Tag Archives: making bamboo fly rods

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

Fly Fishing the Owyhee River with Rick Robbins

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I had a great time this week spending 4 days fishing the Owyhee River in eastern Oregon with renowned bamboo rod maker Rick Robbins from Virginia.  We spent the 4 days sharing bamboo rod building stories and trying to figure out the hatches.  Mornings and early afternoons were pretty slow fishing but there was a decent PMD hatch starting at mid-day that went on until dark.  We were pretty successful with small PMD dries and emergers for the large Owyhee River browns, and we landed several nice fish in the 16″ to 21″ range.  Here are a few photos from our trip.

Rick and I on the Owyhee River

Rick casting small dries on a nice drop-off.

A nice Owyhee River Brown that took my #20 PMD Comparadun.

Fly Fishing the Gallatin River with Bob Jacklin

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While attending the Fly Fishers International Fair in Livingston, Montana last week I had the great privilege of spending the day on the Gallatin River fishing with Bob Jacklin.  Jim, a fantastically talented fly caster, also joined us…boy, those two guys can cast!  The three of us had a wonderful time on the water and everyone caught several nice rainbows up to 15″ on dry flies.  Bob gave us some of his personally tied spruce moth patterns that worked very great.  I fished one of my 8′  3″  FreeStone Series Bamboo Fly Rods during the day, which performed well and handled some tricky casts and mending in fast water conditions.  Here are a few photos of the day.

Bob, Jim, and I getting ready to hit the water.

Bob, making a nice cast.

A nice rainbow that I picked up.

A day on the Fall River Czech Nymphing

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I had a few hours to get out on the Fall River yesterday to tempt a few fish.  There wasn’t any noticeable surface activity but some caddis and small mayflies were out dotting the water.  I tried Czech Nymphing with a small #18 black Psycho Mayfly pattern and a #16 Green Caddis Pupa pattern fished along the grassy banks in the fast water and picked up about a dozen rainbows, browns, and brook trout in the 8″ to 11″ range. I happened to have with me my 7′  6″  5 wt FreeStone Series bamboo rod, which is not exactly the best rod for Czech Nymphing.  Normally I would be fishing with one of my longer rods, typically in the 8′  6″  to 9″ 0″  range.  But, since I was working very close to me along the banks, the smaller rod worked fine. Sometimes it’s not about size of the fish…it’s just about getting out on the stream and trying some new techniques.  Here are a couple of photos.

A deep slot along a grassy bank. I caught 6 fish in the small area.

An 11″ rainbow that took my caddis pupa.

A nice little native brown

More Bamboo on the Deschutes River

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Mary Ann and I got out again two days ago on the Deschutes River to see how the Salmon Flies were doing.  I chose my 7′  6″  5 wt Freestone Series bamboo rod for the day.  While there were lots of Salmon Flies and Golden Stoneflies on the bushes, and a few flying around, the fish seemed pretty disinterested in them during the sunny afternoon.  Instead, I again caught several nice rainbows on a #18 Tan Lafontaine Caddis drifted towards the bottom.  I may have been the only angler on the river during the day who was not throwing big ugly bugs.  But, once the sun went down, the fish turned on to a #8 Clarks Stonefly on the surface.  This pattern has proved to be the most effective adult stonefly for me lately.  Even when the giant Salmon Flies are out, the trout have always seemed to prefer the smaller Golden Stonefly imitation.  Here are a few photos of our day.

Golden Stonefly

Giant Salmonfly

#16 Tan Lafontaine Caddis

Clarks Stonefly

A nice rainbow putting a big bend in my 5 wt bamboo.

One that came to the net.