dry flies.  We both rigged up with 50″ Furled Leaders from Cuttroat Leaders, and added 6 to 8 feet of 6X tippet.  The combination work well, and we got into several fish throughout the day.  There were plenty of rising fish mid-day with decent midge and BWO hatches, and small dry flies worked well.  After the surface activity subsided, small nymphs suspended about 2 feet under small indicators continued to attract hungry fish.  Here is a nice rainbow that took a #16 DD nymph drifted through a deeper pool.

Fighting a nice rainbow

Nice Fall River Rainbow

Canoe Float down Bear Valley Creek, Idaho

I recently got the chance to take an afternoon canoe float down Bear Valley Creek in central Idaho with a friend, Verlon Herndon. Verlon is a guide for Silver Creek Outfitters. I took along my 7′ 6″ 5 wt medium-fast action bamboo rod. The morning was pretty quiet without a lot of bug activity, and I threw a #8 Yuk Bug streamer to some cooperative brookies. We had a reasonable mayfly hatch during the afternoon, and Verlon hooked some nice cutthroats on a size 16 parachute Adams. A very fun and relaxing day.

Bamboo Rods on Hat Creek

I spent a few days in Northern California last weekend fishing Hat Creek.  My buddy, Bill, had recently picked up a Montegue Rapadan that was in beautiful condition, and he was dying to get it on the water.  I took out my 9′  0″  5 wt Euronymphing rod.  The weatther had taken a turn for the worse so we had cold temperatures and off-and-on rain showers.  But, there were still some nice mid-day mayfly hatches.  Stonefly nynphs and small soft-hackles produced the most fish for us over our three days of fishing.  We didn’t land any large fish but still caught plenty to make if a fun time. 


New Switch Rod

I’ve just added a new light Switch Rod to my set of Bamboo Fly Rods that I build and offer for sale.  This one is a 10′  6″ – 3 piece/2 tip – 5 wt rod.  I had a great time designing the progressive taper and the cork grip section…got some great help from Chet and Bill at Bellingers with some design ideas and some custom machined reel seat hardware.  This rod casts a light line amazingly well.

This rod went to Paul from Idaho. Here is a short little video of Paul trying out his new Switch Rod. By the way…very nice casting stroke, Paul!

Bamboo Rods, Furled Leaders, Big Nymphs…McKenzie River Red Side Rainbows

It’s been a while since my last post.  Mary Ann and I hit the McKenzie River this past Sunday for some trout fishing.  Water levels were pretty high, but there were still fish to be found.  I fished a 7′ 6″ ,  5 wt bamboo rod, thread furled leaders by Cutthroat Leaders, and big stonefly nymphs.  Here is a sample:

Photos from the FFF Expo

Last week was the FFF NW Fly Tyers and Fly Fishing Expo. I had a booth there with my rods. Lots of Bamboo friends stopped by to chat. It was great to see Daryll Whitehead and Jeff Smith:

Daryll Whitehead and Jeff Smith - two great Oregon rod builders.

Al Buhr gave a casting demonstration with a BAMBOO rod…in only the way that Al could:

Al Buhr giving a casting demonstration

Al also joined Todd Somsel, Mack Brown, and Mary Ann (all Master-Level certified casting instructors) on the casting pond to discuss the positive aspects of bamboo rods:

Rod Wrapping Stand

After seeing my wrapping video, William (from Tennesee) ask me for a few more details on my rod wrapping stand. I built an oak support stand 36″ long and 12″ high that support the rod sections when I wrap guides. The center support can be moved laterally by loostening a wing nut and sliding the support to one side or another. This helps to accommodate the cork/grip on a butt section or to give additional support near the tip-tops on tip sections.

I put groves into the upright supports that can hold two rod pieces and covered them with painter’s tape to prevent any scratching of the bamboo. I hand wrap everything using just a Dr. Slick Bobbin to hold the thread, holding the bobbin in my left hand and turning the rod with my right hand. I wrap all rods with Pearsalls Gossimer silk thread.

When wrapping a guide, my typical wrapping process is to wrap 6 times, then pack the thread with a plastic packing tool (used for modeling clay) that I bought at a crafts store for less than $1, then repeat.  It’s the yellow tool you see in the pictures above.  The video pretty much shows it all.

Fishing Bamboo Fly Rods on the McKenzie River

Mary Ann and I hit the McKenzie River a few days ago. It was really great to get the drift boat out on the river again. We had a wonderful sunny day…not always the best for trout fishing. We didn’t see a single adult bug all day so we drifted nymphs under indicators. I took out a 7 1/2′ 5 wt rod that worked well in the drift boat. We didn’t have a tremendous amount of action, but we did wake up a few fish. Here is a taste of our day:

NorthWest Fly Fishing and Tying Expo

The Oregon Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers is having their 2012 NW Fly Fishing and Tying Expo next month in Albany, Oregon. It will be a great show, with classes, tyers, demonstrations and vendors. This year, we’ll have 5 bamboo rod builders including me with tables/booths at the show. I’ll also be teaching a class in EuroNymphing Techniques. Plan on stopping by if you’re in the area on March 9th, and 10th. You can find more info about the Expo on their WEB site at: www.nwexpo.com.

