Over my years of crafting bamboo rods, many people have expressed a desire to be part of building their own rod with guidance from me. I totally appreciate an angler’s interest in building their own bamboo fly rod and am excited to offer the opportunity of building your own rod. I am now offering a bamboo rod building class for one to two persons at a time.
The bamboo fly rod building classes are at my 1200 sq. ft. rod shop in Sisters, Oregon. I’ll work with you in a one-on-one setting to move through the entire bamboo rod building process, from selecting the raw bamboo culm all the way to the final finishing of the bamboo fly rod.
Mary Ann Selecting the Bamboo Culms for Her New Bamboo Fly Rod.
At the end of the class you will have the satisfaction of crafting your own rod. I trust you will have fond memories of landing fish on your personally built bamboo fly rod.
If you’re local to the Sisters area, we’ll customize your class schedule to meet your day-to-day needs. If you are from out of the area, we work hard together over 6 to 7 days to get you through the build process.
For my students, I like to recommend that they build a 7′ 6″ 5 wt, 2 piece, 1 tip Signature Series Bamboo Fly Rod. If students want something different, we can discuss options. I will not build two-handed trout spey rods with first time students due to the added difficulty and time in building two-handed rods. The cost for this class is $2195, and the class normally takes 6 days to complete. I teach very traditional approaches towards building bamboo fly rods with a great deal of hand work in the building process. You’ll select your bamboo, split and hand plane the bamboo strips, glue them into a blank, turn a high quality cork grip on your rod, wrap all premium guides on your rod, and complete a quality hand-rubbed rod finish. While you’re working on your rod, I’ll turn a custom wood reel seat from premium hardwood you personally select from my stock. Included in the cost of the class are all materials/components for your bamboo fly rod, as well as a custom rod sock. Also available at an extra cost is: 1) Custom hand engraved reel seat hardware, 2) a custom aluminum/brass rod tube, and3) a custom hand-dipped rod finish. Not included in the class are accommodations in Sisters or your meals.
Charlotte Splitting the Bamboo Into Strips
Mary Ann Hand Planing the Bamboo Strips.
Finishing up wraps on the Agate Stripping Guide.
Some basic woodworking skills/experience are beneficial but it’s not necessary, and previous experience building fly rods is not required. I have all the tools needed in my shop so you will not need to bring any tools with you…I have everything covered. Please check back with me if building your own bamboo fly rod is of interest to you.