Starting a new Bamboo Trout Net

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Dave Dozer

I’m getting started on a new Bamboo Trout Net today to add to my inventory. It will be available for the Christmas Holidays…would make a fantastic Christmas Present for that special angler!

The 5 long strips will make up the hoop section of the net. They are 72″ x .75″ x .070″. The shorter pieces will make up the handle of the net. They are 13″ x .625″ x .200″.

The first step is to start gluing up the handle pieces.

Getting started on a new Bamboo Trout Net

Closer view of handle and hoop sections.

Gluing up sections.

Two handle sections. These will get glued up together.

Both handle sections have now been glued together and shaped.

The handle section for my new Bamboo Net.

Time to glue up the whole net!

Clamped and glued up!

Roughed out net ready for hand sanding.

Finished Net #1

Finished Net #2

Finished Net #3

Savery Creek, Wyoming

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Dave Dozer

It’s been a busy summer so I haven’t posted for a while. Mary Ann and I recently took a 3 week trip to Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho for some fantastic fly fishing. I’ll share some photos from Savery Creek, Wyoming in this post. Savery Creek is a very large working cattle ranch in central Southern Wyoming. They have 18 miles of private trout water on their ranch. And, they put strong limitations on the numbers of guests staying at the lodge so the water doesn’t get overfished. First, Savery Creek is a very small tail water, populated with big rainbows, a few browns, and a few tiger trout. Most of our fish were between 14″ and 20″. All their fishing is guided, and our guides, Bryce and Matt, did a fantastic job. We fished 4 days on the ranch, and never put on a subsurface fly….everything was dry fly fishing, mostly with cicadas, hoppers, ants, and some smaller mayflies and caddis. Mary Ann and I both fished 5 wt bamboo fly rods. Fishing was great, the lodge was great, and the meals were great. All in all, we had a fantastic time and are hoping to get back there next year. Here are a few photos:

Getting to the Lodge…crossing Savery Creek.

Savery Creek, Wyoming

Inside the Lodge at Savery Creek.

Searching for a fish.

A typical Savery Creek Rainbow.

A beautiful Rainbow.

A nice Savery Creek Trophy.

Fishing Hat Creek, CA

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Dave Dozer

I met up with my fishing buddies from California last week and spent 4 days fishing Hat Creek near Redding. I’ve been fishing with these guys for over 30 years so it’s always great to get together with them on our “Guys Fishing Trip” once a year. The creek was in great shape. It proved to be pretty challenging fishing during the day but much better each evening. Lots of Salmonflies, Golden Stoneflies, Yellow Sallies, and Caddis were out. For all my fishing, I used my 9′ 0″ 4 wt Euronymphing rod. It did great during the day throwing all sorts of nymphs, and then switching over to a dry line during the evenings for the hatch. Here are a few photos of my trip.

Hat Creek, CA

Salmon Fly

Hat Creek Rainbow that took a Yellow Sally.

This guy took a golden stonefly.

Bamboo Rod Fishing at Yamsi Ranch

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Dave Dozer

I just got back from 3 days of fly fishing on the Upper Williamson River in Southern Oregon with my good friend and fishing buddy Bill. We stayed a great place, Yamsi Ranch, which has 8 miles of spring creek water flowing through the ranch. Ranch guests are the only ones who have access to the river so there is plenty of water to get out and fish. John, Gerry, Dayton, and Sally are fantastic hosts at the ranch, which has been around for over 100 years. Fishing is for native brookies and rainbows on miles of beautiful spring creek water. Fishing in the river was non-stop action for Bill and I…small bead head leaches in the mornings, mahogany dun dries mid-day, and hoppers in the afternoons. Bill and I lost track of how many fish we caught. I fished most of the time with my 8′ 0″ 5 wt Signature Series medium action bamboo fly rod, but went to my 8′ 0″ 6 wt medium fast action Freestone Series rod for the afternoon hopper sessions. We also got the chance to fish for a few hours in Hyde Lake on the ranch. It was loaded with huge rainbows…nothing was under 21″. Again, leaches worked great for these big rainbows, as well as callibaetis nymphs stripped slowly along the weed beds. What a great trip we had. Here are a few photos:

Bill and Dave’s excellent adventure at Yamsi Ranch

A beautiful 14″ brookie…we caught A LOT of these guys.

Bill working a nice bend in the river.

Stripping bead head leaches.

A nice rainbow I picked up our last morning.

A big rainbow from the ranch’s lake.

What Is The Best Reel For A Bamboo Fly Rod?

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Dave Dozer

I get asked occasionally “What is the best reel for a bamboo fly rod?” Well, there is no one answer to that question. But, a lot of the modern day reels are very light weight and don’t balance a bamboo rod very well, while many of the older reels that were made years ago are heavier. And, there is just something about putting a reel with a “classic look” on a fine bamboo fly rod. When I’m out fishing, I usually have an older classic reel on my rods. I have several old Hardy reels and Pflueger reels, and also have a very nice Saracione reel and a Bellinger reel for my two-handed Trout Spey rods. Here are a couple of photos of my set-ups: