Matrix: What type of small stream rod do you fish?

[terry]

Ok, I am going to pick your brains a little and ask for some input.

How do you guys feel about one of these kits:

http://www.hookhack.com/bamboo/

Could be a way to kill two birds with one stone and jump into bamboo and rod building all at once. Or it might be a way to ruin both for me very quickly. :think:

P.S. I have no affiliation with H&H, but I have dealt with them quite a bit and have always been very happy with their service.

[greendrake]

Terry,
Contact smallstream member Steve Kiley.He has 2 6'8" 3wt F.E. Thomas tapered rods for sale that are basically finished except for the wraps and a final coat of poly.And at a VERY reasonable price.You will be getting a rod that is far better than anything you could get from H&H,especially if you were considering the imported Chinese blanks.Steve is a pro and his rods show it.In addition to that everyone who has experience with this taper ALL say the same thing.It is very simply the best 3wt bamboo taper that exists.If you are considering stepping up to a bamboo rod you owe it to yourself to at least check it out.
Will

[mikeytwoshoes]

will's advice is sound. do it. I really really wanted to buy one of those blanks, but because I'm too broke to pay attention I've gotta build my own from scratch.

you will be getting a top notch blank from a very highly regarded maker.

[adam]

Yes to what these guys said.

Steve is an excellent guide in this.

[stevekiley]

thanks guys,i fish cane,just love it,steve

[Ernest]

I don't know Steve Kiley, but I would always prefer to deal with the craftsman instead of an importer.

I have a 6'8" 3wt made on a modified (a bit) Payne 97 taper. It's smooth and deliberate, and I like it a lot. The F. E. Thomas taper is a bit faster, right?

[greendrake]

It's basically known as a dry fly taper.I hate to describe the action because what is fast to me may not be fast to someone else etc. But since you asked I would say it's a bit on the fast side of medium.I made one that I used the Hexrod program to stretch to 7' instead of 6'8" and still don't know why I did that instead of keeping it the original length,especially since I prefer to fish the shortest rod I can get away with in a given situation.At any rate,it's a pleasure to fish and I will soon have one in the original length anyway. :shaking2:
Will

[palewatery]

Palewatery,

Thanks for asking.

And thanks for your answer Ernest it’s what I expected, measured, practical and honest but it’s more than I hoped for as well.

I would have taken that deal as well, a superb rod for a fraction of its value is an offer few would turn down and I would have fished it too.
In my question I was meaning offered a dozen to replace your dozen but I didn’t phrase it too well, judging their value to you only, I suppose the best way to say that would have been replace them one for one (all 12 or none at all) with whatever you chose but freezing the value so you could use them as you wished but they could never be sold for more than the value of your own. Re-sale was never in my mind and that’s probably why I phrased my question poorly. There’s no need to re-answer though.
Like you I’m not a collector and I’ve no wish to become one, money is not a significant driving force in my life. If a fishing rod is not fished then it’s not a fishing rod, it’s an exhibit or an ornament, I think we share that view as well?

I understand your outlook and how it came about, I’m from a different background… countryside but town… I never learned those types of skills. The guy in the plaid shirt, it sounds like a poor advertising campaign, if it actually worked I’d be disappointed in society. That said society often disappoints me.

Wow, I read a lot of passion in that.

Sorry Adam, honestly it wasn’t written with passion. I first posted in this thread just as I said earlier.. to play devils advocate and add a balance or different viewpoint. I don’t have a passion for any of the rods I own and I don’t think of any type of rod as having a soul. Passion is a very strong word. I appreciate them for how they work, the skill involved in design and manufacture, what I can do with them and so on. How they look is part of that too, a small part. I enjoy them and I love using them but at the end of the day they are tools. There’s nothing stopping tools from being art but to me they are what they are. I have a passion for fishing though.
I appreciate you have a passion for Bamboo, more power to you. The point I made earlier about terminology, cheap and inexpensive, both those words have the same meaning but carry different connotations. Plastic, another word with a negative connotation. Adam you’re a clever man and I might be overly cynical but I just get the impression those words and the way they are used is not accidental. Same with the comparison pictures you paint of the graphite rod industry, I just see it as a business serving a customer base like any other. Is the money they spend on advertising a much higher percentage than any other type of company?

We’ll have to agree to disagree as neither one of us will change the others opinions

[adam]

No apology necessary.

But I generally don't agree with, disagree or understand what you write on this topic.

I'm ok with that.

I simply have a different perspective.

I am not trying to change your opinion however it is possible that you could change mind.

Nor do I feel like you are wrong or I am write.




I don't feel like I need to describe what "plastic" means in referencing a graphite rod, especially in light of the last rod I bought was one of the plastic variety and another one somewhere in the future.

I'm ok with making sweeping generalizations.

Anything bamboo is cool...

I am not special or trying to do anything more than show my passion for promoting fishing with bamboo.


...or plastic.



On a favorite section of a favorite stream, I will pull open a telescopic graphite rod, quickly attach a line to the tip and flick a cast pretending I am a kid again fishing with a cane pole.

We have a section here dedicated to Tenkara, pretty much dominated by one company and now it sounds like there is another guy who is going to import them to America. I'm looking for another avenue to find out if there are other plastic Tenkara rods out there instead of just one company. I would like to see a bunch of Tenkara rod companies available and more importantly, I would like to see the talented bamboo craftsmen make bamboo Tenkara rods available like the discipline came from.

On another section of that stream, on the same hike, I'll put together a short three piece bamboo fly rod (that I bought from a friend who made it specially for me) and send a cast to gin clear and skinny water to try and outwit a 6" brook trout. I don't need to catch a big fish to be happy, I don't even need to fish to be happy. I'll write about it and share it with other people around the world.

I enjoy that but my family is my source of joy.

I get to be me and you get to be you. (goes for anyone)

I am passionate about rods, reels, line, guys who tie beautiful flys, make wood fly rods, bamboo rods, plastic rods, drive old trucks, guys who sit at their computer in Alaska who are part of running our country's parks and resources and enjoy smallstreams.com

I don't need anyone to fish the way I do, I simply enjoy writing about what I enjoy and reading about what others are passionate about.

Writing is a great pass time, I make web sites available for people to share common interests. I enjoy and promote diversity and I learn more from disagreements than I do from agreements.


I think the guys who are into bamboo are the best fly fisher's.

You are included in that group even though you like plastic rods.



Like I do.



All good, catch you later.

[terry]

I love to fly fish and have always viewed my rod as a tool that allows me to do something I love. Doesn't matter if its graphite or bamboo, its still a man made object that I carry with me into what I really love, the woods and streams within them.

Its pretty simple for me, I get my kicks from nature itself, not my gear. I don't sit down and admire my rod, but I often take breaks to admire what nature has to offer. And I definitely admire the trout that dwell in the streams I fish. Fly fishing is a way for me to enjoy the woods and streams I love while performing a simple, yet elegant form of an ancient sport that gets me closer to the trout.

So to be honest with you, I am not sure using a bamboo rod will add to my experience much. That being said, I do like to fish the best tool for the job and from what I have read, bamboo seems to excel in close quarter fishing. Function over form.

Don't get me wrong though, I do respect people who can sit down and make any fine piece of equipment by hand. The talent that goes into such a task is amazing in my book. I am just more into the reason why I am out there, not so much the tools that I use.

Hope this makes sense to someone.