Bamboo Fly Fishing Rods - Why They Are The Best

By John Donley

There is no doubt that the best fly fishing rod material is good bamboo properly selected, cured, split, glued, and correctly proportioned. It possesses strength combined with lightness, resiliency, pliancy, power and balance in greater degree than either steel or solid woods.

The majority of fly fishing rods that are constructed these days are made from Tonkin. Although back in the day there were a bunch that were made from Calcutta cane, which is harder to come by now in our present time.

Out of all the types of bamboo that are used to make a fly rod, it is said that the male Calcutta cane is the best. If you can not afford the best, then you could get a fly rod that is made from African cane. These kinds of bamboo fly rods are great and you will not go broke trying to buy one.

We assume that you know that bamboo is split and then glued together in order to utilize the hard outer enamel and reduce the diameter of the pieces. Some rods are made of bamboo split into six sections and some in eight, but the six strip construction is more often used.

So which one should you go for, the 6 or the 8? Although there have been claims that the 8 strip section rods hold up better, there is no absolute proof, and it all boils down to the quality of the cane that is used to make the rod anyway.

So we already know that if you are going after an 8 strip section fly rod that you will be paying more money, and it is not guaranteed it will hold up better than a six. Your best bet would be to stick with the six unless you have your heart set on the eight strip rod.

A novelty in bamboo fly fishing rod making is what is known as the double built rods which are made of two layers of split and glued bamboo, one within the other. They are heavier and strong, and it is claimed, hold their shape better, than ordinary fly fishing rods.

One other type of bamboo rod construction would be the kind that has a steel core in the middle of the rod, which is wrapped in bamboo for the outer layer. Many say that these types of bamboo fly rods are superior to all other rods when it comes to casting. - 31510

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