Jed,

I am in the process of re-doing my first bamboo rod, and I know how you feel. This may not be a very pretty sight when it's done, but it's a start. I don't know if you tie your own flies, but I can remember what the first flies that I tied looked like, and this rod is going to be a larger scale version of that. And I'm willing to bet that Ron Kusse and all the others that do beautiful work didn't achieve perfection from day one. A little practice is a good thing.

Jeff

------------------
I work only so that I can afford to fish