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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 10:59 pm • # 1 
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After a whole slew of PM's back and forth regarding a bamboo rod that Don (Zenkoanhead) was selling, I finally realized that he lived in the DFW area too. We arranged to meet at lunch today over in Plano so I could check out this rod. The fact that I'm posting this should make it obvious that I liked it.... and bought it.

It was a real pleasure getting to meet Don and listening to his take on bamboo and this rod in particular. He had told me earlier that this was fairly fast for a cane rod and I quickly learned that "fairly fast" is a relative term. The slowest rod I've had up until now is the Dan Craft 0 wt, followed by my Orvis Superfine full-flex 5.5 1 wt. This fairly fast bamboo rod is noticeably slower than either of the other two rods. In fact it's the slowest rod I've ever cast and it took me a little while to get used to (sorry about those tailing loops and wind knots in your leader Don Image). Don spent some time helping me slow down my cast, and made sure I was comfortable with the rod. Once we had that taken care of he pulled out a tiny 000 wt. The rod/reel/line weigh 1 oz! This was a slick little setup and it cast very nicely. There was a little bit of wind making my backcast pile up a bit but it had no problem straightening out the leader. Cool stuff!

So anyway, my wife and I were on the way out of town--headed over to Tyler State Park to paddle around in a canoe and hopefully do a little fishing. It was an absolutly gorgeous day with just a little wind. The water was stinkin' cold, and the fish weren't moving but I still managed to hook a few and landed one. One of the coolest things about this rod is how sensitive the tip is when setting the hook and playing a fish--it was a blast! I'll need to continue my practice *slow* casting as I was blowing about every 5th or 6th cast while fishing. But when I concentrated on what I was doing the rod worked beautifully.

I cast it with a DT3F when Don and I met up, and I had a WF3F and WF4F when I got to the lake. There were really no surprises once I tried both. The WF3 did great on the longer casts and the WF4 was very nice with short to medium casts. I'll probably try to snag a good DT3 and give it shot--it would probably be perfect. I also tried a DT5 when I got home this evening. This is not something I normally would have done but Don mentioned that the rod should be able to handle it easily. It did! I was pretty amazed. It felt just slightly overlined to me but 30' casts were a breeze.

Don built this one up with a Fitch blank and I believe he said the taper is a Payne 97. It's a 7' rod and I'm guessing it's a 3/4. The wraps are a nice rich red and the grip and reel seat are one piece bamboo. The hardware is nickel silver. I didn't get any good pics of the wraps but I did get some of the grip.

Here's the rod with my Lamson on it.
Image

Half of my rod laid out above Don's entire 000 wt
Image
Image

Both rods. Don's Forbes magnesium on the 3 wt.
Image

First fish on the new rod
Image

Beautiful Texas February day
Image


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:28 am • # 2 
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Sweet post Jerry. That rod looks very nice Great Build as always Don.

J.


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:41 am • # 3 
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very nice. And where is that lake with the pine trees n the background?


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:03 am • # 4 
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Don't let him kid you, Jerry has a very nice cast. As is most often the case, I sold this rod because it was too fast for my taste. You should be able to throw a tailing loop if you try and this rod won't do it me. But Jerry was raised on graphite and it worked beautifully for him. We need to have a discussion of actions on another thread. Bamboo is a lot slower, and smoother, than graphite, IMO. Don


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 6:10 am • # 5 
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Beautiful!

What do you think about the wood grip?

How did you color the photo with the fish that way? Is that some special Photoshop effect?

Don...

What process did you use to blue or darken the seat hardware on the bamboo rod?

Awesome post!!!

David


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 7:31 am • # 6 
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David. Nickel silver is actually white brass. I use Birchwood Casey Brass Black applied in a special way. I like a natural/pewter look. I want the brass to "age" naturally without any mainenance. Don


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:10 am • # 7 
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yes, photoshop--or something similar. Looks like someone has some time on his hands.


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:29 am • # 8 
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Thanks J!

Les, the lake is the small lake at Tyler State Park. I've never fished it before and I was actually surprised to find the boat rentals open this early in the season. There are some great "fishy" looking spots so I'm sure we'll head back in a couple of months.

Don, I did manage to make it through the rest of the day with no wind knots Image It really is a cool rod.

David, I was a little hesitant about the wood grip at first, but I didn't notice any difference while fishing, and it really is pretty up close. Don says cork can isolate some of the light vibrations (like when a fish is taking), but I haven't had enough fish on it to notice yet, but I believe him--I'll report back. The other photo is a quick 10 minute hack in Photoshop. The colors are natural--I just desaturated everything but the rod and fish. It was a pretty fish and it's a great looking rod, but they kind of got lost in all the colorful clutter of junk I had in the canoe--rod tube, oars, boat bag, shiny canoe bottom, etc. Just don't blow up the image--the selections are pretty ragged. Image

I guess it's time to post some rods and reels for sale to pay for this one. It's a keeper.

Jerry


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:39 am • # 9 
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Jerry, I told you...hehe...you are now a convert to the dark side. In fact, I am looking for more cane, and it will be the downfall of me. Don does GREAT work. If the weather holds, I might run to a local trout stocked lake tomorrow afternoon with mine to break her in properly (fish, not trout in particular, but fish in general). I love my LST, but after casting the cane on a non-windy day yesterday for about an hour, I LOVE it! That rod flexes all the way down to the cork when making a haul, and I was laying out casts of 35-40' with a TT2F. I can't decide if I want to fish that line on it, or pick up a standard DT2F line.

