I was able to get out fly fishing today with my good friend, Joe, on Whychus Creek, the small creek in the canyon below my house. Whychus creek is one of my favorite spots here in Central Oregon…beautiful water and no other anglers around. I took out my 6′ 8″ 3 wt. Fast Action Series Bamboo Rod and Joe took out his 7′ 0″ 4 wt bamboo rod he built with me in my workshop. After a bug sampling that showed a lot of stonefly nymphs, I started with a #10 black rubber legged black stonefly nymph. Joe started with a #16 Tan X-Caddis pattern. We both were successful and caught several nice rainbows. After an hour, I wanted some dry fly action so I changed over to a #12 Yellow Stimulator pattern…Joe stayed with his X-Caddis. For the next 2 hours, we both raised a lot of feisty native rainbows, and by the end of the day, we each caught about 15 fish. What a fun day with our bamboo rods on one of our small creeks here.
Tag Archives: bamboo
Why do each of us prefer different bambo rod tapers?
A few years back I worked with Mary Ann and several other very experienced fly casters to look at how different fly casting styles impact that way a bamboo fly rod bends…i.e. how the motions of your hand/wrist/arm during the cast can bend different rod tapers differently. My goal was to gain a better understanding of why each of us prefer different actions of bamboo fly rods. Through extensive stop-action video analysis, we were able to show different rod bending motions which can impact the power and accuracy in your cast depending on what taper fly rod you cast. And if you cast a particular taper well, then it’s probably one you like. I pulled together a presentation that I presented at the 2022 Corbet Lake Bamboo Fly Rod Gathering, and I have also given it at other events. One of these presentations was recorded and can be found at the following link: VRG – 20200808 – Dozer – Casting Style Affecting Your Choice of Tapers (bamboorodmaking.com). Check it out!!!
I’m back in the Bamboo Workshop.
After 2 months of recovery from Knee Replacement Surgery, I’m finally back in the workshop building bamboo fly rods. Sure feels good to fondle some bamboo again. Just started a new 8′ 0″ 5 wt fast action.
New Video
After 14 years, I finally updated the video that is in the right hand column of my WEB Page. The old video was done in my old workshop. Finally, I’ve updated to a much more interesting video showcasing my rod building process. Thank you Olivia Elia so much for helping with the filming and editing of this video. I’m very happy with how it came out. Click on the link, and enjoy.
Summer Fishing In Idaho
Mary Ann and I spend a week fishing in Stanley, Idaho this summer on the Salmon River. Here are a few shots our time out with our 4 wt bamboo fly rods.