Help! Can't cast my new rod!

[Cheap]

I can't cast my bamboo rod. It's my first cane rod, rebuilt from an older, unknown blank. It's 8ft, and the guy I bought it from on eBay said it casts best with 5wt line (he didn't specify WF or DT). I tried it with SA GPX WF 5wt.

I'm not a great caster by any means, but I can usually find the right rythm for any rod/line combination within reason. I slowed down my back cast, even tried single hauling. I just couldn't find that magic place where it felt right, and my loops were big and sloppy; I was slapping the water on my back casts. Everything I did was wrong.

Any suggestions? Can anybody meet me on the 'Hooch DH one afternoon or during lunch and tell me what I'm doing wrong and better yet what I should be doing?

Please don't tell me to put the rod back on eBay and buy a rod with a known taper. Unless I luck up on a 7ft, 3wt cane rod at a good price, I likely won't buy another rod until the spring.

Thanks guys.

[oyster]

Hey Cheap, I

If you're ever up near the Cumming / Gainesville area you can stop by my workshop. We'll try some different lines on it and figure out what's going on.

Bill O.

_______________
www.oysterbamboo.com

[Gaines'BowBum]

Hey Cheap, I

If you're ever up near the Cumming / Gainesville area you can stop by my workshop. We'll try some different lines on it and figure out what's going on.

Bill O.

_______________
www.oysterbamboo.com

It sounds like you might want to try a 5DT or maybe a 6 weight line on there. See if that doesn't help out some. I recently bought an old South Bend 5 weight and had similar problems. I tried a few different lines on there, and it helped a lot.

--Alex

[Buck Henry]

I am confident that you can find a line weight / configuration that will allow you to produce a reasonable cast with your new rod that will allow you to catch fish. There is no getting around the fact that there are some production / low cost bamboo rods that just do not cast as well as a higher quality well made one. But I still think you can find something that will be relatively pleasing to cast and fish with.

My gut reaction is that the rod is not loading well with a 5 weight line and you might do better using a 6 weight line. If I am not mistaken, the first 30 feet of any fly line (DT, WF, etc) weighs about the same, so the difference in going from a WF or a DT does not come into play until you get line out past this point.

BTW, your story reminds me of a short small stream 4 weight rod that I bought several years back. It was a nicely finished rod on a no-name blank, but was just a crappy casting rod no matter what I tried, so I know the feeling!

My recommendation is to take Bill Oyster up on his offer and swing by his place for some test casting. Bill can not only provide you with several line weights to zero in on the best one for your rod, but can also give you some pointers on mechanics if needed. You will not find more knowledgable and authoritive counsel on casting with cane than from Billy O!

[kayakerguy]

I won't be able to meet you at the hooch, but if you come to the shop (Highland Outfitters, which is about the same distance as the hooch), We can cast it in the pond behind the shop. I can tell you a little more about it, and if given advanced notice, can have several reels to match it up with.
However; As much as I love bamboo, some times you get a rod that just doesn't have a sweet spot, and just doesn't cast well. I hope this is not the case, but with a no name blank it just may be the way it is.
Mark

[Riverman]

Cheap,
A couple of questions.What configuration is the rod? 3/2 0r 2/2?
Can you post or email me the ebay link to the seller?I`d like to read his discription of the rod.
Sounds like the rod is underlined with the 5wf.May take a 6,7 or even an 8wt to load the rod properly depending on what the seller considers an older unmarked/unnamed blank.I dont trust Ebay anymore unless its a seller that I know well.

[Cheap]

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

Bill and Kayakerguy, I'll be contacting you soon.

Riverman, it's a 2/1. Here's the eBay listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150178424057&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=005

I'm sure the problem is me. Maybe I was having a bad day; I know I was getting frustrated. I make bad casts regularly, but I usually cast reasonably well when I'm trying. It's a beautiful rod--I hate to think of it being useless.

[AUTrout]

I admire you for your leap of faith regarding a "ebay" re-do of an unknown brand. Many of those kinds of rods on ebay look great but I have not gotten the courage up to take the leap....yes, I read the book everyone has referenced and gotten the bug. Doc said it is a virus so no antibiotics would help. :>) I see some conflicting stuff on some sites about what is good or not so good about production rods (either original or rebuilt) but it does seem to be a relatively less expensive way to try this bamboo thing. Perhaps I should just save my pennies for year or two and go for a more expensive rod from one of the current rod makers. I really would like to try bamboo after years of graphite, but the more I look, the more confused I get about which way to go...

