Blue Ridge Georgia

[Cactus Mike]

There is a beautiful town in North Georgia called Blue Ridge, near Blue Ridge Lake in the Blue Ridge mountains. There are some great trout creeks, streams and rivers all over north Georgia, not the least of which is the tailwaters of the Toccoa River, just outside of Blue Ridge. About 1/2 mile away from there, in a brand new home and rod building shop is where I came to build my first split bamboo fly rod. It will be a 7'9" 5wt., flamed honey brown. I just finished glueing my twelve sticks of bamboo together this evening (it is 11:00 p.m. here), after twelve hours of planing. After three days of sweat and blood (lierally), it finally looks like a fly rod.

After 1/2 day cutting a 12-foot piece of cane in half last Sunday morning, then splitting each half into 10-12 pieces, I spent the next two and 1/2 days (about 35 hours) flaming, filing, heating, flattening, staightening, sanding, beveling, and planing the best twelve strips just to put it all back together again. How about that? And tonight it got matched, taped, epoxied, wrapped, straightened (again), and is now in the oven. It (finally) almost looks like a split cane rod!

Tomorrow we add the ferrules and wrap the guides, and gosh knows what else. We'll be doing the cork grip, reel seat, and varnishing, of course. I just hope we don't have to do it all tomorrow! It will be done by Friday, then out fishing on Saturday.

More to follow...

[Bighand]

Your on the down hill side for sure now. Waiting here to see how she's casts. That is after you catch some fish on her first Mike.

[Fly Chef]

Mike, I feel your pain. I started my first build last month and cut the piss outta my hand splitting the culm.

Keith

[Plateau Angler]

Sounds like fun! I've always wanted to learn to make bamboo rods but it sounds like an awful lot of work. Haven't really fished in Georgia but have heard lots of good things about the Toccoa. Is that were you will be fishing?

[shlitzhead]

good move and good luck.
I don't see how you can fish that rod sat though. varnish should set and cure for quite a while.

nor do I see how the finish will be adequate. sounds to me like you'll get one dip. that's not really enough.

very forking cool though.

[Seldomseen]

I saw this rod today. Even got my paws on it.

Unbelievably nice. It does not resemble a first attempt at anything I have done in my life.

No ferrule tap even.

Awesome job Mike!

[Bighand]

I look forward to feeling the line slip through the guides, or just seeing it in the sunlight Mike.

[Cactus Mike]

Mike, I feel your pain. I started my first build last month and cut the piss outta my hand splitting the culm.

Keith

WARNING: War & Peace ahead - I am just too excited to stop talking about this great adventure so, here goes...

Ouch! I had several small cuts, the worst of which was from a cane strip - they are sharp as razors. We were warned to always wear gloves, but I made a rookie mistake of running my finger down (instead of across) a strip. Result was a deep and wide cut on my finger tip with blood flowing. I constantly had to wipe off the beads of sweat and now drops of blood from the strips.

Used a Min-Wax (?) spar varnish that dries in three hours, so not only is it looking fabulous, it was fishing just fine by Saturday. Yea! Bill Oyster said that using the old style spar varnish is fine, but this stuff is better. He said that having to wait three days is a load of crap. I have to agree.

On Saturday afternoon, Bill (our teacher) drove Norris ( a fellow rod maker - who lives in Fountain Hills!) and me way out of town to the beginning of the trophy section of the Toccoa, and I loved it. I know there are great rivers all over, but this was just miles of great trout water from a partially spring-fed river. Norris and Bill were pounding them, but I wasn't having much success. I hung in there, through some tough moments, and finally caught a real live Toccoa River rainbow, after getting several bumps.

I was kind of cold, a little scared, and tired though, as I had fallen not once, but twice into some damn cold water. Did I mention it was raining the entire day? But as you all know, it is easy to put that out of your mind with a fish on. Soon after that, the numbness in my hands and feet and the stiffining legs told me it was time to get the hell out of the river before I got into serious trouble. Had to make one more cross in knee-waist deep water, so it was a little scarey for this old angler.

Thank you, Seldom, for your gracious and generous compliments, and I have to say that I am proud of the job I did. Bill Oyster shows you how to do it and will not give up on anybody. An 86-year old gentleman, Mitch, from S. Carolina built one of the best rods of the six of us.

And all six bamboo fly rods are outstanding by-products of a great sense of accomplishment we all felt before leaving on Sunday morning. I can't wait to do it again.

[shlitzhead]

you learned at the hands of a master. oyster's rod's are a sight to behold. I'm sure yer rod is lovely. I would love to see/cast it. I'm sure it's tits.

[Cactus Mike]

you learned at the hands of a master. oyster's rod's are a sight to behold. I'm sure yer rod is lovely. I would love to see/cast it. I'm sure it's tits.

Wow, thank you very much. I like it to be sure, but it is just a first attempt at making a bamboo rod. And there is certainly plenty of room to improve. Would be happy to show it to you sometime, and I appreciate the kind words!

And if my new friend, Norris, gets involved with our "group" of anglers, you can see the one he built, too.
It's pretty sweet for a beginner (like me).

[WMF]

This thread needs photos.....

[Cactus Mike]

This thread needs photos.....

I am working on it. I am not a great photographer, but okay. I can download a couple from the workshop and of the finished product.

[WMF]

I am working on it. I am not a great photographer, but okay. I can download a couple from the workshop and of the finished product.

Cool, Look forward to it!