Would you mind offering some guidence to a newbie?
I’m interested in getting myself a bamboo fly rod, probably a used one off ebay as I don’t have sources locally.
Aside from admiration for the beauty of a bamboo rod I don’t really know what to be looking for, what makers to look for, which to avoid, things to look out for when buying a bamboo rod.
I’m thinking about something like a 9 ft. 6 or 5 weight but open to suggestions for a good general purpose rig.
If this were a shotgun I’d have it under control. Just a bit out of my element here.
I checked your profile but it’s blank.
Not sure what fishery you might be targeting
and in what part of the country. I will say
that in my opinion, the longer canes are not
near as much fun due to their weight. A
shorter, lighter rod, I might fish all day
with much pleasure where as a heavier cane
might quickly tire me and make the outing a
bit less pleasant. Again, just my opinion
and something that would be on the top of
my list. Warm regards, Jim
I agree with Hatch. If you are use to graphite you will notice the increased weight even in the shorter cane rods.
A cane rod of over 8’ is pretty heavy to be swinging all day.
I don’t know what your budget is but Ray has a nice little 7’er on the for sale board right now.
TerryB;
I’m in agreement with Jim and Buzz also. I have just suffered the “Bamboo Flu” and it is contagious!!
I recently had a great day in southern TN with an Elkhorn 7’ 6" 5 wt. on the Duck (See my story in Readers Casts over in Features)River. But not knowing where you are from makes it hard to make recomendations.
I have recently purchased a 9’ 5 wt. and I know it will be top heavy so it must be matched with the proper reel and line or it will ruin this old arm!
What is your budget? That can be a big factor.
Stop by the Chat Room and meet some great people that may be able to help you.
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
I echo the others…I’ve got two…an older 8 ft 5 wt and a newer (built in the late 90’s) 7-6 5wt and I much prefer to throw the lighter newer rod than the older much heavier one.
My rule of thumb is the bigger the water or fish, the longer the rod. I work in a warehouse loading trucks so weight really doesn’t bother me that much. You can get a good rod off of ebay but buyer beware. Ask lots of questions. Send several emails. Anyone that is slow to answer emails or gets annoyed by them should be avoided. Ask about delamination, missing guides, cracked or missing ferrules, fraying of any wraps, broken or missing reel seats and grips, nicks and dings in the rod and condition of the finish. All of these indicated a rod that needs a partial or complete restoration and is probably not fish-able. That gets expensive. It is just as vital to try to find out who the rod builder or manufacturer is. Set a dollar limit within your budget and do not exceed it.
It is usually better to go to yard sales so you can get your hands on the rod.
For someone new to the boo, or anyone for that matter, the safest bet is to buy from someone on this board. These are great folks and will not rip you off.
I live on Oklahoma so would mostly be fishing tailwaters for trout and ponds for bass and gills.
My thought was that the longer rod would help me but I’d also want a rod that would be comfortable casting for the day.
My budget is a bit modest but I’ve always been a believer that money well spent won’t have to be spent twice, so I’d rather spend a little more for the quality than go low and then have nothing to show for it but frustration.
Thanks again to everyone!
I’ve said it before in another post but I really do appreciate all the effort that Mr. Castwell and the other folks who are responsible for making this site possible have gone through to make it available to us.
I’ve learned so much in the short time I’ve been hear and most everyone seems friendly and eager to help.
Terry, we would be able to help more if you would pry out a few more details. Like, how much do you want to invest in a rod? What reel? What fly line? The size of flies you will be casting? What ‘exactly’ (rods, reels, lines) gear you have now? How long have you been fly fishing? Have you ever cast a fly rod?
I taught myself to fly fish in my early teens(I’m now 45 as of 2 days ago.) from reading a book published by the Outdoor Life Book Club and slinging some old 8wt level tapered line from my dad’s old reel that I put on a 8’6" 8wt Shakespear fiberglass rod I bought down at Otasco with my yard money. Taught myself all sorts of nasty habits I’m sure, but I had a great time catching bass and gills in the pond below our house. :0)
Still have the rod btw but now it has a Martin reel on it with SA wf8 line.
I also have a 7’6" fiberglass 6wt rod with another Martin reel on it with SA wf6 that I use, along with the 8wt, mostly for pond fishing and teaching my kids to cast.
