Tag Archives: making bamboo fly rods

Fishing Bamboo on Nelson’s Spring Creek in Livingston, Montana

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I had a great time this past week at the International Federation of Fly Fishers annual fly fishing fair in Livingston, Montana, and was lucky to get out for a few days on the water before the fair started.  I was joined one day by my friend, Gary Turri, of California for a day on Nelson’s Spring Creek.  Gary is a fantastic angler and a Certified Fly Casting Instructor as well.  I put on one of my bamboo fly rods in Gary’s hands to fish for the day…we both fished 7′  6″    5 wt FreeStone Series bamboo rods.  We had lots of fun casting tiny flies for very educated browns, rainbows, and cutthroats, and we each netted a few fish.  Here are a few pictures of our day.

Nelson's Spring Creek

Nelson’s Spring Creek

Gary and I showing off our bamboo fly rods.

Gary and I showing off our bamboo fly rods.

A nice cutthroat that took a #18 Cinnamon Ant

A nice cutthroat that took a #18 Cinnamon Ant

 

Owyhee River Browns

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I got the chance to fish the Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon earlier this week for a few days with our friends Noel and Sue from Australia.  Fishing was a little on the slow side but we still hooked into some nice Owyhee River Browns.  There weren’t a lot of hatches going on during the day, and most fish were picked up on small #20 zebra midges.  I used my 7′  6″  5 wt Freestone Series bamboo fly rod for the two days, which worked great.  I also used a 50″ furled leader from Mike Morin at http://www.cutthroatleader.com , and about 5 ft. of 6X tippet with the small nymphs.  Here are a couple of pictures of my time there:

Owyhee River Brown

Owyhee River Brown

Owyhee River Brown

Owyhee River Brown

Sharing my bamboo fly rods on the Metolius River

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I had a great time this week getting out with our friends from the Seattle area, Kelli and Russ, on the Metolius River.  After a couple of hours of fishing, I asked them if they wanted to try my bamboo fly rods for a bit of dry fly fishing….and got very quick “you bet” from both of them.  I put a 7′  6″  5 wt rod in each of their hands and we fished together for about 45 minutes.  Although the fish were very interested in our dry flies, we had a great time.  While I haven’t converted them over to bamboo just yet, they got a taste of what it’s like.  Here we are on the stream with our rods.

Kelli and Russ trying out my bamboo fly rods with me on the Metolius River

Kelli and Russ trying out my bamboo fly rods with me on the Metolius River

Northern California Fly Fishing Trip

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I just got back from 5 days down in Northern California fly fishing with a 5 friends from the Bay Area with whom I’ve been fishing for 30 years.  We spent several days fishing Hat Creek and Manzanita Lake.  Lots of fun fishing nymphs and dries on Hat Creek, and chironomids on Manzanita Lake.  I fished my 8′  0″  5 wt slow action Spring Creek Series bamboo rod during this trip, and it produced well.  Here are a few photos from my trip.

A #14 tan ant pattern that worked well during the day on Hat Creek.

A #14 tan ant pattern that worked well during the day on Hat Creek.

A nice Hat Creek Rainbow that took my ant pattern.

A nice Hat Creek Rainbow that took my ant pattern.

A colorful Salmon Fly hanging out in the grass.

A colorful Salmon Fly hanging out in the grass.

A small but colorful little brown that took a #14 X-Caddis dry.

A small but colorful little brown that took a #14 Elk Hair Caddis dry.

A nice unusual colored brown trout that took a Pale Evening Dun pattern one evening on Hat Creek.

A nice unusually colored brown trout that took a #16 Pale Evening Dun pattern one evening on Hat Creek.

Launching our float tubes at Manzanita Lake.

Launching our float tubes at Manzanita Lake.

A beautiful Manzanita Lake Brown trout that took a #14 black and red chironomid.

A beautiful Manzanita Lake Brown trout that took a #14 black and red chironomid.

This big rainbow took a #16 brown and green chironomid pattern.

This big rainbow took a #16 brown and green chironomid pattern.

 

Wild Women of the Water visit my shop

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Several members of the Central Oregon Fly Fishers Wild Women of the Water visited my rod building shop earlier this week as one of their monthly outings.  I got the chance to show them the different aspects of building bamboo fly rods.  We had a great interactive time, with everyone getting the chance to try out a few of the building steps.  I was quite impressed with their interest and skills in the workshop.  These women really know their stuff when it comes to fly fishing, and it was fun having them here. Here are a few fun photos of the event.

Discussing Splitting and heat treating

Discussing Splitting and heat treating

Jan trying her hand at flaming cane.

Jan trying her hand at flaming cane.

Susan starting a split.

Susan starting a split.

Eileen getting the perfect split.

Renee getting the perfect split.

Kari trying her hand with the power beveller

Kari trying her hand with the power beveller

Lynn demonstrating her expertise at hand planing.

Lynn demonstrating her expertise at hand planing.

Examining finished rods.

Examining finished rods.