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Why Bamboo? by Jeff Fultz
Bamboo has been used by ancient civilizations as a strong building material for thousands of years but it wasn't until the 20th. century that this grass was found to make a superb fishing instrument. When split, cut, and glued into rods, bamboo brings a natural strength and sensitivity to a rod not found in any other material. Is bamboo heavier than graphite? Yes, a little, but it's that additional mass that takes over during the casting stroke to propel the fly line. Many new users of bamboo say that the rod feels like it casts itself. This is essentially true, the basic rules of physics tell us that once an object is put into motion it will remain in motion until an outside force counters the motion. We also know that mass produces momentum. The initial energy input created by a caster is multiplied by the mass of the rod creating momentum. It is much simpler to just stick with the statement that bamboo rods feel like they cast themselves. Most modern rodmakers carefully design their rods to balance properly. It is this balance that is most important to the angler. A well balanced rod will cast and fish more comfortably than an unbalanced rod even if it is heavier.
Members of ABRA make their bamboo rods with a certain level of pride that is reflected in the quality and longevity of such rods. Even the makers who use some machinery still do a large part of the building process by hand. The average time it takes to make a rod is somewhere between 40 and 100 hours. Today's rodmakers are not building rods to get rich, in fact if you divide the amount of profit by the hours spent building, most makers are making less than minimum wage. They choose to make bamboo rods because it is a passion and a craft that needs to be kept alive. Those few full-time rodmakers who make a living selling rods have sacrificed a lot of life's nicer things to pursue their craft. The bottom line concerning why someone should consider a bamboo rod is the feel. Most anglers can describe the electric feel of a fish pulling on a line and no other rod material transmits this feel quite like bamboo. Bamboo rods, being crafted of a natural material, really come alive when casting, fishing and playing fish. Many anglers also enjoy the thought that a true craftsman has put a part of himself into the making of their rod. Anglers who choose to use bamboo often take their rods out during the off season to reminisce about past trips, this should tell you something about the relationships that develop between a fly-fisherman and his bamboo rod.
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