Best way to get started with bamboo

[Tabasco-Joe]

I'm intrigued with bamboo rods. Only ever cast one, years ago. I keep hearing from old timers, and reading stories, about the mystique of bamboo. How would one go about getting into bamboo without spending a lot of money up front.

I don't mind paying good money once I would be more experienced but even $500 on a lark for a rod to get started seems a lot. Can someone get a useful rod for $250-$300 to get started?

Any other suggestions?

 

[brookiefan]

See Bob Selb at the Classic Fly Fisherman in Lansdale. Has dozens if not hundreds of bamboo rods in prices from couple hundred to thousands. Has a good selection of starter rods and has been in the business for 50 years.it's where I got started and have bought all my bamboo from him. Also you might want to read Fishing Bamboo by John Gierach. If you can't find it in your local library Bob has several copies . The shop is like one of those old time throwbacks. I'm In King of Prussia, if you're close by I could always let you read my copy, it's how I got interested in Bamboo, I started with graphite( and nothing wrong with them) but fell in love with the characteristics , looks and feel of bamboo. Sorry for the long reply , hope this helps.

 

[Tabasco-Joe]

See Bob Selb at the Classic Fly Fisherman in Lansdale. Has dozens if not hundreds of bamboo rods in prices from couple hundred to thousands. Has a good selection of starter rods and has been in the business for 50 years.it's where I got started and have bought all my bamboo from him. Also you might want to read Fishing Bamboo by John Gierach. If you can't find it in your local library Bob has several copies . The shop is like one of those old time throwbacks. I'm In King of Prussia, if you're close by I could always let you read my copy, it's how I got interested in Bamboo, I started with graphite( and nothing wrong with them) but fell in love with the characteristics , looks and feel of bamboo. Sorry for the long reply , hope this helps.

Thanks.
I've driven by there and never stopped. I'll have to check him out. He's only a short distance as I live just south of Doylestown.

I've read Gierach's book and it's one of the things that inspired my interest.

 

[turkey]

I'm intrigued with bamboo rods. Only ever cast one, years ago. I keep hearing from old timers, and reading stories, about the mystique of bamboo. How would one go about getting into bamboo without spending a lot of money up front.

I don't mind paying good money once I would be more experienced but even $500 on a lark for a rod to get started seems a lot. Can someone get a useful rod for $250-$300 to get started?

Any other suggestions?

Just from my experience, primarily I did a fair amount of reading over on the Classic Fly Rod forum looking for "blue collar rods" or "best maker for your money" and so on. My next move was buying several varnished and ferruled blanks from current makers, and I finished these builds at home myself. Eventually I ended up buying a used rod or 3 from online tackle purveyors. You can find good rods for under $400 but it might take a little searching...that's part of the fun though.

 

[StreamBottom]

What bf said. Bob is a great guy to deal with, I've bought several rods for him.
He'll point you in the right direction.

see his Reasonably priced rods link
http://www.classicflyfisherman.com/REASON_PRICED_RODS.html

Also check out Classic Fly Rod Forum. There's a wealth of knowledge on that site. Use the search function and you'll probably find threads addressing your question.

http://classicflyrodforum.com/forum/

You'll find yourself pretty far down the rabbit hole, if you're not careful. 😀

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Tabasco Joe,

Another good source for bamboo is Jim Bresko at Coldwater Collectables. He always seems to have Heddons, South Bends, and Granger rods in the price range you are looking at. https://coldwatercollectibles.com/

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

Edited to add - If you find yourself in the Harrisburg PA area let me know. I have a bunch of rods from SB, Heddon, and Granger that you are welcome to test cast.

 

[dudemanspecial]

ZHUSROD - Bamboo Fly Rods & Classic Fly Reels

ZHUSROD supplies premium bamboo fly rods and cane rod blanks featuring tapers inspired by legendary makers such as Orvis, Leonard, Payne, ****erson, Paul H. Young, Cross, and Granger. From lightweight 2wt to powerful 8wt options, ZHUSRODS provides authentic, top-tier bamboo fly fishing equipment.

zhusrod.com

Yep, its chinese.

I don't have any experience personally but they are very well regarded amongst the classicflyrod forum members for a bargin rod. Inexpensive way to get started to see if you like bamboo.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Could also email Tim Zietak tzietak@comcast.net. He is a local Pittsburgh guy that builds and fixes up and resales old rods. Great guy, he may have something entry level and his work is top notch.

