Books about bamboo rods

Originally written by me and some friends 2002-04 for the Virtual Fly Shop, Flyfisherman Magazine Online. The Cracker Barrel has been published in book form with the limited first edition hard cover sold out and a paperback version will be available early 2011.

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fishnbanjo
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Books about bamboo rods

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Post by fishnbanjo »

Welcome back and I hope all of you had a wonderful week and for those that celebrate a joyous holiday with family and friends. We left off last week with Part 1 of a 2 part series on references for bamboo rods. We spoke about sites on the Internet you can visit and I gave you a list of links and a small histology about each of them and I also told you that is was mostly my favorites and certainly not an inclusive list by any means and do hope that you had the opportunity to visit them and were encouraged by what you saw and hopefully you did a search on Dogpile, WebCrawler, Google or one of the many search engines available. I also gave you a listing of some of the vintage catalogs available and how you might go about subscribing to them and what cost, if any, is involved. I'd also like to point out that the many Fly Fishing Magazines you can find at your news stand or subscribe to often have special articles about bamboo rods but not all that often. The old nose tells me the coffees ready so I'll drop another log or two on the coals and give the pot bellied stoke a stoke and we'll get to it. The best way to get right into the nitty gritty on bamboo rods is to build a reference library for when the occasion arises that you have to look up a particular maker it will be handy. I started my library many years ago and it is rather large compared to most and I have devoured most of it once and much of it as many as a dozen times that I can answer verbatim without going to the reference. Most of the books contain great facts about many makers and some are maker specific and each an invaluable resource but caution must be taken as there is some references in some of them that is inaccurate and it is unknown if this was caused by a bit of faulty research, a misquote by the author or a badly worded editing job but they are there nonetheless. So let's look at my library. I'd like to begin with American Fishing Books 1743-1993 by K. A. Sheets. This book isn't about bamboo rods but it is a very well researched book which has an inventory of fishing books, catalogs and periodicals published in America from 1743 to 1993 and a guide to their values. I think in itself is a worthwhile reference to books you may not be aware of and would like to try and find. Most of the books I will discuss are now out of print (I will use OOP in this case) and the first modern book that I use as my go to book falls in this category. Classic Rods and Rodmakers by Martin J. Keane was first published in 1976 and one of the first pieces of work to cover so much of the makers in the US both past and present to 1976. Marty actually traveled the country to interview makers, former employees and family members as well. Very difficult book to find and pricey and is OOP but extremely valuable information, with black and white and color photographs. Fly Tackle a guide to the tools of the trade by Harmon Henkin. Written just around the time Marty published his book but not anywhere as thorough but some nice side information to care and various tackle to accompany bamboo rods. Rather pointed in his thoughts and some errors that will have the knowledgeable chuckling but could confuse the neophyte. All in all a neat book with some jewels of information and not all that expensive if you can find a copy, again, OOP. This book covers much more than bamboo rods and that is Trout Volumes I and II by Ernest Schwiebert. Volume II is rather large and has so much information both written and in drawings done by Ernie and, of course, Ernie's consummate poetic waxings to make you smile. Available in hard cover (bring your plastic!) and paperback (not too bad) and OOP. The Idyl of the Split Bamboo, by Dr George Parker Holden written in 1919 and printed in 1920, Dr Parker Holden was a friend and mentor to rod maker Everett Garrison and it is this book Garrison used as his bible. The book was written during the Golden Age of bamboo rods and is an account on bamboo itself as a rod making material including notes on its properties and various useful information for working with and machining bamboo. This is a very valuable and historical book which is quite rare and now available as a reprinted edition but still rather scarce. The Bamboo Rod by Claude Kreider was written and published in 1951. Like Dr Parker Holden's book it gives historical reference and information on how to work with bamboo and where to get it plus the various tools you'll need and some tapers to help you understand how a taper is derived. Another very scarce and valuable book that is now available in paper back format. The Practical Fly Fisherman by A. J. McClane is not just a bamboo book but deserves mention because it has some valuable information especially if one were to consider using silk lines and gut leaders with their favorite stick. Easily found in both hard cover and paper back formats. Modern Fly Casting by John Alden Knight well known angler and author. Another, not just bamboo rod, book that covers a wealth of information to help you in building a knowledge base for bamboo. Not