Jerry, fast in cane talk is SLOW in plastic talk. Slow in cane talk is "time me with a sundial" in plastic talk.

I honestly agree with Don on how smooth cane is. It makes plastic look just unrefined, however, I will fish plastic more in some places though.


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:44 am • # 10 
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I had the bamboo grip made to order. Considerably lighter than any other wood. Pretty close to what I consider ideal dimensions, so you all now know my tastes in the matter. Notice how close the back of the grip is to the diameter of the reel seat. This allows the palm to overlap onto the reel seat if your hand is all the way back. The taper is so slight that you can slide your hand up to the front of the grip as well. As Jerry says, you lose some feel with cork as it does not transmit vibration as well as a stiffer material. Because bamboo is intrinsically heavier than graphite or glass, you can use wood for a grip without destroying the balance of the rod. Although subtle, the extra weight of wood in the hand is better than behind the hand in either the reel seat or the reel. I like a tip heavy rod in bamboo so often use lighter reels. Jerry was surprised by the tip heavy balance but agreed that the cast remains sweet. Don


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 8:56 am • # 11 
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I told Jerry yesterday that casting bamboo is akin to a smoothly turning dryer. Casting graphite is the same dryer when the load goes out of balance and the darn thing starts hopping around. In my opinion what you "feel" casting graphite is mostly extraneous vibration. Thus when you which over to a good bamboo the rod feels deceptively light. It doesn't hurt that a well-finished bamboo rod looks elegant as well. Don


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:04 am • # 12 
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The size and shape of the grip feels just right. And as Don says the transition between grip and reel seat is very smooth. I noticed a few times yesterday that I had moved my grip back and had the heel of my hand resting right at the transition point--and it was very comfortable. Initially I was a little worried about the grip being slick when it got wet but that wasn't the case.

Don, I think the Lamson weighs about an ounce more than the Forbes you had on it, so it moved the balance point back to the very front end of the grip, and this still felt very good. If I put that Hardy on it the balance point should be just about where it was with your Forbes.

Andy, I really like the rod yet at the same time I know I can't afford to start converting my arsenal over Image I think my Sage's are safe for the time being although some of my others are on their way out. It's funny but for the first 5 or 6 years I fished I got by with two rods--a 8'6" 5 wt, and a 6'9" 4 wt. It was actually kind of nice in a way because I never had to think very hard about which rod to fish on any given day, and I got where I could cast both rods very well. I have over a dozen rods at the moment and wouldn't mind reducing that by half.... we'll see. If I went for another cane rod it would probably be in the 5 or 6 wt range and I don't fish that heavy a rod very often. Another thing that Don had told me ahead of time is that a cane rod fishes lighter than it's line wt. I only had a few fish on yesterday but they all put a good bend in the rod and you could feel just about every twitch. It was WAY more sensitive than my current 3 and 4 weights, and even more sensitive than my Sage 2 wt. I was very pleased.


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:12 am • # 13 
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I am excited to finally get some fish on my cane rod. The BBS is a hair light on it, however, it feels perfect. I can't afford it either Jerry, but I like to think I can.


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:20 pm • # 14 
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Jerry,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but............You are now officially "ruint" as they say down south. LOL, I crossed over a couple of years ago to the cane side. They are wonderfully different to cast and fish. I also got into glass rods about the same time and have been having a great time trying to figure out which one I like the best. Bamboo is a mindset that takes a little getting use to. It's super smooth, sensitive and very beautiful and elegant to fish, like hunting with a fine handmade shotgun or reading a leather bound fly fishing classic. It's a beautiflu rod, nice work Don, Enjoy!

Doug


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:56 pm • # 15 
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Thanks Doug! I just got back from the pond and I *feel* ruint. Image This thing is a blast with a fish on! The wind was blowing about 30mph and gusting to 50 so I didn't get much casting practice in.

(lousy cell phone pic)
Image


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:42 am • # 16 
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You are having too much fun Jerry! I am jealous.


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:25 am • # 17 
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Regarding Ultralight bamboo fly rods. The 2009 Metolius rod fair is again taking place in Oregon, July 18th & 19TH, A few of my friends and I have made reservations to attend. On a thread introducing the show I requested that the builders who attend bring their selection of Ultralight bamboo so that we may cast them and evaluate their performance. There were casting pools last year and it was nice being able to really put a rod through it paces to see what we were buying. We will let you know the rods we liked and why they appealed to us ...Paul


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:28 pm • # 18 
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Paul. Would you do us a favor and find out at the Fair who will sell a UL blank? Oregon has some great makers, but not many will sell a blank. Don


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:35 pm • # 19 
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Don, I would be glad to get that information for you. The Rod Fair is in mid July. I always talk to AJ. Chris and Steve at the show. They can give me that kind of info. I know that AJ sells blanks once in a while, Friend of mine built one of is SBDX 7'0 4 weights from one of his blanks. Will E-Mail as soon as I get it ....Paul


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 Post subject: New Bamboo (my first)
PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2009 3:37 pm • # 20 
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Thanks Paul. 4 weight blanks I can get. Sub-4s are the hard ones. Don


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