Bamboo rods may be seen by the general fishing public as somewhat enigmatic, but they are still very much in demand. Cane rod by Marc Aaroner. (Don Pugh photo)
May 19, 2025
By John Gierach
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Editor's note: Flyfisherman.com will periodically be posting articles written and published before the Internet, from the Fly Fisherman magazine print archives. The wit and wisdom from legendary fly-fishing writers like Ernest Schwiebert, Gary LaFontaine, Lefty Kreh, Robert Traver, Gary Borger, Joan & Lee Wulff, John Gierach, Vince Marinaro, Doug Swisher & Carl Richards, Nick Lyons, and many more deserve a second life. These articles are reprinted here exactly as published in their day and may contain information, philosophies, or language that reveals a different time and age. This should be used for historical purposes only.
This article originally appeared in the March 1988 issue of Fly Fisherman magazine. Click here for a PDF of the print version of "Bamboo."
There are some common misconceptions about bamboo rods : that they're all old (as in “I see you've got one of those old cane rods”); that, old or new, they're obscenely expensive and used only by the rich and famous; and that, although they're classy and pretty to look at, they don't stand up to graphite in terms of performance.
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Well, there are plenty of old ones around. Many are still in use, others are proudly displayed in museums and private collections, and sections of others are being used as tomato stakes and to prop open windows. Granted, earlier in this century more cheap, bad bamboo rods were produced than good or great ones, but if you're tempted to stake a tomato plant with an old fly rod, please check. with someone who knows the value of old cane rods before you do it.
As for new rods, they are, happily, coming out of the woodwork. I don't know how many bamboo rod makers are working in this country today. While researching this article, I contacted 28 craftsmen who are currently making bamboo fly rods professionally, as well as some companies who are importing them and some dealers in previously owned rods. However, Hoagy Carmichael, famous rod maker and co-author with Everett Garrison of the classic book A Masters Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod , told me there are “over 100” rod makers working in basements and garages around the country at night and on weekends, some of whom are turning out excellent (though little known) work and who are, not unimportantly says Carmichael, "helping to keep this craft alive."
You may consider that a disclaimer. I've talked to everyone I could find, but I haven't talked to everyone.
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Why Do Bamboo Fly Rods Remain Popular? Twin-tip bamboo rod by Hoagy Carmichael. Bamboo rods may be seen by the general fishing public as somewhat enigmatic, but they are still very much in demand. So much that Martin Keane, dealer in "modern and historic fly tackle," says there are "dramatic shortages in almost every category" from new rods to antiques, and many of the rod makers I talked to are back-ordered by a year or more.
Tom Dorsey, rod maker at Thomas & Thomas , said there is a bamboo rod revival going on-the second one in 15 years. He said he expects this to tone down, "when some other plastic material rivals it" (as graphite did) and then regain momentum again when the new material becomes passe-this is the way of classics.
High prices invariably come to haunt discussions of bamboo rods, and some of them are pretty steep. New bamboo fly rods made in America range in price from about $400 to well into the four figures, depending on the name of the maker, the type of rod and cosmetic options. It's not all that difficult to pay from $1,500 to $2,000 for a new rod, although many of the fine pieces are priced more in the $600 to $800 range.
On the other hand, at least two companies, Derbyshire Rodmakers, Ltd. and Partridge of Redditch Ltd., are currently importing very serviceable English-made bamboo rods, some models of which sell for between $230 and $350. By all accounts, these are good production rods and the prices are low because of lower labor costs in Europe and, as Thomas Widmar of Derbyshire said, because "there's not much stature involved in owning an English split-cane rod."
And there's at least one company in the U.S., Bob's Rod & Tackle in Denver, still making modestly priced bamboo fly rods. These rods, made by Paul Hightower, are based on the old Phillipson tapers and sell for between $175 and $250.
Thomas and Thomas cane rods by Tom Dorsey. In other words, there are bamboo fly rods out there for just about every taste. The less expensive ones sell for, in some cases, less than you'd pay for a new graphite and the bigger ticket rods, well, most are worth every penny if you can come up with the pennies. Such a rod is a fine casting tool, a joy to own, use and show off, and it will at least hold its value and probably appreciate with time, as long as you don't back over it with the car.
