P.O. Box 703
Aumsville, Oregon 97325
Phone 503-749-1648
E-mail: northforkbamboo@aol.com
I clearly remember the first trout I caught with a bamboo fly rod. It was in 1957 when I was seven years and happened on Green Lake in Washington where I had been watching my Father, Arnold Smith, cast a 9' split bamboo Soouth Bend flyrod. When my father took a rest, I gave the rod a try, repeatedly "flipping" the fly out onto the water. A trout hit and I, with my father's help, managed to land it. "You just irritated it into taking the fly," my father said, but that didn't matter to me. From that trout, that day, I have always associated fishing, lakes, rivers, streams, and mountains with bamboo rods and flyfishing. I learned to tie my own flies, searched out used bamboo flyrods to cast them, and have thououghly enjoyed the sport.
Graphite and glass flyrods simply don't transmit the feel or action of the fish to he angler. With cane, the angler can feel headshakes, runs, and jumps that a good fish makes when it's fighting mad. Besides, buying a graphite rod is like buying a new car because as soon as you drive it of he showroom floor it goes down in value. Historicaly, good bamboo rods maintain or appreciate in value over time and this trend is likely to continue into the future. Buy a bamboo flyrod and you have not only a beautiful hand crafted work of art but a friend to share your time on the waer and a keepsake that can be handed down to the next generation of flyishers in your family.
