do you fish bamboo?

I have thought a while about acquiring a bamboo rod and it got me wondering?

How many of you have a bamboo rod and how often do you fish with them?

-Jeff

Birddog,

I have a few of them.

I fish with them only occasionally.

Buddy

I have several…for the majority of my trout fishing, I split time with my 8’ 5 wt. boo and a couple of glass rods. If you’re seriously interested in checking them out, I would suggest casting as many different tapers from as many different builders as possible. The actions on them varies tremendously…

For me, I just really like the way they feel, smell and fish.

I have a handful and fish them each time I trout fish.

I also still have my light line Sages, SP’s and SPL’s… that mainly get left in the closet. Can’t say why, they just do.

Bamboo, it’s not “better” or "best, only a little different! And I like them. A lot!

Jeremy.

I have a few and try to fish with as much as possible, I usually will take my 3 wght out exclusively when brookie fishing, the other one I use mainly when I go bass fishing. As stated before they are not any better than any of the new rods out there now but just have a completely different feel and are extremely fun to fish with.

I have a couple and fish with them a lot. I like the feel of the rod in my hand, the warmth of the bamboo, the smell of varnish when you open the rod tube and the feel of a fish on.

birddog -

I just started fishing a bamboo rod right at the end of ‘08 with an 8’ for 5 wt that I wrapped and finished.

Have been out with it about eleven times on water ranging from small creeks to a fairly good size river, fishing everything from size 20 nymphs and 18 dries to tandems of size 6 weighted stonefly nymphs under an indicator.

It covers the things I do with my graphite 3 and 5 wts, but I much more enjoy the feel of the bamboo rod, and, for whatever reason, I can cast better and further with it than my graphite rods.

It can’t match my fast action 7 wt for bigger water / bigger wind / bigger flies. But I can still fish the same water for the same fish with the bamboo, and the extra effort it takes is a small price to pay for the enjoyment of fishing this rod.

I just kind of happened into the bamboo thing. Still way down on the learning curve. But the comments above about studying up on and casting, if at all possible, a wide range of tapers are probably the best advice you can get.

Bamboo isn’t for everyone, for sure. But if you find a taper that fits your style and the kind of fishing you like to do, you will surely be in for a treat.

John

I have several of them, various lengths and wieghts from a 6’ 3wt, to an 8.5’ 6wt. They are fun novelties. I like to fish them on small to medium sized streams, casts in the 10-40’ range, maybe a rare cast out to 50-60’. Graphite gets the nod if I’m going to be making a lot of 50’+ casts, chucking heavy double nymph rigs, or bass poppers. Cheers.

I have one that belonged to my Dad. I use it sometimes, mostly for trout and panfish.

I like bamboo! I make bamboo rods and I fish bamboo rods. I have enough bamboo on hand to make probabally 60 bamboo rods. I make and fish rods as light as a 6’ 6", 3 weight up to a 10’ 6", 8 weight two handed rod and everything in between. Most of the models I make are hollow built. Along with making the rods, I also make my own reel seats and ferrules.

A few of my favorites are a 7’ 6", 5 weight hoillow built, a 8’, 7 weight hollow built that I use for steelhead, A 9’, 9 weight hollow built that I fish for salmon with, and a 10’ 6", 8 weight two handed rod I use for both steelhead and salmon.

In the works is a 13’ 6" hollow 8 weight spey rod. I have some tweeks to make to the design software I am using to get the final design off the paper and onto the bench. I would like to have this rod finished by my spring steelhead trip to the Pere Marquette River in Michigan.

Oh, did I mention I lke bamboo fly rods?

Give me a shout Jeff if I can help you out. Being in Michigan perhaps we could get together and you could cast a few of my rods. Heck, cast them all for that matter.

fishbum

I only have a few, but for what they cost me…it is going to stay that way!

I have what I need however. A couple 4 wts and a couple of 5 wts.

I fish the 5 weight all the time. More than even my JWF. I added Sharkskin line to it and there is anything plastic can do that this can’t.

The 5 weight covers BIG and small just right!:cool:

Thanks for the replies.
If I buy one I am thinking that I will bug a local armature to build me one so it will be special to me. I know a couple of builders that I would like to have something of there work. One of these fellows wrote a book of flies and he had a chapter on his bamboo addiction and to paraphrase " It is not the casting of the bamboo rod but it is after you hook a fish that the real enjoyment of bamboo is realized"

Do you relate to this statement?
-Jeff

For the most part, that statement is true (I enjoy both)…when you have a fish on, that’s where bamboo really comes alive…

Jeff -

What happens after you hook a fish is great - but I find the casting very enjoyable, not equally enjoyable, of course, but very enjoyable.

John

I got my first bamboo rod about 3 years ago and like many others there was no going back at least for most trout fishing situations. I now own 5 bamboo rods and would like to have a few others someday. You do need to cast as rods as you can and if possible take the opportunity to fish a few. Not sure were you are located but you can generally find guys in your area that if you ask nice would probbably meet you on a stream some place and fish one for a bit. If you are anywhere near SoCentral PA look me up.
Bill From PA

Yeah I fish bamboo quite a bit. Glass too. I’d say I use graphite maybe only 15% of the time. I enjoying the feel of casting a bamboo rod. Graphite does what it’s supposed to but it does not touch your heart. Glass gives a lot of pleasure too, and when playing a fish, maybe even more than bamboo.

I agree with PAFISHERMAN. If you can cast some do it. When choosing my custom 5 wt. I visited a good friend that has several. I wanted to know what taper Payne suited me. I decided on the 100, but there are many different tapers to choose from. Enough that I would not choose blindly. You might like a Payne taper but hate the Dickerson, etc. Bamboo is about the TAPER.

I like fishing them but I have had terrible luck with them. I have snapped two off in my hand while casting. I have only been able to afford the less expensive ones so I am sure that is why I have had such bad luck. I hope some day to be able to have a really nice one made. I think they are beutiful and would love to learn to make them.

WOW! Talk about bad luck. I always though boo was even stronger than plastic.

One broke at the ferrel so I figured it was a defect in the building process. The other broke right in the middle of the butt section??? I have no idea why. Like I said they were not high dollar rods just some I picked up on eBay.