Graphite Vs Bamboo

[chusha]

I read years ago that graphite is easier and better for casting than bamboo.
But a couple days ago I was told that bamboo is better for casting.
Anyone have an opinion on this issue?

[Jack Hise]

I think it depends on your casting style. I fish both and enjoy both but it takes some changes to transition from one to the other.

Lefty's comparison to fly fishing and a Kansas feed lot may come into play here!

[rainbowchaser]

Sustitute different for better. Both statements are then true.

[billknepp]

If you are one who strives for the lightest rods on the market that and/or the trend for fast rods... Then bamboo is not anything youd enjoy. like single shot rifles, bamboo is an aquired taste! fiberglass is also such I enjoy all three but they are all vastly different.

[Jack Hise]

Well said Bill.

I think chusha may have run into a bamboo fanatic and not someone willing to give an honest unbiased opinion, thank you.

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

You really can't compare graphite to bamboo in my opinion because they are such different types of rods. Here's a run down of the pros&cons of each...


Graphite pros- Light weight material and wont fatigue your arm, better for distance casting because you can get a much faster action in graphite, takes really no "up-keep" to keep it in good shape.

Graphite cons- There aren't really any "cons" that come to mind short of they don't have the Nostalgia of a cane rod, and maybe they conduct lightning better lol

Cane pros- If you like a slower smoother casting stroke then cane is a great material to gently land a fly and not spook a trout. They hold their value (and actually raise in price) Buy a graphite today for $500 and sell it in 5 yrs and you'll get maybe $225 for it. Buy a Cane today for $500 and in 5 yrs you will get your money back out of it most times. Nostalgia/history. There are times when I use one of my cane rods and it just feels "right" because I'm fishing somewhere like the "Holy Waters" of the Au Sable with a Cane.

Cane cons- They are heavy as compared to most modern day Graphite, so if all you have cast are faster graphite rods then you may not even care for the feel of a cane. Plus they have upkeep. You don't want to just stick a cane in a rod rack and leave it there because next time you go to fish with it you will have a tip that looks like a dogleg. So they take a bit more care than other rods.

As I said it's hard to compare them because they are vastly different animals. One of them things that you will have to try in person to know if its something you really like or not.

Hope that helps.

Steve

[Silver Creek]

I read years ago that graphite is easier and better for casting than bamboo.
But a couple days ago I was told that bamboo is better for casting.
Anyone have an opinion on this issue?

As you can see, everyone has an opinion. Mine is that bamboo as a material is inherently heavier than graphite. That being the case, all things being equal, a bamboo rod will be heavier than a "comparable" graphite fly rod. Some will say that "nothing compares to bamboo", but that says about as much as "nothing compares to graphite." Each is limited by it's properties.

When designed within it limits, bamboo makes for a fine casting and fishing tool. But it cannot match graphite for elastic modulus, a measure of stiffness per weight. So graphite allows the rod maker to make long rods that are light enough to cast all day. You won't see any 10 ft 5 wt bamboo fly rods for sale because the nature of bamboo does not allow such a rod to be light enough to fish all day.

So as a rod building material, graphite is allows for a greater breadth of rod design. Graphite is currently the ultimate material when lightness with strength and flex are needed in sports or aeronautics. You won't find pro golfers using bamboo shafts, or airline builders using bamboo for wings or control surfaces, or pole vaulters using bamboo poles, or pro bass fishers using bamboo casting rods.

However, as graphite gets lighter and stronger, the walls of the rod get thinner and more prone to injury. While graphite has great modulus linearly, those same fibers when formed into a tube can split apart and the rod can literally explode when overloaded. So the tubular rods, although strong enough to be 10 feet long and just about bend double, have very little strength against being crushed or breaking when the fibers are nicked by a split shot.

It might be interesting to note that the "Shadow Cast" in a River Runs Through It was performed by Jason Borger. He attempted it first with a bamboo fly rod for authenticity. He broke two bamboo rods before Robert Redford allowed Jason to use a Hexagraph Fly Rod which incidentally is faux bamboo rod made of graphite. I have a VHS tape of Jason performing the cast with bamboo and the rod snaps during the cast. He tells Redford that the rod cannot take the stress but Redford directs him to use the backup bamboo rod which also breaks during the cast. It is all on tape.

So my answer as to whether bamboo or graphite makes for a "better" fly rod is akin to asking whether gentlemen prefer blonds or brunettes. It depends on the gentleman as much as the hair color.

[Jack Hise]

See what you've started chusha?

I think I can smell that Kansas feed lot clear over here in Tennessee!

[Midwest Custom Fly Rods]

so my answer as to whether bamboo or graphite makes for a "better" fly rod is akin to asking whether gentlemen prefer blonds or brunettes.

Redheads!

[Silver Creek]

Redheads!

That would be the fiberglass.