$ burning a hole in my pocket

Roper

Roper

Idiot Savant, still
Forum Supporter
Well, that might be an exaggeration. I sold a motorcycle and have some fun money laying around. So far I bought a Springfield Armory 1911. Now I’m considering a nice but not horribly expensive bamboo rod. The one I inherited from my dad casts like crap, tip heavy. Should I search the Craigslist used market or go new? A medium flex would work for me. How do I know in the used market? Help…
 
Is your dad‘s hand me down a 9’ 3 piece bamboo rod? There’s ways to make a better fishing stick with it, unless it has sentimental value to it…..
 
Might help if you could identify the type of fishing you plan on doing with it.
 
Bambooflyguy said:
Is your dad‘s hand me down a 9’ 3 piece bamboo rod? There’s ways to make a better fishing stick with it, unless it has sentimental value to it…..
Click to expand...
Two piece 6 weight…Herters club.IMG_7575.jpeg
 
Roper, here's my sense of the market. I know a lot about a few makers.

Hang round the Classic Fly rod forum and use the search bar to query about rod makers. Lots of info there.

Used Grangers and Phillipson bamboo. Plenty available for $300-700. I have 4 grangers and 5 phillipsons from 7'6" to 9'6"and there's not a bad one in the bunch. The 8'6" phillipson and granger 8642 are a joy. Avoid the Granger Champion sliding ring reel seats because they sometimes come undone. Everything else is good. I wrote an article about my Grangers and Phillipsons for Wading List.

www.thewadinglist.com

Bamboo Fly Rods in Denver - Fly Fishing - The Wading List

When I think of Bamboo fly rods I think of Denver, Colorado. I fly fish the northwest United States. Big rivers and windy lakes with Denver Bamboo Fly Rods.
www.thewadinglist.com www.thewadinglist.com

Used Winston bamboo. Hollow build so they feel lighter in hand. Casting machines. Expect to pay $1,000-2,500. Winston still services its bamboo rods which is great in case you ever break a tip. A 9' 4 7/8's winston was best of breed at our PNW fly fishing cast-around a couple years ago. I loved it so much I went out and bought one. You can buy new from Winston if you want but it will cost you $2,500-3,000.

Sharpes of Aberdeen used bamboo.. The Sharpes 88 is a versatile rod. 8'8" 5/6 weight. Most people in the US don't know anything about it because it was made in Scotland. Impregnated so bomb-proof. A Sharpes 88 will cost $250-400. I have 6 sharpes fly rods and think the are perhaps the most underrated rod for our bigger waters. If you find your herters tip heavy you may not like the Sharpes because they have pretty robust tips. The Sharpes 85, however, may change your mind.

I recommend that you cast a bunch of bamboo rods so see what you like. No other way to figure it out. Come over some saturday and Greg Armstong and Para Adams and I will let you cast some rods in the park. You'll learn more from the two of them in 15 minutes than you'll learn from me in a day...

One more thing. If you're buying a rod you want to take on the plane get a three piece configuration. Most of my two piece fly rods are too long to take on the plane without checking. That may limit your winston options or Sharpes options because they mostly built 2 piece.
 
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Can’t really make a Hotrodz with that rod unfortunately. Good advice from Dave….but how much $$ are you thinking about spending? That will narrow things down. Are you looking for a small creek rod, lake indicator rod or a general purpose rod? The best way to solve this is buy a bunch of bamboo rods!
 
Bambooflyguy said:
Can’t really make a Hotrodz with that rod unfortunately. Good advice from Dave….but how much $$ are you thinking about spending? That will narrow things down. Are you looking for a small creek rod, lake indicator rod or a general purpose rod? The best way to solve this is buy a bunch of bamboo rods!
Click to expand...
Buy a bunch of flyrods? Would this work?

seattle.craigslist.org

16 Bamboo Fly Rods - sporting goods - by owner - sale - craigslist

16 unmatched bamboo fly rod poles. Collection of bamboo fishing rod pieces assembled together, no splintered or cracked pieces. All rods have good tips. All but 1 rod have good ferrules. Someone...
seattle.craigslist.org
 
Coldwater Collectibles may be worth a peek.
 
+1 for coldwater collectibles. Bought two bamboo rods from him. Fair prices and rods accurately described snd shipped safe.
 
Dave Westburg said:
Roper, here's my sense of the market. I know a lot about a few makers.

Hang round the Classic Fly rod forum and use the search bar to query about rod makers. Lots of info there.