easily found and OOP. The well-tempered angler by Arnold Gingrich is another book that has great information pertaining to bamboo as is Trout Magic by Robert Traver who dedicates an entire chapter to maker Morris Kushner. Both books are readily available and great reads. In the ring of the rise by Vincent Marinaro is another must read book for the content and the reference to bamboo. Mr. Marinaro was a fanatical angler and his books are always difficult to find but worth the search. OOP I believe. The American Sporting Collector's Handbook by Allen J. Liu, Allan runs a sporting tackle shop in NY and has a web presence as well. The book is about many types of collectibles but each chapter focuses on the different phases. Not easily found, can be pricey and is OOP. A Master's Guide to building a bamboo fly rod by Everett Garrison and Hoagy B. Carmichael was written from information that Garry was giving to Hoagy and Hoagy completed the book after Garry passed away. Still considered THE Book for making a fly rod and has probably inspired more bench makers than any other. Not that easy to find even having been printed 3 times and rather pricey but a wonderful peep hole into what made the most acclaimed hobby bamboo fly rod maker tick. The Angler's Workshop was written by maker Letcher Lambuth and is a fascinating read and look into this west coast angler and maker's theories which included making bamboo rods and twisting them in a spiral much like the rifling of a gun which gave it unbelievable resiliency and was favored among many west coast steel headers. Very rare and pricey book and OOP. The Fine Bamboo Fly Rod by Stuart Kirkfield is well written and another look into a makers perspective and very useful information for restorations. Original First Editions are extremely pricey and difficult to find but a second edition was recently released. Classic & Antique Fly Fishing Tackle, A guide for collectors & anglers by A. J. Campbell. What a book! Fills in details of makers that Marty had written about and new information was found in A. J.'s research. While this book could easily stand alone I like using it in conjunction with Martin Keane's book since they compliment each other so well. OOP in hard cover, but recently released in paper back. Bamboo Rod Restoration Handbook by recently retired restorationist and historian Michael Sinclair. Even if restoration isn't what you are after Mike's book will assist you in identifying that no name rod you have as it is an extensive account of many of the trade rods made from the earliest beginnings to the demise of the great trade companies. Spiral bound book so it can be easily referenced while working on a rod for identification and readily available although it is OOP. The Lovely Reed, An enthusiast's guide to building bamboo fly rods by Jack Howell is an extremely well written book by a weekend hobbyist maker with a vast array of tapers and great information. Easily available as it has been released on a short time now. Fishing bamboo by famed author John Gierach is a worthwhile read and is chock full of important information about the bamboo rod, easy to find. Splitting Cane, conversations with bamboo rodmakers by Ed Engle, a fishing companion to John Gierach. The book is mainly chapters taken from magazine articles Ed Engle wrote for several magazines. Ed discusses with the various makers all kinds of things concerning bamboo and fishes a rod of the makers design and gives an account of it. An interesting read and a look at some of our modern makers as well, readily available. The next series of books deal with specific makers and/or regions in bamboo rod building. Fishing rods by Divine and Heddon the rod with the fighting heart are two books written by Michael Sinclair about these specific companies, their history and their rods. Classic bamboo rodmakers past and present by Dick Spurr is an anthology of various makers both past and present and a delightful read. OOP Also by Dick Spurr and Michael Sinclair is Colorado Classic Cane a history of the Colorado bamboo rod makers. Main focus is on Goodwin Granger Co. during Goodwin's period and that of Wright & McGill and Phillipson Rod Co. Includes many pictures, historical documentation as well as catalog information and many of the Colorado makers up to Mike Clark only 200 hard bound known to have been printed, extremely rare and pricey and the paper back, while not as pricey, is rare as well OOP. By Dick Spurr and Gloria Jordan is Wes Jordan Profile of a rodmaker which covers Wes's tenure at Cross Rod, South Bend and Orvis, still can be found but OOP. Last of my extensive, but not complete collection, Dickerson The man and his rods by Gerald S. Stein, M.D. and rodmaker James W. Schaaf. Very poignant look at a wonderful rodmaker who began building rods fulltime during the Depression and made it his life's vocation. An excellent resource on the various Dickerson rod models and valuable to Dickerson fanatics, OOP and pricey. Well that's my list and it's not all there is that's out there but I keep looking anyway. I hope some of the other BoB's will pipe in with what they have as well. Well the old coffee pot is empty, as Bob Corsetti says and I left my pipe upstairs so while I go grab it and pack it up I'll leave you for a few moments to give you a chance to read. Thanks again for stopping in and we'll let you know what's coming up next week as I'm planning to be out of town and I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year and tight lines…….

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