Category Archives: fishing bamboo

Bamboo Switch Rods on the Salmon River, Idaho

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I’ve been out on the Salmon River this week with my 10′  6″  5 wt hollow-built switch rod trying to entice some of the larger fish that might be lying to ambush a fly presented in ‘just-the-right-way’ to them.  I’ve been swinging weighted streamers on intermediate leaders through the deeper runs.  I’ve also been trying skating an assortment of large dry flies on the surface with furled switch rod leaders from Cutthroat Leaders through the calmer water.  Here are a couple  of the fish I was able to get to the bank for photos.

A nice Bull Trout that took a #6 Black Wooley Bugger with a weighted gold conehead.

A nice Bull Trout that took a #6 Black Wooley Bugger with a weighted gold conehead.

A beautiful native Cutthroat Trout that took a #12 foam bodied Black Caddis skated across the surface of a shallow run.

A beautiful native Cutthroat Trout that took a #12 foam bodied Black Caddis skated across the surface of a shallow run.

Bamboo Rods on Noname Creek.

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Earlier this week we got the chance to hit Noname Creek (sorry, I’m sworn to secrecy) about 2 hours from Stanley in search for some hungry Cutthroats with our good friends, Noel and Sue, from Australia.  Noel has one of my 8′  3″  Signature Series 5 wt fly rods so that was his weapon of choice.  Sue doesn’t fly fish but came along to enjoy the day on the stream and lend a hand with a net when needed.  Mary Ann and I each took 7′  0″  4 wt rods.  The trout were happy to take just about any dry fly we put their way and we were successful landing many nice fish.  Here are a few photos from our day.

Noname Creek

Noname Creek

Noel and I ready for battle.

Noel and I ready for battle.

Noel landing a nice Cutthroat.

Noel landing a nice Cutthroat.

A nice bend in my bamboo rod.-

A nice bend in my bamboo rod.-

Mary Ann with a nice Cuttie.

Mary Ann with a nice Cuttie.

A "Calendar Photo" of one of our catches.

A “Calendar Photo” of one of our catches.

Native Cutthroats on the Yankee Fork!

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I went hunting for native cutthroats on the Yankee Fork with my good friend, Peter, from Northern California.  Peter is responsible for getting me into bamboo fly rods many years ago.  When he put a Leonard Duracane in my hands and told me to fish it for the day, I was hooked.  Aside from several salmon smolts, hatchery rainbows, and whitefish, I did manage to find a few native cutthroats as well.  Here are some shots from our day.

Peter and I getting ready to hit the Yankee Fork.

Peter and I getting ready to hit the Yankee Fork.

The Yankee Fork.

The Yankee Fork.

A nice 10" native cutthroat that took a #16 black ant pattern.

A nice 10″ native cutthroat that took a #16 black ant pattern.

A beautiful 14" native cutthroat that took a #14 Yellow Sally Nymph.

A beautiful 14″ native cutthroat that took a #14 Yellow Sally Nymph.

 

First Fish on a Bamboo Fly Rod.

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I got one of my bamboo fly rods in the hands of one of our good friends, John, from Colorado recently.  John is relatively new to fly fishing, but he didn’t have any difficulty picking his first fish swinging a black wooly bugger on my 8′  3″  5 wt rod.  Here is John in action:

Swinging a bugger on the Salmon River.

Swinging a bugger on the Salmon River.

Fish On!

Fish On!

A happy angler.

A happy angler.

Owyhee River Brown Trout

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I just got back from 3 days of fishing the Owyhee River in eastern Oregon with a fellow rod builder, Rick Robbins, from West Virginia.  Lots of big browns.  I chose a 8′  3″  5 wt bamboo rod for most of my fishing.  We had great success on  #22 Trico Spinners every morning, and matched them on Furled Leaders from Cutthroat Leaders in Boise, Idaho and 6X tippets.   Tan and/or black ants on 5X Tippets worked well in the afternoons and evenings.  Check it out.

Morning on the Owyhee River.

Morning on the Owyhee River.

Trico Spinners.

Trico Spinners.

#22 Trico Spinner Pattern.

#22 Trico Spinner Patterns.

A nice Brown that fell to a #14 Tan Ant pattern one afternoon.

A nice Brown Trout that fell to a #14 Tan Ant pattern one afternoon.