Classic Fly Fishing: From Roots to Revival |

Classic Fly Fishing: From Roots to Revival

| By Roy Rasmussen | Category: Outdoor Activities

Classic fly fishing preserves the era of bamboo fly rods, which lasted nearly a century from the 1870s to the 1960s. Bamboo brought fly fishing rods a strength and flexibility unprecedented in fly fishing, raising the art to new levels. Because of this, even today collectors prize classic fly fishing tackle and reel. This article reviews the classic era of fly fishing, from its historic roots, peak, and decline to its revival among collectors today.

Classic Fly Fishing Roots

Fly fishing dates back to at least ancient Roman times, when it is mentioned in books by several authors. Some historians have proposed that the Romans introduced the art to the British Isles, but this is uncertain. Fly fishing is mentioned in English literature sporadically during the Middle Ages, and with increasing regularity from the 15th century onwards. It was also about this time that the first references to fishing for recreation rather than food began to appear in English literature.

Classic recreational fly fishing emerged from developments with bamboo fishing rods during the 18th and 19th centuries. Western traders in India and China discovered that two types of bamboo or cane made particularly good fishing rods: Calcutta cane and Tonkin cane. Pennsylvania gunsmith Samuel Phillippe and his son Solon Phillippe pioneered the use of six-strip hexagonal Calcutta cane fishing rods in the 1840s and 1850s, possibly building on earlier innovations by others such as New Jersey’s Charles Murphy.

The H.L. Leonard Rod Company, which began business in 1869, began producing bamboo rods exclusively in 1874. Bamboo quickly became the favored material for fishing rods of all types, including fly fishing.

The Peak of Classic Fly Fishing

Fly fishermen favored bamboo rods, and especially Tonkin bamboo rods, for a number of reasons. Tonkin bamboo, native to southern China’s Guangdong Province, has a high fiber density that makes it one of the strongest species of bamboo, allowing it to provide a firm support base for casting line and reeling in fish. At the same time, it is extremely flexible, providing greater acceleration when casting and greater give when adjusting to a fish’s resistance. Finally, it is straight with well-spaced knots, making it suitable for cutting into lengths suitable for fishing rods.

The classic process of converting a bamboo stem, called a culm, into a fishing rod was a fine art that could take a hundred hours of labor. First, the culm was split multiple times into successively smaller strips. These smaller strips were planed and glued together to form a laminated unit called a blank. The creation of the blank, which constituted the main part of the rod, was followed up by varnishing, wrapping the rod’s guides with fine silk thread, and adding a cork grip and a wooden reel seat to the base of the rod.

Sage Z-Axis Fly Rod

During the first half of the 20th century, manufacturers developed the art of making bamboo fly fishing poles to a high peak. Some of the top classic fly fishing reels and/or rod manufacturers were Leonard, Hardy, Thomas, Edwards, Hawes, Payne, Orvis, Powell, Gillum, Heddon, Granger, Young, Summers, Dickerson, and Garrison. Top reel manufacturers included Vom Hofe, Milam, Hardy, Conroy, and Philbrick.

Decline

Access to Tonkin wood was interrupted by the decline of Chinese-American relations during the Cold War. In 1950 the United States imposed a trade embargo on China, and Tonkin wood became hard to obtain.

Meanwhile, synthetic fibers appeared and began to be used for fishing poles. Fiberglass became increasingly popular, and bamboo fishing rod production had dwindled by the 1960s. When the United States began loosening its trade embargo on China in 1969, only a few enthusiasts were still making classic bamboo fly fishing rods.

Revival

A classic fly fishing revival began in 1976 when Everett Garrison and Hoagy Carmichael published A Master’s Guide to Building a Bamboo Fly Rod. This book and other books that followed in its wake brought classic fly fishing to a new generation.

Today, building classic fly fishing tackle for anglers and collectors has become an industry. Antique classic fly fishing rods can sell for over $15,000, while a skilled craftsman may charge as much as $700 to $2,500 for making a customized rod.

Video from mnflyfishing.com