 Of the many lessons that surface through bamboo rod building, this one is important. The time spent working slowly on the preliminary foundational steps of strip preparation is later rewarded in terms of both aesthetics and performance. The act of creating bamboo rods from 12’ culms is an exercise in the careful manipulation and removal of material. As organic products, bamboo twists and turns when it grows. As such, culm power fibers follow these twists and turns and must be straightened along the way. These twists and turns can be found not only at nodes but also between nodes. After splitting a culm, strips often look like snakes with directional shifts not only left and right but also up and down. It is critical that all strips are properly heated and adjusted so they are as straight as possible.
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Fly Execution: Downstream Slack Line Nymphing Date: 01/09/23 Time: 12:30pm Air: 35° Water: 40° Elevation: 990’ This was a wonderful outing on new water. This stream was buried deep in a forest, and was rather tough to access. It required a fair amount of hiking and bushwhacking. I was working downstream, a direction I usually don’t prefer. I stumbled upon a small run with two feeding lanes converging to one point, a likely feeding lie for a trout. The arrows in the picture below show the direction the water was flowing. I'll note that I enjoy challenging myself. Not only do I fish in brutal conditions - very cold snow storms - but I also like to fish less obvious trout lies, skinny water, and areas with dense vegetation.  Although I would have preferred to approach this section working upstream, it was not possible given stream obstructions. Moreover, I was already upstream and my movements of stepping on sticks, leaves and snow close to the stream bank would have alerted any trout to my presence. I had reason to believe that a trout was holding where the two feeding lanes (red dashes) converged. This would be an efficient feeding lie, as a trout would have two food sources. And with slight surface disturbance, a trout would be somewhat concealed to overhead threats, thereby feeding confidently at this location in the stream, or so I reasoned.  To execute my cast, I knew that I faced a few obstacles. First, I’d need to achieve a proper drift from upstream. Second, I’d need to conceal my presence. Had I been working in an upstream direction, these issues would have been easily solved. It would be easier to achieve a drag free drift by making an aerial mend. Line would fall on the water behind and to the side of the trout. Further, trout would be facing away from me, upstream, and this would result in a lower likelihood of being noticed. Although not perfect, there was a small tree branch with some leaves to partially obscure my presence.  As I thought through the specifics of my fly presentation, I knew that I’d need to execute a reach cast and to place the fly roughly at the X in this picture. The problem, of course, is that my line would come down on the water a few feet in front of the trout, thereby increasing the chance of spooking the trout. I executed the cast, while remaining behind the tree branch. I dropped the fly roughly at the X, allowed line to accumulate on the water, and my fly began to drift, free of any drag. Soon enough, I had a tight line and landed this beautiful native brook trout. I used a recently built 7’ bamboo rod for a 3wt, aided by my Meek 54 reel, manufactured by Horton Manufacturing Co. in the early 1900’s in Bristol, Connecticut. Conclusion - If possible, work upstream. This may require hiking down the side of a stream and working up. There are times, however, when your only access is in a downward direction. In addition, if you are planning to swing wet flies or streamers, you may wish to work down. However, given the nature of how spooky trout are in small streams, it is imperative that you remain concealed.
A bamboo culm delivery to the shop today... All culms were inspected by the boss... |
