What was your first bamboo rod?

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Horsesho) — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:29:49 GMT

8' Orvis Nymph rod, I bought it around 1973 while in High School. Never liked the rod and traded it in the early 1990's.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Ken M 44) — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:50:23 GMT

Mine came from my Father - an 8' Kestrel from the Falcon Rod Works in Redditch - it was given to him as a gift by the owner of the company after both of his sons went through my Father's school. I had to promise to fish it and also not sell it - not selling it is easy because it was a promise but fishing it is a problem .... it is not the best of rods and I do not get out enough so I always find myself wanting to use something else but it does see water once in a while. All my early...

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (fishnbanjo) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:21:38 GMT

Horton Creek,
In my mind there's not a better reason to have a rod restored, good on ya.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Horton Creek) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:25:19 GMT

Mine was/is an 8'6" Shakespeare that was my Dad's rod. I pretty much fished early Sage and Scott graphite rods my first few years as I transitioned from ultra-light spinning to fly fishing. When my Dad passed away I was going through all his tackle and he had 2 Shakespeare cane rods. The 8'6" rod I fished a few times for AZ Bonefish (desert suckers/carp) in rememberance of my Dad and really enjoyed how slow and relaxing the action was and how the rod bent when fighting a...

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (nativebrownie) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:34:29 GMT

Mine was a tough decision in 1974(yes, I see your point about 100 years ago)the new teaching salary wasn't going too far and it was either a Orvis Madison or a Constable RH Woods, 6'9", 2/1, from Anglersmail. At $20 less, the Constable became an early companion.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (upthecreek) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:08:04 GMT

Mine was a Sewelll Dunton. 7ft, 3/4wt. Bought from Bob Zwirz in his store on Third Avenue in NYC., what seems like one hundred years ago.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (rgram) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 19:27:21 GMT

Mine is a Leonard 38 my wife gave me as a wedding present in 1984.
Needless to say it won't ever be for sale.
Bob

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Greg Reynolds) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:15:53 GMT

My first bamboo rod was a 6 1/2-foot Superfine purchased from Marty Keane. A friend had loaned me the first edition of Marty's book--I saw his black & white photo of a Superfine and I had to have one.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Cantgetthere) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:03:05 GMT

The first I ever owned I got from my father- a F.E.Thomas 9' 3pc Browntone. I now have two of the same rod, but the first rod I bought and consider "mine" was a Payne 101 made by david Van Burgel. The difference between the two rods in speed kept me looking and fishing bamboo until I grew smart enough to understand what the F.E. was telling me. Now I fish both for salmon most of the year. Hutch

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (fishnbanjo) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:19:57 GMT

IT was a gift, an FE Thomas 9'6" 3 pc Salmon Dry Fly with ext butt, it now belongs to Short Tip.... The first one I ever bought was a 7'6" 2 pc REC made in a Payne 101 taper.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (SnooKen) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:47:58 GMT

A 9' 3/2 The Granger Rod with both tips down, one by 4" and the other by 5 1/2" but otherwise all original, unrefinished and in good shape. eBay special "won" for $73.00. Even with the short tips a graceful lovely old girl to cast and fish. Quite a change from high speed saltwater graphite, she taught me a lot about listening to the rod and letting it do the job it was made for. She'll have a whole new life in the care of Dennis Stone.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (CtKenC) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:45:26 GMT

A Leonard Duracane 7'6" for 5wt that Joe Garman got for me ... nice rod, nicer man.
Sorry they are both gone now, sorrier about Joe than the rod.
Ken

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (cwfly) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:39:55 GMT

Tough to remember. I think it was an Orvis Madison 2/1, 8' 4 3/8 ounce. Sold as the one rod to do everything. I still have it although I haven't used it in years. It could also have been a 7' Leonard Duracane from Stoddards, but somehow I feel that came slightly later.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (quashnet) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:21:41 GMT

I remember that by the early 1980's I owned three Montague rods, all 9'0", 3/2. I can't remember whether the Flipline, the Marshall Fields Conway Special, or the no-name rod came first. I didn't figure out good ways to fish them, but I knew they were trying to tell me something. Then I met Bob Summers in 1985, ordered a Model 275, and the message came through loud and clear.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (spruce grouse) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:55:45 GMT

Mine was a Mark Ruhe Garrison 206E taper bought from Ron S. I don't remember why I bought it (a bamboo rod, not that particular rod). While we never clicked 100%, it was enough to get me moving along this path of mostly fishing bamboo.

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Rolf Jacobsen) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:03:03 GMT

BillT wrote:

My first bamboo fly rod was a 7'6" 5 wt that I made by reading the Garrison/Carmichael book and the Wayne Cattanch book. I remember getting the first culm of cane and trying to split it out. The strips were as big as my thumb which required quite a bit of planing. I glued the rod up with 2 ton epoxy bare handed. A heavy duty saltwater fly reel with the drag tightened as much as possible clamped in a...

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (JimP) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:59:57 GMT

Technically, my first bamboo rod was a Japanese no name 8' for 6 wt that came in a balsa box and could double as a spinning rod. I found it at a flea market and paid $50. for it. I taught myself how to cast using it on bream in a nearby pond. I was very disappointed when the varnish and wraps from several guides started coming off and the guy I called at Orvis told me it would cost more to repair the rod than it was worth. I had become quite fond of the rod. My wife then bought my first...

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (BillT) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:53:08 GMT

My first bamboo fly rod was a 7'6" 5 wt that I made by reading the Garrison/Carmichael book and the Wayne Cattanch book. I remember getting the first culm of cane and trying to split it out. The strips were as big as my thumb which required quite a bit of planing. I glued the rod up with 2 ton epoxy bare handed. A heavy duty saltwater fly reel with the drag tightened as much as possible clamped in a vise was my binder. Ferrules were fit by rolling the sections on my thigh with a...

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Rolf Jacobsen) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:37:53 GMT

An 8-1/2' EC Powell 2/2 6 weight. I purchased the rod from Clark Davis for either $400 or $500. It had been "restored". Being new to bamboo I contacted Press Powell to see if I had the real thing. God bless him, he was patient with me and answered all my questions. For instance he mentioned the node spacing and I asked him what a node was. Told you he was patient. We spoke a few more times after that and he was kind enough to send me a copy of Essays on Fly Fishing by EC and...

Re: What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (Eric Peper) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:00:29 GMT

An Orvis 5'9" that I made up from blanks in about 1967 -- I still have it, albeit with a replaced reelseat and grip, and I still fish it. I was under the influence of Arnold Gingrich's "Small is better" writing at the time. I still enjoy the rod on small water. My grandchildren enjoy it as well each summer. IMO, it is a surprisingly good taper, handling a DT 4 comfortably both close in and at ranges you'd expect from a 7-footer.

EP

What was your first bamboo rod?

feeds@yuku.com (andre49) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:39:33 GMT

Mine was a FE Thomas Special that I still own. I bought it about 20 years ago in Bangor, Maine. It sat in a fly shop for about a year with a price tag of $500.00 After a year I turned to the owner and said: "I'm going to walk out that door in 5 minutes. I'll give you $200.00 for it and will not make another offer." He said "give me 5 minutes to think about it". As I was walking out the door he gave in and sold me the rod. I call it the "bionic" rod...