I've had a dozen or so bamboo rods and innumerable composite ones. I currently have two bamboo rods, one of which is for sale. I've scaled my graphite down to half a dozen rods.

I get that bamboo has some nostalgia and a handmade cool factor. The old rods evoke a warm fuzzy link to the past, and the customs from the many contemporary makers are just that, custom. It's like my custom knives, or the custom pen in my pocket. You pay dearly for both modern bamboo and custom knives, or custom anything. The fewer there are, the more valuable, of course, but that's market economics. But there has to be more to it, right?

I believe that John Gierach is in good part responsible for the surge in re-popularity of bamboo in fly fishing, not unlike how A River Runs Through It can be linked to a surge in the endeavor in general. I believe that bamboo has become "cool." I'm trying to discover for myself what more there is beyond the cool factor and the unique collector factor, which I understand...

The fishing rod is of singular fundamental purpose... to assist in catching fish. The pen in my pocket that is made for the singular purpose of writing. It's one of fifty pens like it that will ever be made, but the bottom line is the pen doesn't write any better than a Fisher Space Pen. A custom Ernie Emerson knife likely cuts as well as a similarly bladed and sharpened production blade... A McGizmo flashlight shines much like a Surefire... the list is infinite... But does a bamboo rod catch fish better than a contemporary graphite rod?

Owning what will be my single bamboo rod when the other sells is about personal connection. The one rod I am keeping to fish was made by a friend, a person I care about on a deep personal level. There is an identical rod to it owned my a man I would call my mentor. There is a single difference in the two rods, the reel seat material. We each chose materials that meant something to us. Mine is made of olive wood from the area near Gethsemane.

So for me, bamboo is about a special connection on an exponential level. It's not about fishing. My bamboo does not perform as well as my modern graphite, but I have no expectations that it will. When I fish, 90% or more of the time it's not with bamboo, primarily due to the fact that there is no warranty, and I have to treat it special. Can't just toss it in my trunk on a 105/40 degree day. I fish that bamboo because it is personal.

I know there are many bamboo believers here. I'm interested in "why?" What is it about bamboo for you?