Podcast: Rosenbauer on Bamboo vs. Graphite Fly Rods

In his latest podcast, Tom Rosenbauer talks about why it might be worth your time to try a bamboo fly rod — even if you don’t think you’ll fish one on a regular basis.

“The six-strip bamboo rod that is still being used today was developed about 150 years ago, give or take 20 years. And back in the nineteenth century they made them out of things like lancewood and greenheart and ash and hickory. They didn’t have the plastics we have and I don’t believe they had the technology to make rods out of steel.”
“The early bonefish anglers fished with bamboo rods, and in fact Joe Brooks caught his early bonefish on an Orvis bamboo rod. But the fiberglass rods were really better suited for steelhead and the saltwater stuff.”