November drawing RL Nunley Bamboo Blank

[bgreer]

Hi all,

I won the November drawing for the RL Nunley bamboo rod blank. I thought about trying to finish the rod myself. I've never really done any rod building and thought about practicing on some cheap graphite blanks. Then I thought about having someone I know finish it or paying someone near me to finish it. I ended up deciding to contact Bob Nunley and asking him to finish it for me. He agreed to finish it for me.

Since I was going fishing in the area over the past weekend, I just dropped off the blank at his shop. I stopped in this past Monday to drop off the blank and talk about what kind of hardware I wanted.

Well, about two hours flew by in no time. He showed me around his shop and told me about his process of making bamboo rods. He showed me how a piece of cane is made into a rod. He explained the entire process...of how he makes the strips, the gluing process, the binding process, the heat treating, sanding, varnishing....the whole 9 yards. The whole thing is a meticulous and time consuming process.

Bob had a few examples of rods that he's been working on and some restoration projects. The whole thing is pretty amazing. The time spent producing a rod is pretty incredible. Bob said he had just done some work to his web site. I took a look and it shows some of his shop. I took some pics of some of his handi-work.

This is the blank as it is now:


Here is some unsplit bamboo and wood used for reel seats:



TO BE CONTINUED

[bgreer]

Here are some wrapping that Bob does on his Signature rods:





Here are a rattan grip and a hardwood grip. A little different than the normal cork grips you usually see. I decided on a rattan grip:






TO BE CONTINUED

[bgreer]

This is the wrapping and hardware style that I decided to use:





These pictures are pretty decent, but it's not like holding the real thing. You cant see a single thread in the wraps....it's like it's all one piece. Bob makes all the stuff in his shop....except for guides and the engraving on the metal hardware.

We talked about fishing the rivers in Arkansas, what kinds of tapers he uses on his rods. (He used classic tapers for a while and then ventured to make his own and now uses them exclusively.) We talked fishing and all things related for quite a while. He even gave me some go-to flies that he uses on the Norfork River.

I could have stayed and shot the bull with Bob all day, but I needed to get a bite to eat and head for the stream. I asked if Bob wanted a deposit for the work to be done and he said we'd worry about that later. Bob Nunley is a heck of a nice guy and a great craftsman. This is Bob:



THANKS BOB!


Brian

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Wow very good post. Just another quality Sponsor on FAOL.

Very nice rods by the way. You sure lucked out when you won that blank.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Brian,

After looking over your choices for wraps, handle, etc, your going to have one sweeeet rod. Congratulations on getting a fine fishing tool.

REE

[J Castwell]

Excellent report, thank you. I think you have made a great choice on a rod that will live in your family for a long time.

[Z]

what a great post.. cheers to you and to Bob!

Z

[bgreer]

I am pretty anxious and excited to fish it. Bob is having knee replacement surgery. But he said he'd have it ready for spring. I can't wait.

I'll post pics of the finished product....and maybe the first fish on it.



Brian

[RLNunley]

Brian, It was a pleasure to meet you when you came by the shop. As I'm sure you could tell, I could have stayed there all day and talked rods and bamboo and trout, but I know you had to get back to the river. I don't think I actually made it to the water that day, but did over the next couple of days, and did really well.

Folks, I haven't fished with Brian yet, but there are just some people that, when you meet them, you know they'd be fun to fish with. Maybe when I get his rod finished out, I can talk him into coming down and we'll get a little water time. The Caddis should be going wild by then.

This will be my last appearance here for awhile. I'm going into the hospital this afternoon and having the total knee done in the morning. Not sure how long I'll be in, but I do know that I'll be housebound for a few days after I get home, so I'll probably sit here on pain meds typing posts... please forgive bad grammer, misspellings and bad opinions in advance! The country boy comes out in me really bad when the Oxycontin takes over! *S*

Bob

[JohnScott]

Brian -

Winning the rod was great.

But you really got a bonus when you met Bob.

Hoping against hope that I might win that rod, I had already decided to ask Bob to finish it for me. But I never would have had the opportunity to meet him as you did.

Better that you won it, as far as I'm concerned. And I hope you two have some great days fishing together.

John