RIVERSIDE -- Your great-grandfather fished with a bamboo fishing rod. It was made from strips of Chinese bamboo cut from long stalks of the cane found in the Tonkin lowlands. The strips were glued together to form six-sided rods.
This was before spinning reels, fiberglass, and way before graphite. It was 60 years ago. Fishing rods had been made with bamboo for over 100 years, but by the 1940s there was growing concern among those in the fishing community. The Chinese communist revolution had closed China’s borders and ended its exports of Tonkin cane.
As World War II drew to a close, experiments with polyester resin hardened by heat and reinforced with glass fibers for airplane parts gave birth to fiberglass. Its strength and flexibility lent itself to rod manufacture, and in 1946, Shakespeare introduced the first fiberglass rod, Wonderod. It was the company’s 50th anniversary, and bamboo was almost forgotten overnight.
A handful of fly rod makers who had hoarded bamboo culms continued to make rods in the traditional way because they didn’t like the swing and feel of fiberglass rods, and by the time graphite became established on the fishing rod scene in the early 1970s, bamboo had all but died as a material for fishing rods. You could probably count the number or rod makers still building bamboo rods on a single hand.
But a funny thing started happening. Old bamboo rods, especially fly rods, skyrocketed in value. The old rods fetch prices ranging from $200 to $4,000 or more, depending on the condition, quality (or reputation of the maker) and scarcity of the rod. While some of the rods are bought as collector pieces, most are bought by anglers who simply want to fish with them.
Suddenly there weren’t enough bamboo rods to go around, and a new generation of craftsmen started learning about Tonkin cane and the rod making business. You could even get the right bamboo again.
“They’re just amazing. As soon as you cast one bamboo rod, you feel the difference,” said Mike St. Clair, a Riverside fly-fisherman who has become one an increasing number of small-shop rod makers who’ve revived the bamboo tradition.
“I don’t ever want to fish with anything else.”
St. Clair starting building his own bamboo rods about five years ago after getting hooked on bamboo after refinishing his grandfather’s rod. The more he read, the more bamboo rods he cast, the more he wanted to make his own. So he traveled to Massachusetts to tutor under an aging master rod builder, Bill Carter, learning the basics and some tricks only a veteran could teach.
St. Clair’s first rod was a delicate six-strip, seven-foot, four-weight bamboo that he took to the Kern River. His fishing friends’ reaction to the rod was all the same: “Oh my God, I want one of these.”
To date, St. Clair has made about 25 rods -- most for friends -- and he opened a small business with his fishing buddy and shirt-tail relative Chris Hynes to market the rods. They’re not the only ones.
“Twenty years ago, there were only three or four major makers and a few home makers -- guys doing it as a hobby. I’d say there are at least 200 makers today,” said St. Clair.
St. Clair said each rod has at about 50 to 100 hours of labor invested in the splitting, planning and tapering of each section, fitting them together, and gluing the bamboo splinters into a single rod. Then the finish work involves straightening the blank, flaming the rod to give it a rich color, finishing the blank, and finally adding the guides, grip, and reel seat. The finished rods start at about $1,200, but St. Clair admits he’s going to have to raise his prices. Most other makers start the pricing at $1,500 and go up.
“Obviously, we’re not raking in the cash. I’d like to settle on a couple of designs and make more of those,” said St. Clair.
But that is easier said than done for someone who might be less interested in making money than making, casting, and fishing bamboo rods.
So far, each St. Clair rod has been different -- a different length, a different taper, a two-piece and three-piece rod, one with unique bamboo ferrules and others with classic nickel-silver ferrules, each with different reel seat material. He falls in love with each new rod he makes and isn’t sure he can sell it -- even if it was made to a customer’s specifications. Then a new project starts and he doesn’t mind sending one of his babies to a good home, a fishing home.
And bamboo rods are like children. They are alive in your hands, sweet and complex. The soft, slow swing of bamboo is alien to a generation of graphite fly rod anglers who rip the rod and line through the air like Vladimir Guerrero uncoiling at a fastball. Most graphite rods are so stiff they require the angler load the rod with velocity beyond the weight of the line. That line velocity is provided by our muscles, forcing a bend into the stiff rod. Bamboo rods load merely under the weight of the line. Once you understand the stroke and rhythm of bamboo, the rod casts itself. The angler is merely directing the line’s direction with the movement he imparts on the rod.
