Tag Archives: buildling bamboo rods

Fishing Bamboo on Whychus Creek

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I hiked down to Whychus Creek recently at the bottom of the canyon just below our house for some morning fly fishing.  Whychus is a beautiful small local creek that gets almost no fishing pressure.  Most of the trout are on the small side (5″ to 9″) but it’s not uncommon to get into a few larger fish also.  Because the creek is heavily treed in along the banks, I like to fish the creek with a 7′  0″  4 wt bamboo fly rod. Longer 8 or 9 ft. rods are just too long for this little creek.  Nymphs tend to work well on the resident fish, but they’ll come up for dries occasionally also.  For the morning, I picked up about 15 fish on #18 black zebra midges, #16 black AP nymphs, #10 black stonefly nymphs, #16 copper johns, and #14 Royal Wulffs.  Here is a fun little video that I pulled together of my morning.

Costs of Fly Fishing Gear in 1925

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I came across an interesting add in an old archived edition of a Central Oregon Newspaper (The Brownsville Times) this week.  In 1925, a Bamboo Fishing Rod was only $3.25, Leaders (the expensive ones) were 20 cents, and flies were 15 cents each.  Interestingly, Fly Books (the good ones) were $1.90.  Here is a look:

1925 Brownsville Times

Czech Nymphing with Bamboo Fly Rods on Hat Creek, CA.

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I just got back from my annual “Guys Fishing Trip to Hat Creek” in Northern California.  I’ve been fishing with the same group of guys at Hat Creek on Memorial Day Weekend for the past 30 years.  We probably know every rock in the stream.  Nymph fishing was great in the mornings with #14 yellow sally nymphs fished with Czech Nymphing methods.  I used my 9′  0″  3 wt Czech Nymphing Bamboo Fly Rod and picked up quite a few nice fish in the 15″ to 18″ range.  Here are a couple of photos of our time at Hat Creek.

Fishing one of my favorite runs on Hat Creek with Curt, Ken, and Paul.

A nice 18″ rainbow that took a #14 Yellow Sally Nymph.

Lots of color on this 17″ rainbow.

Another pretty 16″ rainbow and my Czech Nymphing Bamboo Fly Rod.

More Browns…This Time on the Owyhee River

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On our trip back from Utah last week, Mary Ann and I couldn’t resist stopping on the Owyhee River for a couple of hours to fish.  It was a blustery, overcast day but we knew the fish were there.  Mary Ann fished her 7′  9″  4 wt Signature Series Bamboo rod, and I choose my 9′  0″  3 wt Bamboo EuroNymphing rod.  There was no visible surface activity, but we knew from previous trips, the big Owyhee River browns usually like small midges and baetis nymphs.  An Olive #20 Baetis nymph fished towards the bottom proved to be a good fly choice for the afternoon, and we got into a handful of very nice fish in the 16″ to 22″ range.  Here are a few photos from our afternoon:

#20 Olive Baetis Nymph

Mary Ann putting a good bend in her 4 wt bamboo rod

A beautiful Owyhee River Brown for Mary Ann.

I’m fighting a very nice Brown on my 3 wt bamboo.

Here is one of my nice fish for the day.

Browns on the Green River in Utah!

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Mary Ann and I just got back from a week in Utah where we attended the Wasatch Intermountain Fly Fishing Show, and fortunately, we were able to get a little fishing in also.  We spent a day on the Green River with Brett Renard of Western Rivers Flyfisher Guides.  Brett is a great guide, extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and upbeat about our fly fishing day.  And, to top that off, we caught some very nice browns that were rising to the BWO hatch.  I fished an 8′  0″  6 wt Signature Series Bamboo Rod and Mary Ann fished her 8′  0″  6 wt FreeStone Series Bamboo Rod that she built last year. I had only heard about the Green River, but what a beautiful sight.  Crystal clear water flowing through beautiful deep canyon cliffs.  Here are a couple of photos from our day.

Here we are on the Green River.

The Green River.

A nice brown that Mary Ann caught.

Having Some Fun.