How to take care of a bamboo fly rod.

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adam
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How to take care of a bamboo fly rod.

Post by adam »

I am hoping to get a lot of your opinions on what to and not to do.

Never jerk on the rod, bam bam bam like you are trying to pull out a fly in a back cast, you will break the rod at a ferrule. Always pull on the fly line and the rod straight pointed at the fly, no tension on the fly rod.

Always dry your rod off before placing it in the sack and the sack in the tube, never put it away wet.

Never twist the ferrules apart, always use a straight pulling motion, smooth application of pull, never jerking on the sections. You should always bring two of those little pads that they sell to open stuck jar lids. They also make this stuff to like kitchen drawers with. Stick two of those in a ziplock in your vest, pack bag.

Always store your rods in a vertical position, never leave your rod jointed and leaning the tip against something for long periods of time.

Wipe the male ferrule down with a clean soft cloth and use a clean Q-tip to clean out the female ferrule regularly. Do not use "nose oil" on your ferrule for lube (personally, you could use it, I don't care)

Walk with your rod tip behind you holding on to the cork from spot to spot.

If you have a two tip rod, place the tip you will use always next to the butt section slot and move the non used tip over when jointing the rod.

If you use plastic line, clean it once in a while, if you use silk, clean the mucilin out of the guides with a Q-tip and wipe the rod down.

There are a ton more good things to ad in, I hope you guys do that.

I have a friend who made another friend a rod, he has broken it twice now from jerking the fly out from the sticks. I don't think it was craftsmanship, I think it was poor rodmanship as in forgetting how not to free a stuck fly. Another friend figured out how it was broken even before he heard the story...

I know there are more things out there that will prevent those kinds of stories or keep our rods in fresh shape much much longer.

We have the making things down, what about the fishing things?
Last edited by adam on Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
greg hall
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Post by greg hall »

Adam,

Third line - reread that part about putting it away wet.

One thought that never hurts is on humid or wet days fishing take the cap off the tube when you get home or hang the rod in it's bag in a warm dry place for a day even if you dried it off before putting it away.

Do not store rods in places exposed to extremes of hot and cold, dry and damp etc. such as unheated garages or in attics.

Do not assume that capped rod tubes are 100% moisture proof especially on older or classic rods. If they were exposed to a damp environment, a rainy day or in a boat, they should opened and allowed to air out.
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Post by matsoberg »

I don´t store them or hang them in their socks.

I always keep them hanging on a wall that doesn´t get daylight/sunshine. After fishing, they get hung up. They hang there all winter long also. It´s a pretty wall...
Last edited by matsoberg on Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Fly Chef »

Mats,
Do you hang them horizontal or vertical?
Keith
“Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good. “
~ Vince Lombardi, first team meeting as Packers coach (1959), as reported in Chuck Carlson’s “Game of My Life”
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Post by matsoberg »

Fly Chef wrote:Mats,
Do you hang them horizontal or vertical?
Keith
Keith.

Vertical, heavy end down. I make a loop from some backing and do a half hitch (or whatever it´s called in english) under the tip top on the tips and just hook them up on a nail or something. Other sections with a female ferrule I just use two nails and hook the flange on the ferrule on them. I use some tape on the nails to protect the ferrules from scratches, especially if they are blued.

// Mats
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"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not the fish they are after". - Henry David Thoreau
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Post by Fly Chef »

Very cool, I bet that is a beautiful wall.

Thanks,
Keith
“Gentlemen, we are going to relentlessly chase perfection, knowing full well we will not catch it, because nothing is perfect. But we are going to relentlessly chase it, because in the process we will catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in just being good. “
~ Vince Lombardi, first team meeting as Packers coach (1959), as reported in Chuck Carlson’s “Game of My Life”
aguafria

Post by aguafria »

I leave the rod tube open at least two daze after fishing it. usually more like two weeks.

steve busted it the second time trying to rollcast from a rock snag. I watched it and photo'd it and couldn't belive it. he babied the rod and was way more careful of it than I usually am. and it also could well have been my craftsmanshit that caused the break.

I of course like to think elsewise. we'll see.
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adam
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Post by adam »

Here in AZ, our winters are very dry, even the summers are dry until we get into the monsoon and then the humidity is still low. Dew point and humidity are two different things. As far as Arizona goes, the moisture content of the air is way low...

I keep the cap loose, especially when going from high elevations to low to let the pressure equalize. Ask anyone how has had a metal flask high up on a stream, emptied it and screwed the cap on tight and went back home to the lowlands, the air pressure will visibly crush the flattish curved flask. I think it's theoretical, but I want the tube to be able to equalize along with everything in it.

I also store my rods in a carousel rod rack Shay gave me as a gift. It's a part of the shop.

Personally, I don't like the idea of waxing a bamboo fly rod, plastic is a whole other matter.
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Post by Bamboo Addict »

This is a great thread. I am lucky I get to fish all year, and we get a lot of rain and snow (most years), so I do wax all of my rods at least once a year just at late fall sets in. After a very wet day on the river (or like last week when I had a stupid moment and went swimming, sever shrinkage) when you get back to the rig you shake the rod and 99% of the water is off the rod. Now I still wipe it down, and when I get back to the cave I set the rod in a drying rack and wrap the cork with strips of old T shirts. When I am sure the cork is dry I clean all ferrules, and put plugs in the ferrules. put them back in the tubes and leave the caps off. Also when I get home (no later the next morning I clean the reels and lines, but that should be another thread. As Adam, I carry my rod tip to the rear most of the time, but when I am brush popping I like the tip forward so I can weave through snags. On rods you use a lot or ( you haven't got to the stupid stage yet with 3 large racks full of rods ) or rods you use in a boat a lot. Take them out and go over them very close. I use the mag. on the tying bench. Look for scratches, hook dings, and worn spots. for the builders this is no big thing they know what finish they used and can touch them up or clear wrap them, for the rest of use it is better to send them back and have them touched up, DON"T let it get worse. One last thing to keep the builder from ripping my head off, make sure your wax has no silicone in it, these guys are cranky enough.
David
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Post by Troutgetter »

Of course we're cranky.

Just a thought along carrying the rod around rigged up from spot to spot...carry the rod "Guides Up."
Most of it's assembled life is spent guides down and fishing.
I don't know how important this really is with most of us, but it can help prevent "fishing" sets.

Also...try and refrain from using your rod as a snake beater on the trail.
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