The investment potential of bamboo fly rods is mentioned more and more often these days as vintage rods by the legendary makers continue to climb in price on the collectors' market. As Todd Young, third generation rod maker at the Paul H. Young Company , said, "A rod that my father or grandfather made and sold for $65 may now be sold for $2,500."
"Feel" and Performance Orvis bamboo rods. And what about performance? This question tends to make fishermen and rod makers alike resort to poetry. Bamboo has that "feel" you're always hearing about, and that warmth, and that tradition. Tom Dorsey said, "If angling pleasure is what you're after, 'performance' takes on a new meaning. Fishing a bamboo rod is like making love–it's not always practical, just wonderful."
On the practical side, Dorsey pointed out that, among other things, bamboo cushions light tippets better than the stiffer graphite, making it less likely that you'll break a fish off by over-striking.
A bamboo rod may also be easier for fishermen to cast at normal fishing ranges because the action will be somewhat slower and more progressive (and therefore more forgiving) than graphite. And, says Leon Hanson, the slight extra weight in a bamboo rod–compared to graphite–lets you feel your timing better.
There it is again: “feel.”
I'm sure graphite boosters get tired of hearing the word, but I'm afraid I can't do any better. In fact, all I can do is get more obscure. For instance, a bamboo rod was described in a recent rod list as “personable,” and when rod maker John Bradford handed me one of his rods to try last year he said it was a “gentleman's rod,” and added, “Maybe I shouldn't let you cast it.” It's like a friend of mine who tells me his Porsche “feels the road” better than my pickup does. I don't know what the hell he's talking about, although I might if he'd let me drive the thing.
Five-piece bamboo by Derbyshire. The same suppleness that keeps you from breaking the fish off on the strike will also allow you to play that fish with a more sensitive (dare I say it?) feel. It's my own observation that you can safely play a fish harder with bamboo than with graphite–or “put more wood to it” as they used to say.
And then there's that matter of delicate presentations with dry flies and light tippets, and the equally important matter of line control in tight spots. Neither is impossible with graphite, but both are easier and more reliable with bamboo.
Ease and grace in casting , better cushioning of tippets, fish-playing advantages, fine presentation, better line control and, of course, warmth, heft, tradition and poetry. What more could you ask for?
Well, in some situations you could ask for more distance. And, for bigger cane rods for the heavier line weights, you could also ask for a little less weight. Almost to a man, the people I talked to said it was on the longer casts (and we're talking about really long casts here) and in the heavier line weights that graphite “has its place.” Most of the people I talked to felt that, the cutoff point comes in the neighborhood of 8 or 8-½ feet for 6- or 7-weight lines.
Tod Young, the latest generation of rod makers from the Paul H. Young Co., works in his shop near Traverse City, Michigan. Tom Morgan, rod maker and owner of the R.L. Winston Company , summed up the consensus as follows: “Do you want to have a casting competition for distance? Then graphite will win. Do you want to have a contest for delicacy of presentation and lower line speed? Then bamboo will win.”
If you look at the rod racks of fishermen who use both kinds of rods, you'll probably find that the shorter, lighter rods are bamboo and the longer, heavier ones are graphite. My own rod selection is like that, and it could be that a fisherman's relative level of devotion can be determined by how long and how heavy he'll go in a rod before switching from bamboo to graphite.
Bamboo Purists Rod maker Bob Summers in his shop near Traverse City, Michigan. And there are still those who fish exclusively with bamboo rods. As John Bradford, rod maker at the J.A. Bradford Co., points out, “There's no one who actually hates bamboo, but there are people who hate graphite.”
Of course fly rods do not cast themselves, so all this relative performance stuff depends on the caster. If someone tells you that such-and-such a rod (of whatever material) casts easily out to 100 feet, don't ask about the rod, ask first, “Who is that guy?”
Few bamboo rods are used on salt water these days–notice I said “few” rather than “none”–and some of the rod makers said they were not much in use in the West, either.
