Ever wonder what the inside of a hollow-built bamboo fly rod looks like?  Well, it depends on how the rod was hollowed, but here's a photo of what mine look like:


I shave the apexes of the 6 triangles off, leaving "dams" every few inches.  The assembled piece on top is a cut-off end, while the 6 strips laid flat are soon going to be glued together.  You can see the areas where I removed the apexes, and the remaining "peaks" which will form the dams.

Some guys leave their entire section hollow, but in general, using my method, you need dams to prevent the hollow bamboo tube from "collapsing" into an oval shape as it is cast forwards and backwards.    Hollow rods give you additional appreciation for the toughness of glues used in bamboo rod-making.  The amount of glued surface-area holding those strips together is significantly reduced (depending on how much you hollow), and yet if properly glued, the rods will hold together just as does a solid rod.

Some people think the hollow cavities will fill with glue when you glue up the 6 strips.  it's possible, but a person can manage for that: spread on the glue, roll up the strips, then open them back up and remove excess glue before binding the 6 strips together.

There are on-going arguments about why to hollow or not to hollow, but just from experience with guys casting my rods, I've noticed that in general, the most appreciated of all the rods I've made have tended to be  hollow-built, whether guys know they are hollow or not.  My impression is that hollow-building tends to make a rod lighter-feeling (more than the actual weight reduction, which is measurable but not huge), smoother, and maybe "snappier."

2 of the next 3 rods I'm making will be hollow - looking forward to testing them out.

I'm in the process of putting together the first-ever (to my knowledge) Nebraska (bamboo) Rodmakers Gathering, at my shop in Lincoln NE.

There are a half-dozen of us, that I know of, in the general Nebraska/Iowa area.

I'm anticipating a pretty relaxed day, getting together to work on bamboo fly rods, learn from the other guys, share ideas and techniques.  Tentatively shooting for the last Sunday in February, or one of the first 2 in March, depending on when guys can attend.

If you're interested in bamboo rodmaking and in our area, drop me a line - newcomers and "wannabes" welcome.  Here's a Verdigre creek rainbow I caught on a Perfectionist I made.  Hang out with us long enough, and you could catch fish on your own hand-made rod.

Lee

Just about finished with the last of a series of Tri-hex rods I started last July.  This last one is another 8013 - 8ft 5wt, with light olive wraps tipped royal blue, hardware blued to a deep bronze color, and a nice cross-cut reelseat filler that echoes the blond cane.



Just for fun I cut the cork check (between the wood reelseat and the cork) into the tri-hex shape.  You can see it here:

I'm very happy with the consistency of the 8013s I've made - very similar action - lots of power for long casts or for punching into the wind (It's based on a Dickerson after all) but still very nice feel in close. 

The next few rods will be regular hexes  - there are a couple of traditional tapers I want to make, and frankly, I'm ready for a break from the extra work involved in making a Tri-hex.  They sure make into nice-casting rods though.

I was going to say that I hadn't fished since September but that's not exactly true.  I went down to the 2009 Southern Rodmakers Gathering again this year, and had my usual fishing luck in Arkansas - essentially nil.  Every time I come back from there saying "I don't know why I go down there..."  Sure, I've seen all the photos of all the big fish coming out of the White and the Norfolk, but I never see them.

I don't care for much of the fishing (nymph and streamer), or for the crowds, who stomp the water into froth, or, for that matter, a good few of the "flies" used.  Y2K bug?  2 colors of yarn, trimmed to look like a piece of candy corn, with a gold bead.  Pink Weenie - just what it sounds like.  As one of my rodmaking friends says, "you may be able to catch fish, but you can't really call it FLY-fishing."

I enjoy the SRG meet, and especially the guys I room with, but as far as fishing goes.... well, give me the gray reef!

I finished my first tri-hex rod that is based on a taper other than the 8013.  it's an 8ft6 6wt, based on the Dickerson 8615.

Nice rod, I think it has just a bit more power than the equivalent hex 8615.  A person can get tired of the extra work to make a tri-hex, but the geometry continues to produce really nice rods.

At SRG we (David, Rick and I) finally executed our rod swap, after, I think, 2 years.  I gave a Perfectionist, and received a nice Dickerson 6611.  Driving home from Arkansas, I got a call from David - he had stopped on the Norfolk to fish on the way home, and in the middle of a cast, the tip broke off right at the ferrule.  That rod has been done for 18 months, been cast lots of time, and then it breaks the first time on the river?  WTF! 

I asked David to send me the rod so I could inspect it and build another tip.  The break was clean through the stick, no splinters. I squeezed the bamboo into the step-down ferrule on that rod a little bit, but it shouldn't have broken.  I have no good explanation, other than to say what i've said for years: The gods have a perverse sense of humor.  The new tip is almost done and so the swap will finally be complete.

Here's David's rod:


Lee

The twin tri-hex 8013s have been ferruled, and they have all the hardware save reelseats attached.  nearly ready for final finish.  One is wrapped chinese red double-tipped lemon yellow then black.  The other is wrapped olive green tipped royal blue.  Here's a photo, including a cut-off peg which shows the tri-hex geometry.  Under the reelseat I leave the rod solid, but the majority of the butt is completely hollow - that center triangle is removed.


Overall though, rod progress has recently been delayed, and here are the delays:

Game and Parks started  turkey season early this year, I suppose in an attempt to suppress the burgeoning turkey population in the state.  I'd never shot a turkey before, but since I believe they push pheasants out of local habitat, I was happy to try to participate in what I consider the "turkey eradication program."  I lucked out, and now we have thanksgiving dinner in the freezer.  The smaller bird got filleted and smoked over applewood.  Mm good!

"Now we return you to your regularly scheduled rod-making projects."