 

[TimMurphy]

ZHUSROD - Bamboo Fly Rods & Classic Fly Reels

ZHUSROD supplies premium bamboo fly rods and cane rod blanks featuring tapers inspired by legendary makers such as Orvis, Leonard, Payne, ****erson, Paul H. Young, Cross, and Granger. From lightweight 2wt to powerful 8wt options, ZHUSRODS provides authentic, top-tier bamboo fly fishing equipment.

zhusrod.com

Yep, its chinese.

I don't have any experience personally but they are very well regarded amongst the classicflyrod forum members for a bargin rod. Inexpensive way to get started to see if you like bamboo.

Dear Tabasco Joe,

To piggyback on the Dude's post check out Headwaters Bamboo. The have reasonably priced rods and frequently run sales.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[jifigz]

I met a guy a couple years ago that was really touting Headwaters bamboo rods. I remember checking them out. They are imported rods that run around $400 if I recall correctly. Not too bad!

 

[Bamboozle]

I'm intrigued with bamboo rods. Only ever cast one, years ago. I keep hearing from old timers, and reading stories, about the mystique of bamboo. How would one go about getting into bamboo without spending a lot of money up front.

I don't mind paying good money once I would be more experienced but even $500 on a lark for a rod to get started seems a lot. Can someone get a useful rod for $250-$300 to get started?

Any other suggestions?

A couple...

1. buying a cheap or junk bamboo rod just to get into bamboo is not a god idea for a lot of reasons...​

​

2. Bamboo, especially varnished bamboo rods require much more care than a graphite or fiberglass rod. If you are not the type of person who is willing to give your bamboo rod the extra care it requires & deserves, stop at #2. 😉​

​

3. If you never fished bamboo, the weight is the first thing that will smack you in the face. For that reason I'd limit length options to 7'6" and shorter.​

​

The problem with narrowing down your choices is shorter bamboo is more desirable so more expensive and a LOT of the less expensive "trade rods" are longer.​

​

However, there is nothing wrong with 8'0", 8'6" or even 9'0" bamboo rods, I own several and fish them regularly, but I can count on one hand how many guys I see besides me fishing bamboo that length. I really doubt most newbies to bamboo would embrace those longer rods enough to justify their purchase.​

​

4. Forget the 2wt, 3wt or even 4wt world of graphite and expect to be fishing with a 5, 6 or 7wt rod and NOT loosing any sleep over that.​

​

5. If you don't own any reels with a stated empty weight of at least 4.5 ounces, expect you will also be considering a new reel.​

​

6. You can use any modern plastic fly line with a bamboo rod, "older small guides" be damned. I own bamboo rods over 100 years old and a couple 70+ years old and until recently I never used any "special" lines.​

​

7. A one tip bamboo rod will cost less than a two tip rod. However a spare tip is nice to have.​

​

8. Impregnated rods usually cost less than varnished rods and require less TLC.​

​

9. There are a LOT of imported rods out there on the cheap on eBay and other places that MAY suit your tastes but IF you don't like them, you will probably take a hit on the resale market and may end up SOL if you need a repair.​

​

10. Among other rods, I own a bunch of older Orvis bamboo rods. One huge advantage to an Orvis is they are impregnated, they made a TON of rods so the prices are lower, they made one tip and lower grade (but not quality) rods that are cheaper, used rods for sale are all over the place AND you can still get factory repairs & refurbishment.​

Feel free to PM me any questions and good luck!!

 

[TimMurphy]

I met a guy a couple years ago that was really touting Headwaters bamboo rods. I remember checking them out. They are imported rods that run around $400 if I recall correctly. Not too bad!

Dear jifigz,

Watch their sales too. They sell 2 tip rods with a reel, line, and backing for around package deal pricing several times a year. I like the Deschutes 8'ft 6wt that I bought from them. Hell, I even bought two bamboo spinning rods from them on closeout last December.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Kms]

Thanks.
I've driven by there and never stopped. I'll have to check him out. He's only a short distance as I live just south of Doylestown.

I've read Gierach's book and it's one of the things that inspired my interest.

Call ahead to be sure he’s there. On Thursdays you can usually stop in without calling ahead.

 

[riverwhy]

How are those St. Joe's fly reels they sell on Headwaters? My buddy fixed up a bamboo he got at a yard sale and is looking for a reel. I would assume these are heavier than average reels that balance out a bamboo.

 

[dudemanspecial]

A couple...

