Connecting with the Past

I spent some time over the holidays searching for the perfect stick to make another wooden fly rod. One of the most recent wooden fly rods that I built (and my favorite – an 8’ 6”, 5 weight) started to split last summer, so I thought it was time to start on a new one. I have built a few wood rods over the years; mostly for the personal satisfaction of catching trout on a rod that I built from scratch, but also to develop a connection with the early era of fly fishing. I have experimented with several simple rod construction techniques that I imagine may have been used by the pioneers of the sport in the 14^th century, and have finally worked out a system that produces good results. Each rod typically requires about 40 hours to complete but the overall process stretches out over 12 to 18 months, starting with the search for a usable rod blank.

There are many other people out there who also build wooden fly rods using a wide variety of materials and techniques, the most common of course being rods constructed of split cane (bamboo). Bamboo has been used in fly rod construction since the early 1600’s but it wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that the multi-strip (split cane) method was perfected. The multi-strip construction technique allowed rod builders to build stronger, lighter rods by laminating triangular sections of split cane together to make a rod that is (usually) hexagonal in cross section. Bamboo was the rod material of choice by most fly anglers up to the early 1900’s. Many people today still follow the old traditions of building split cane rods, and with the addition of modern glues and finishes, the end products are fully functional, durable works of art.

Other types of wood have been used in rod construction prior to the advent of split cane construction. The earliest woods were hazel and aspen, but fir, hickory, ash, greenheart, and lancewood (among many others) have also been used. There are a small handful of rod builders who have adapted the multi-strip technique to these other woods to produce fly rods every bit as functional and aesthetically pleasing as those produced by split cane artisans (see for example: Making Strip-Built Fly Rods from Various Woods on a Lathe by John Betts). But my goal was to reach back even further to a time before the multi-strip design. Little is known about rod construction during the earliest era of fly casting so much of my methodology has been developed through trial and error.

One of my wood fly rods that is still used regularly - a 6' 6" 3 weight

I was successful in finding a usable stick – and at 9 feet long, it is one of the longest and straightest blanks I have ever come across. It does however have two knots that are close enough to each other to cause me some concern, so I plan to continue my search until spring and if I do not find anything better, I will have to go with what I have. My plan is to follow the progress of this rod on my blog for those of you who may be interested in building your own.  

One thing you do need to be aware of is that these rods, although fully functional and aesthetically pleasing to fish with, tend to each have a character all their own (for me the imperfect nature of the rods is another part of the attraction). The build process is not an exact science, the materials have natural variations that one must work with, and the rod never comes out arrow straight. Each rod will possess certain casting characteristics that the angler will need to compensate for. In addition, to simplify the process, and avoid dead spots in the action, I build these rods as one piece units – it does make them more cumbersome to transport but I feel the trade-off is worth it. If you are looking for that perfect light weight fly rod that casts as well as all of the fancy descriptors used in most fly rod ads (and sometimes beer commercials), I suggest sticking with your favorite graphite rod. If however you enjoy a challenge, and have the desire to escape from the commercialization of the sport, give it a try and see where it takes you.