“It’s a slower action. I just love the way it feels,” said St. Clair, echoing what most bamboo rod fanatics say. “I’m sure graphite rods are nice, but to me, they’re just rebar. Bamboo rods have a lot more finesse to them.”
FOUR, FIVE, SIX, OR EIGHT-SIDED -- THE SHAPE OF BAMBOO RODS: Tonkin cane’s fibers are densest on the outside. When a rod maker cuts the cane into triangular shaped strips, he cuts away the pithy interior fibers and glues together the strongest, more responsive pieces of the bamboo into a rod.
Most classic cane or bamboo rods are made from six strips of bamboo planed and fitted together, the pieces matching to within 1/1,000ths of an inch. And this is all done by hand.
Five-sided rods also have a large following because of their stiffer feel, but some question their asymmetry and how it might affect casting, causing the rod to oscillate. Rods made with an even number of strips should flex in a straight bend across equal, opposite planes. But most casters can’t feel any oscillation in five-sided rods. So theory is moot in practice.
Four-side rods have grown in popularity in this new generation of bamboo rods, and even eight-sided rods (St. Clair says the only reason to make an eight-sided rod is because you have too much time on your hands) are being made today.
WHERE TO SEE BAMBOO FLY RODS: Most of the fly-fishing specialty shops in Southern California have bamboo fly rods. Riverside Ski and Sport frequently (but not always) has a St. Clair rod or two, as does The Kern River Troutfitter in Kernville. You can always see larger company production bamboo rods from Thomas & Thomas and Orvis at Bob Marriott’s Flyfishing Store in Fullerton and the Orvis Shop in Pasadena.
INTERNET BAMBOO ROD HELP: Many of the small shop bamboo fly rod makers have their own web site where you can see and price their products. St. Clair and Hynes Rodsmiths’ web site is http://www.schflyrods.com/index.html. High Sierra Rods, a St. Clair-like rod maker from Angels Camp, California, can be found at this address: http://www.highsierrarods.com/.
Perhaps the best place to get up to speed on the latest happenings in the bamboo fly rod world is at Clark’s Classic Fly Rod Forum at http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/.
The American Bamboo Rod Association is at this address http://www.goabra.org/. It has a very nice “articles” section with good reading on bamboo.
FISHING QUIZ: For you old-timers, who remember living through this period in the history of fishing, here’s a little quiz to test your memory (and for you youngsters, it’s a history lesson): 1. Who made the first graphite fishing rod and when did it appear? 2. What was the name of the first nylon monofilament fishing line and when was it introduced to anglers? 3. Who made the first successful spinning reel and when did it appear?
FISHING QUIZ ANSWERS: 1. The first graphite fishing rod was introduced in 1973 by Fenwick. It was called the HMG, which stood for High Modulus Graphite. I bought an eight-foot, five-weight fly rod and still own it. Today, more graphite fly rods are sold than any other type. Fenwick also was the first to use boron fibers in a fishing rod, but that fad seems to have died. The most recent product to be used for rod making is carrots. Of course, the rod is called the Carrot Stick and uses nano technology to blend carrot fibers with graphite. Fiberglass allowed rods to be made cheaper. Graphite made them more sensitive and able to cast farther. Carrots just seem to make them more expensive. Kind of like bamboo rods, today. Pick your plant, pay your money.
2. Introduced in 1949, the first artificial monofilament fishing line was called Platil. Made from nylon (which was patented in 1938), it was invented by Dr. Karl Plate and his name was combined with the word “filament” to create Platil. Platil line is still made today in a variety of configurations, but none are imported into this country under the original name. Prior to nylon monofilament, fly anglers used horsehair and then discovered what the Chinese had used for years, pieces of drawn silkworm gut. There’s a wonderful story on gut lines on the Internet at this address: http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/history/schullery_guts.aspx. For real purists, gut leaders and braided silk fly lines are still available.
3. In 1948, the Mitchell Reel Company, then of Cluses, France, brought out the first spinning reel, as we know them today. The Mitchell 300 became like the Volkswagen “Bug” -- one of the most popular products of all time and one that had to be revived, even if it’s not the same as the original. Spinning reels didn’t work worth a hoot with the old braided lines made from linen, silk, or cotton that were popular in the 1940s. So it’s a little ironic that the first spinning reel was brought out the year before a suitable and affordable line --nylon monofilament -- was introduced. Do you think Dr. Plate might have tipped his hand to the French? Or did Plate buy a French reel and set out to make a line that worked on the darn thing?