In defense of the Rocky Mountains, let me say that bamboo rods are, in fact, used here, although it's true you don't often see them on archetypal “big, windy rivers.” The fine old Grangers and Phillipsons were made here, in Denver, Bob's Rod & Tackle is still turning out bamboo rods, and so is Charlie Jenkins of Denver. Charlie stopped making rods a while back, but was recently hounded out of retirement by insistent customers. The R.L. Winston Company is in Twin Bridges, Montana; Mike Clark of Lyons, Colorado makes lovely hand-planed bamboo rods and, well, you get the idea.
It may be true that, as Tom Rosenbauer , editor of the Orvis News says, “The real hotbed for cane use is in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.” But Michigan rod maker Bob Summers is also right when he says that bamboo rods are used nationwide, adding, “We have many good builders from coast to coast.”
San Francisco rod maker Gary Howells has sold cane rods to customers in “every state in the Union,” although as he points out, “Naturally you will see more bamboo rods in the areas that have the best trout fishing.”
Past Versus Present Cane rods by Robert W Lancaster. How do top-quality modern bamboo rods compare with the legendary rods by the great makers? As long as we underline top quality, most bamboo rod aficionados say they're every bit as good, if not better. Better by virtue of modern glues and varnishes and, in some cases, new tapers–or at least adjustments of the old ones.
Much of the work currently being done is based squarely in the past and the names Payne and Garrison are mentioned again and again. As rod maker and author Hoagy Carmichael puts it, “Men like Jim Payne showed the way for all other production rod makers, as did Everett Garrison for those of us who prefer to hand-plane the bamboo.” For some cane rod lovers the method of rod crafting employed by a particular cane rod maker seems to determine the sainthood that he invokes. Speaking of Payne, Bill Ally at Research Engineering Company (REC) in Stowe, Vermont, reports that his company recently purchased the Payne rod operation and is now producing bamboo rods on Payne's original rod-making equipment with the original tapers that are “As close to a Payne as we can get, without, of course, trying to fool anyone.” Even the hardware and the thread have been duplicated.
Among the things REC acquired is Jim Payne's own work bench and some people have dropped by to ask if they can touch it.
As strong as tradition is, there are some departures from it. One rod maker many in the trade are watching closely is Barry Kustin, who is producing a split-bamboo and graphite rod. Once the pith has been removed from the bamboo splines, he glues a thin sheet of graphite on the inside. The finished rod is a hollow shaft made of six splines of bonded bamboo and graphite.
The hollow bamboo rod isn't a new idea, but putting graphite in there is new, if not futuristic.
These rods have attracted attention, cautious and otherwise, and one rod maker said they would have to “stand the test of time” before they'd be accepted. Still, many of the people I talked to pointed to Kustin as one of the true innovators in the trade.
Naturally, when you get into bamboo rod tapers and variations in construction you're in an area where even the experts disagree. Another touchy subject is hand-planing the splines compared to making them on a milling machine–the distinction between the “handmade” and the “production” rod. The keys to a good rod are tapers, tolerances (down to 0.001 inch) and overall workmanship. Many cane rod enthusiasts say that a good production rod fishes every bit as well as a good hand-made one.
This article originally appeared in the March 1988 issue of Fly Fisherman. The Myth of the Rod Maker Then, again, others point out that it's the hand-planed rod that has the personal mark of the craftsman on it. Rod maker Ron Kusse, who once worked for the H.L. Leonard Company , says that the larger cane rod-making shops often lack the personal involvement and “intensity” of the lone rod builder, while Hoagy Carmichael cites workmanship. “It takes more time and more work to make a hand-planed bamboo blank, and if the care is taken, it stands to reason that the product will be better. The tapering will be more even, more exact.”
Denver rod maker Charlie Jenkins thinks people enjoy the myth of the rod maker, “with his glasses down on the end of his nose, working alone in his basement in the middle of the night,” a myth that survives, he said, “because it's pretty much true.”
Some of the hand-made rods being produced today see the water seldom, if at all, because they become collectors' items while they're still just a gleam in the customer's eye. This irks some rod makers. Hoagy Carmichael, who makes about a dozen rods a year and gets $1,750 apiece for them, said most of his customers use his rods sparingly. “It is a lot to pay for a rod, that I know, and they don't want something to happen to it, but I wish they'd air the silly thing out more often, because that is why I made it.”
John Gierach lives in Longmont, Colo. His latest book is Trout Bum, published by Pruett. Publishing Co., Boulder, Colo.
