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Bamboo Fly Fishing Rods - The Basics
Posted by John Donley at Apr 25th, 2009 in Fly Fishing
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.
It has been said that the male Calcutta cane is the best to use for a fly fishing rod, but also the most expensive. The least expensive cane that is out there is known as African cane, and they make some pretty decent fly rods that will not burn a hole in your wallet.
The way that bamboo fly rods are made, is by splitting the piece of bamboo, then the sticks are glued together. There are two types of construction when it comes to bamboo fly rods, these are 6 and 8, 6 strip being the more common type used.
A lot of the rod makers say that the 8 strip rods are more durable than the 6 strip. This has never really been tested or proven though, more expensive though as they take more time to make than the 6 strip section bamboo fly rods.
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.
What makes bamboo rods more durable than other types of fly fishing rods is that they are double built rods. Meaning there are two layers, one in the middle and of course the outer layer. This will make them heavier, stronger, and hold there shape better than graphite fly rods.
Another type of bamboo rod is one that has steel as a center layer, and the outer layer would be made out of bamboo. These are thought to be the best constructed bamboo rods as it gives them excellent casting ability, which is a necessity when it comes to fly fishing.
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