Used Grangers and Phillipson bamboo. Plenty available for $300-700. I have 4 grangers and 5 phillipsons from 7'6" to 9'6"and there's not a bad one in the bunch. The 8'6" phillipson and granger 8642 are a joy. Avoid the Granger Champion sliding ring reel seats because they sometimes come undone. Everything else is good. I wrote an article about my Grangers and Phillipsons for Wading List.

www.thewadinglist.com

Bamboo Fly Rods in Denver - Fly Fishing - The Wading List

When I think of Bamboo fly rods I think of Denver, Colorado. I fly fish the northwest United States. Big rivers and windy lakes with Denver Bamboo Fly Rods.
www.thewadinglist.com www.thewadinglist.com

Used Winston bamboo. Hollow build so they feel lighter in hand. Casting machines. Expect to pay $1,000-2,500. Winston still services its bamboo rods which is great in case you ever break a tip. A 9' 4 7/8's winston was best of breed at our PNW fly fishing cast-around a couple years ago. I loved it so much I went out and bought one. You can buy new from Winston if you want but it will cost you $2,500-3,000.

Sharpes of Aberdeen used bamboo.. The Sharpes 88 is a versatile rod. 8'8" 5/6 weight. Most people in the US don't know anything about it because it was made in Scotland. Impregnated so bomb-proof. A Sharpes 88 will cost $250-400. I have 6 sharpes fly rods and think the are perhaps the most underrated rod for our bigger waters. If you find your herters tip heavy you may not like the Sharpes because they have pretty robust tips. The Sharpes 85, however, may change your mind.

I recommend that you cast a bunch of bamboo rods so see what you like. No other way to figure it out. Come over some saturday and Greg Armstong and Para Adams and I will let you cast some rods in the park. You'll learn more from the two of them in 15 minutes than you'll learn from me in a day...

One more thing. If you're buying a rod you want to take on the plane get a three piece configuration. Most of my two piece fly rods are too long to take on the plane without checking. That may limit your winston options or Sharpes options because they mostly built 2 piece.
Click to expand...
Gosh Dave, I’d love to try different bamboo rods. I’ll bring the libations…you name it.
 
Hey Roper, my condolences for taking that first step onto the slippery slope. But we who've slid down to the bottom welcome the company. Dave's suggestion try some rods first is spot on. While graphite rods can vary, bamboo rods vary widely both in design, use and enjoyment. And what some like, others don't. It's a wide, wide world of tapers, makers, old, new, etc. Spending time searching Classic Rod Forum is probably your first stop, but nothing beats trying rods in person. I'd be more than happy to team up with Dave and others on that.

My personal preferences, for what its worth...

For small streams I grab my 7-1/2' Granger 4/5 weight. Sweet casting, puts the fly where you want it. Shorter Grangers in good shape tend to cost $600-$900 depending on condition and model. You have to be careful to buy one that is in good condition, but if it's in good shape it will fish great for a long time. If you go onto the Classic Rod Forum classifieds and post a "want to buy" you'll get more than a few offers and those sellers are usually trustworthy.

For larger water my 8' clone of the classic Payne 201 is a treat to fish. It's my most versatile rod and I fish it on medium streams or when carrying a dry fly rod on my float tube on lakes. I wrapped it on a blank made by Jeff Pope in Spokane and I think my total cost, excluding my time, was around $400-$500.

When I do fish sinking lines or bobbers on lakes I like a longer six weight with ability to cast a longer line and heavier flies. For me that's a 8-1/2' Carlin LL, a modern hollow built that's a strong casting 6 weight and lighter in hand due to the hollow building. It also fishes well with larger flies, weighted nymphs and streamers. It's my Yakima River rod and I fished Sauk River bulls with streamers too. That said, it's by far my most expensive rod, made by the great modern maker Chris Carlin from Alaska. Check out his website.

I have a few other rods as well, happy to string those up too.

Tight lines and have fun looking! Ron
 
Roper,

Forgive my slipping memory, but someone at the cane clave in Redmond this past June builds a few rods and has an 8' 5 wt for sale. It's a hollow built from a taper of a well known old rod maker, whose name I also can't remember at the moment. The upshot is that the rod is beautiful, casts like a dream, and he's only asking $300 or so for it. Only reason I didn't buy it is because I couldn't justify to myself another 5 wt. Others on here no doubt know who I'm talking about, if he doesn't read this himself. I can tell you that this rod is everything your dad's Herters rod isn't. Help Roper out you guys who were there. Roper deserves to meet this rod.
 
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