Category Archives: Bamboo Rod Building

Videos and postings about bamboo rod building

New 9 ft. 0 in. 3 and 4 wt. Czech Nymphing Bamboo Rods

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I recently redesigned my tapers for my Czech Nymphing Bamboo Fly Rods and I can’t tell you how great they’ve come out.  First, as a Czech Nymphing rod, I want the rods to be a light line wt rods, have a slow action to them, and have a very soft tip to detect subtle takes.  And, I also want the rods to cast dry flies well in the event you’re out on the stream nymphing and a hatch happens.  These new tapers in 3 wt and 4 wt rods do just that.  I build these rods with Custom Engraved Reel Seat Hardware, Figured English Walnut Reel Seats, and Olive Wraps with Straw and Black Tipping.

Earlier this week I tested out the new 9 ft. 0″  3 wt. rod on the Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon.  For Czech Nymphing, it roll/lob casts small to medium sized weighted nymphs great.  And, at 9 feet in length, it lets you get further out in the stream than traditional bamboo fly rods.  The soft tip is super-sensitive and light takes are easily felt.  I then put on a standard 3 wt floating fly line with a 10 ft. 5 wt dry fly leader.  The rod did well at casting large #8 Hopper patterns, as well as #20 PMD dries.  The slow action of this rod wants you to slow your dry fly casts down, but once you do, the rod loads deeply and turns over flies nicely with very little power put into the cast.  These rods will prove to be great longer, lighter line wt. bamboo fly rods for those anglers who utilize Czech Nymping in their fly fishing adventures.

My 9′ 0″ 3 wt Czech Nymphing Rod.

My 9′ 0″ 3 wt Czech Nymphing Rod

Building a Bamboo Fly Rod

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This past December, Mary Ann decided she wanted to build her own bamboo fly rod. She has watched me for years and she has several of her own rods that I have built, but this would be the first one she built all on her own.  She chose to build a medium-fast action 8′  0″  6 wt rod.  There are many steps to building a custom bamboo fly rod but here is her build process captured in a just few photos.  Enjoy.

First step – Selecting the raw bamboo culm.

After the bamboo culm was cut to length, it was time to split it by hand into thin strips

Splitting thick strips into thinner strips.

After heat treating the strips and running them through a beveler to rough out the 60 degree angles, it was time to hand plane the strips down to final taper dimensions.

Measuring the final strip dimensions for accuracy.

The finished strips are ready for gluing.

Applying the glue to the strips.

Running the Glue Binder.

Gluing on the Ferrules.

Gluing on the Cork Grip.

Sanding the Cork Grip

The rod needs to get signed with Pen and Ink.

Hand Varnishing the Rod.

TIme to wrap the guides and varnish the wraps.

The finished Bamboo Fly Rod.

The finished Bamboo Fly Rod.

 

Another Morris Kushner Post

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Several days ago, I posted a link to a pretty interesting 1977 film about Bamboo Rod Builder, Morris Kushner.  This film was made by Kushner’s grandson, Scott Mann, and a fellow student, John Roman, when they were in college.  Well, a cool thing happened today right out-of-the-blue….Scott Mann replied to my post, thanking me for sharing his film about his grandfather.  Sometimes it’s a pretty small world.

Here is what Scott said, “Hi Dave– just happened to come across your recent post. Thanks for discovering and sharing my film — made as a student at the University of Michigan on 1977. I hope folks also check out the unedited complete interviews with Bob Summers and Robert Traver that I have also made available on the Morristherodmaker.com website.”

That WEB site is pretty cool, and as soon as I get the chance, I’m going to also check out the Bob Summers and Robert Traver interviews.  If you’re like me and enjoy vintage footage of rod builders, check it out.

Two new bamboo fly rods completed.

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I just completed two new bamboo fly rods this week, just in time for the upcoming Fly Fishing Show next week in Pleasanton, Ca.  I’ll be there with a booth, and Mary Ann will be teaching classes and giving casting demonstrations.  I’ll have both of these two rods, a 7′  6″  2 piece/2 tip 5 wt Signature Series rod and a 7′  9″  2 piece/1 tip 4 wt Spring Creek Series rods at the show and available to cast.  If you are in the Bay Area, I encourage you to stop by the show….tons of fly fishing stuff, and 5 of us who build bamboo fly rods will be there.

A new 7′ 6″ 2 piece/2 tip 5 wt Signature Series Rod with black wraps and a new 7′ 9″ 2 piece/1 tip 4 wt Spring Creek Series rod with green wraps.

My New WEB Site

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If you’ve been to my site previously, you’ll notice a new look.  After much procrastination, I finally got to a much needed overhaul of my WEB site.  Many thanks to Meryl Schenker, a very talented professional photographer from Seattle, for some of the fantastic images on my new site.  I’m still tweeking a few of the site details a little so you may still see a few additional minor changes.  Hope you find my new site informative, easy to navigate, and useful.