Anyone do bamboo?

Actually

I was referring to the lower end Grangers like the Champion,Victory and Stream and Lake. I have cast the higher end Grangers and cannot tell the difference. Also, Granger Rods are more expensive then the Wright Mcgill Granger Rods. Some people claim there is no difference between the two,but I think Granger rods are a bit slower.

My point is a person can buy a quality bamboo rod for less then what they would pay for a top end graphite. I just hope that people do not start figuring out how good some of the 60's fiber glass rods cast. I would hate to have to start paying over $150 for the top quality rods ,even though some are more expensive the that. This has been a great discussion.

P.S. Where I really fell in love with fishing bamboo was on the Blackfoot River with a Stream and Lake that I purchased for $325. I was going to sell it. Then I went to fish the Blackfoot and it was the only rod I had brought with me. About hafe way through the day I came to realize that I really liked this rod. I liked it so much I bought another one and Victory also. Fishing the Blackfoot with Bamboo just feels so right. I am sure Norman Maclean would agree with me. Tight Lines, Mark Harris.

Actually

Actually

ps. My wife dumped a glass of red wine over the keyboard of this comupter the other night. Now the backslash and question mark key doesn't work!

Yeah....now there is a little leverage you can use to your benefit regarding next needed (?) purchase. Of course........provided you didn't spill your IPA on her (yours..should we say) dining-table cloth.

There has been more then one thread

on Clark's site about whether or not there is a difference between Goodwin Granger Rods and Wright Mcgill Granger Rods. Some of the experts seen to think that Bill Phillipson may have tweaked the tapers. I Have owned 3 Goodwin Granger rods and sold all of them. It is my opinion that they have a softer action which I did not care for.

Who knows if there really is a difference. All I know is what I prefer,and that is the action of the W.M. Granger Rods, which also happen to have the advantage of being less expensivethen Goodwin Granger Rods. I have to admit I am a big Granger fan. Not because of Gierach,but the experience of fishing one for a day on the Blackfoot,and to think I was going to sell that rod after fishing it only once.

I have several Wright and McGill Rods...none are fly rods....but they all say made in Denver, USA. What about these older fly rods ? ....There is no doubt in my mind that the new Wright and McGill or Eagle Claw rods are made in the Far East. My point......Is Wright and McGill a model for what will happen to Winston (?) ...perhaps Sage.....at some point....I remember the day when shopping for fly rods there was no Sage, no Scott...it was Wright and McGill, and Fenwick...maybe a Berkley or two and I think ...oh yeah Orvis was in the mix?....History...those that read and know.....it repeats itself over and over...sometime in disguise....History can change...man apparently can't...GREED!

Canedawg, while I don't have your depth of experience in Grangers, I do very much enjoy fishing the one I have. I've cast another board member's 8' Special and it brings the same grin to my face that my own 9' does.

Porter, I'm not sure about the siren song of Grangers that Canedawg, Jed, Cliff and I all hear. Perhaps it's because they were designed and developed in Colorado. While they do have a following in the midwest and east, Grangers (and Phillipsons and Devines) seem better suited to our larger-than-life landscape and the fish that live here than rods intended for smaller waters and fish in the midwest and east.

That's not a knock on either those rods or the fishing they were designed for. It's just that Grangers seem more appropriate out here - sort of like taking a 4wd truck on a fishing expedition instead of a minivan.

K

Kent, not to jump off topic but you missed a great Metolius show! A.J. had some new Granger h.b.'s that were really nice. There were also a large number of vintage Granger's for the taking. In talking tapers with A.J., the Goodwin Granger's were a bit faster than the W & M tapers. I personally prefer the W & M tapers myself. Gary Lacey of Granger Rods now builds them with either taper as the customer prefers.

I read softstick's article on the event on Clark's the other day. I especially appreciated the photos and the opportunity to see that neither AJ or Chris McDowell look at all like I'd pictured them :-D The shot showing the rack of cane rods in front of a porch was especially impressive.

K

To my earlier point about soaring Granger prices, here's a couple recently listed on Clark's:

Granger Favorite 7'6" 3/2, full length and original, orig bag and tube, excellent plus, would be 100% mint if it had plastic on the grip……………$1500

Granger Favorite 8'6" 3/2 5wt, full length and original, orig bag and tube………………$950


K

There was also a 8' 6" WM Granger Deluxe for sale that was described as "in excellent conditon" for $475 + S.I. I agree the shorter Goodwin and WM Granger rods are off the chart. I am glad I prefer 8' 6" bamboo rods and like the Phillipson fibergalss rods 8' and shorter over 8' and shorter bamboo.

I too enjoy fishing and restoring bamboo rods. I just finished restoring an 8' Montague Amateur. The rod has a surprisingly fast action to it, and casts really well with 4 weight line. I also am working on a 9.5 foot 7 weight Granger Champ. And I have a couple of 6' banty's that I have made from some south bends. Bamboo really does have a different feel to it, and I enjoy fishing it.