Furled Leaders for Bamboo Fly Rods from Cuttroat Leaders

I’ve been so excited about matching thread furled leaders with bamboo fly rods. They have an amazing feel, turn flies over extremely well, and are an incredible match with bamboo. Michael Morin at Cutthroat Leaders offers some really great furled leaders. After watching his video, it’s hard to not try them:

Making wood reel seats for bamboo fly rods

I make all my own reel seat inserts for my bamboo fly rods. You don’t need an expensive lathe, I just use an old craftsman lathe. But, if you’re going to put a mortise on your reel seat, I’ve found that you need a good router table. The precision of the mortise cut is very important or you’ll ruin the insert. I make my cut on a Rockler Router Table with a convex edging bit, sometimes called a finger nail bit (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5713). After final sanding, I put two coats of shellac, followed by 8 coats of a high quality tung oil finish, and then a couple of coats of wax. Here a little video of my building process..I hope you enjoy it:

Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo

We had a great time at the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo in Boise last weekend. The Boise crowd was incredibly friendly and made Mary Ann and feel right at home. I had a booth at the show, and I had a lot of great conversations with “bamboo enthusiasts”. Mary Ann gave a few casting and fly fishing classes and I did an impromptu “Building Bamboo Fly Rods” class when the scheduled presenter was unable to attend.

I had the chance to try out furled leaders from Michael Morin at Cutthroat Leaders. Michael’s leaders are a fantastic addition to a bamboo fly rod. I found they roll out very smoothly and are great for delicate presentations on just about any action bamboo rod. I’ll be adding them to all my bamboo rods in the future. I encourage you to check out Michael’s WEB Page at www.cutthroatleader.com.

One very exciting outcome of the show is that I was requested to design and build a Switch Rod in bamboo. The client is interested in casting streamers and skating dry flies for large Idaho trout and wants to do so with a light switch rod. I’ll be designing this rod at 10 1/2 to 11 feet in length, and a 5/6 wt action. I’m currently researching several different tapers to identify the right action for this style of fishing…should be very exciting!

Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo.

We’re heading out to Boise, Idaho this Thursday for the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo on January 13th and 14th. Check out the Show’s WEB site at: www.bvffexpo.com/ . I’ll have a booth there with several of my bamboo rods to cast and Mary Ann will be teaching casting classes. There is also a great program with some of the top fly fishing experts in the West. If you’re in the area, I encourage you to stop by the show and check things out.

Hand wrapping guides on bamboo fly rods

Here is a little video showing how I hand wrap guides on my bamboo fly rods. I don’t use a standard rod wrapper with a tensioner. Instead, I hand wrap using a fly tying bobbin to hold the thread. I use Pearsall’s Gossimer 6/0 Silk Thread on all my rods. Going slow and packing thread frequently is the key to getting great wraps. I spend about 30 to 40 minutes on each guide. So, I’ve sped up the video in the middle to shorten it up. Enjoy!

Rod Building – Gluing Strips with the Bellinger Binder.

I’m working on a new rod right now and thought I would shoot a short video showing how the bamboo strips are glued together. I use a binder from Bellingers to accomplish this. Check it out! Oh, and by the way, how about my nice wallpaper in my rod finishing room. This room in my house was used as a boy’s bedroom by the previous homeowners. I have never felt the need to take it down.

My early years of fishing. Twin Lakes, Washington

My mother just celebrated her 80th birthday this past weekend and the family got together at her home in Richland, Washington. I got the chance to go through some old pictures of me growing up and came across this one. That’s me on the left:
I remember this trip where my father took my brother and I (yes, we’re twins) out at a very early age to fish. On this trip, he had two fishing rods; one an old Shakespeare bait casting outfit loaded with leaded trolling line and a second, a 9′ 0″ Montague Bamboo Rod set up with an old floating level line. We trolled flatfish on each rod…yes, trolled with a bamboo fly rod. But, it didn’t seem to make a difference as we came home with a nice catch. Looks like a couple of pretty serious anglers! By the way, I still have these two rods. I don’t fish them any more, but they’re displayed in my living room. Lots of memories of my early fishing days!

Here is an earlier photo from one of my father’s “Boys Fishing Trips” to Twin Lakes. It’s probably from the mid-’50s.

Fishing Bamboo Fly Rods on the Owyhee River

Mary Ann and I got to spend a few days on the Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon last weekend fishing for big browns. The water levels were down to winter lows, which opened up just about the entire river for great fishing opportunities. We tried French Nymphing techniques our first afternoon and each managed to land a nice +20″ Brown in small pheasant tail nymphs. Here is Mary Ann’s nice fish (too bad it was on graphite):

Nice Brown!


The next two days we fished mostly dry flies with small nymph droppers, and were successful with several combinations. Small mahogany duns were hatching early mornings, with blue winged olives also hatching through the daylight hours. I was lucky enough to pick up this 25″ Brown on a #20 Blue Winged Olive dry fly one afternoon:

Big 25" Brown


Finally, here is a fun little video of a couple of fish:

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