Bamboo Rod Building

[HighPlainsFlyFisher]

I've been building my own rods for over 10 years now , started off with spinning and casting rods and then when the flyfishing bug hit me I began building flyrods for myself and friends. I've always wanted to try building a bamboo rod (wrapping a bamboo rod I should say , I realize that it takes specialized equipment I don't have access to for building one) and wondered if anyone on here had information or advice on the subject that might be helpful. I've found several internet sites that offer bamboo blanks but honestly I know nothing about the different levels of quality and workmanship involved in these things. Does anyone have any experience with purchasing boo blanks?? Are there any local guys that sell blanks they've built?? Unfortunately I can't justify dropping a house payment on a bamboo rod , but on the other hand I want something that will be worth investing my time and effort into. Thanks for any info.....Jeff

http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

[duckydoty]

Get a blank from Harry Boyd. Good stuff there. I'm sure there are some other local builders, hopefully some of the others will chime in to help you out.

[dave potts]

There's a fellow over on rodbuilding.com, which is part of the flytyingforum web site, that makes beautiful bamboo rods. His name is Chris Carlin, I believe and lives in Alaska. He has posted blanks for sale from time to time on that forum at very reasonable prices. You might want to contact him to see if he has any for sale.

Also, check out clarksclassicrods web site. That site is almost entirely devoted to bamboo and there are some very knowledgable members that could steer you to some quality blanks.

Dave

[Gavin]

First things first....What kinda rod do you want to build? Length? Line Weight? Then go cast a few till you find something you like...Where are you at? There are allot of nice folks in the boo community..and they are almost always willing to let a fellow cast, offer up their contacts, and share rodbuilding tools..Shoot me a PM if you have Q's.

[Ted Calcaterra]

Skip a house payment for a bamboo rod. It's worth it! Besides the banks don't care.

[kevthebassman]

Don't know where you're located, but there's a guy I know down in Rolla who fishes 'boo and can wrap a blank that looks professional to my untrained eye.

[Nighthawk]

call G L custom rods in Cassville, Mo 417 342 8781. Gordon can fix you up. great guy to deal with, too.

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Nice blogspot! Great stories and pics! (are you sure you at Turkey Creek in Hollister and not Roark Creek in some of those shots?)

Carmine Lisella, a bamboo rod broker, owner of The Jordan-Mills Rod CO, always has 2-tip blanks built by Tim Zietak on hand in many sizes. Ferrules are in place along with one coat of a tung oil. Tim will also put guide markings on the opposite side of the flats as a suggestion. From the Fall 2011 catalog, he lists the blanks at $425, which is very good price for the quality.

Carmine can be reached at clisella at aol dot com

You can email me for his direct phone number.

Also, Mike Brooks makes a killer blank for around the same or just a little less. He should be most easily found on Clarks.

Oh, and Hook and Hackle just sent me their new catalog yesterday with 1 import blank and like 10 USA blanks. Good prices and you can buy it all at once to do it yourself all at once.

Most of it all - Fish and feel fit! South Bends 50's bamboo ad campaign slogan! Brian

[HighPlainsFlyFisher]

Appreciate all the help guys...first off I'm from the Kansas City area so pretty much anyone in the Ozarks region wouuld be considered "local" to me. I've fished a couple bamboo rods over the years through friends and enjoyed them all , but only one was made by a name which I can remember...Tony Spezio.

As far as what I want , to be honest I'm not absolutely sure. I do know that I want a lighter weight rod which could be used for small trout on small streams. Obviously casting a few different tapers and lengths would be a big help before actually purchasing a blank. While there are several flyshops locally , none of them carry any bamboo rods that I can look to for insight. I think that's got to be my first goal, to find someone who's got several different rods that I can look at and cast before making my decision. You guys have given me at least a couple of local builders who might be able to accomodate , I'll just have to get in touch with em and find out. Any other names or suggestions throw em up , it's gonna be after the holidays before I seriously consider the purchase so I'm just looking to make a few contacts and get some good info at this point.....Jeff

Ted - it's not the bank I'm concerned about , the wife on the other hand...that's another story!

Brian - Thanks....and yeah those were all on Turkey. I purposefully cropped out the trailer parks and old washing machines lying along the shore while taking the shots!

http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

[Brian K. Shaffer]

Also, if you want to cast a few rod makers rods.. let me know. I could help you the see what / where / when / why / and how. Brian

edit - I think I found your Turkey Creek honey holes... wow.. what a beautiful creek.