Bamboo fly rod

Nevertheless, bamboo fly rods made from skilled makers continue to be 'state-of-the-art' in performance and are cherished and revered by their owners.

This bamboo species originally grew on only approximately 190 km² (48,000 acres) up the Sui River in the Tonkin Gulf region of Guangdong Province in China.

The bamboo culms are split and shaped into strips of equilateral triangles that taper to precise dimensions.

These precise dimensions determine the diameter of the rod when the strips are laminated into a hexagonal, square and sometimes octagonal cross-sections.

This process, together with the wrapping of the guides with very fine silk thread, varnishing and making of the cork grip and wooden reel seat, can take a craftsman more than forty hours.

However, the use of such rods did not become commonplace until after the Civil War when makers and manufacturers sought to supply goods to the expanding nation through the use of railroads and the U.S. Mail.

Initially, the rodmakers were gunsmiths and other craftsmen like H.L Leonard, whom Americans credit with creating the first six-sided rod, the configuration that is still predominant today.

The company would continue to make rods for almost eight decades under various ownership, including surviving a fire in 1964 which virtually destroyed the shop.

The machinery from the shop, including the beveler, was purchased at auction by Marc Aroner who continues to make rods under his own name using the equipment.

Leonard and Montague stand as examples of two different levels of bamboo fly rods: the craftsman vs. the large manufacturer.

Larger manufacturers included high quality Heddon, and South Bend and bargain basement Horrocks Ibbotsons and Union Hardware.

By the time the embargo ended in the early seventies only a handful of craftsmen were still making bamboo rods.

Expert fisherman and enthusiasts alike have heralded the performance of the bamboo rod as being likened to that of a fine musical instrument.

Edwards, Jim Payne (fishing rodmaker) and Everett Garrison have elevated the bamboo fly rod from the realm of sporting goods to that of fine art.

The extra care required to maintain these natural fiber instruments guarantees a long life of use.