[fishnpreacher]

Hey Cheap, did you ever get this rod figured out? I am curious to know what you had to do to get it to cast better.

AUTrout, I got into bamboo by buying off of Ebay. First rod was a Heddon 13, 3/1 short tip, recently refinished by a guy just starting out in the bamboo refinishing field. If you stick with the names you recognize, Heddon, South Bend, etc you can get "consistent" quality. The South Bends may not be the same quality as the Heddons or Grangers, or some of the present day makers, but their quality is fairly consistent. The production rod companies like Montegue, HI, and South Bend all made some pretty good rods.
Is there a particular size/ weight/ configuration you want to try? Let us know and we'll help any way we can. Just holler and I'm sure somebody around here will be glad to get together with you and let you cast some grass. ;)

[AUTrout]

thanks for your reply..I was thinking mabe a 4wt 71/2' to 8'. I generally fish the small streams of North Georgia within a 30 to 40 mile radius of Helen. Lot of interesting seller/builders/rebuilders on ebay..The low range 200 to 400 dollars seem to be a combination of rebuilds and China built such as sellers named Highland Mills, Trailerwheelmrs, Sierragv, and JParramoure. Then there are those cats from about 400 to 800 dollars, such as Lew Parks, Bill Rogers, Dave Cottengim (though most of his go for bid, so some sell lower). Then of course there are older rods that have not been refinished and in various states of condition. There are some fairly expensive stuff 1000 to 3000 dollars on there too, but that is just not within my range.

[fishnpreacher]

I'm a bit leery of some/most of what I see on ebay. Some rods are not correctly identified in the description, and some are there as scams to begin with.
Unfortunately, 7 1/2-8ft 4wt rods are the hottest thing selling in the bamboo world. This of course drives the cost up.
If you are seriously considering purchasing a bamboo rod, watch the Tackle for sale, trade, wanted board at Clarks
http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/forums/75

There are usually some pretty good rods at reasonable prices, and what you see is what you get. No touched up photos, no BS about condition, and Board rules about returns if anything is not on the up and up. There are a couple on there right now that may interest you. Another good thing about Clarks is being able to post a Want To Buy. There usually is a pretty good response to this.
Several of the builders on Clarks are pretty reasonable with pricing on new builds too.

[Riverman]

I still have a 7ft.4wt. Tonka Prince for sale.

[Cheap]

Sorry for not posting sooner. I've been very busy at work and haven't done much of anything else for a couple of weeks.

Preacher, I did get casting it figured out for the most part. I'm not sure if it's just this rod or bamboo rods in general, but the problem (or at least part of it) came from moving the forward cast too fast. Once I slowed down my forward cast, I moved more line and did so acurately. It also took the bounce out of the tip.

Just casting something with this much mass was very different for me. I haven't tried different lines with it yet, and I'm just going by what the seller said about it being a 5wt. The only 5wt floating line I have is SA GPX, which is really a 5.5wt I think.

AUTrout, I eBay a good bit. My kids and coworkers give me a hard time about it. I'll step out of a meeting to bid on something I really want in the last 30 seconds of an auction. I've got issues.

It was natural for me to look at eBay when considering the purchase of a bamboo rod. I took a chance on this one simply because it was so beautiful--the highly figured wood spacer in the reel seat, jasper wraps, blued furrules--it spoke to me with a very sweet voice. I also liked the idea that it was rebuilt.

I prefer small streams even more than a bargin. I'm looking for a 7ft, 3wt. I would consider something slightly shorter or longer and would consider a 4wt as well. I don't know enough about tapers and such to take a chance on something over $250, and I want another rebuilted/refinsihed rod. I also want it to look right to me (that shouldn't make a difference, but it does).

If you or anybody else wants to try the rod I bought, I'll ship it to you or you can pick it up in Marietta. Don't worry about breaking it. It seems quite strudy, and if it breaks, well, it's only a rod.

[AUTrout]

..guess I am going to research a little more to increase my comfort level. Don't know much, but I have heard a "poor" quality bamboo rod would ruin your desire and I don't know enough about "restored" production rods yet. If it is a poor rod to begin with I don't think new wraps & guides, handles with insert and refinishing will make it a better rod, just prettier or more presentable. I feel pretty comfortable with deciding on graphite (gasp!) and currently have a custom made eight and a half 5wt. on a GLoomis "Slate" blank. That being said I still want to make the leap, I just feel a need to study it a little more. Of course the danger in that is I will just get more confused (a little knowledge can be dangerours!). I will keep reading this column though as all advise is welcomed. Thanks!