BLM APPROVES CONSTRUCTION OF WILDLIFE DRINKER IN WILDERNESS: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has authorized the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) to place a wildlife guzzler in the Sheephole Valley Wilderness in southeastern San Bernardino County about 20 miles east of Twentynine Palms to provide needed water to desert bighorn sheep.
The controversial decision sets a precedent for allowing for construction of new drinkers in wilderness and is likely to be contested by some environmental groups against “enhancement.” However, this is a major step forward in the effort to restore and enhance desert sheep populations.
Sterling White, BLM’s Needles Field Manager, said the decision carefully balances the needs of maintaining healthy bighorn sheep populations with minimizing impacts to designated wilderness.
“When water is recognized as a limiting factor for the health of a desert bighorn sheep population, and in the absence of documented adverse impacts of water developments, proponents of bighorn sheep believe water developments should be a component of effective bighorn sheep management. To do otherwise will continue to place bighorn sheep populations at risk for extirpation,” said White.
The decision cites authority for this action as Section 4 of the 1964 Wilderness Act and Section 103 of the 1994 California Desert Protection Act. Copies of the decision have been mailed to all those who commented on the draft issued in February 2007. The environmental assessment, finding of no significant impact, and decision record can be found at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles.html.
BLM issued a similar decision in 2003, which was appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals. Based on concerns about cumulative impacts of other potential projects in the California Desert, BLM requested the case be remanded back to review its longer-term management perspective for the area. Since then, BLM has been working with CDFG, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and interest groups to better clarify the need and impacts of guzzlers throughout the Desert.
Lack of natural water, which has been disappearing from desert areas because of continued drought and groundwater pumping, has been the one factor that has slowed or stopped the recovery of desert sheep back into historic habitats, according to the Society for Conservation of Bighorn Sheep, which has been working on wildlife water projects in the desert for over three decades.
DEEP CREEK FLYFISHERS’ TEAM WINS CROWLEY EVENT: Two anglers from the Inland Empire’s Deep Creek Flyfishers won both the individual and team categories in this past Saturday’s Double Haul in the Fall, a catch-and-release fly-fishing competition at Crowley Lake sponsored by Western Outdoor News.
Ernie Gulley of Riverside came in first place overall with his five-fish catch of trout over the 18-inch minimum size restriction, and his 21-inch rainbow pushed him well ahead of other competitors to capture the individual prize, a $4,500 fishing trip to Alaska. Russ Smith of Redlands was Gulley’s partner in the team portion of the event.
“I didn’t contribute much to the partnership,” laughed Smith, who didn’t land a fish over the 18-inch minimum during the tournament. “But Ernie had enough points that we won the team event, too.”
Smith was quick to note that he did land a 24-inch cutthroat from Crowley this past weekend, but just not during the tournament.
WATERFOWL HUNTING APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE: Information and applications for hunting on Department of Fish and Game-run public waterfowl areas are now available at license agents throughout Southern California. Hunters who wish to hunt opening day (Oct. 20) at San Jacinto Wildlife Area, the Kern National Wildlife Refuge, or the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area, must have their applications in DFG hands 17 days in advance of each hunt day.
DEER TAGS STILL AVAILABLE: Southern California deer hunters who have not picked up deer tags yet are reminded that most of the general rifle seasons open in October. The D19 zone (San Diego County) opens Oct. 6, while the popular D11 (San Gabriel Mountains) and D14 (San Bernardino Mountains) zones open Oct. 13. Tags are still available for these zones and other hunting areas.
Here’s a list of tags remaining for general deer tag (rifle) hunts as of Wednesday this week: D3-5 12,074, D8 1,983, D10 192, D11 2,726, D13 1,855, D14 864, D15 1,175, D16 1,734, and D19 625. Here are the available archery tags: Archery Only-One 94,464, Archery Only-Two 97,621, A22 306, A31 148, and A32 205. All other deer hunt tag quotas are full.
Hunters can get an updated list of tags still available from the Department of Fish and Game’s web site at: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/biggame/deertagsavailable.html.