Bamboo Rods????

LOL, bamboo rods are so old that they belong hanging on your wall as rare art, they cant handle the heavy drag of modern reels, they are bound to snap, but they are still well used in fly fishing...

My husband had a calcutta rod that he used for shark fishing for many years. He built it himself & it lasted for more than 20 years before he snapped it in two! (Calcutta is a heavy bamboo)

My husband had a calcutta rod that he used for shark fishing for many years. He built it himself & it lasted for more than 20 years before he snapped it in two! (Calcutta is a heavy bamboo)

I didn't know when Jd was talking about calcutta rods he meant bamboo rods... he told me how after you fought a shark on those calcuttas the rod would still be bent and you would have to put it on the ground and bend it back if you wanna use it again!

They never stayed perfectly straight after you broke them in, but they were super strong & could handle the big ones!

I would love to have a heavy bamboo rod, just for nostalgia sake. I know they can't hold a candle to modern rods but a bamboo stick with a huge scarborough reel, along the lines of what the Durban anglers used on great whites would be a neat bit of conversation talk at the beach!

I would like to have one.....For wall hanging only

Long history on that blank....

Exactly. I wouldn't expect to catch a monster but I'd like it to have, just to show off how they did it back in the day.

Anyone know the general method for making a heavy duty bamboo rod? Just the thickest piece of calcutta you could find in the 8' range?

I've been thinking about how bamboo rods are a lost art. They seem to be very hard to make. Does anyone even know how to make them?If so, how is it done?

pier-rat, I found this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Bamboo-SURF ... 35b14c99f7

I build poles...Maybe I should try to build A Calcutta blank......

I would be interested.