Kent,
The Taylor Quad I had mentioned to you just arrived yesterday. Havent had a chance to string it up, but it is a beautifull work of art.
Picked up a high end Uslan 5 or 6 weeks ago, it needs to be rewrapped and new grip put on, that will happen soon!
It's surprizing how we can see a good deal on a graphite rod.... and turn it down because we know some cane will be turning up....

Steve

Hi Steve,

Good to hear from you. Are you settled in your new home and job? Wish you were still here in the area as I'd love to compare your two quads. Have fun fishing 'em.

K

Kent,
All settled in and working way to much! I know you get out this way at times, send me a email, I've updated it on my profile.
Heading out in the early AM to see if any fishys notice I have a new stick *G*
Steve

:thumb: Very Interesting thread. I have picked up a few rods over the last few years and have been surprised by the excellent action and responsiveness of a 8.5ft 5-6wt H/I Beaverkill (9.00 in 1945!) It really is an amazing rod to fish, but the hardware (plastic and tin with cheap ferrules) leaves a lot to be desired! I have not found any Montague to come even close! My impression is that H/Is especially in the shorter lengths deserve a closer look.
I was lucky to find a local makere, Gary Lohkamp, of Portland Oregon who makes an excellent 4-5wt rod for 450.00! Bag included. I bought my 4wt from in in 98 and it was 400 then! So I consider his rods excellent value! I was also amazed to find that this little 4wt outfished and cast my graphite! I didnt fish it for all these years because I was afraid Id break it!! :beathead:
Good bamboo is pretty amazing stuff! :thumb:
Dave/Oregon

c'mon davpot, doesn't everyone know that bamboo has a higher tensile strength than steel? I've been fishing bamboo for the last ten years or so after having gone through Sage, Orvis, Lamiglass, GLoomis, T & T, and Winston plastic rods and not getting that feeling I was looking for. Bamboo rods are extremely versatile and tough contrary to what the plastic crowd thinks. When a rod maker treats the cane correctly (heat tempering) they will not take a set. There are around 30 rod makers in the Northwest that make bamboo rods so there are alot of options. Dblhaul, I would be interested to hear your thoughts on the Taylor quad. The ferrules on those Taylor's are made by A.J. Thramer. I am in the process of having a Carlson quad tapered blank finished out right now, should be a sweet 5 weight dry fly stick.

I haven't been fishing as much as usual or as much as I would like this summer. So my kitchen pass for last Saturday's hike into an Alpine lake with a friend seemed like a great chance to try out my Hardy Marvel on some feisty high elevation coastal cutts. Because of its near-new condition (and the price I paid for it), I've been hesitant to fish it except on special occasions.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Marvel, it was the longest continuously-built cane rod Hardy ever made, first appearing in the 1920s before finally being retired 50 years later in the mid-1970s and in the process becoming the favorite rod of many including former president Dwight Eisenhower. My Marvel was built in 1972 and acquired from the son of the original owner. It's a 7-1/2' 3/2 3wt in excellent condition with the original grass-green wraps (not faded to straw color as with most well-used models) and flawless varnish.

I strung it up with a 444 Peach and gradually warmed to its medium-slow action. But I found myself trying to overpower the rod to punch through the gusty wind, lengthening my stroke and adding too much wrist at the end. The result was a badly twisted leader, major tangles, very few strikes, and one frustrated fisherman.

One of the downsides to fishing a rod only infrequently is that each time is like the first time all over again. I must have been particularly brain-dead from the sun as it took me more than a little time to figure out what I was doing wrong. But looping on a new furled leader, shortening my stroke and adding a haul to my cast ended up doing the trick and casting the rod became a joy as casts went pretty much where I intended them to. The rod ended up hooking over 50 fish, handling small ones with grace and delicacy and larger ones with force and authority.

I'm not sure when I'll break out the Marvel again, but Saturday's experience was a good lesson, reminding me that faster and stronger isn't better and that a bamboo rod can practically cast itself if you'll just give it a chance.

K

Since my last post in this thread I took my new McVey 5 and 7 wt. cane rods to Alaska. It was quite an initiation. Since I was fishing a small stream, it seemed like the 5 wt. was most appropriate. It may have been for length of casts, but I'm not so sure it was the best choice for the indelicate deer hair mouse! Over a hundred fish later, including a 9 # RB, it had quite an initiation outing, including two new fish species for me, grayling and pike. I had to take the 7 wt. out of the tube and cast a weighted sculpin streamer. Didn't take long, first cast pulled in a nice RB; then I put it back in the tube since I didn't need to handle that much line, and the weighted streamers resulted in two fair-hooked king salmon. I put away the larger rod and the streamers and stuck with floating offerings the rest of the trip, until I reached tidewater and some fresh coho.

Peter makes a beautiful cane rod, and has been hollow building his blanks for some years now, making for a lighter and slightly faster action rod. His price in US $ is more than a high end graphite rod, but includes two tip sections, and I suspect represents more value per $ spent.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.