Then my brother made me a very nice rod from a Sage blank for my birthday several years ago. It’s a 9’ 4wt that I have a Battenkill reel on with Cortland wf4 on it. I use this rod for the tailwater trout and when I’m fishing for gills.
I’m a traditionalist at heart, - I like stick bows and old double guns too. - so that’s why I wanted to look into the bamboo rods. My thought was to maybe find a good general purpose rig that would fall in between my 4wt graphite rod and the 8wt glass rod; something that could throw a dry or nymph pretty well yet also be able to handle a #8 wooly bugger or clouser minnow.
Having said all that, my loving wife and I have 5 kids, the oldest in college, so I don’t exactly have what you would call vast amounts of disposable income. :0)
Well, I think you probably know more about me now than even my proctologist does. :0)
Seriously though, thanks for the interest in helping!
So, you want a general purpose gun, one for quail and turkeys… OK,
Or a rod for dry’s and #* buggers?? lol
Thanks, good info. Since cane tends to be softer you might try to find a more narrow use. Sure, #10 dry’s and #8 buggers is OK, but what do you mean by ‘dry’s’?
If you go into this with a slightly less expectancy you may be happier.
Well, I should have been more specific on the drys. I was thinking the bigger stuff like size 14-10 EHC’s and stimulators. Most of the flys I would be slinging would be in that size range, maybe some size 8 clousers or wb’s every now and then.
I figured for the light stuff I’d go to the 4 wt rod and for the big stuff I’d go to the 8wt.
Am I reaching too much with that scenario in a bamboo rod?
BTW, have you ever had a 7 lb striper hit your wooly bugger when you thought you were fishing for stocker size trout? The guys on the lower Illinois have that happen every now and again.
If you should go the ebay route, I would look at only the American made rods and not the Japanese rods in the wooden box sets. They may look purdy to an untrained eye, but the quality of the components are poor (had two- one holds my business cards on my desk, the other???). If you are looking at the less expensive old blue collar rods ie. South Bend, Montagues, Horrocks Ibotoson, Heddons be sure the sections are equal lengths and 2 tips are better than 1. Otherwise reference the questions Nighthawk posted previously.
Are the lights getting dim, do you hear low sounding music? You are about to enter the darkside. Hope you find a boo soon!
God Blesses!
A wing & a Prayer! ----*<(((><~ ~ ~ ~
Quinn
Well, ok, now we are making progress. Point blank… how much are you willing toblow/spend/invest in a cane rod. Be honest now, gimme a range, at least. Now, fairly better chance of getting screwed buying on ebay. You might ‘not’ spend as much, but that is NOT what you are after. A good cane rod for a modest price, I guess.
All of this is sound advice. J.C. is the master here and I bow out to him. You might want to email akalooker about that dandy Catskill of his. I can personally vouch for him as a great guy. The battery tender he sold me was in pristine condition and really cheap for a top of the line model. If I had the money that rod would have been gone yesterday!
Ebay rods are normally going to need restored. I have two of them to restore soon.
Terry;
In may the drawing was for an Elkhorn 7’6" 5 wt. bamboo (a Sponsor). I was very interested and posted a request for feed back on THIS rod. Now my question was about a specific rod. I received so much positive input that when I lost the drawing I ordered one. It is one great rod and I’ll never regret the purchase. It was perfect on the tail water’s of the Duck River down in TN.
On the other hand I once asked a very general question about float tubes and ended up with one of the best ever built!
Don’t forget the Michigan Fish-In August 14th to the 20th. The Holy Water’s of the Au Sable await you!!
Ever fish the Lower Mountain Fork? If so, let me know when you’re headed that way. I’ll meet you over there and let you try out a couple of bamboo rods. Not a sales pitch… just an experience you might enjoy.
Thanks for the offer! You have some great looking rods on your web site there.
I haven’t been able to get down to the LMF in about 4 years. groan…
Raising 5 kidos and homeschooling 4 has it’s constraints but on the upside, the older ones have been learning to cast a fly and we’re learning to tie together!
I figure it counts for a biology credit. :0)
I would like to get down there though to check out the new work that has been underway on the Evening Hole.