1. buying a cheap or junk bamboo rod just to get into bamboo is not a god idea for a lot of reasons...​

​

2. Bamboo, especially varnished bamboo rods require much more care than a graphite or fiberglass rod. If you are not the type of person who is willing to give your bamboo rod the extra care it requires & deserves, stop at #2. 😉​

​

3. If you never fished bamboo, the weight is the first thing that will smack you in the face. For that reason I'd limit length options to 7'6" and shorter.​

​

The problem with narrowing down your choices is shorter bamboo is more desirable so more expensive and a LOT of the less expensive "trade rods" are longer.​

​

However, there is nothing wrong with 8'0", 8'6" or even 9'0" bamboo rods, I own several and fish them regularly, but I can count on one hand how many guys I see besides me fishing bamboo that length. I really doubt most newbies to bamboo would embrace those longer rods enough to justify their purchase.​

​

4. Forget the 2wt, 3wt or even 4wt world of graphite and expect to be fishing with a 5, 6 or 7wt rod and NOT loosing any sleep over that.​

​

5. If you don't own any reels with a stated empty weight of at least 4.5 ounces, expect you will also be considering a new reel.​

​

6. You can use any modern plastic fly line with a bamboo rod, "older small guides" be damned. I own bamboo rods over 100 years old and a couple 70+ years old and until recently I never used any "special" lines.​

​

7. A one tip bamboo rod will cost less than a two tip rod. However a spare tip is nice to have.​

​

8. Impregnated rods usually cost less than varnished rods and require less TLC.​

​

9. There are a LOT of imported rods out there on the cheap on eBay and other places that MAY suit your tastes but IF you don't like them, you will probably take a hit on the resale market and may end up SOL if you need a repair.​

​

10. Among other rods, I own a bunch of older Orvis bamboo rods. One huge advantage to an Orvis is they are impregnated, they made a TON of rods so the prices are lower, they made one tip and lower grade (but not quality) rods that are cheaper, used rods for sale are all over the place AND you can still get factory repairs & refurbishment.​

Feel free to PM me any questions and good luck!!

Orvis rods have really gone up in price over the last couple years, not the bargin they used to be.

 

[TimMurphy]

How are those St. Joe's fly reels they sell on Headwaters? My buddy fixed up a bamboo he got at a yard sale and is looking for a reel. I would assume these are heavier than average reels that balance out a bamboo.

Dear riverwhy,

I use the St George that came with the kit for my 8 ft Deschutes with no issues. It is a lighter reel, lighter than a Pflueger 1494 but that doesn't bother me. I find that attempting to balance a reel on a bamboo rod so that it lays perfectly flat in hand is a colossal waste of time. I just stick a reel on the rod and use it. YMMV, but that works fine for me.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[DomR]

Tabasco-Joe: what length rod are you considering? As Bam said you will notice the weight difference from graphite especially as the rod gets longer. I like 8' rods so I just deal with what amounts to a few ounces more of weight.

-Most of my rods are between 7' and 8'6" in length. I have a couple impregnated rods that really are virtually maintenance free. They get fished the most cause I don't worry about using them in the rain.

-The dealers mentioned, Jim Bresko and Bob Selb, are both excellent to deal with. I've bought and sold with each of them. If you call or visit, they'll ask a lot of questions regarding where you fish, size of fish you'll be chasing, etc. then make some rod recommendations within your price point.

-I have a Headwaters Deschutes rod as well, that was my "gateway drug". 🙂 It's ok, a bit soft and I had to have the ferrules reset by a local maker as the female popped off the 1st time I used it. The reason I needed to find a local rod builder to do the job was that Headwaters customer service continually ghosted me about sending the rod back to be fixed (or replaced). Caveat Emptor. That said the rod fishes ok, my son uses it on occasion, I use it for excursions into rough terrain and for warmwater.

 

[jifigz]

Dear jifigz,

Watch their sales too. They sell 2 tip rods with a reel, line, and backing for around package deal pricing several times a year. I like the Deschutes 8'ft 6wt that I bought from them. Hell, I even bought two bamboo spinning rods from them on closeout last December.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

That's cool, Tim, but I have ZERO interest in purchasing a bamboo rod at this time. But someday I am sure I will tinker with them.

I do kind of need a new 8-weight for river smallie fishing. Speaking of that, I better set the date for the WW Jam.

 

[dudemanspecial]

I like 8.5" rods, never been a short rod fan. They do wear your arm out. I typically only fish them in the afternoon/ evenings when expecting surface activity. Not a big fan of nymphing with them but will do it if need be.

 

[jifigz]

I like 8.5" rods, never been a short rod fan. They do wear your arm out. I typically only fish them in the afternoon/ evenings when expecting surface activity. Not a big fan of nymphing with them but will do it if need be.

I fish an 8'6" more than any other rod I own. I select my rods based on where I am fishing, though, and I tend to be small stream guy. On April 18th, I will be fishing the Little J, so I will take a 10-footer. Big water, big rod. Sometimes I choose to fish the smaller rod on big water though, too. But I am never taking a 10-footer to a little stream.