Tag Archives: buildling bamboo rods

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.

Great Guys in the Fly Fishing Industry

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I attended the 2015 IFFF Fair in Bend, Oregon last week, and I wanted to highlight 3 great guys in the fly fishing industry who were also there.  Mike Morin owns Cutthroat Leaders.  Mike makes and sells furled leaders that are a tremendous match for bamboo fly rods, and I use his leaders as often as I can.  Mike Avery is Snake River Net Company.  He is a great craftsman and makes and sells custom nets and fly boxes.  John Noble is Scaly Designs.  John is a skilled artist and crafts wonderful and unique rod tubes and fly fishing art. I recommend them highly.  Here are a few photos from their booths at the show this past week.

Cutthroat Leaders - Great furled leaders for fly fishing.

Cutthroat Leaders – Great furled leaders for fly fishing.

Snake River Net Co. - Custom nets and fly boxes.

Snake River Net Co. – Custom nets and fly boxes.

Scaly Designs - Beautiful and unique fly rod tubes and fly fishing art.

Scaly Designs – Beautiful and unique fly rod tubes and fly fishing art.

2015 International Federation of Fly Fishers Fair in Bend, Oregon

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I’m excited to be at the 2015 annual fair of the International Federation of Fly Fishers in Bend Oregon this week.  I’m teaching a class in “an Introduction to Bamboo Fly Rod Building” on Tuesday, and will have a booth at the vendor fair on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  There is so much to do, so please stop by if you’re in the area.

2015 IFFF Fair in Bend, Oregon

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.

New Bamboo Fly Rod is all Planed Up

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I’ve been at the bench for a few days planing a new 8′  0″  3 piece,  4 wt rod.  Lots of hours with a Stanley 9 1/2 in my hand, but finally finished.  It always amazes me to see how small the tips get on these lighter rods.  And, how much bamboo shavings get created from the planing operation.  Next step, on to hollowing these sections prior to gluing.

Hand Planing Set-Up

Hand Planing Set-Up with my Bellingers Planing Form.

Finished Strips. The Tips on this rod are 0.028".

Finished Strips. The Tips on this rod are 0.028″.