Designing a bamboo rod
 

Folks,

Here is your chance to design a bamboo fly rod. For near 25 years I’ve donated a bamboo fly rod towards the activities of Trout Unlimited. First to the Red Deer Chapter, then to Calgary TU and for the past 5 years to the Lloyd Shea Fund run by the Edmonton TU group. Presently the Edmonton TU guys are using the monies for Grayling Research.
Over the years I’ve selected what I thought would do the best as a fund raiser and then it occurred to me that the folks who buy tickets or wish a bamboo rods might like to design the rod themselves.

So here are the design parameters.
1] The rod has to be between 6’>8’ long and carry a 2>6 weight line.
2] The rod has to be of two pieces.
3] The rod will carry a downlocking reel seat or either my design or Bellingers. In the case of my own design, I have a large selection of hardwoods available.
4] The handle must be no less than 5.5” long or great then 6.5” long and will not include weird rings of compressed or coloured cork.
5] The handle shape can be of any design and your choice should be described in a picture or good drawing. Dimensions are important with the typical handle approx. 1” OD @ the widest point.
6] The thread warps colours are your choice providing they pass a “good taste test”. The wraps can be accented with trim wraps of 2>5 turns of thread. Below is a typical thread wrap
7] The hookkeeper can be of several designs including strap and ring, loop or Hopkins and Holloway folder.
8] The stripped will be a Midrum carboly and chrome plated snakes. You can spec. Perfection, Pac Bay or Hopkins and Holloway.
9] The rod can be of either my tapers or from taper archives of rod companies. I have a relatively large collection of historic tapers.

The rod will be constructed of Tonkin Bamboo and is provided with two tips, a cloth bag and an aluminum case.

The rod designed above will be available for the 2017 fund raiser. The rod for the 2016 raffle is already complete and tickets will be available through the Edmonton TU/Northern Lites Fly Tying Club. The 2016 rod is a 7’9” 5 wt. rod with the first taper constructed about 1988. I’ve probably made near 50 of them.

Any questions? Please ask them on this site.
Regards,

Don Andersen